He simply shook his head and rolled his eyes. “You aren’t listening to me. You have to play her game. You cannot underestimate what she’ll do or the lengths she’ll go. She doesn’t bother with me because she thinks I’m not worthy of bothering with. She doesn’t know the extent of my knowledge or power, because while I am the spitting image of my father, I am nothing like him.” Micah paused, his brows drawn together and expression pained. “She never hesitates to remind me I am nothing at all like my courageous, charming, and powerful father.”
He turned from me, the stiffness of frustration making it seem as if he were growing taller while he tried to control his emotions. I could feel it all and knew better than to push for more answers right now, but his father had something to do with all of this. Instead of asking for elaboration, I decided to give us additional common ground to stand on.
“It’s strange how similar our childhoods seem to be. I would catch my father looking at me like he was seeing a ghost. Like it pained him to even turn his head in my direction. Rynna told me how much I looked like my mother and instead of bringing me closer to him, it only pushed him away.” I started to pace the room, anxious energy filling me as Micah’s words rolled around in my head.
I stopped and turned back to Micah. “Do you truly believe you can protect me?” The words were hushed. I didn’t want to actually say them and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.
“If I can’t protect you here, Amelia, no one can.”
It wasn’t until the door closed behind him that I thought to ask why he was so intent on protecting me in the first place.
Thankfully, Micah and I were the only ones present for dinner the first night. When I asked where his mother was, he shrugged. “She does what she wants. She could have jetted off to some council meeting or she could be sitting in her room, plotting our demise.” His attempt at a joke fell flat as my mouth dropped in shock.
“Hey, hey, joking.” His hands rose in surrender. “I was merely joking. Baleon, can you please find out whether mother will be joining us?” Baleon nodded and disappeared, coming back minutes later to break the strained silence.
“Your mother was called away, Prince Mikail. The Eastern territories are reporting possible sightings and she wanted to confirm for herself.”
Micah nodded but gave himself away as he chewed his bottom lip.
“What does that mean? What sightings?” I asked.
“AniMages. It means they are reporting sightings of AniMages and if they aren’t being careful, it could mean even more are in the area. It’s been years since they’ve allowed themselves to be seen and my mother thought she had all but wiped them out. Now, they are becoming more blatant and allowing the other races to know they’ve outsmarted her. My mother will have none of that.”
Micah started pushing his food around on his plate. All I could do was wonder whether these were the “others” Rynna mentioned.
“I’m not hungry either,” I announced, acknowledging sitting here was the last place either of us wanted to be right now. “I’ll just go to bed. It’s been a long day.”
He looked relieved. “Very good, Baleon will escort you. I have some things to attend to. I’ll see you in the morning, Amelia. With my mother gone, there’s time for us to work on your preparation.”
I wanted to ask for what, but I didn’t think I could take the answer, so I nodded and followed Baleon from the dining room. Finally, I was alone in my giant suite of rooms. I knew Bale was on the other side of my door, but I wasn’t entirely certain whether he was keeping other people out or me in.
Right now, I was so exhausted, I didn’t care. I stepped into the shower, hoping to rinse some of the journey and madness of the day away, but as soon as I was under the warm spray, emotions started building. The realities of where I was and what the Queen wanted. That I wasn’t safe and had no idea whether Rynna would actually be able to get to me. And I had no clue what had happened to my brother, my father, or Bethany once they left Esmerelda’s. Or Aidan when I walked away. The questions surrounding him were the worst. I had left him alone, like so many other people in his life, and worse, I left him to manage a power he knew nothing about. I didn’t entirely know what he was either, but I could have helped.
I had to stop the building ache in my chest, so I pushed him out of my mind and looked down at the cuff clasped around my forearm instead. How exactly was this cuff supposed to help me communicate with my Keeper power? It was another question without an answer.
Once dry and dressed, I sat back into the pillows, closed my eyes, and wrapped my left hand around the cuff. The metal grew warm under my fingertips as I muttered to myself, “What do I do?” over and over again. It had worked when I wanted my power to come back, so why not give it a shot?
I suddenly found myself in the confines of my own mind, standing in front of a door—the door. The one that opened into the room the cuff kept the Keeper bound to. I could feel her, pacing in frustration. I could feel the emotion bleeding around the doorframe. Rage. Envy. Anger. It was as if an animal were prowling the room instead of the woman I personified her as in my mind.
I stood there, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. My curiosity got the better of me, so I cautiously reached out and cracked the door open just an inch. Instantly, she was there, overwhelming the sliver of space and making me feel claustrophobic, caught within the swirl of emotions she radiated. Instinct took over and without understanding why, I further pulled the door open and shoved my arm between it and the frame. The silver cuff glowed white as it made contact with her form.
The dark void that had always represented the Keeper power sprang apart, color bursting throughout the room. I had to shield my eyes at first, but eventually could make out different figures—not people, more like the auras of what used to be people. I had to assume they were the Elders who made up the Keeper power because they were all a varying shade of violet. One was surrounded in an electric blue haze, one with red, one with green bolts of light bursting through it, and another was filled with what looked like an orange electricity storm. They stayed back from me, but I could feel the relief they projected at being apart from each other. I wanted to speak, to take a step toward them, but I was suddenly drained. I struggled to hold my arm out, the weight of it becoming too much. As I let it drop back at my side, the five figures smashed together in a chorus of shrieking howls, piercing my ears and giving me the jolt of strength I needed to step backward and shove the door closed.
I was back on the bed, laboring to breathe, completely exhausted from the minute-long ordeal. I reminded myself that Rynna had told me it would take time as I fell back against the pillows and instantly fell asleep.
What felt like seconds later, I was awake, but not really. I was dreaming, back in the forest that had haunted my dreams these past few months, the fog sweeping through and feeling alone. I was at least still on two legs, which was different than the last time I’d been here after I brought Bethany home from the AniMages. Oh, how long ago that seemed. It was hard to believe it had only been weeks since I truly started to understand who I was and what was inside me. I was lost in my own head as I pushed through the trees. I wasn’t scared—I had been here so many times before. The trees surrounding me had become friends. Their leaves slid through my fingers as I wandered around, grazing my fingers along the rough trunks.
I felt safe here. For the first time in weeks, I truly felt safe. As I turned to head in a new direction, the brush rustled and I could feel the vibration of something coming toward me. Every hair on the back of my neck stood up. For the first time, I wasn’t alone—someone or something was here with me.
I looked around, trying to decide whether I could run and which way made the most sense. I searched inside myself and found only my small violet flame. The Keeper was nowhere to be found and I was unsure of how much power I held without her. I went to take my first running step when it burst through the trees.
I was flat on my back, g
asping for the breath that had been knocked out of me. Two paws dug into my chest and a snarling lip curled around pointed teeth. I still wasn’t breathing as my eyes traveled up and connected to brilliant sapphires I would know anywhere. Recognition flitted through his eyes and the growling simmered to a low whine as Aidan stepped off and away from me.
His movements were slow and calculated as he moved backward, never taking his eyes from mine. I struggled to shove myself up while maintaining our connection. I had no idea what to say. ‘I’m sorry’ surely wouldn’t cut it. It wouldn’t even begin to tell the right story—the one he deserved to hear that I couldn’t give him that night.
“Aidan? Can you hear me?” I asked, still breathless as I tried to regain my composure. His ears pricked up and he seemed to nod, his head tilting up and then down, ever so slightly. “Okay, so you understand me? Lift your left paw if you understand me,” I responded.
He cocked his head to the right and simply stared. Had he had an eyebrow to lift, I was sure he would have.
“Alright then, fine,” I huffed. “So you understand me. Got it. Is it dumb to ask if you can talk?” I took a few steps toward him and he recoiled a bit, so I stopped. We stared at each other and I held out my hand. He came forward one painfully slow step at a time and ducked his head underneath it, forcing my fingers to tangle in his thick fur coat the color of his hair—rich soil. It was deep and dark and it took everything I had not to collapse on the ground and wrap myself around him.
Aidan let out another low whine and I crouched beside him so we were eye level. It was still weird, looking into the eyes of a wolf, but I saw him in there. I felt it in the way he tucked his head over my shoulder and pulled me into him. The way he nibbled into my hair, inhaling in small snorts. I exhaled into him as I gave in to my urges, wrapping my arms as far around his massive body as they would go. “I’ve missed you so much, Aidan,” I whispered into his fur. I was thankful this was a dream and I would wake up soon, because it felt like my heart was breaking all over again.
Chapter 7
I pulled up to Bethany’s apartment—Amelia’s apartment—and just sat in the car. The idea of walking into the space that had been Amelia’s was daunting. I took a deep breath and mentally berated myself yet again. If I were going to get her back, I was going to have to do a lot worse than walk into her old living room. Everything Bethany and I had talked about was shuffling around my brain. The facts, the magic, the evil she was up against…it all banged against the confines of my mind in rapid succession. There were pieces of the puzzle I was missing and it pissed me off. I shouldn’t have needed help to get to her, but I couldn’t put it all together and just get to the bottom of it.
I slammed my palms against the steering wheel. It felt good to hit something. Last night, I had shifted again without being able to stop it. I had been out all night, but even running hadn’t burnt off the energy the way I needed to. I hadn’t been to the gym in weeks and nothing sounded better than a heavy bag right now. I needed to beat the hell out of something—anything. My hyper-hearing picked up Charlie’s thunderous woofs and I looked up to find him in the window of the apartment, barking nonstop, his eyes on me. I couldn’t break my gaze from his as he carried on. It was then that I realized he was talking to me. I couldn’t understand him, but that dog had something to say. I shook my head a little, trying to understand where those random thoughts came from.
You’re losing it, Montgomery. Get in there and deal with this.
I slammed the car door as I got out, feeling good about the rattle of the steel as it connected with the rest of the frame. I pushed my way into the building, up the stairs, and to Bethany’s door. The door I whispered my love for Amelia into. I rapped on it with my knuckles and moved inside, not waiting for Bethany to answer. I walked in to find her yanking on Charlie’s collar, trying to contain him, while he pulled toward me, simply dragging her along for the ride. His barks were deep and vibrated with his obvious need to communicate something. She was swearing at him as she stumbled over her feet and then finally let him go with a, “God damn dog. I don’t know why I thought you were so great.” She only acknowledged me with a gruff, “coffee,” as she walked into the kitchen. It wasn’t a question. She wasn’t offering. Apparently, everyone has their vices.
I stooped down to get eye-level with Charlie. He stood in front of me, his huge ears pointing toward the ceiling as he continued to bark, though softer now.
“Dude, Charlie, what’s your deal? What exactly is the problem?” I asked him.
Charlie cocked his black and white spotted head at me and something in his eyes made me snap my head back. He understood me. Some part of me realized he heard my words and knew exactly what I was saying.
“Charlie?” I asked as I leaned back in. “You obviously need to tell me something, so tell me.”
I could have sworn I saw a smile shine through that dog’s eyes as he lifted one massive paw and set it on my thigh, just above my knee but below where my shorts stopped.
In a split second, I found myself watching a gruesome scene through Charlie’s eyes. At first, the flashes were hard to keep up with. As if he could sense my confusion, Charlie started the scene over, more slowly. This time, it started with Cole coming through the front door, Charlie—and me—following behind. I could hear Cole talking, apparently to Charlie, as he bemoaned how long he’d been gone and how he hadn’t been able to do anything to help Amelia. He cursed her stupidity and impetuousness, slamming cupboards doors as he continued to curse his father and Derreck, neither of which were responding to him. As he leaned against the kitchen counter, running his hands over his face and smacking himself lightly on the cheeks, as if trying to wake himself up and get his head in the game, there was a knock at the door.
Charlie sat quietly, which Cole took as a good sign. “Who is it?” he called out as he crossed the room. The infamous Uncle Derreck that Bethany told me about responded. Cole wrenched open the door and immediately peppered Derreck with questions. The guy looked like hell and didn’t answer a single one of them. He walked in and dropped onto the couch.
“I either need tea or a drink, Cole. Let’s start there,” Derreck said, his expression pained as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
Cole silently threw his hands in the air and then put a teakettle on. A few silent minutes later, he shoved a steaming mug in his uncle’s face.
“Where in the hell have you been? Do you know what’s been happening? I could have used your help. They have her.” Cole’s face was red, his voice wavering.
Derreck’s gaze flicked up, his tone sharp. “Of course I know what’s happened. What do you think I’ve been doing? I’ve been trying to find help. Trying to figure out what to do. Didn’t they find you?”
“Who?” Cole asked, pacing. “The guys who were harassing the kids at my gym? I just got home. I’ve been out looking for you. Looking for Rynna. My dad. Anybody to help me.” Charlie fell in step with him and it felt good to walk. I felt Charlie’s anxiety as if it were my own. He didn’t want to be far from Cole.
“Daniel should have found you. He’s an AniMage. He’s part of Elias’s pack. They were supposed to take you to him so he could explain things and you could work together. Damn it.” Derreck and Cole stared at each other, so many unspoken words shuttling between them.
“Where were you, really? The night they had Amelia’s best friend, when you were supposed to be helping us, where were you?” Cole questioned.
“I was there. With Elias,” Derreck answered, his voice steady as his jaw muscles clenched. “I tried to get to him before she did. To stop whatever it was he was trying to do. But honestly, he didn’t want anything but her time. And what he told her she needed to know. She needs to understand the truth of what’s happening, Cole. She needed to hear him, see it, and believe in this rebellion. So I stood back in the trees and watched. She did great. She was strong and controlled, and I was proud of her.”
Cole’s instant reaction to Derreck’s w
ords shocked me. Charlie immediately started to growl, a low vibration deep in his throat as he bared his teeth at Derreck.
“You knew about everything this whole time, didn’t you? Get out. Now. Just get out.” His words were measured, cold. Cole’s eyes were burning green coals as he stared his uncle down.
Derreck looked first shocked, then accepting. He stood and as he turned to go, he said, “You’re going to need to understand, too, Cole. This is bigger than her. It’s bigger than anything you’ve given up. She has to do this. She has to fight with us. Every Immortal has a stake in this.”
“The only thing my sister has to do now is survive, and while you were all plotting your rebellion, no one bothered to teach her how. So you and your buddy, Elias, better pray she’s okay up there. Because when I find her—and I will—I’m going to get her out and you’re going to do more than fly into a wall when she sees you again. Now, get out.”
Cole never turned toward Derreck. He didn’t move until the door clicked shut. Then he walked to the windows and dropped his head against the glass. Charlie stepped up beside him and with a small whimper, ducked his head under Cole’s palm. Cole wrapped Charlie’s head in his hand, pulling him into his leg.
“I’m sorry, Amelia. I’m sorry for failing you. I’m so sorry.” His words floated down in a soft whisper, his voice thick.
I thought the memory would fade and Charlie would let me out. Instead, the moment disappeared and a new one took its place. This time, it was confusing. The images flashed in my mind and I could barely make one out before the next was there and gone. Charlie’s agitation was growing and he was having a hard time showing me what he wanted to. The images started to repeat themselves.
The door crashing open. Swarms of men in long leather jackets with dark skin and white hair. Cole screaming at Charlie to hide. Cole blasting green bursts of lightning from his palms as he fought. Charlie going after them and being immobilized. I heard a voice say, “Lock the Sentinel away, where he can’t cause us any problems.” What was a Sentinel? Clearly, Charlie was more than simply man’s best friend.
Bound by Spells (Bound Series Book 2) Page 5
