Hidden Realms

by Dean Murray

  I sat across from Cole, my breathing rapid and my frustration growing. I needed out of this apartment, but there was so much we needed to talk about and decide on.

  We needed to decide if Cole was going to Uncle Derreck’s. We needed to talk about whether I should go back and talk to Elias. We needed to probably have a screaming match about whether we should talk to Micah and how we were going to explain this latest wrinkle to Bethany. But, none of that was anything I could handle at this particular moment with all of my childhood insecurities running rampant in my head. The bottom line was that we were alone in this. Technically, it was all on me.

  So, instead, I shoved away from the island and called for Charlie. “I’m taking Charlie down to the beach. I need some air.”

  Cole was looking dejectedly at me, a deep sadness in his eyes. Charlie bounded up and gave a happy woof when I grabbed his leash and the handle to the front door. I turned back to my brother, understanding exactly how deep the pain went. “We have each other, Cole. At least we have that.”

  He nodded and gave me a small smile. “Don’t go far, and keep Charlie with you. Got it?”

  I gave a mini-salute, trying to lighten the mood. “Aye aye, captain.”

  Cole rolled his eyes and chuckled as I was yanked out the door by one overly-excited Great Dane.

  Chapter 23

  I hadn’t remembered a hair tie and my hair was blowing everywhere in the strong wind coming off of the water. The waves were intense, leaping over each other and capped in white foam. The surfers were out in droves, hovering in packs in the distance. I would never grow tired of seeing them against the never-ending water with the sun at their backs.

  Charlie and I had been walking for about an hour. I needed to go back, but I could finally breathe. The only sounds were Charlie’s small snorts and the crash of the waves. The beach was pretty empty since most people were at work or school. As we kept walking, I realized I had made my way to the stretch of beach where Aidan and I had been on our date. I was standing fairly close to where we’d been when I told him I was in. That I wanted whatever we were becoming.

  I stood in the sand, my face tilted up into the sun and my eyes closed, as I relived those few moments in my mind. How his eyes lit up. The way he picked me up and made me feel like I weighed nothing at all. How his arms locked around me and his hand fisted my hair. The stormy look in his smoky eyes before he kissed me. That kiss would be burned into the back of my brain for the rest of eternity.

  I wanted to live in that moment just a little longer. Total calm spread throughout my system. Not only could I breathe, but I was genuinely happy. The anxiety that was a constant pit in my stomach had all but disappeared and all of my power sat back, a peaceful murmur in my mind. It was a welcome change from the constant buzzing and swirling I typically endured.

  As I went to open my eyes, I had that niggling in the back of my mind that someone was there while Charlie let out a low growl. As I slowly turned around, I unclipped Charlie from his leash while pushing the message to him to stay unless I said otherwise. I was hyperaware of everything in those few seconds.

  The sand under my feet was coarser. The humidity in the air settled on my skin and I tasted the salt in my mouth. As I lifted my eyes to gauge the latest threat, I also brought my power to the surface. Something was off though, she wasn’t listening. In fact, she seemed happy, not angry. Then I saw him. Standing just fifty feet away, his body rigid and his mouth hanging open, was Aidan.

  Well, just damn it all.

  “Hi,” I breathed out. It was utterly lame and literally the only thing I could come up with. Aidan just stood there. He was wearing sunglasses, so I couldn’t see his expression. A muscle ticked in his jaw and he pressed his lips together in a tight line. He looked as if he couldn’t decide if he should run toward me or from me.

  Charlie continued to growl and I quietly commanded him to stop. He gave me a look that made it obvious he wasn’t pleased with not being able to do anything but stand there. It seemed like an eternity that Aidan and I stood there staring at each other. Finally, I couldn’t do it anymore. “Okay, well, it was…uh…nice to see you. So, I gotta go.” I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to move. But, I needed to go.

  “Please don’t.” I didn’t so much hear his whisper as I felt it. Those two words reverberated through my soul. My head dropped to my chest. That’s what I wanted to hear him say, but I also knew it was the worst thing he could’ve said. There was no way I could walk away from Aidan right now. Not when I craved the safety of him, though I knew how foolish it was to indulge in it. I walked slowly toward him. Charlie stayed in step with me as Aidan met us halfway.

  “What are you doing here, Amelia? Where have you been? Why?” He just stopped after that last word. We both knew what he wanted to ask. Why did I say those things? Why didn’t I answer the door? Any of his messages? I couldn’t answer any of these questions, so I just silently shook my head without looking up at him.

  “I’m just walking Cole’s dog. This is Charlie.” I absently stroked Charlie’s head as I spoke, trying to keep my hands steady as she reached out for Aidan. Traitor, I internally reprimanded.

  Just because he made me feel alive didn’t mean I was going to be able to love him. But, every part of me wanted to do the same. I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck and find myself buried in that small crook of space between his chin and his chest. I wanted to feel his hands in my hair and his arms around me. I wanted to hide inside of him until this all went away. Instead, I continued to pet Charlie and avoided looking directly at him.

  “You’re not going to tell me, are you?” I heard the plea in his voice. He wanted me to trust him. Needed me to. But, I had already endangered one human I cared about, I wasn’t going to do it again.

  “I can’t, Aidan. I just can’t. You don’t understand. You can’t.” His frustration permeated the air around us.

  “Can you just come with me for a few minutes?” He was gritting out the words as if it pained him to say them. Something was wrong.

  “Are you okay?” I took a step forward as he took one back. I paused, confused.

  “Amelia. Please. Just follow me.” He looked tired as he turned and walked away.

  I had a hard time keeping up and Charlie kept assaulting me with his version of a warning. I mentally hushed him as I half-ran to catch up with Aidan as he left the beach. I found myself between two buildings in a deserted alley.

  “Aidan, what’s going on? Why are we here?” He walked back toward the edge of the buildings and the street, looking around before coming back to me. Charlie started growling again.

  “Dammit, Charlie. Just stop it. Aidan isn’t going to hurt us,” I scolded. Aidan stood directly in front of me. Sweat was building on his forehead and he was pale.

  “Aidan—” He held up his hand. I assumed it was to get me to stop talking, so I did. What I didn’t expect was an iridescent ball of bright blue magic to form and shoot past me, blasting the trash can fifty feet back into smithereens.

  I looked from him to the trash can and back. And back again. “But? How did you? Where did you? How? You’re human!” I was sputtering nonsense.

  I turned to fully face Aidan and for the first time, he gave me a tentative smile. I saw that adorable dimple appear and the little gap between his front teeth that I loved. “I thought so, too. But, I guess not.” As he finished his sentence, he took off his sunglasses. I was staring at eyes the same brilliant blue as his magic.

  I couldn’t breathe. No wonder Charlie had been having a panic attack. It wasn’t that he thought Aidan was a threat, he recognized his power. But, why couldn’t I? And his eyes, they were blue. His power was blue. Was he an AniMage?

  I had been keeping my own power on such a tight leash. In a spur-of-the-moment response, I let it loose. My traitorous power leapt out and dove straight for Aidan’s. We were standing just feet apart but as soon as our magic found each other, I felt it in every fiber of my body. It was one giant ex
hale. Small, happy tremors went through me and I was alive. His love, pain, and anger filled every part of me. I found myself smiling, an uncontrollable grin taking up my face.

  “Is that you,” he asked, looking around, obviously confused. I laughed. “It’s us. It must be our powers getting acquainted. Apparently they like each other.”

  He smiled and even through the endless blue of his eyes, I could see the smoldering change. “They aren’t the only ones who like each other. Amelia, this changes things, right? You don’t have to run from me. I can help. Whatever is happening, I can help. I’m…uh, still figuring this out, but I won’t let you leave me again.” Those last words weren’t just a statement, they were a promise. I felt his conviction in the depths of my heart and it only made it ache.

  “Let’s not do this. Not yet. Let’s talk, okay? For just a few minutes, can we talk and not get into the rest of it?” I was almost begging.

  I couldn’t even process what I had just learned because it did change everything, but at the same time, it changed nothing. He gave me a sideways look that questioned, gave permission, and promised we weren’t done yet. I nodded for both of us and led the way back to the beach. Neither of us spoke as we walked down a little ways and then sat. Charlie stood sentry next to me, his huge body sitting tall and his head constantly scanning the rest of the beach, as if telling me that I could do what I needed to and he would keep watch.

  Aidan sat down on the other side of me. He sat so close that our bodies were almost touching. It was a fight to stay still. Part of me wanted to scoot away and create more space, and the other wanted to leap into his lap and spill my guts. So, instead, I stood, turned, and sat down in the same position just facing him instead of next to him. This way, we could see each other and were still close — our feet and legs just inches apart. He smirked knowingly. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing a little and shaking my head. He knew me too well.

  “So,” I started, “are you going to tell me what this is all about? Last time I checked, you were human. Unless we’ve both been hiding things?” I quirked an eyebrow and gave him a joking look. It felt better than I’d imagined to actually speak openly to him.

  In typical Aidan fashion, he started with a shrug. “I thought I was just a human. I’d been noticing some weird stuff happening, but it wasn’t until after that night at the theater that it really got weird.”

  “Define ‘weird stuff’,” I requested, my anxiety spiking.

  “I would feel this pressure inside of my head. It would get stronger and stronger until, finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and then the release would be one of those blue balls that decimated anything it came in contact with.”

  “Has there been anything else, Aidan? Have you noticed any other weird stuff?” There wasn’t an easy way to ask if he’d ever randomly turned into an animal.

  He shook head. “No, not really. I mean, I’ve been having some really weird dreams. But, until I saw you that night at the theater, I didn’t know what was happening. I thought I was losing my mind. That’s what I was trying to tell you that night at your apartment, Amelia. I was trying to tell you that I understood. And, that I needed help.”

  I had to look away when he brought up that night. It still hurt in a way nothing ever had. He stayed silent and waited for me to bring my gaze back to his. I saw the same pain reflected in his eyes and I heard those whispered words in the deepest parts of my soul. I love you. My own set of pressure started building in my chest — this was panic, not power. Lately, the distinction was becoming clearer.

  What was I thinking? None of this mattered. So what if Aidan had magic? I was still betrothed to Micah. There still wasn’t a choice.

  Was there?

  I felt guilty for not hearing him out that night, not helping him to learn about his own power and this world. Damn it, I knew what it was like to be kept out of the loop on your own life. The worst was knowing that I broke his heart, as well as my own, by walking away. There was so much working against us, but him not being human did change the game at least a little, right? He wasn’t human. He could learn to protect himself. We could take care of each other. Hope was a bright light bursting from my heart into my head as an idea suddenly formed.

  I had no idea if it would work, but I could try. If it didn’t work, I was no worse off than I was now, staring at the boy I wanted to love but kept running from. I smiled my first genuine smile in days.

  The words gushed from my mouth. I couldn’t say them fast enough. “Aidan, we have so much to talk about. I have so many things to tell you, but things are just really complicated. I need you to trust me. I need you to try to keep a low profile and wait for me to contact you, okay? There’s something I have to do and it could change things.”

  I started to stand but Aidan grabbed my hand, sending all-too-familiar sensations pinging through my system. “Amelia, don’t go yet. You can’t go already.”

  Against my better judgment, I leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. I wanted to linger and savor it, but if I fell into Aidan, I wouldn’t be able to climb back out. “I have to go, Aidan. I’ll be able to explain it all soon. Just give me some time. I’ll find you. Don’t worry.”

  Charlie and I started to walk away, but I had to look back. He sat there, in the same position I’d left him, staring at me. I tried to give him a reassuring smile but I had no idea if what I was about to do was going to be a new beginning or a disastrous end. I just knew I had to try.

  Chapter 24

  I crashed into the apartment, hollering for Cole. Bethany came out from the spare bedroom instead. “Where’s the fire, Ame? Cole isn’t here. He told me to tell you he was going to Derreck’s to get Onyx and see if there were any clues. He’ll be back tomorrow and we’re supposed to stay close to the apartment.”

  I hadn’t put Charlie back on his leash, so he ambled off into the other room. I was standing in the middle of the entry way, getting sand everywhere, trying to process all of that at once. With a shake, I realized that I didn’t care about any of it.

  “B, do you want to help me get my happy-ever-after, and yours, too?” I was wearing an ear-to-ear grin and I couldn’t stop it.

  With a cock of her hip and a raise of her eyebrow, Bethany replied, “Oh, honey, I’m from the south. Every girl grows up knowing about Prince Charming. You just tell me what I can do to get you and Mr. Beautiful Smoky Eyes back together so I can get back to my own prince.” I swept her up in a huge hug and then pulled her to the counter. She had no idea how true her words were. I was still holding her hand as I started in on what was going to be difficult information for her to understand, but a plan that could give us both what we wanted.

  “Okay, B, I’m just going to lay it all out there,” I said. “You wanted full disclosure. Well, last night I learned something I hadn’t known before and I wasn’t sure how to tell you. The night I was born, which I told you about, the only way my father was able to stop the Hunter from killing me was to betroth me to the queen’s son.”

  “The bitchy queen? The one we don’t like? I can’t believe your dad was such a moron. How could he possibly—”

  “B. Stay focused,” I interrupted as her face took on the exasperated look that meant she was building up to a full-on tirade. “The guy was going to kill me.”

  She nodded and shrugged, acquiescing to the logic. “Okay, so the agreement was that I would have until I was twenty-one and then I would have to move to the palace and marry the prince. By marrying him, the queen hoped to use my power to solidify her family’s ability to hold the throne and continue to terrorize my people. But, here’s the tricky part, I need you to stay calm and remember when I tell you this part that I have a plan. Okay?”

  Again, she nodded, looking a little less enthusiastic.

  “No, B. Out loud,” I said. “Pinky swear you’re going to hear me out, okay?” I held up my pinky and though it was obvious she didn’t like the blind agreement, she did the same. We linked up and I spoke, hoping she
wasn’t going to completely lose it.

  “So, what I found out from Elias last night is that the Hunter who killed my mother and betrothed me to the prince works for Micah. Micah is the prince. Micah is the one I’m betrothed to.”

  “YOU’RE WHAT?” The stool toppled as Bethany jumped to her feet, shrieking at the top of her lungs. I quickly started doing damage control.

  “B. Calm down. Pinky swear, right? Just listen.” I couldn’t talk fast enough. “I didn’t know. I had no idea who Micah was. I told you how he was helping me with my abilities, but I didn’t know. What matters is that I have a plan for you to keep your guy and me to keep mine. Are you in?” I had to keep yelling over her as she let out a very un-southernly string of curse words.

  Finally, she stopped pacing and was standing in the kitchen looking shell-shocked. I couldn’t blame her, but I wasn’t sure really how much time we were going to have.

  “B? If we’re going to do this, we need to move. This is in no way a Cole-approved exercise.” I was impatient myself and afraid I would lose the gumption if this didn’t happen soon.

  She sighed, clenching and unclenching her fists at her sides. “Let me get this straight. You’re almost-kinda-sorta in love with Aidan but are currently betrothed to my magical actual prince of a boyfriend that I might also almost-kinda-sorta love, and you have a plan that’s going to get his wretched queen mother to let us all have what we want?” I nodded enthusiastically, still smiling.

  “Huh,” she snorted, “well, when you put it like that, how’s a girl supposed to say no?” I lunged in and gave her another huge hug. “Here’s what I’m thinking,” I started to fill her in on the details and we solidified the plan.

  I had no idea if this was going to work, but it was the best I could come up with and knowing I could have a future with Aidan was enough to make it not a choice at all.

  At this point, the queen knew I was here. She knew I had met Micah and was likely going to want me to accept the betrothal early. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that much out. Knowing that Rhi had shown up and seen me fighting with Micah, I was sure the queen would be here soon if she weren’t already. Bethany didn’t love my plan, but I was going to set a meeting with Micah and try to get him on board to help me convince his mother to give me more time. It was out in the open now. I knew who I was. She knew who I was. Just let me have until my twenty-first birthday like everyone had agreed. In that time, I could go back to Elias and find out how to control my Keeper power and truly fight Queen Julia. I could also help Aidan acclimate to his new abilities and hopefully repair the damage I’d done.