I put my hands on either side of his face and smiled, then I leaned down and kissed him. A brief touch of our lips ricocheted sensations through me and cemented the reality that this was not a dream. We were interrupted by a massive dog head-butting me in the back. As I turned to scold Charlie, I saw Cole lying between him and Onyx.
“Oh, God. What happened?” I asked as I took in my brother’s limp form on the bed. Aidan quickly stood and helped me to my feet.
“He’s okay, Amelia. He’s still recovering,” Aidan said as he steadied my wobbling limbs. I hadn’t actually stood on my own volition since Cresthaven.
“Define okay,” I demanded weakly as I pulled away from him and walked slowly around the bed. I looked down at Cole and the rational part of me knew this was my brother, but he felt wrong. Even sleeping, I should have felt his power — his calming, serene power. I should have seen his aura and been able to feel his health rebuilding. I felt nothing.
I looked up at Aidan. He tried to speak and then stopped. He lifted his arms and then dropped them again. “Aidan, you’re scaring me. What is going on?” My voice wavered and I fought to search my memories for what had happened, but the binding was fuzzy. I couldn’t pull a single clear memory from the haze.
“He told you to take what you needed,” Aidan started quietly. “I heard him, and so did everyone else. And then you did. But…you took too much. You…Amelia, you took it all. You took his power. He’s human.” Aidan’s mouth snapped closed as he said “human”, like it was a bad word he wanted to take back.
“No,” I argued. “No, Aidan, that isn’t possible. I can’t do that. No one can do that.” I turned back to Cole, his body lying so peacefully in front of me. The argument that this wasn’t possible, that he would wake up just as he was before the binding, was stuck in my throat.
Hysteria gripped my lungs and my chest felt concave, leaving me no room to draw a breath. As quickly as it came, I felt my internal response. The slow build and spread of a power that wasn’t mine, a power I’d always found comfort and calm in. Cole’s power unfurled in my system and while my mind reeled, my breaths evened out and my heart rate slowed.
I stared down at my brother as the truth settled over me. A dark cloud of doubt cast over what was supposed to be a day of celebration. When I woke up today, I was supposed to be free. Instead, I found myself a thief of the most epic proportions. Cole’s power acted like a sedative, lulling me back to simple contemplation and the realization that even the best laid plans have complications.
I turned to Aidan with tears in my eyes. They pooled there, filling me up with the same sadness enveloping my heart. He reached for me and pulled me to him. I wrapped my arms around his chest and tucked my head under his chin. We stood there, unmoving except for his hand gliding slowly up and down my back.
“Will he be okay?” I finally asked. Aidan pulled away and I looked up at him.
“He will,” he reassured me. “Baleon said he will wake up and feel fine. He won’t have magic, but he will otherwise be healthy.” Aidan settled his hands at the small of my back and we continued to stare at each other. Our eyes moved up and down, scanning the other continuously.
I started with his hair. It was grown out — too long, actually. The dark locks were curling at the ends, covering the tips of his ears. The front dipped low onto his broad forehead and I brushed it off his brow so I could look deeper into his eyes. As I ran my fingertips down his cheek, Aidan smirked and his dimple appeared. I stared at his thin, pink lips and brushed my thumb over them. I pushed onto my toes and pulled him to me, unable to stop myself. I needed to feel his lips on mine. I needed confirmation that we were here, together, finally.
The kiss was a slow build. It started out tender and sweet, but as our power swirled together and our hands explored, it became urgent. Aidan was everywhere. His physical body wrapped around mine, his hands constantly shifting, gripping, trailing over my skin. His power was intricately laced with mine and I felt him in my mind and heart.
I leaned back, the closeness of him suddenly overwhelming. My breaths came in shallow bursts as I looked up at him. His eyes were bright, the blue of his AniMage side shining down at me. His hair pointed in multiple directions from my hands running through it. Even now, his shirt was clenched in my fists. I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to pull him to me or push him away.
Aidan didn’t allow me to choose. Slowly, he drew his hands up my sides and trailed them over my arms, his gaze never wavering from mine. Gripping my hands, he looked at me with a mixture of passion and concern. He had to see the conflict brewing inside me, but he didn’t address it.
Gently pulling my fingers apart one at a time, he locked our hands together, lowered them to my sides, and surprised me by tucking my hair behind my ears. “I want to see you. I want to make sure you’re okay and prove to myself you’re real.” His words were gruff, heavy from our exchange, but filled with emotion. I nodded slowly, giving him permission, but for what, I didn’t know.
Aidan gripped the hem of my tank top and slowly pulled it up, his eyes on mine, clearly watching for any hesitation. My arms rose willingly and the top fell to the floor. I was standing in front of Aidan in a bra and jeans. I thought he would kiss me. The darkening of his eyes and spike of power told me he wanted to, but instead, he leaned down and kissed my collarbone. Trailing his fingers down my ribs, he kissed that spot, too. It wasn’t until he crouched, his fingers running directly over a welt from the binding, that I understood. He kissed each welt, each burn, and each place the binding had hurt me, sending his healing energy with it, easing the pain.
Aidan stood and circled me. He nuzzled into the space between my shoulder and neck, his breath warm, tickling my skin. I let my head drop and closed my eyes, relishing in this sweet and beautiful torture he put me through. For a brief moment, I had wanted space, but now, I couldn’t imagine taking a breath that hadn’t just been his. As Aidan kissed his way down my back, he dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around me. I closed my hands around the ones now circling my hips.
“I love you, Amelia. You’re finally here. You’re whole. There’s so much to come, but for right now, all that matters is you and me and this moment.” His words both elated and gutted me. I felt so much when I was near him. I couldn’t pull myself away from him. I couldn’t imagine not being next to him. But, was that us or something else? I wasn’t sure. There was so much wound around the prophecy, the mating and everything someone else had set into motion.
Until I was really sure, I could only reply with, “You and me and this, it is everything, Aidan.”
13
I paced the seven steps across the small parlor of Derreck’s basement apartment for the tenth time. “This is bloody ridiculous, Baleon. She’s been awake since last night. When is she coming out? We need to plan, make decisions, do something.”
I kicked at a small ottoman and sent it flying across the room, using my power to stop it from hurtling through the window at the last second. I rarely allowed frustration to get the better of me, but there was too much at stake. Lives. Our future. My people needed action. I needed action and Amelia was integral.
Bale looked at me with one arched eyebrow as the ottoman floated back to its original position. “She cannot physically keep you out of the room, Prince Mikail. Just go speak with her.” Of course, Baleon would completely disregard her personal preferences and simply use brute strength to do the job.
“That will not exactly grant me a welcome audience, Bale,” I said with a sigh.
“You could use these as leverage,” he said, pulling pages from his satchel. I stared open-mouthed at my guard.
“When did you get these? How did you get these? Why didn’t you tell me?” The questions fell from my mouth as a grin developed, though I didn’t actually care for answers.
Bale lifted one shoulder and with his normal cryptic sarcasm, said, “It is my job to know what you need and when you will need it.”
“And you do a
damn fine job of it,” I said as I took the pages and dropped onto the couch. Amelia’s mother’s journal would surely win me at least a few minutes with her. I didn’t allow myself to read the pages, as much as my curiosity tried to get the better of me. Instead, I went through and organized them once again. When all of the pages were in order, I stood and gave Bale a quick smack on the shoulder, thanking him once more. He nodded and shook his head at me as I strolled outside.
As I made my way up to the main house and let myself inside, I wondered how Tragar was doing. The old librarian was on a short list of people I cared for and he had been through too much.
I stayed focused on the mission at hand, but made sure to say hello and exchange a few words with the Mages and AniMages I’d been introducing myself to. With each group, my welcome seemed to increase. Some called out to me and asked how I was. Outside of my experience in Brighton, it was the first time I was treated like a normal person, and I quite enjoyed it.
Smiling to myself, I rounded the corner and found Bethany and Aidan arguing outside Amelia’s door.
“Damn it, Ame,” Bethany yelled over Aidan’s shoulder at the closed door, “I’m sick to death of you acting like you aren’t in there. I’m going to kick down that damn door and drag you out here by your damn hair. Do you know what I’ve been through for you? What we’ve all been through for you? You’re being a selfish little—”
“Enough!” Aidan yelled. His voice echoed down the hall, causing Bethany to take a step back. That step only lasted half a second before she was right back in his face, her yelling directed at him this time. I pitied the poor guy, but I surely wasn’t giving her another reason to hate me.
“Oh, no you don’t, Aidan Montgomery. All you’re doin’ is makin’ this worse. You’re just makin’ ‘xcuses for her being A DAMN DRAMA QUEEN.” Bethany’s accent was as thick as her anger and wanting to kiss her should have been the last thing I thought, but it was what it was. I almost stepped in between them when the door opened and Amelia came into view.
The bags under her eyes were pronounced. Her face was gaunt and her clothes looked too big and too long worn. I made eye contact with Aidan and he looked at me with begging eyes. Amelia’s solitude was clearly not his choice either. I jerked my head to the side and he wisely removed himself from between the two girls.
Amelia spoke quietly, the calm in her voice unnerving and unlike her. “You don’t understand, Bethany. You can’t. I took something. I took something that wasn’t mine to take and I don’t know how to give it back.” Her voice cracked, despair slipping through. Amelia paused and shook her head. Her hands trembled slightly and she closed her eyes. After a brief second, she exhaled and the shaking stopped. The very power she spoke of helped to keep her hysteria at bay. “I don’t even know how I did it in the first place. I’m dangerous. I am a danger to every Immortal.”
“Then it’s a damn good thing I’m not an Immortal, isn’t it?” Bethany threw the rhetorical question out as she gave Amelia a caring, but impatient look.
“Honey, I know all of that and it doesn’t matter,” Bethany’s voice softened. “Your brother is fine. He might not be happy, but he’s alive and we’re figuring it out. Everyone knows what happened, and no one wants you to hide in here. We want to see you, to help you. I want to help you. I miss you, Ame. I’m not one of you and until two days ago, I was the only human here and completely worthless. I just want my best friend back.” Her last words were a hushed admission meant only for Amelia’s ears. I felt like an intruder on the moment.
“Oh, B,” Amelia choked out as she allowed a single tear to slide down her cheek. The girls fell into each other’s arms, both talking simultaneously. They moved toward the room and I knew I could not lose my chance.
“Amelia?” I called out. She looked up at me in surprise as I came down the hall. Bethany glared daggers, but that was our normal exchange.
“I apologize for intruding, but I wanted you to know that I, too, have been waiting for you to emerge. I thought you might want these.” I held out the pages and watched her eyes grow wide as she realized what they were.
“You brought them,” she whispered.
“I will have to give Baleon the credit. He had the forethought to ask Tragar for them, but I am glad to put them in their rightful hands.” I smiled as Amelia gingerly took the stack of pages. Bethany and Aidan looked at both of us curiously.
“It’s my mother’s journal. Something we found while I was at Cresthaven,” Amelia explained. “Tragar, who you would love, B, is a little old man who hates Hunters and grumbles all the time in the most adorable way. He kept them and hid them, hoping to someday give them to me. I had only just begun reading them when I was taken downstairs. I thought I would never see them again.” She looked back at me and the happiness brightening her expression was a relief. “Please thank Baleon, Micah.” Her eyes shone with more tears, which was not what I wanted to see. I wanted strong Amelia to return.
“You tell him yourself,” I said, shaking my head at her. “Bethany is right, you cannot hide any longer. You did what was necessary and now you have to be the woman you were meant to be. There are people here who need someone to fight for. They’ve already rallied around Aidan and they wait to rally around you. The fight is coming. We can’t stop it. You are wasting time. You cannot outrun destiny, Amelia. And you will never find a set of people who believe in you more than the people you have here.”
I hadn’t expected to say so much, or be so personal, but it was the truth. And the way Bethany’s eyes softened as I spoke, how she looked at me for the first time like she remembered what we were…I needed that as much as Amelia needed to hear me.
Amelia looked between the three of us, holding her mother’s journal in one hand with her arm wrapped around her best friend and her mate standing feet from her, and said, “They’re wrong. You’re all wrong. I’m not part of some destiny, or prophecy. What I am is a curse.”
14
“Oh, that is it,” Bethany said with a huff. Grabbing me by the elbow, she pulled me back into the bedroom, slamming the door in Aidan and Micah’s face. She shoved me toward the bed with one hand and shooed Charlie off with the other to make room for herself. He let out an indignant snort and settled on the rug on the floor.
Once she situated herself against the pillows, she said, “You know, I would just about kill someone for a latte,” as if nothing were different and we were at home in our apartment, not in the middle of the woods fresh off a conversation about the fate of the Immortal races and my role in it.
“Yeah?” I responded drily.
She bent one leg and pulled it under her. Her nose wrinkled as she said, “Seriously, Ame, these people have no class. The AniMages run around here, shifting all the time, leaving their shreds of clothes everywhere and setting a terrible example for little Dillon. Though, his mamma is the sweetest and has been doing everything for Nell.” She stopped and tilted her head. “You remember her, right? Her babies are gonna come any minute and I cannot wait to play with them. Cora tells me they’ll stay kittens for at least a few months, and if they have power, Nell can start teaching them how to switch back and forth. And the Mage women…bless their hearts. Don’t get me wrong, that crazy psycho Queen put them through the ringer, but all they do is complain about their pregnancies. Their backs hurt, their feet are swollen, the baby is sitting on their bladder — their bladder! Have they no shame? Who talks about their bladder in public? Can you even believe it?”
She went on, her arms swirling as she punctuated her comments with grand gestures and the most ridiculous facial expressions. She raised and lowered her voice to mimic Elias’s Irish lilt and a little boy named Dillon who seemed oddly formal for a ten-year-old. From her story, I suspected he was very much in love with one Bethany Jackson.
She mimicked the women’s complaints and I couldn’t stop the laughter from coming. Soon, tears leaked from my eyes. I wanted Bethany to keep making me laugh and telling me stories, but we both kn
ew that wasn’t why we were in here.
“I appreciate the distraction, B, and I needed to laugh more than I even realized, but this doesn’t change anything,” I said as I met her eyes, keeping my tone level. “I’m a danger to these people. Even without the Keeper, I don’t know what I’m capable of. I can’t be out there among them. It’s reckless. And the women with babies…what if I hurt their kids? I’d never forgive myself.” I was shaking my head as the “what if” thoughts swirled around and the worst of the worst ended up planted in my mind.
When I looked up at Bethany, I expected her to be nodding and giving me the appropriate amount of sympathy. Instead, I met one sculpted eyebrow and a scowl.
“What?” I asked, my tone a little more screechy than it should have been. I reached for Cole’s power. It had become instinct over the past day to call on the pilfered magic now floating in my veins alongside my own.
“You actually believe what you’re saying, don’t you?” she asked as she shook her head.
“Yes, B, I do believe it,” I said. I could see she didn’t understand, so I continued, allowing the calm inside to stretch into my tone. “Okay, let’s play this out. I go out there and start interacting with people. Someone touches me, or we’re attacked, or I just get scared…I have never had my own power without the Keeper being a part of me. I don’t know how I will react to any of those situations. I could hurt someone, don’t you understand?” I paused, and added quietly, “I stole my brother’s power. I changed him forever.”
I was shocked when she leaned in and in the most patronizing tone, said, “No, you didn’t. He gave it to you. He told you to take it. He told you it was yours and you needed it and it was the reason your mamma gave him all that power anyway.”
My head shot up as she continued. “Do you know how I know that? I know because he told me so. And do you know what that means, Miss ‘nobody likes me, I should go eat worms’? That means he doesn’t hold this against you. And if he doesn’t hold it against you, you damn well can’t hold it against yourself.” With each of those last words, she tapped me in the middle of my chest and then sat back, crossed her arms, and silently dared me to argue.
Bound by Prophecy (Bound Series Book 3) Page 6
