“You met the redheaded chick, too? The one who attacked Amelia and me? She took you? What do you mean, they are like me?” The questions came out rapid fire. I couldn’t compute the information fast enough.
Bethany put her silverware down and pulled her napkin from her lap, wiping her mouth. “Well, I’m glad I’m not the only one this has been a little overwhelming for. Let me finish Amelia’s story and it might answer more of your questions. And eat. Don’t waste food, especially bacon.”
She was right. Growing up in houses crammed with kids being fed from a state budget, by parents who wanted the money more than the kids, I had learned not to waste what was in front of me. I picked up the bacon and started eating, though it had no taste at all.
“When Cole took Ame to meet her uncle, Melinda—the red-haired lady—and her goons took the opportunity to grab me from the parking lot at work. They weren’t really that bad, but I didn’t know anything about all of this magic business, so it was a bit disconcerting to watch a person suddenly become a wolf, or an owl, or a panther. They taunted, scared, and used me to get to Amelia.” She stopped for a second, a scowl taking over and her eyes narrowing. “They burnt my damn hair, but otherwise I was fine.” I wanted to laugh, but it was clearly not a laughing matter.
“They convinced Amelia she had to come get me alone, and she did. She talked a lot with their head guy, Elias, who was nice enough. He let me go immediately and didn’t do anything to hurt Amelia, though he did get inside her head somehow. He just told her there were more lies and she couldn’t go to the Queen. She had to talk to him more and help his people. He said they were the ones who had been hunted and killed by the Queen. And then he told her about Micah being the Prince.”
Her last words were quiet. I felt for her. I had gotten smacked in the face with the same information not long after she had. I opened my mouth to say something, though I’m not sure what since nothing reassuring was coming to mind, when Bethany lifted her eyes. They were hard, angry.
“I tried to help Amelia after she ran into you on the beach. She said she had a plan. But her plan ended up getting us both taken again. We were kidnapped and held in separate rooms. Once her father and brother came, we were all put back together and the Queen managed to scare Amelia into agreeing to the betrothal and moving up the timeline. I tried to stop her, but I had seen enough to understand Micah is a coward and his mother is insane. The Queen would have come back for me. For you. For Amelia’s family. There was no other option and Ame knew it. This was how that chapter needed to end. But now we need to start a new one. We have to get her out, Aidan. They will use her. They will hurt her. I don’t understand who I met or what happened to my boyfriend, but the guy I saw in there wasn’t him. And that woman is terrifying.” Bethany looked away and I could almost see the memories floating past her eyes. I was instantly even angrier that I hadn’t been there, for her or Amelia.
How had Amelia taken all of this on herself? Why hadn’t she trusted me? Were there really others like me? Could someone help me control what was happening?
I stood up, my knees crashing into the tabletop as I went, knocking everything over. I looked down at Bethany, determined for answers.
“We’re going to find Cole and this Elias guy. And we’re going to find her. I swear to you, B, I’m going to find her.”
She stood, smiling her first genuine smile since I’d found her on the beach. “Then let’s get to it.”
Chapter 4
I was stuck in my own head all night, my thoughts spinning and swirling until the enchantment of the room finally cleared them. Now, I was focused on the words Rynna had left me with.
I love you, Amelia. Your father loves you. Your uncle and your brother love you. We will not allow this to happen. Just stay strong. Be smart. Know we are coming for you. And trust Mikail, he is an ally to you.
They were coming for me. I just had to figure out how to keep it together and find the information they needed. It gave me a purpose and something to focus on. Aidan flitted through my mind, but I shoved him out. Every time he appeared in my head, it made my heart hurt, like I was walking away all over again. By making this choice, I could only hope to keep the Queen from ever knowing he was an AniMage, protecting him from becoming her next target. When Micah slipped quietly into my room that morning, I was ready for him and ready to leave. I had made it this far, I could do this—I had to do this.
The flight was the first test of my cuff. It took some time to work myself up to even putting it on but as I sat with it in my hands and thought about what Rynna had said, I could almost see the story play out in my head. My pregnant mother going to the best enchanters of her time and using their hatred against the Queen to help her create a piece to keep me safe. I had to trust her. There was no one I truly trusted anymore, not even Micah, even after all he’d done for me these last few days, but I had to trust her. She put this inside me and I had to believe she had taken precautions. I was her daughter, after all. So, I tucked the cuff high on my forearm, clasped the two ends together tightly, and pulled my long sleeves down to hide it, thankful for the cooler weather we were heading toward. When I wore the cuff once before, nothing felt different until I had asked it for my power back. So, as I walked with Micah and Baleon toward our gate, I muttered to myself, asking the Keeper to stay quiet and calm during the flight.
I’m not sure what I had been expecting, but flying coach with Micah and Baleon hadn’t been it. Apparently, his mother flew in a private jet. I was more than happy to sit in a back row seat to avoid spending hours with her. Micah wouldn’t tell me how he had gotten her to agree to the plan, but I was actually worried about him. Lines of exhaustion were etched deep in his face and hints of bluish purple sat beneath his eyes. Not for the first time, I wondered how he was protecting me. He tried to sound like his normal pretentious self, but something was missing.
I was shocked to find Baleon didn’t speak unless Micah directly addressed him. While it had been amusing to watch him coax the human TSA agents into letting him through without using the metal detectors, and the “What the hell is wrong with that guy?” looks from the other passengers had me smirking, I didn’t want to spend the whole flight sitting next to a mute. I tried to engage him in conversation once we were in our seats, but he stared ahead, not acknowledging I was mere centimeters from him. Micah actually chuckled. A sound I hadn’t realized I missed. Laughter seemed like a foreign concept.
“He won’t speak to you, Amelia. Bale has been with me since I was born and he is my sworn protector. He is not here for conversation and especially not with you,” Micah explained. I turned to look at Bale, as Micah had called him, and studied his features. Not as tall as Rhi, but still a large, looming man who was easily six-foot-four. His head was shaved and he wore the silver collar around his neck, as all Hunters did. He also wore the same long, black trench coat, making him look like he’d walked straight off the Matrix set. His skin was like milk chocolate, and I saw hints of tribal-looking tattoos peeking out below the cuffs of his jacket and on his neck. He looked a little older, but it was all in his eyes. His eyes had seen things.
I leaned forward, making my study of Baleon obvious. He stared directly into the back of the seat in front of him while I stared at him. The longer I looked into his eyes, the more I felt like I was falling off a cliff. There were things there I didn’t want to see; I could feel it in the bottom of my stomach and in the reaction from the Keeper in the back of my mind. She went on high alert and the responsive protection she always provided flooded my veins in an instant. I looked away quickly, trying to rein her back, but not before I saw his eyes dart toward me, questioning. Wondering if he could somehow feel what I did, I silently pled for her to go back to her corner and sat back, fixing my eyes on the seat in front of me. I smiled a little to myself, realizing I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t so great at doing what I was told.
From the Olympia airport, Bale drove us out of the city and toward the coast. As we drove thr
ough the Olympic Mountains, I couldn’t pull my face away from the car window. I thought Northern California was beautiful, but I’d never seen trees so green. Green was all you could see until you got to the snow-capped mountains standing out against the horizon. Micah allowed me to take it all in for the majority of the drive. When we started winding our way into thicker groves of trees, he finally spoke.
“We will reach Cresthaven soon,” he said. “I’ve lived here most of my life. When my mother first set out on her mission to cleanse the bloodlines and put Immortals into their proper place in the world, our races scattered across the globe. She hated everything associated with the castle and decided she would conduct royal business from here. Cresthaven was once intended to be a summer home, but now it’s just home.” Micah stared out the window as he spoke, never looking at me.
As we rounded the final corner and the house came into view, I gasped. It was humongous. And gorgeous.
“A summer home? This is your summer home?” I asked, gaping at the massive structure in front of me. It was a classical European villa. With two floors, hundreds of windows, and columns spaced along the front, I could only imagine what the inside would look like. We drove up the huge stone circle drive leading to the front door. As our car approached, Rhi, along with a swarm of Hunters, came out to meet us, forming two lines perpendicular to the front door. Once they were settled, with their feet spread wide and their hands clasped in front of them, Julia stepped out. She stood on the front stoop, looking expectantly at the car, irritation blatant on her face.
Outside of the little incident with Bale on the plane, my Keeper had sat quietly in the back of my mind, allowing me to travel in peace. Now she was screaming, trying to break free from whatever constraints the cuff put her under. Somehow, it kept her contained. While I could hear her, her cries were muffled and the power I expected didn’t ricochet through me. Her anxiety, however, became my own. My power started to rise, meeting the increased pace of my heartbeat and the fear taking hold. I started tapping my foot on the floorboard as I sat stick-straight in the seat, my hands clenched in my lap.
Micah, who I knew both saw and felt the change in me, took charge. “Bale, can you give us just a second? Please tell my mother I’m having a private moment with my fiancée.”
Micah’s words were quiet, his eyes never leaving mine. He snaked a hand between us, uncurling my clenched fingers and twining them with his. Baleon spoke for the first time. “Yes, Prince Mikail.” His voice surprised me, soft with hard edges. Baleon was the quiet guy in the corner. The last one you wanted to get up.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Micah grabbed my other hand and turned me fully toward him. “Amelia,” he said cautiously, “you have to breathe with me. You have to control this. She can’t see you like this on the first day. This is what she wants. She wants to know how to unnerve you, how to force a reaction like you had at Esmerelda’s. She needs to know the extent of your power and control. This is all a game, Amelia. It’s always a game to her and you can’t let her win.”
As Micah spoke, his grip on my hands tightened almost painfully. The sensation was sharp as my fingers smashed together, but something about the discomfort brought me back to myself. In that instant, I was able to see my fear for what it is was. Even without the Keeper, I had to remember I did have my own power. But, I shouldn’t need to use it. She was the one who needed me. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, feeling my heartbeat return to normal.
“Are you okay, Amelia? Are you ready for this?” Micah asked. It suddenly occurred to me we were still holding hands. I yanked mine out of his, wiping them on my jeans.
“Yes. I’m fine. Thank you. I’ll be fine. I heard you. I won’t let her win.” I couldn’t look at him as the awkwardness set in. I’d been sitting there holding his hands.
“You do understand, Amelia, we are betrothed? Engaged?” His words were sharp, his expression pinched. “If you have any hopes of making it through this, you are going to have to play the part. You cannot look at me with such…disdain in front of my mother.”
What first felt like a betrayal of Aidan was now guilt over offending Micah. “I didn’t. I mean…Micah—”
He raised a hand and closed his eyes. A brief second later, when they opened, his empathy had returned. “It’s fine, Amelia. I understand. I’m not him and I never intend to be. My only intention is to try not to make this harder than it has to be, so you are going to have to trust me. Okay?”
Rynna’s words were in my mind again. And trust Mikail, he is an ally to you.
“Okay. I do trust you, Micah. I’m just scared.” It was hard to force both a lie and the truth from my lips.
“As you should be,” he muttered as he opened the door and pulled me out of the car.
Micah took my hand as we walked around the side of the car where I faced Queen Julia for the first time since the night I agreed to move up the timeline. She had no idea I saw Aidan and walked away from my first shot at happiness—my first shot at love. She didn’t know I had my mother’s cuff and a way to control the power she saw at Esmerelda’s. Most importantly, she didn’t know Rynna and the others were coming for me. As Julia sneered down at me, I focused on the fact that I was doing what I had to do and it wouldn’t be for long. Like Micah had said, I just had to play the game.
I connected my eyes to hers and gave her my most convincing smile. “Good afternoon, your highness. It’s lovely to see you again.”
Micah squeezed my hand and looked down at me, perplexed. I gave him a tiny shrug before I looked back at his mother. Julia looked surprised by my pleasant tone, shocked even. She recovered quickly, though.
“It’s nice to finally have you where you belong, dear. Away from your crazy father, mistrusting brother, and all of those bothersome humans,” she said, clearly trying to get a rise out of me. I refused to take the bait.
“What exactly is it you want with me, your highness? What is it you think I can do for you?” No reason to waste time.
Julia laughed, her throaty cackle sending a shiver up my spine. “What do I think you can do for me? More than I can even start to explain, Amelia. To start, though, I want you to marry my son. I want you to consummate your marriage and I want it to happen soon.”
Her words had me reeling backwards. Physically, I stumbled, but Micah caught me before I fell. I wanted to shove him away from me, but he whispered, “The game, Amelia,” into my ear and I gritted my teeth as I allowed him to steady me.
I looked up at Julia, her sense of victory emanating from every pore. I wanted to blast her with everything I had. To yank off the cuff, call on the wind to send the Hunters scattering, and pin her to the wall in the way she had done to me. I wanted to watch her smile disappear as she fought to breathe, just as I had done.
Clearly, the Keeper still had some impact, even from her locked room inside me.
Instead, I allowed a slow smile to develop. I squeezed Micah’s hand and took a step toward the Queen, bringing him along. I pushed my power through me, sending a slow wave of energy from my core outward, allowing it build.
“You can force this betrothal. You can force a marriage. But you cannot force me to consummate anything.” Pressure built at the base of my skull and I saw the reaction from the Hunters in my peripheral vision, confirming my eyes were shining in the Elder violet no one had seen in years. My eyes never left Julia’s as I continued. “I am not enslaved to you like these Hunters, or an AniMage who fears for their life. You need me. We both know it. Which means you do not have all the power here.”
Micah pulled me into his chest just as she exploded. Red fire shot from her palm, missing me by a hair. “That,” she said evenly, “was intentional. I will not miss a second time.”
Adrenaline coursed through me and I took a half step forward, while Micah tried to pull me back to him. “Be careful, your highness. If there are so many things you need me for, you’re going to want me working with you, not against you. And it is my choice to make.�
��
“So this is how it is going to go, is it, dear? I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re more like your mother than I thought possible.” Julia turned to Micah. “You had best figure out how to control this one, son. If you don’t, I will.”
She turned and walked back into the house, the lines of Hunters falling in behind her.
Chapter 5
“You have no idea where Cole lives, do you?” Bethany asked as she tried to maintain a straight face, but her tone and arched eyebrow gave her away.
I looked around, the adrenaline from my declaration and our departure demanding action. The problem was, she was right. “I’ve actually only seen him at the gym,” I confessed. Busted.
She laughed. It was a welcome melody amidst all of the insanity and emotion surrounding me the last few weeks. It was like an exhale. I had been inhaling for so long, pulling it all in, straining my lungs and holding the air for fear I might not have another breath to take. But the normalcy of a girl laughing, with her hands on her hips and her eyes shining, it was all the air exiting in one huff, leaving me empty in all the best ways. I smiled back at her and it felt good. Not in the romantic, secretive way it had been with Amelia, but good to know there was someone who got it. Bethany understood the overwhelming madness and was ready to fight with me. Right now, all I needed was someone on my side.
“Come on. Let’s check the gym first and then we can walk to his house. I know where he lives and it isn’t far.” Bethany shook her head as she led me down the sidewalk. I picked up my pace a bit to catch up and then slowed so my leisurely strides ate up two of her quick steps.
As soon as we came up to the gym, I could tell Cole wasn’t there. The kids who were usually beating the bags inside were standing outside with their hands cupped around their eyes, looking in the windows, trying to figure out what was going on.
Bound by Spells (Bound Series Book 2) Page 3