Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

T he silence was deafening.

Max hadn’t realized just how loud all the shouting was, nor the wind that had whipped through the room. The ground that had trembled beneath them and the flames that had roared in the fireplace were now still. Silent.

Amelia was limp in his arms, just barely breathing. He needed to see to her, to see to himself as blood continued to seep out of his wound, but first, he had to make sure that the danger had passed.

He blinked as he saw that most of his ancestors had vanished. His great-grandfather, who had simply watched disapprovingly, was fading back into his portrait, while all that remained was Edward and Isolde. Her vibrancy had faded, but her image stilled in the middle of the room until Edward’s surged toward her, holding out a hand.

“Isolde,” Edward said in a low voice, reaching to her. “Come with me. Forgive me.”

She appeared to hesitate before she began to slide toward him, and finally, she reached out and clasped her hand with his before their spirits swirled together and faded back into Edward’s painting – together.

Max blinked as he looked around the room, realizing that it was done.

It was over.

Whatever Amelia had done, whatever she had taken, had broken the curse. Isolde’s portrait, now empty of its subject, began to crumble suddenly, disintegrating into the floor before them.

Max tried to lift Amelia, grunting when doing so strained his shoulder.

He staved away the pain before he lifted her in his arms, painstakingly carrying her out of this cursed music room. He climbed the stairs slowly but surely, aware that some of his staff had emerged and were staring at him, mouths agape. Why hadn’t they all left? He was sure that this was going to be the end of any reputation he’d ever had – if he survived this.

Not that he particularly cared about that. All he cared about was making sure that Amelia was safe.

He finally reached his chamber and laid her down on the bed, beneath the beautiful mural she had magically painted when they had first come together.

“Amelia,” he murmured. “Amelia, come back to me.”

He ran his hand over her face, pushing away the wisps of hair that now framed it.

He would give anything for those beautiful blue-green eyes to open to him again and show him all of the love that he had been feeling between them, love that she had put into words.

“Amelia, I love you too,” he said, bending down and pressing a soft kiss against her lips.

He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. This was what he had been afraid of – that in her quest to help him, she would lose herself and everything she held dear. Her powers, her vibrancy – her life.

He looked up toward the ceiling, the voices of his ancestors silent now at the time when he needed them the most.

“Why?” he cried out. “Why her? Why now? She did nothing but try to help us. To help me. The rest is worth nothing without her. How do I save her? All of her?”

He cried out a curse when he was met with silence. After everything they had been through, all he needed was for Amelia to be safe. Healthy. Happy. Whether that was with or without him, he no longer cared. But she shouldn’t have to sacrifice for his family’s curse to be broken.

Max didn’t even know who he was supposed to call to help him. This wasn’t a physical ailment but some type of magical suffering. If only he knew someone with powers he could ask for help, but he knew no one but those within his own family and Amelia herself.

He rested his head on her chest, allowing his tears to flow. “Please, Amelia,” he whispered. “Please come back to me.”

“Max?”

Her voice was weak, not much more than a murmur, but it was present. He lifted his head, meeting her eyes.

“Amelia?” he said urgently yet softly. “Amelia, are you there?”

“I’m not sure where else I would be,” she said, the slightest bit of laughter in her voice.

“My God, I thought you were gone,” he said, casting his head forward as relief coursed through him.

“You will not be rid of me that easily.”

He cupped her face in his hands, pressing a soft kiss on her lips.

“You did too much,” he said, running his hands along her soft skin.

“I did what was needed.”

“But at what cost?” he asked, searching her eyes. “Do you still have your powers?”

“I’m not sure,” she said, furrowing her brow. “I do not sense them as I once did. But perhaps they are just… resting. Even if they are gone, however, if we broke the curse, then it is worth it.”

“Is it, though?” he asked, peering at her. “I never wanted anything to happen to you. You didn’t deserve any fallout from this.”

“It doesn’t matter what I deserve or don’t deserve,” she said. “You didn’t take it from me. I gave it. For you.”

“Amelia,” he said, needing her to know the full extent of his emotions. “I?—”

“Max!” she cried out, her notice awakening more than anything else had as of yet. “You are bleeding.”

“It’s fine,” he brushed it off. “It’s just a scratch.”

“That’s more than a scratch,” she insisted as she tried to sit up. “Let me see to it.”

“You are barely coherent,” he said. “Just sit for a moment. We need to rest.”

There was a slight knock on the door before Mrs. Bloom called out. “My lord? Miss Lennox? Is there anything we can do?”

“Come in, Mrs. Bloom,” Max called out, and she entered, a very worried expression on her face.

“My goodness, but you gave us a scare,” she said. “We didn’t know what to do. All of the shouting and wind and the rumbling had us nearly running from the manor.”

“You should have left,” Max said, shaking his head. “I never wanted any of you to be in danger.”

“We would never leave you, my lord. Not after you refused to leave Blackwood and all that your family left you.”

He blinked, the enormity of what she was saying sinking into him. He had thought that he was alone in the world, but these people had chosen him. Servants, who could have left and found another job as easily as anything else. But why him?

“Because you are just as loyal as they are,” Amelia said softly, reading his thoughts. “You are worthy of all love, Max.”

He nodded stiffly as Mrs. Bloom assessed the situation and left, returning shortly with a basin full of fresh water, linen, and Max’s valet. Together, they managed to clean and wrap the wounds, set all to rights, and soon a maid appeared with a tray. Max hadn’t thought he was particularly hungry, but apparently, casting spells took a lot out of a person as he and Amelia both emptied the plate.

They looked at one another, words not necessary to say what they were both feeling – an intense, physical bond as well as one that went deeper than that, their souls interconnected in ways that he wouldn’t have thought possible.

But now was not the time to discover that any further.

They were both exhausted and needed sleep to heal and recover.

The rest would just have to wait.

Amelia woke the next morning with her head on Max’s chest – exactly where it belonged.

“Are you all right?” he asked, and she nodded lazily.

“I am. And you?”

“We are here together,” he said, wincing as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, holding her close against him. “That is all that matters.”

A maid arrived to help Amelia to her room to prepare for the day, and Max reluctantly released her, calling after her that he already missed her when she walked out the door. Amelia smiled as she donned her gown, a lightness overcoming her that she hadn’t felt in some time – and it wasn’t only due to the lifting of the curse and the hold that Isolde had placed over her.

It was that she finally felt like she had found home. Not necessarily at Blackwood Manor, but with Max himself.

After they reunited and ate breakfast, Max asked if she would like to walk in the gardens. Amelia happily joined him, lifting her face to the sun when they met the walking path.

“I’ve never seen a woman so openly welcome the freckles onto her face,” he remarked, and she fixed him with a curious gaze.

“Is that a criticism?”

“Not at all. I like to see the freedom you provide yourself.” He stopped walking when they neared where the path turned into the forest beyond. “Have you tested your powers?”

She was silent momentarily, unsure of how much to tell him, for she didn’t want him to blame himself.

“I have,” she said slowly.

“And?”

“They do not appear to be active,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean they are gone. I am holding out hope. And you?”

His face had fallen at her news, but she hoped she could distract him from it. She was disappointed herself, having lost part of who she was and what she could do. She had been truthful when she had told Max, however, that it had been worth it. He didn’t necessarily fill the void where her powers had been, but he added more to her life, a piece that she hadn’t even known she had been missing.

“I haven’t tried,” he said, shaking his head, and she nodded toward a rock across the path.

“Try it now,” she said, knowing that he would understand she was referring to the first time he had tested his abilities.

He looked at her skeptically but didn’t deny her as he focused his attention on the rock.

Nothing happened.

“Try again,” she urged, grabbing his hand, and only then did the rock give a little shake.

Was it her touch that had helped? Even if she didn’t have her own powers… could she fuel his?

“I wonder…” she murmured, looking at him, wondering if he was feeling what she was thinking.

“Try again,” she said, this time focusing all of her attention into his ability to move the rock. He nodded and she cried out in glee when the rock lifted and moved across the path.

“Now take my hands and infuse your power into me,” she said, grabbing his hands before he could do anything. He seemed confused but agreed, and she closed her eyes and focused on the path in front of her.

There was a chance this could work. She told herself not to be disappointed if it didn’t, but…

Rainbow blooms shot out where she had imagined them to be.

“That’s it!” she exclaimed, nearly giddy with excitement. “Max, do you see what this means? My powers are not gone.”

“They’re not?”

“No!” she cried. “Ours are tied to each other. We need one another in order to make them work. Instead of losing our powers… we combined them.”

She stared at him in awe. It didn’t make sense, but did anything anymore? They were here together, and that was what mattered.

Max stepped toward her, taking her hands and folding them between them, his gaze intense upon her.

“Amelia,” he said, his voice low, sincere, gravelly. “I need you to know that what I feel for you has nothing to do with magical powers. What I feel for you has no magic attached, no illusions. Just pure love. I don’t care if we never use or have our powers again.”

“You’d probably prefer that,” she said with a laugh, and he chuckled.

“It is part of me now, and I am open to that. But my heart is yours, now and forever.”

“And mine yours,” she said, unable to stop the smile that bloomed from her lips.

“I know that you need people,” he said. “Would you be happy spending time both here at Blackwood as well as in London?”

“Of course,” she answered. “Wherever you are.”

“We will make it work so that we will both be happy,” he said. “I promise you that.”

“I am happy with you,” she said, lifting a hand and cupping his cheek.

“I love you, Amelia,” he said.

“And I you.”

When he leaned down and took her lips with his, he barely noticed the rainbow of color that escaped around them, nor the earth shaking beneath them.

All he discerned was Amelia herself, who was bound to him now and forever.