Bound by Spells (Bound Series Book 2)

by Smith, Stormy

  “Oh, come off it,” Bethany broke in, her condescension slicing through Melinda’s wiles. “Do you actually think you stand a chance? You’re way out of your league, and a tramp. He loves Amelia. They are freaking destined for each other. Back off.”

  Bethany’s outburst shocked everyone but Melinda, whose eyes narrowed, but her smile never faltered. She chucked me under the chin with that same finger, saying, “You get tired of waiting around for her, you know where to find me.”

  Melinda turned to glare at Bethany. “At least I wasn’t used up and left behind,” she sneered.

  Bethany took a step toward Melinda just as Elias stepped between them. “Enough. Both of you. Melinda, take it somewhere else. He’s not a toy, he’s your Alpha, and he deserves respect.” Elias gestured Melinda away as I pulled Bethany back next to me.

  Melinda’s eyes lit up in a nauseating way. “Oh, I respect him, Elias. I just don’t think he needs some half-possessed Elder to fulfill his potential.”

  “This is your last warning, Melinda,” Elias growled through clenched teeth. His eyes were glowing and he suddenly took up all of the space in the vicinity. His body hadn’t changed size, but the air around us expanded, making it feel like he was everywhere at once.

  Melinda shrunk, bowing slightly. “Yes, sir.” Without another look at us, she walked away.

  Bethany and I looked at each other through sideways glances, neither of us comfortable with looking toward Elias. I felt the moment he was back to normal and he didn’t waste time. He dragged his hands back through his hair and said, “She’s actually right. We need to find Will and we better do it fast. He’s the only one who could help you and you’re no good to us, Amelia, or yourself, if you can’t access your full range of power. We’ll shift tonight and head toward his place. He’s not fond of visitors, but he’ll have to get over it.”

  “Who’s Will?” we asked simultaneously. I had been itching to ask since Melinda brought him up and Elias had finally taken a breath that gave me the opening. Bethany turned to me with a small smile, and tipped her head, signaling me to continue. “You keep talking about Will, but why do we need him?”

  “You know how I can hear your thoughts and that’s not something every AniMage can do? We each have a unique ability, and Will’s is removing magic from people that doesn’t belong. Specifically, he can break Hunter bonds, which sounds like your problem.”

  Elias turned to Bethany, who I could feel was still simmering with adrenaline. “We might be gone a few days. Would you prefer to stay here, or we can take you back to your apartment with Charlie and a few guards?”

  Her adrenaline turned to irritation. “Just take the lowly human back to her apartment so she can resume her pathetically boring life. And I don’t need guards, I have Charlie.” She didn’t wait for a response, just called out for Charlie and strode away.

  “You can’t worry about her.” Elias’s voice broke my train of thought and brought my eyes back to him. “I’m sorry she doesn’t feel included, but she doesn’t understand the enormity of what we’re up against. This isn’t fun and games, Aidan. This is a war we’re prepping for.”

  “What do I need to do?” I knew I should have felt scared, or at least worried, but all that mattered was finding Amelia. Every day I didn’t get to her was another day I had no idea what she was going through. If anything happened to her that I could have prevented, I’d never forgive myself.

  Chapter 14

  Micah was supposed to be taking me to the library. I wanted more time with my mother’s journals and I was getting antsy waiting for him. I opened my door to find Baleon standing directly in my path, his black leathered frame blocking me from going anywhere. I tapped him on the shoulder a few times, and said, “Excuse me, coming through. Places to be. You know, there’s this Prince who’s waiting for me in the library?”

  I was pretty sure he knew I was lying, yet he stepped to the side anyway. “After you,” he said. I wondered if this was some kind of test, but ultimately didn’t care. I needed movement. I needed to do something.

  Unable to resist the opportunity, I brought both hands to my chest in faux shock. “He speaks! And to a lowly prisoner! I can’t believe it.”

  Baleon’s eyes narrowed, but I saw the glitter of amusement he tried to squash. Without another word, he pulled the door closed and started toward the library.

  “You know, Bale, I’m on to your game. You want to talk to me. I can see it. I bet you and Micah talk all the time. I’m not so different. Want to know some things about me?” I didn’t wait for him to answer, I just continued talking to his back while he walked in front of me. I didn’t have a real plan, but I had to start somewhere.

  “You know what I miss most right now, Bale? I miss music. I miss all my favorite songs. The ones I’d dance and sing to in the kitchen and blare on bad days. Do you like music? I’m sure you do. Everybody likes music. My brother always liked rap. Eminem. Dr. Dre. All that noise. Bethany…she likes pop and country. She really likes old country. Dolly Parton and Merle Haggard. Johnny Cash. You know, the man in black? You should know who he is, for obvious reasons. She loves it all. You’d love B, Bale. I mean, you both have the same initial, she’d fill all the empty space you leave, and really, everyone likes her. It’s pretty impossible not to.”

  “What is it you find so appealing about humans and their trappings? It’s painful to listen to.” Rhi’s voice interrupted my rambling and I almost tripped in surprise. Baleon spun around and shoved me behind him before Rhi had finished speaking.

  He held me with one hand and had me pressed into the wall.

  “What do you want, Rhi?” he asked.

  Rhi took easy steps toward us, smirking. “I only aim to understand the almighty prophesied one. What’s it to you, old man?” It was the least formal I had ever heard Rhi and I was puzzled by his insult. Though, it was basically impossible to guess an Immortal’s age, so I shouldn’t have been surprised.

  “She’s my charge, Rhi. The Prince has asked me to accompany her safely, and I shall.” Baleon’s fingers dug into my arm tighter. I was sure he knew I was planning to move out from behind him. I had a few choice words of my own for Rhi.

  Rhi raised his hand and orange fire erupted in his palm. He tossed the ball of magic in the air, his head cocked, clearly challenging Baleon.

  “I do not need your parlor tricks, Rhi. I have the power our people were meant to have, not whatever she has done to you now.” The disgust Bale had for Rhi was unexpected.

  Rhi’s smirk disappeared and the cold, glittering hate I normally saw in his eyes returned.

  “She? Do you mean our Queen, Baleon? Did you forget to whom you are speaking? You will address her with the respect she deserves or you will regret it. I will enjoy making you regret it.” Rhi’s voice was low and I reflexively ducked back behind Bale.

  Baleon took a step forward, his voice dropping to a whisper. “When will this madness end, Rhi? You know she is not right, yet you walk alongside her, thinking that someday she will make you King. It will never happen. You are misguided in so many ways. You always have been.”

  I didn’t expect the verbal explosion that came from Rhi or the rough hands throwing me to the ground. I looked up to find Baleon and Rhi going at it without magic. They fought hand to hand, and it was like watching The Matrix live. Their movements were a blur, their coats made snapping sounds as leather sliced through the air, and I heard nothing but grunts and thuds as their limbs connected. They kicked, punched, hip-tossed…it was MMA meets ninja. I was happy neither of them had swords.

  At one point, Rhi gained the upper hand and had Baleon pinned against the wall, his arm twisted behind him in a gross way that had me wincing. He pulled him back and then shoved Bale into the wall again. “Do you yield, old man?”

  “Stop it. Rhi, back away.” I pushed myself to my feet, my palms filled with violet fire. I stood in a fighting stance and though there was no way I would go hand-to-hand, I was ready to use what I had. Baleo
n had fought for me and I wouldn’t let Rhi hurt him.

  Rhi started to laugh and took a half step back from Baleon. That was all the space Bale needed to kick up and back, connecting squarely between Rhi’s legs. I had to stifle a laugh. I had never seen a guy use that trick, but it was effective. As Rhi doubled over, Bale grabbed him by the throat and held him a good six inches off the ground. He knocked him back against the wall a few times, Rhi’s head making a hollow thunk. The hand around Rhi’s throat glowed orange and I barely heard Bale whisper, “I can break this. I can remove it and you will be free of her. But I can see that you relish her madness. Have her then. But you will leave us be or I will end you.” He had to be talking about the collar.

  Baleon let Rhi slide to the ground and without turning back, he gestured down the hall. “The library is this way.” I glanced back at Rhi in time to hear him yell behind us that Baleon would pay for this.

  We rounded a corner and I turned to Bale. “What does he mean? Will you be okay? Why didn’t you fight with magic?”

  He looked down at me and sighed. “I will likely be punished, but it will be fine. I have brothers who heal and they will sustain me. It will not be the first time he and I have come to blows. We fight without magic because it is the way of our people. You were not allowed to guard the royal family until you can best another Hunter, hand to hand. We fight with honor, at least…among each other.”

  “And—”

  Baleon stopped, putting his hand on my arm as he cut me off. “No more questions. We are almost there and I would rather Prince Mikail not know of this. He needn’t be concerned.”

  I nodded and put my hand over his. “Thank you, Baleon. Thank you for keeping him away from me. I don’t know what I’m doing. I didn’t ask for this and I don’t want to be here. I’m afraid, I have so many questions, and I’m just trying to survive. So, thank you.”

  “Surviving is what we are all trying to do.” He dropped his hand from my arm and continued walking down the hall, though he kept his steps slow, allowing me to walk next to him instead of behind him.

  When Baleon and I finally arrived at the library, I knew the Queen was back. I could see it in the tenseness of Micah’s posture and the way his eyebrows pulled together as he attempted a pathetic smile. I was still reeling a bit from the incident with Rhi, but Bale had asked me not to say anything and I finally felt like I had a team. Micah, Bale, Tragar, and me…we were in this together.

  “She’s—” I started.

  “She is,” he interrupted.

  “So, we—” I tried again.

  “We work. It’s all we can do,” he cut in again. I wanted to be annoyed at him, but the steadiness of his tone was forced and I was sure he was going to grind his teeth into dust with the way he was tensing his jaw.

  Micah immediately focused on working with my power. I could feel his concern over the Queen being home and what that meant for me. We didn’t talk about it anymore, we didn’t have to. But, I stayed focused on the same drills we’d been doing, going at them, over and over, until my mind was tired and my nerves were tattered. Micah finally allowed me a break and I was back in my chair by the fire, just finishing a new passage, which had only created more questions. I got up and found Micah with his head in a book of his own.

  “Can I talk to you? Is there somewhere we can go where I can ask you some questions?” I put emphasis on the on word so he’d get my drift. His amused smile confirmed he had.

  “Certainly. There’s a place I’ve been wanting to show you anyway. I couldn’t until Tragar was back, though. Hunters would still come in if it was just Bale, but they are terrified of Tragar.” Micah smirked as he stood and turned to where Tragar had last been seen. “We’re headed out, let me know if there’s trouble,” he yelled in that direction.

  “Oh, you know I will,” Tragar said, his voice carrying over stacks of books taller than he was. “Those damn demons had best stay out of my way, though. They know better than to come in here.” Tragar continued his rant against the Hunters as Micah shook his head and led me to a dark corner of the library. He grabbed a book, pulling it toward him by the top of the spine. Directly to his right, the wall of books popped open and sunlight burst into the room.

  We were going outside. Outside. Where I could smell the trees and feel the wind and have the sun on my face. It had only been a few weeks since I was first stuck in that room at Esmerelda’s, yet I felt like it had been months since I’d been outside. Micah motioned at me with a quick quirk of his head and I stepped out ahead of him. I had to shield my eyes but once they adjusted, I was staring at an eight-foot-tall hedge. I spun around to find Micah pulling at another hedge, which must have hidden the door. His hand buried in the foliage as he yanked it closed.

  “What is this place?” I asked, as I turned to look around.

  I turned back to what had been the door and it was gone, replaced by more greenery.

  “It’s a maze. A labyrinth of sorts. The Elders had it built and enchanted it far before my grandfather was even the King. It will only lead you where you are meant to go. It knows the heart of those inside and if your intentions are good, it will give you what you need in the time you need it. It won’t let you in, or out, if it believes you are trying to use it to do harm. You can see the sky, but look.” He stopped and shot a blast of power up. It dissipated and the air above me rippled, a sheen that hadn’t been there becoming visible as it absorbed the power. My head snapped back toward Micah as he continued. “You can’t get in from the top or bottom, only through the hedge. My mother and her Hunters stay far away from here. Those collars mean they want what she wants, and pretty much everyone knows what she wants is insane. But I’m rambling, and you said you had questions, so please, go ahead.”

  I bit the inside of my lip, hoping my questions wouldn’t be too ridiculous.

  “How does Rynna play into all of this? No one talks about her. There aren’t pictures of her. Why is she on the…um, other side of this?” I looked around, unsure of exactly what I should or shouldn’t say out here. Protection or not, I was learning from my mistakes.

  “Ah. I wondered when we would get there.” Micah started to walk and I fell in step beside him.

  “Aunt Ryannon never quite fit in. She loved being out among our people but really wanted nothing to do with the royal dealings. From what Tragar has explained, she was forever sneaking out to go meet her friends—which included your parents. She had been allowed to befriend your mother because everyone knew Liana was the next Elder in line for the council, but Aunt Ryn took their friendship outside the library, which is where my grandfather wanted it to stay.

  “The way I understand it, when my father—who was a Hunter—was killed and my mother lost her mind, Aunt Ryn tried to help. She tried to stop my mother, to get her to listen and realize what had just happened, but my mother refused to believe my father was using her to get to the throne. It seems so obvious, as it was explained to me, he saw the opportunity to put Hunters in a position of power and was merely using my mother to do so, but she couldn’t fathom it. She was suddenly convinced that Aunt Ryn had partnered with the AniMage responsible for my father’s death, so she exiled her. Aunt Ryannon is never allowed to enter the main castle again.” Micah snorted, his amused chuckle seeming out of place given the sad story.

  He turned to me with a sly smile. “What Mother didn’t realize was Aunt Ryn wanted exactly that. So she traveled with your parents when they left for America and then took care of you and Cole as your mother had requested. All the while, she was waiting for me to grow up. When I turned eighteen, Aunt Ryn showed up inside this maze. Tragar had sent me out here and I found her waiting on a bench. She explained to me what was truly happening—what my mother was doing, what she had done to you, and what was to come. She asked me whether I wanted to fight for our people or against them. Since then, she’s been working to convince the others I can be trusted. In the meantime, I used my mother’s obsession with you as a way to get to Brighton t
o help you. As soon as you told your father you were leaving, I moved there. I knew no one else would be able to get you to a place where you could withstand what was to come. I told you I was there to help, and I was.”

  I gnawed on my lower lip as I thought through his explanation. It was simple. It seemed legit. And then something he had said clicked in my mind. “How old are you, Micah?”

  He smiled. “I wondered whether you were going to put that together. I’m actually twenty-eight, closer to your brother’s age than yours.” I knew Immortals tended to age slower than humans, but I was impressed by how young he looked. I would have never guessed.

  “And your father, you’ve mentioned him a few times, but that, ah, doesn’t seem to be a pleasant topic.” I looked up at him with quick glances, realizing I might be treading into deep water.

  Micah sighed. Just one puff of air filled with pain, frustration, and sadness. “I’ve been called many things, but the bastard son of Cane seems to be the one people like most. They are too ignorant to realize my father didn’t leave, he was killed, so the words don’t actually make sense.” He shook his head, his lips in a tight grimace. “But the bottom line is that my father wanted my mother for no other reason than her lineage and birthright. To this moment, she still believes he loved her and they had a love for the ages, but it is simply one of her delusions. Once the prophecy was made and Rhi actually found you, she decided I needed protection. That was her code for putting me in a place where I could never learn the truth and would always do her bidding.” Micah paused, and smiled a genuine smile.

  “Too bad for her, I had Bale and Tragar on my side. Her compulsion doesn’t work on Bale—his unique ability is to resist all forms of compulsion—and Tragar hasn’t trusted my mother since she was a child.”

  I thought of Baleon and what had happened today with Rhi. I felt guilty for not telling Micah and worried about when the punishment would come down on Bale. Micah mistook my guilt for confusion and paused.