Lucky Charm (Reverse Fairytales Book 2)(32)

I wanted to get away and speak to someone, but who? Elise and Leo knew about my feelings for Cynder, but they were both being strangely tight-lipped about the whole thing, while Luca, my mother, and Jenny were anything but.

“I’m going out for a bit,” I said, but no one noticed. They were too busy debating what to do next.

I left the room, wondering where to go from here. Calling my advisors had seemed like such a good idea this morning, but now I couldn’t bear the thought of it. I decided I’d speak to Daniel. Now that everything was out in the open with him, he was the best person to talk to. The fact he was a Mage and knew Cynder was a bonus.

I could have gone out of the palace grounds to see him in his home, but I knew that if I showed my face outside for even a second, the paparazzi would be on me like flies. Instead, I sent one of the guards to deliver a message asking him to come.

Half an hour later he met me in a downstairs sitting room. It was a room I rarely ventured into which meant that I was confident that we’d be left alone.

“What is it?” he panted as he walked through the door. He had sawdust all over him that sweat from his brow made little rivers through. “I ran. Is everything ok?”

“Not really,” I said, handing him the nearest piece of cloth which happened to be an old-fashioned sofa protector. He ran it over his brow and came to sit beside me. I could smell the wood shavings on him. “Sorry if I pulled you away from work.”

“It’s no problem. My father can handle it by himself for a few hours.”

“Why do you not use magic?” I asked. I’d never even seen him with a wand. “In your work I mean, or do you?”

“I don’t use magic because I’m not supposed to be a Mage, remember. No one in Silverwood knows except you and Dean.”

“So you told him then?”

“I did. He didn’t care at all. I was so scared to tell him, but when I saw how brave you’ve been, I thought I could try to be as brave. I’m so glad you talked me into it.”

I smiled wistfully, glad that things had turned out well for him.

“As for why I don’t use a wand at work, it’s because I love the feel of the wood between my hands. I like making something out of nothing. I wouldn’t get the same satisfaction from waving a wand and magicking something up. Is that what you wanted to see me about?”

“No,” I sighed. “Have you seen the papers today?”

“No, I’ve been too busy. Why, what’s happened?”

I told him about everything the papers said and about how Luca seemed to think it was a good idea to bring Cynder back. He listened carefully without interrupting right up to the point where I told him that my whole family was now debating it upstairs.

“Maybe this is just the thing you need. It’s quite brilliant really. You’ve been asking people to listen to you for the past six months, and no one cared. Now you’ve got your chance to shine.”

“But it’s so unfair to Luca...and Cynder.”

“Not really. So you all pretend for a while. Luca can be the big brave guy whose fiancée can’t decide who she wants. Cynder can be the hero underdog. By the time the wedding rolls around, and you marry Luca, you’ll have all the Magi in jobs and schools. Cynder will be able to go back to Thalia a hero and everybody’s happy.”

I gazed at Daniel, trying to keep the tears in. Always perceptive, he noticed right away.

“Everybody isn’t happy, are they?” He paused for a moment before the realization hit him. “You know, last year, I could see that you were in love with someone else. Even when you proposed to me, I knew that you didn’t really want me. I could see the light shining in your eyes, and it wasn’t for me. When you announced you were marrying Luca, I thought it might have been him, but I was wrong, wasn’t I?”

I nodded slowly.

“Does Cynder know you are in love with him...please tell me the stories of you two having an affair aren’t true?”

“No. Nothing happened between us on the journey back from Thalia. I told him I was marrying Luca, and he respected that.”

“But you wanted something to happen. Oh, honey.”

He took me in his arms as I wept into his shoulder.

“You know you don’t have to do it, right? You can go out there and make a statement about how you are marrying Luca, and that’s the end of it. Cynder can stay in Thalia, and you’ll never have to see him again if you don’t want to. You’ll get over him eventually. You do want to marry Luca, right?”

“Of course, I do. I had a little crush on Cynder, that’s all.” I lied. Daniel saw through me straight away.

“I know when something’s more than a little crush. Do you want me to tell your family that it’s a bad idea?”

“How can I do that? They’ll wonder why I think it’s a bad idea. They’ll figure it out, just like you did.”

“They won’t. You are a good actress. You’ve had me fooled for quite a while. I never guessed that you were in love with Cynder.”

“But what about the Magi? They are counting on me. If I go out and say it’s not happening, they’ll all leave.”

“Not all of them will. You’ve made it illegal to show any prejudice against them. Go on TV and carry on promoting their rights. Keep on doing what you’ve been doing. People will come around eventually.”