Chosen Bride of the Seven Dark Princes

"Illusion. Have to focus on illusion. What the hell can I do that's illusive…" Candi muttered to herself as she did her warm up stretches in front of the mirror in the dance hall.

Dante had yet again remodeled the place for her because he wanted to give her better lighting, one that could change colors based upon the music as well as her performance.

He had also added a changing room with a huge shower and a bathtub the size of a small swimming pool so she didn't have to walk the five minutes back to her suite of rooms to shower and change.

He had turned it into a place for her to go and work out her frustrations and also to think things through and she was completely grateful and amazed that he had even done this.

It had been two full days since the last event, which meant she only had five days left to plan out how to pull off an illusion.

It had to be some form of an illusion because sure as the sun rises, there was no way she would be able to do real magic.

Candi leaped into the air, performed an aerial split and came back down into a twirl from which she sank onto the floor and buried her face.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!!!" What was she to do with this Illusion event?

"Darling! Did you hurt yourself?" She heard Byron calling out as he ran into the dance hall.

What in heck was he doing here in the dance hall at this time of the morning?

"No, no." Candi looked up with some embarrassment. "I was just thinking about the Illusion Magic show and realized that I have no idea how to pull something like this off."

She looked up at Byron's mesmerizing red-brown eyes, full of worry and care. "And I was just—just…"

Suddenly, tears sprang from her eyes. Candi had been so worried about this event for days now, and it seemed as if she had nowhere to turn and no solid plan.

Unlike the other events where she felt at least capable of doing something to pull it off, this was one where Candi felt very far out of her league, especially when compared to mystical magical women like Valeria and Anaïse and Jenna.

She was just a mundane Earth female with no magic abilities whatsoever. How in hell was she going to be able to go up against the likes of women who could do real magic?

Byron picked her up and cradled her into his arms.

"Hush Darling." He kissed her forehead. This was totally unacceptable. He could not bear to see her in such pain.

"I have an idea. Want to hear it?"

"Yes, please." She sniffled as she tried to wipe the tears that were truly starting to fall.

He carried her over to the settee and set her down with care.

"You just stay here for a few minutes. I will be right back."

True to his words, in ten minutes, he had returned. Following immediately behind him was Lucas.

"Here she is, the star of the show. Lucas, Little Brother. You're an actor. Your new job is to help our Precious Candace perform a spectacular illusion show."

Lucas' amber eyes sparkled with excitement.

To have the opportunity to be with Candace AND do the thing that he loved the most was something that Lucas never thought he would have had the chance to do.

And here she was, asking for his help to put on a show! This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him to be a director of her Avgo Magic and Illusion show!!!

"Do you have any thoughts about what you might…" At her sad pathetic look, Lucas inhaled deeply, trying hard not to burst out laughing.

She was so funny and cute at the same time, even as sad as she was over something that was so easily remedied.

"Okay. Let me think for a moment." He jumped up and walked back and forth.

"Hmmm. Maybe we can try for a starlet look…" He shook his head. "No. You're not a starlet, you're already a star."

He banged a fist onto his palm. "An explosive meteorite!"

Again he shook his head. "No. That's too dangerous, and besides, you're not a falling star, you're on the rise!"

"Hmmm. Maybe instead of a star, you can be a bird, or a butterfly!" He rubbed his face.

"No, that's too boring." Lucas once again rejected his own idea. "Clarissa is a bird and the Empress is a butterfly. We want you to be different."

"How about a bat?" Candace suggested.

Lucas snapped his fingers!

"That's PERFECT!!!" He ran around the room, holding onto his head as if he could barely contain all the ideas and inspiration that began to flash inside of him.

"Hahaha! Okay. I have a good idea, but I'm gonna need a bit of assistance." He turned to Candace and reached out with both hands to cradle her head.

"Trust me, Darling. We're going to make you a STAR!!!" He dropped a hard kiss onto her head and ran out the door.

"Be right baaaack!!!" He yelled as he disappeared.

Byron turned to her and laughed. "What a clown. He's always been the flashiest, most flamboyant brother we have."

"I don't know how to thank you for helping me," Candi's eyes again overflowed.

Byron leaned over and kissed her tears away.

"Don't you know that you're not alone? You have all of us here, ready and willing to help you no matter what time of the day or night."

Candi blinked. "Speaking of which, what are you doing here at such an early time of the morning?"

Byron said nothing, merely lowered his head and claimed her lips.

This time, his kiss was not the desperate starving kiss that they had shared inside her library. It was measured, gentle, full of tenderness and promises of much more to come.

He was a cultured, elegant man, and this was how Byron expressed himself to the woman of his heart. This was the Byron that she had come to know.

"I don't have much time left to spend with you, so for the last couple of mornings when you were here practicing, I came to watch you dance so my heart does not miss you so much."

Suddenly, a lump formed in her throat. She flung her arms around his neck and squeezed tightly.

"You're really leaving us?"

Byron reached out and folded her body into his arms.

"I have to go, my Sweetness. There is a chance that I may be able to stop this war that is looming in the distance if I join my mother's side and exert my influence in some way. It is a small chance, but I have to try."

"But…you're a Prince. Why you? Can't they send some soldier out to do this?"

Byron gave a short sad laugh. "Don't you know that we Princes are the ultimate warriors for the empire?"