The League of Illusion: Destiny by Vivi Anna Read Free Book Online Page B

Nine
    To hear the words out loud from his own lips gave Sebastian a strange sense of relief. He’d been carrying this knowledge for so long with no one to share it with. He’d never spoken to his brothers about it, and definitely not his father, and Evangeline had truly been his only genuine friend. So there’d been no one else. No one he could confide in. No one he could trust.
    Except now for Drea.
    He thought she’d recoil when he’d said the words, but instead she just watched him, continuing to stroke his hand. He saw no judgment in her solemn eyes. Just an urging to tell his story. To confess it all.
    Finally after five torturous years, he did just that.
    “Evangeline was a prostitute. She used to proposition me every time I saw her. One night I decided to take her out for a meal instead. This of course surprised her.” He smiled, remembering how suspicious she’d been of him. He hadn’t blamed her, considering the circumstances and how prostitutes were usually treated.
    “There was something about her. A spark. A light. I guess of something more than what she was. I took her in after that. Cleaned her up, fed her, gave her a place to stay and a new job.”
    “You’re a kind man to do something like that for a stranger,” Drea said. “What kind of job did you give her?”
    “She was my stage assistant. I performed magic twice weekly at a theatre.” He’d loved his time on stage, being in front of a crowd, mesmerizing them. The allure of it was addicting. “She was a beautiful woman and the crowd responded to her. We put on a good show. Sold out performances every time. Even the queen attended.”
    Drea frowned, and he could tell she wanted to ask, “What queen?” but she remained respectfully silent and let him continue.
    “The more we performed, the more I wanted to amaze the crowd. I craved new spells, new illusions. I craved more magic. What I had inside wasn’t enough.” He stood, too anxious to sit still any longer. He paced the room as he spoke. “I discovered a new illusion that no one had dared to try before. It required great skill and great control. I wanted it to be so shocking, so explosive, that I didn’t even tell Evangeline how it would work, just to trust me.”
    His gut churned. He didn’t know if he could finish telling her the story. Saying the words out loud, going through it step by step, transported him back to that night. He could see every detail of the stage, smell the anticipation of the crowd and hear Evangeline’s voice telling him she was ready to do the illusion...
    “Are you ready?” Evangeline asked him.
    Taking a deep breath in, he nodded. She took his hand and they walked out onto the stage to thunderous applause. They’d already performed several tricks and illusions, whipping the crowd into a frenzy.
    Sebastian led her to a table draped in red silk and had her lay down on her back. Hovering, he ran his hands up and down her body. There was an electrical current in the air. It was his magic sparking to life. After doing this three times for the crowd’s pleasure, the men in the audience were leaning forward with avid interest. He took hold of the table and wheeled it out from under Evangeline. She hovered in midair, her beautiful long hair hanging down from her body, the tips just skimming the stage floor.
    The crowd gasped, then cheered. Sebastian was pleased but it wasn’t the end of his illusion.
    Dramatically he held up his hands toward Evangeline. Then he flung them upward, taking her with them. She sailed up into the air toward the ceiling. The crowd gasped again, some cried out in fear. Just before she hit the ceiling he stopped her, letting her hover there for a moment, creating the most dramatic effect. Then he let her drop.
    There were screams. From the crowd. From Evangeline. A woman in front fainted from her chair.
    Sebastian gathered his magic and squeezed and the air around her as hard as he could to catch her before she hit the floor. He