The idea of walking away from my first real relationship—from the first person to ever pursue me, spend time getting to know me, and truly fight for me—broke through the walls I’d been trying to build. The ones that were supposed to make me strong and give me purpose. As I rolled to my side and pulled my knees to my chest, I slammed my eyes closed and repeated that I was doing the right thing, over and over. No part of me believed it, but there was no turning back now.
I woke up to a commotion in the hallway. The voices were loud, but muffled through the door. I scrambled out of the bed to press my ear to the old, thick wood. I could hear a woman whose voice sounded familiar, but the damn door was blocking too much of the sound. She was yelling, arguing with someone. Their voices grew louder, meaning they were moving closer.
I backed away from the door, worried Queen Julia was finally coming. Concerned over not having my power for protection, I dove into the pile of clothes from last night and ripped my bracelet from the hoodie pocket, clutching it in my hands as I stood. In the same moment, the door started to open and I heard, “I am so sorry, Aunt Ryannon. I didn’t expect to see you here and these Hunters have never met you. They don’t understand who you are.”
Micah pushed through the door and the last person I expected to see followed him in. My mouth dropped open as Rynna strode into the room in full regalia. A long, fitted gown, her hair curled and styled in a beautiful up-do, and jewels sparkling from her neck and ears.
“Rynna?” I whispered. Micah gave me a knowing smile, only baffling me further. I didn’t have a chance to ask another question before she ran across the room and pulled me into a hug. I stood still, confusion muddling my thoughts as words I didn’t hear and couldn’t fully understand spilled from her mouth.
Finally, Rynna pulled away and shook my shoulders. “Amelia Bradbury. Look at me.” Her sharp tone, the one I’d heard every time I’d been in trouble over the years, pulled me back to the present. My eyes finally connected to hers and I saw so many things. Apologies. Regrets. Relief.
“Listen to me, dear.” She cupped my cheek in her palm. “I know none of this makes sense, but we don’t have much time. I had to dress the part and Julia can’t know I’m here, so I can’t stay long. Mikail, can you please give us a minute?” She gave Micah a cool look, making it clear it wasn’t a request he should turn down.
His royal upbringing took over as he responded, “Yes, Aunt. Of course. I’ll be just outside.” He dipped his head and quietly left.
Rynna pulled me toward the bed and we sat. She grasped my hand and part of me wanted to pull away while the other wanted to bury my head in her lap and beg her to fix it all, as I had when I was a child. But, she couldn’t fix it then and I doubted she could fix it now.
“Amelia, you aren’t safe here. There’s only so much I can do for you right now, so I’m here to explain what you must remember once she takes you away. You must listen. Are you listening?
I nodded, still stunned Rynna was sitting in my enchanted bedroom. Rynna, who was actually Ryannon, the Queen’s sister.
“Mikail spoke the truth. I am his aunt and the Queen’s sister. But, many years ago, I made a choice to walk away from this family and this life and I’ve never looked back, outside of my communication with Mikail. Especially not after what happened to your mother. I had a responsibility to you, your brother, and your father. It was my family who did these unspeakable things and I had to help in any way I could. Our life, our relationship…none of it was a lie. I love you, Amelia. I love your brother. And even though your father wouldn’t allow me to explain everything I wanted to you, I tried my best to help and protect you. It is exactly what I’m doing now. Do you have your mother’s cuff?”
I gripped it tighter in my fist as I recoiled a little, instantly on alert. I heard her words, but I had no idea if Rynna was still someone I could trust.
“It’s very important you keep it hidden from the Queen,” Rynna continued, not acknowledging my reaction. “She can never know you have it—ever. Do you understand?”
My brain was slowly coming back to life and questions finally rose to the surface. “Why? I mean, I already know it brought my power back even though I’m in this enchanted room, but what else can it do? What if I don’t want the power anymore? I can’t control it, Ryn. It controls me.”
Rynna’s lips pursed, her frustration becoming visible. “That cuff is your lifeline, Amelia. Your mother had it specially commissioned and it is the one thing allowing you to maintain control over your Keeper power until you find your mate. It will permit you to use what you have for good. It will give you the opportunity to work with the Keeper, to break down the walls, and work as one for short periods of time. It will be draining, but if you keep working at it slowly, you’ll continue to gain control. If you don’t wear it, there is a chance you could lose yourself.”
Those words had me on my feet. “Lose myself? Lose myself how?”
“Calm down, Amelia,” she said, looking back over her shoulder at the door. “Please. Calm down. I know this is scary and it wasn’t supposed to be like this, but I’m trying to help you. Can I see it, please?” she asked.
Still leery, I coaxed the cuff from my pocket and held it out on my flattened palm. Her word choice made sense. I had been calling it a bracelet, but the ends didn’t connect and the flat metal was wider than most bracelets. Rynna reached for it, her hand extended, but looked up at me for confirmation before she took it. I nodded stiffly as she simply flipped it over and pointed to one of the many symbols etched in the silver.
“These are your mother’s initials. LRB. Liana Rose Bradbury. This was her addition to the cuff. A piece of your mother lives inside this cuff. It will give you what you need, and should give you comfort.” Rynna spoke quietly as she placed the cuff back in my palm. “She knew something was going to happen the day you were born. She took me aside and told me a day would come when I would be the only one who could reach you and I would need to make sure you had, and understood, the power in the cuff. She wanted to make certain you knew you weren’t alone—that she hadn’t left you.”
I stared down at the beautiful calligraphy making up the only remaining piece of my mother. Loops and swirling lines drawn by her. Power given by her to me.
Rynna continued as I stared. “The Queen will take you away tomorrow, to her home in Washington State. She refuses to go back to the castle in Syria unless she absolutely has to. I don’t know what she expects from you, or what she’ll do to you, but she will ensure you are guarded day and night by Hunters. Use the cuff. Use it to control your emotions and reign in the Keeper. And do everything you can to learn the truth of what’s happened and how we can stop it. There must be more to this than simply her need for power. I know my sister, and no matter what people want to think, she’s more controlled than this. We just haven’t been able to find the true source. While you do, we will be trying to find a way to organize those who are left. We can’t allow her to have you, Amelia. It’s too dangerous. For you and our future. But, if you’re going to be there, we need you to use the time wisely and bring us more information.”
I took a step back and continued until I hit the wall, allowing it to hold me up as I worked through her last statements. “So, you knew? You knew I would have to do this—end up in the middle of all this?” My heart raced as my mind flew through the events of the past few months and my conversations with Rynna. “You told me I didn’t have to ‘be part of the Immortal soap opera.’ You told me I could choose my own path. Why did you say those things? Why tell me that story about my mother?” The question I didn’t ask was why she allowed me to believe I could have Aidan.
For the first time in as long as I could remember, Rynna would not meet my eyes. She stared down at her clasped hands resting in her lap and answered quietly, “It wasn’t fair of me. I wanted more for you. I wanted you to run from this and have the life you wanted. The one I wanted for you. I wanted you as far from this as possible. I shouldn’t have. It
was selfish. I know exactly what you mean to our people and how much we all need you, but you were just a young girl and this was all so much. I didn’t think it would happen so fast. I thought we would have time to prepare you and you would have time to find some happiness.”
A soft knock on the door, likely from Micah, signaled our time was over. Rynna approached me cautiously. She held out her arms, asking, “May I?” I nodded, emotion filling me as her words settled into my mind like rocks weighing me down in the water. There was a good chance I could drown, but in this moment, Rynna was part of my life raft. She had handed me knowledge and power and asked for nothing but patience in return. For now, I had to overlook the rest. At this point, who hadn’t only given me part of the story in the name of protecting me?
Rynna pulled me into her embrace and whispered, “I love you, Amelia. Your father loves you. Your uncle and 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.” She pulled back and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Okay?”
I gave her a small nod. “Okay.”
“You are your mother’s daughter. And you are so much stronger than you think.” She squeezed my hands one last time, an indecipherable look haunting her eyes as she turned away from me and left the room without looking back.
I thought Micah might come back inside, but he didn’t. I stood, rooted to my spot, staring at the closed door, realizing my future and the future of so many others was in my hands.
Chapter 3
“Didn’t we just start wallowing?” I asked, sullen.
“Yep. And now we’re done,” she countered. “We’re going to do something about all this. I may be the only lowly human in this debacle, but I’ve got my ways. We need to find Cole. We need to make a plan. We have to get Amelia out of there.”
I instantly stood up, sand falling everywhere as I turned to Bethany. “No. Oh, hell no. I’m not going to Cole. I can’t.” I tried to cover my emotion with indifference. “And she made a choice, Bethany. She chose Micah. Don’t you get it? She could have left with me. He couldn’t have taken me. Not then. Not with her fighting with me. He wouldn’t have stood a chance. We could have run and been fine. But she picked him.”
While I had been speaking, Bethany had stood, crossed her arms, and assumed what I called the “chick stance”—one of her hips was cocked to the side and she actually looked annoyed, and impatient. Like she wanted me to shut up already.
“What the hell is that look for? Where do you get off looking at me like I’m the idiot here?” My hands clenched and unclenched on their own accord as my anger spiked. It had been getting harder to keep the beast at bay once my emotions took over. I was shocked as she took a step toward me and shoved both hands into my chest, sending me back a few steps and fumbling in the sand.
“Oh, no you don’t, Aidan Montgomery. Don’t think you can stand there all macho, tough guy with the weird blue eyes and scare the little southern girl. I’ve dealt with jerks my whole life. Guys with worse tempers and scarier intentions than you’ve even dreamed, so you can take all your huffing and puffing and shove it.
“And while you’re at it, you can just get the hell over yourself. You don’t even have half the story. Where do you get off judging Ame’s choices when you don’t know what’s at stake—what it would have cost her to decide to go with you? Do you think, given everything you do actually know, it would have been as simple as just running off to live her happily ever after with you? Have you even been paying attention?”
Bethany stood less than a foot in front of me, posturing better than most guys I’d fought growing up. She didn’t show an ounce of fear, even though I knew my eyes shone brightly and had taken on the look of an animal—slanted with a large black pupil in the center. I could tell it had happened by the way the landscape had changed, the colors brighter and the smells crisper. I wanted to ask her what she meant about other guys, but I was focused on her main point—all the things I didn’t know.
I sighed, taking a small step back and relaxing my rigid stance. I put both hands up in surrender. “Okay, Bethany. I give. Educate me.”
She nodded, managing to look down on me from six inches below. “That’s right. But before I say anything, you’re buying me breakfast.” She turned on her heel and walked away, not even waiting to see whether I would follow.
Women. I could only roll my eyes and jog a few steps to catch back up.
While I had been okay with a breakfast burrito on the beach, I wouldn’t say no to more food. I was always hungry these days. The difference was Bethany needing a meal in a real restaurant, with real silverware. So, looking as scrubby as could be, the two of us sat down at a corner table on the patio and ordered breakfast from a server who scowled down at us, likely questioning whether we were homeless. I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket and set it on the table, giving the kid a look. He shrugged and disappeared with our order.
“Alright. Spill it. What else didn’t she tell me?” I rubbed my hands over my face, suddenly exhausted. I would have almost preferred the anger to come back. At least I knew what to do with it. This feeling of vulnerability, of wondering what Amelia had sacrificed for me, or others…I didn’t want that. I could give things up. Other people weren’t supposed to.
Bethany sipped her orange juice, sat back in her chair, and looked around, confirming they hadn’t sat anyone close to us. “Buckle up, because this is going to be a ride,” she started. “I guess I should start at the beginning, the day Amelia was born. I’m going to tell you the real story first, but know that Amelia didn’t learn the truth of most of this until the last few weeks. Her whole life has been one lie after another. The fact that she didn’t lose it completely is a testament to how strong our girl really is.”
I could only nod. Amelia was strong. She didn’t think so. She didn’t see it. But I saw it. Bethany saw it. I was glad Amelia at least had Bethany, someone who obviously cared about her, through it all.
“Her mother was murdered by Queen Julia’s Hunters, which I understand to be some magical ninja-like matrix-looking badass guys who are basically Julia’s henchmen. There had been a prophecy made years ago by an Elder—that’s what Ame is, like a super-charged Mage—and the Hunter believed Amelia was the subject of the prophecy. So he forced Amelia’s dad to betroth her to the Prince. Amelia’s dad went a little crazy and tried to stay away from her. Her whole life was supposed to be about being this amazing Elder, but no one would help her actually become one. Instead, her dad kept her away from everyone and punished her when she used her power. That’s how she met us. She finally couldn’t take it anymore and moved here. She never knew she was part of a prophecy or special outside of being an Elder.”
Wrapping my head around a Queen, Mages, and Hunters—it was like she was speaking a foreign language. But, like me, Amelia had lived a life on the outside. No one got too close and no one made her feel anything aside from inadequate. I wished she were here, telling me this story herself, so I could pull her into my arms and show her there was someone who cared about her, not any of the other crap.
Bethany continued. “But Cole had been searching for answers. He couldn’t understand his dad’s behavior either, so he left and travelled everywhere, trying to find other Mages or Elders who could tell him what was happening. He found answers, but not the ones he had hoped for. He was the one to realize Amelia was the last living female Elder, which made her valuable to the Queen because she had something no one else had. And then her Uncle Derreck filled in even more of the blanks. I never met him—he didn’t bother to show up for my rescue—but he explained Ame is not only an Elder, but a Keeper. She has all this power from other Elders inside her, which confirmed her as the subject of the prophecy. But it got hard for Amelia. The power was more than she could handle. Things started getting out of control and she’d lose herself inside the Keeper power.”
Bethany took a break as the server delivered our food, but I
was no longer hungry. I thought back to the night at the theater, when the red-haired woman attacked us. Amelia had commanded the wind, tossing benches and trees hundreds of feet. I was sure I saw the Keeper power Bethany was talking about that night. Amelia was too close to enjoying her attack on the woman. She had barely heard me as I tried to pull her away—looking at me like she’d never seen me before. That was the first night I had fully shifted. Something had happened during the night, taking the building energy inside me and letting it loose like a bullet blasting from a gun. It had taken everything in me to get Amelia somewhere safe before I could run. The change had happened every night that week. One second, I would be sitting on my couch, exhausted, trying to figure out how to call her and what to say, and the next, waves of pulling, stretching pain would rip through me. I thought I was dying the first time it happened. Human thoughts stopped and I remembered nothing until I woke up again. Thankfully, my ground floor apartment had a patio door and after the first night when I shredded the screen, I was easily able to get in and out.
I was trying to connect the dots when I realized Bethany had dropped something big in the last story. I looked up at her as she used her fork and knife to delicately cut into her omelet, using every bit of manners I was never taught. “B, why did you need to be rescued?” It probably should have felt odd for me to call her B, since I had only heard Amelia do it, but it felt right and she didn’t balk at it.
She shrugged, as if it were just a run of the mill question. “Well, that’s another fun one. Apparently, this redheaded bitch was looking for some leverage over Amelia and I was it. I spent a few days hanging out with some folks you probably should get to know. You have their weird blue eyes, so I would guess you’re like them, based on what I understand about how this all works.”
Bound by Spells (Bound Series Book 2) Page 2
