Читать книгу MODERN MAGICS - Tianyu (Tony) Zhu - Страница 10

“You can let go now,” Sapphire shifted away from the stalker’s hand, which was bound in handcuffs, as they walked down the dirty sidewalk.

“I’m afraid not,” He responded as he strengthened his grip, “You have caused me and the Anaroths a fair amount of trouble. Would be a shame for you to get away now, wouldn’t it?”

They made another turn, the walls now dimly lit with the dark blue lights of the arcane filled lamps in the distance, spread throughout the perimeters of the dirty harbor.

“Good,” Sapphire retorted, “Any amount of trouble I cause for them is a payback for what they’ve done to me.”

“Why do you hate them so much? What have they even done?” He asked. Sapphire blinked and looked back at him in confusion. He curtly returned the same gaze.

“Was that supposed to be a joke?”

“Not at all, I’m more of a distant relative than family you see,” He said, “I rarely visit the Royal House, never been a fan of that place. I just owe them a favor, that’s why I agreed to this in the first place.” He took a look at Sapphire, “Though they’ve never bothered to mention you or your name at all the few times I’ve met them prior to this assignment.”

“Can’t imagine why.” Sapphire sighed. Of course they wouldn’t mention an outcast who would bring shame among their bloodline, why would they?

They walked for a few more blocks without talking, now pacing along the harbor as the moon slowly hid itself behind the dark clouds. The tiny hint of sunlight became visible on the horizon as night slowly turned to dawn. It was around then that Sapphire had finally realised that the gash on her forehead was still bleeding. She tried to cover the wound with her hood, but was immediately restrained by her bound hands.

“Something wrong?” The stalker asked, noticing her cut-off movements.

“I feel like I’m gonna pass out, thanks to you.” She protested, raising up her head and bringing attention to her wound.

It was true. Though she didn’t notice it before, each step was heavier and slower than the last. Sapphire could feel her head becoming lighter as she climbed those steps just a minute ago.

“Oh,” He frowned, “That is a problem.”

“Yes, thank you. For that amazing and helpful comment,” She replied crankily in a monotone voice.

After another dizzy flight of stairs up, they finally arrived at the Portal Central.

“Can you tell me now?” He asked Sapphire while they walked over to the giant building that towered over them.

“What?”

“Why you hate the Anaroths so much.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I still am an older sibling of your’s, you know,” He said, “I should have a right.”

She sighed, “Fine, let’s start with the easiest one.”

“And that is?” He said, expectantly.

She stared at his hair. It took a second for him to realise that she was eyeing it, he held his hair in his hands, still unsure of what she meant. The stalker thought long and hard before the dots connected in his head. He took one more glance at his pure white hair, then walked ahead and peered into Sapphire’s hood, looking at her dirty blonde hair.

“Oh.” He said, “You’re not pureblood.”

“My siblings never let me hear the end of it.” She sighed helplessly, “For some reason the stupid hair color matters to them so much.” Though it barely affected the amount of magic her vessels were able to produce, it caused an outrage within the family and sent out a wave of drama around the Royal House.

“You can’t be the head’s son, right? Who’re your parents?” He asked while tapping on the screen, ordering the tickets.

“Aidan.” His fingers froze the moment that name came out of Sapphire’s mouth and his eyes subtly widened. It was a reasonable reaction. Everyone knew of the story of the infamous Aidan Anaroth. He was the oldest son of the previous generation of Anaroths and he was to be the heir to the head of the bloodline. But despite that, he secretly fell in love with a Lesser - a lowly Sorcerer.

When the family eventually found out, he was stripped of his powers as a part of the Anaroths and was exiled from the family. After which, the next offspring in line took the heir, who is Sapphire’s uncle, Aaron Anaroth.

“I’m sorry for asking.” He said quietly. “I only knew of your face and name.”

“It’s fine.” Sapphire replied, her response echoed through the quiet hallway.

As they stepped up to the doors leading to the portal, Sapphire felt the last speck of her strength waning away.

You’ll be fine. She reassured herself. Just a few more steps-

The next step she took was a faulty one, the front of her shoes clipped the ledge in the doorway. She fell down onto the cold brick floor, unable to support herself.

Sapphire? Hey! She could faintly make out a voice calling for her name and a pair of hands lifting her off the ground as her eyes shut.