It felt good.
It felt good to fight for the right side of this war, to fight for my people. I was their Prince and we had lived like this for too long. Tragar couldn’t remember a time before my grandfather’s rule. He couldn’t remember a time when people hadn’t whispered about the Elders and wondered why there wasn’t more information about where we came from and what we were here for.
We weren’t human and we didn’t fit in with humans. Before my mother lost her mind, we were cloistered in one area, required to stay there. It was ridiculous. All of it. I wanted my people back together, by their choice. I wanted to sit on my family throne and make decisions that would help us grow, help us come together as one Immortal people, no matter our individual races. My mother wouldn’t be the only issue, Rhi was sure to be a challenge of his own, but it was a beginning. If I could take the throne, at least I could start to bring people together. I could show them the Clair blood was not tainted through and through.
We finally emerged into the clearing leading to the caves. Bale and I were the last to arrive and it was already a busy scene. People went this way and that way as they aired out blankets, unpacked supplies, and rested after the hike.
I hadn’t taken two steps forward when I heard, “Thank you, sweet baby Jesus.” I knew that voice. My head shot up and swiveled back and forth. I had to be hearing things. I was scanning the campsite when she spoke again. “Micah, I’m here. Goddamn all this magic shit, I’m right here!”
Her voice came from directly in front of me, but there was nothing there. “Bethany?” I questioned. I waved a hand in the empty space in front of me and felt something I instantly knew I shouldn’t have. I had felt that particular part of her just once, and had to get permission first. I started to apologize when Bethany’s still invisible palms connected with my chest, shoving me back a step.
I grunted, always impressed with the force such a small girl could put out. “You have to show yourself. Bloody hell, woman, I can’t see you!”
“I don’t know how! Amelia did this to me and then we just left. I don’t know how to show myself!” Bethany shrieked, her panic unnerving. Bethany didn’t panic.
I held my hands out, trying to calm her down. I wasn’t even sure I was looking in the right place. “Concentrate on me. You have to focus on the fact that you know me and want me to see you.”
Baleon interjected at that point, but stayed back away from us. “You can also decide to show yourself to everyone here, but if you do that, you cannot be cloaked again. The spell will be undone.”
“Undone? Like completely undone? I don’t know. No, I do. I can do that.” She still sounded panicked. I was starting to worry. It wasn’t like Bethany to lose control like this.
The air in front of me started to shimmer. It was what I would guess heat visions to be like, where everything behind that space was wavering and broken. Slowly, Bethany appeared, her eyes closed and nose wrinkled in a way I shouldn’t have found as adorable as I did. But, I had long accepted that she undid me by simply breathing.
“I can see you now,” I said, unable to hold back my smile of relief or the hand that reached forward and tucked a stray hair fallen from her ponytail behind her ear.
Bethany shook off my hand and I let it drop. She surprised me when she took a small step toward me, looking like she might actually reach for me.
“Thank God you came. I don’t know how you knew to come, but I swear to everything good and holy, I’ll do everything right from here on out because I prayed you would find me.” Tears started to fill her eyes and Bethany’s hands shook.
“What happened?” I asked, stepping forward. She stepped back, looking over my shoulder. “Bethany, this is not the time! What happened?”
“Not you,” she said, her head shaking back and forth. “I wasn’t backing away from you. Him. I was backing away from him.” She pointed her trembling finger toward Baleon.
“How can you trust him? He is one of them and they found us. They took Cole. They took him even though they said they could tell he didn’t have any magic. And they hurt him! They hurt him because he wouldn’t tell them where the women were or where Amelia was. And he didn’t tell them about me. I had to hide and watch while they hurt him and then took him!” Bethany was breaking down, tears streaming down her cheeks and hiccuping sobs interrupting her words.
“What? They took Cole? Who? Where?” I pelted her with questions as AniMages surrounded us. They knew who Bethany and Cole were to me and Amelia. They knew what this meant.
Bethany opened her mouth, but the sobs took over as she collapsed against me. I slowly lowered us both to the ground and held her to me as I looked over at Baleon. He nodded, his mouth a tight line. There was no question now. We were going to Cresthaven.
31
A pile of jagged rocks and crumbled pieces of the mountain wall covered our exit. I strained my hearing, making sure no other rocks would fall. The jolt of energy and amped up power ran through me, my wolf on high alert, ready to go. I was close to shifting, but wasn’t sure whether I’d be more of a help or hindrance for Amelia in that form. She crouched behind me as we both silently scanned the room, still positioned just in front of the wall of magic.
“Have you seen either dog move?” I asked, staring at the two Danes who now stood sentry on each side of the room. They were close to the edges, their backs almost against the side walls.
I didn’t wait for her to answer. “I don’t like this, Amelia. I don’t like—”
Hearing another faint click, I didn’t finish my warning. She couldn’t hear it, but my wolf howled inside my head, yelping for me to look up. With one hand, I shoved Amelia down as I leapt over her so my body shielded hers. A quiet whoosh told me something was falling at the same moment both Danes started howling.
Sounds assaulted my ears. The dogs baying, Amelia’s screams, a roaring wind I heard but couldn’t feel, and finally, my own wordless shouts. I threw both hands in the air as light glinted off dark metal bars and registered the spiked grate plummeting toward us. It moved too fast for me to get us both to safety, and the wall blocked our path in the other direction. I had seconds to make a decision.
Crouching over Amelia, I flung everything I had at the grate. I didn’t know how to stop it, but my AniMage instincts took over and I had no control over them. I pulled at the power and then forced it back out, focused only on protecting Amelia. It was blue fire and orange lightning, a concentrated stream of continuous energy that shot from my palms and hit the grate dead center, slowing it down but not changing the trajectory.
I redirected the stream of crackling power to the right half of the grate and pulled at the deepest parts of me. I screamed, the power scorching my hands and shredding my insides as it yanked energy from every cell. I directed the blasts at the right edge of the grate and it started to lift up and away from us.
As I forced more power out of my body to move the grate, I struggled to breathe, my body scrambling to heal the burns and replenish itself since I refused to stop. The last burst of power propelled out of me, a basketball-sized orb of swirling light hitting exactly where I’d intended, sending the grate toppling to the left, landing with a deafening clang on its top in the center of the room.
I exhaled in relief, but my body quickly responded to what I’d put it through. Exhaustion overtook me and I couldn’t stop from laying out on the cold stones. They were cool against my hot skin. My body was limp and my insides raw.
Amelia hovered over me, her voice far away, though her face was inches from mine. Her words stopped and a soothing energy slid through me, relieving the aches and pains, and acting as a salve on my internal blisters. I didn’t want her to stop when she did.
“Thank you,” I mumbled as I sat up. “I don’t know why I couldn’t take care of that myself.”
She steadied me. “You feel really depleted. I should probably give you more, then you can tell me what the hell just happened.” She sent a wary look over my shoulder, and I tu
rned to see the spiked grate halfway across the room, upside down and partially melted.
“You did a number on that thing,” she said wryly. “I could have helped you, you know. You didn’t have to take that on alone.”
The room wouldn’t stay put. I swayed with the movement in my head. Amelia took both of my hands in hers and I felt her filter in again. The Elder power combined with what she gained from Cole felt like a nap in the sunshine. Nothing hurt and I could feel my energy being renewed. I wanted to lay back and let the euphoria take me away, but we needed answers and there was only one way to get them.
I released her hands, pulled away, and pressed them against the stones, slowly making my way to standing. Amelia rose at the same speed, her hands out like she expected me to topple. Once at full height, I took a deep breath and reassessed. Nothing wobbled, spun, or ached…much.
“Come on, we need to try again,” I said.
“Are you sure, Aidan? What if we’re wrong again?” Amelia stared at the wall of power, gnawing at her lower lip.
“We’ve come this far. We can do this. We have to,” I said, holding out my hand. She took it and we stood together in silence, watching the symbols float slowly toward the floor before disappearing and then reappearing at the top of the wall.
I focused all of my attention on the wall, seeing nothing but the flowing colors and symbols. Up and down. Up and down. Then, it started — feint strains of a melody I’d fought to remember as a child and wished I could forget as I grew up. A melody that had sent me over the edge when Amelia hummed it in the courtyard of our college.
My head whipped back and forth as my eyes scanned the room. “Do you hear that?” I asked. “Where is it coming from?”
“Aidan, I don’t hear anything. What are—”
“Shhhh,” I said, putting one hand up. “There. It’s there again.” I closed my eyes and the notes grew louder.
“Aidan, I don’t hear anything,” she argued.
The song overtook my mind, blocking out anything else Amelia might have said. It triggered a memory. One that hadn’t arisen when my binds were broken and my wolf was freed. I didn’t trust this room or what had happened here, but as soon as the scene began and I saw my parents, I knew I had to see the rest.
I heard them say my name, but knew they weren’t speaking to me. Their Aidan was in my mother’s arms, wrapped in a blanket. She swayed back and forth as they spoke in hushed tones.
“This was the right choice, wasn’t it, Zen?” my mother asked. My father came up behind her and wrapped his arms around both her and me, his chin resting on the top of her head. He swayed back and forth, the three of us forming a family unit I’d never seen until now.
“Kayla, you know we had to do this. I didn’t want to abandon my duties and leave the pack any more than you did. But, Lavignia came to us and told us to leave. She said our son would help save our people. She said he would help stop Julia’s madness and lead the AniMages. He will be King and our people will be whole again,” my father said quietly, and tears fell from my mother’s cheeks.
“How have our people strayed so far from their purpose, Zen? When did Immortals become so selfish, so conceited to believe that they were the only ones who mattered? How did this happen?” she asked quietly.
“Your heart has always been so big, Kayla. Since we were children and I learned quickly capturing toads would only earn me your ire and not your favor, you’ve always seen the world as so black and white. Nothing was ever insignificant to you. Every life held value.” My father smiled as he kissed my mother’s temple. “Unfortunately, it is not so simple and clear to everyone.”
“Shouldn’t it be so simple though, Zendrick? We know the truth. Lavignia told us everything. We understand who we were meant to be and our purpose in this world. How could she tell us and no one else? Why would she impart such knowledge and then send us away?”
She didn’t wait for him to answer. Instead, she pulled me closer and continued.
“Will any of us remember what truly happened? How can we blindly believe someone who has lied to us for years? The world Julia has built…I don’t want that for our son. He shouldn’t have to run from his home and be afraid. I don’t want this life for him, Zen.” She stopped speaking and another tear fell.
My father only pulled her more tightly to him, saying, “I know, doll, I know. Lavignia came to us and offered us the truth. But she said it came with consequences, and it has.”
Neither of my parents spoke as they swayed back and forth. Soon, my father started to hum and my mother’s voice filled the air.
She plucked the sun from the sky,
She borrowed the moon for one night,
She looked down at this place,
And knew the timing was right.
She poured drops from the ocean,
Breathed fire from the core,
She exhaled her breath,
Dug her hands into the soil.
She gave of herself,
It flowed freely within,
But without her love and light,
Our souls will grow dim.
The keepers of men,
Caretakers of fur and fin,
Sworn protectors,
Guardians of all of them.
Her light shines bright,
We are never alone,
We need only look in,
To finally be home.
“Be with us now, Mother. We need you,” my mother whispered.
My eyes snapped open, connecting with the symbols on the wall. I watched them float as the song repeated in my head. The sequence of symbols changed and I continued to stare. By the third time, they were organized perfectly, and I finally understood the memory.
“That’s it,” I said, the words riding my exhale.
“What’s it, Aidan? What just happened? You zoned out on me for a second.” Amelia stepped in front of me, her eyes narrowing as she searched my face.
I filled her in on the memory and tried not to allow the emotion of feeling so close to my parents choke me up. Her eyes were bright, ripples of violet light behind glass as they filled. As I got to the end of the story, I found the melody of the song my mother sang and sang it myself.
Amelia watched and listened, her eyes never straying from mine. I could feel her ache to hold me, to touch me. The need for our connection was in me as well. I reached out and pulled her to me. With my arms wrapped around her the same way my father had held my mother, I finished the song and dropped a kiss to the top of her head.
“That was beautiful, Aidan,” she said, her voice wavering. “I’ve never been able to forget that melody.”
“I wish you could have heard my mother sing it. That was something truly beautiful,” I responded. We were quiet as we both stared at the wall. The memory of Amelia humming my mother’s song and the afternoon we ditched so I could take her up to my favorite cliffs was one of my favorites. It was the first time we truly opened up to each other. It was hard to believe how far we’d come.
The symbols started their fall again and this time, I knew exactly what to do. I sang the song again and as I got to each symbol, I reached out and pulled it from the stream of light. Each time my fingers dipped into the power stream, I felt the electric shock vibrate to my core. But with each one I pulled correctly, the shock lessened.
Amelia stood next to me. As she watched, a smile developed. Each symbol I plucked, I dropped into her outstretched hands. I expected them to dull, to lose the silver sheen they held as they had before, but they didn’t. They glowed brighter. Her palms filled with their own light source.
I pulled the last symbol down, the one for mother. It was the only one that made sense to end the song and the only symbol still floating. I dropped it into Amelia’s hands and the light grew even brighter.
Neither of us could take our eyes from Amelia’s palms and the glowing symbols. The room was silent, our quick breaths the only sound. I was drawn to the light, to Amelia, and turned to face her comple
tely.
A need I couldn’t stop or explain engulfed me. I reached out and covered Amelia’s hand with my own. When the outer edges of my hands met the skin of hers, the cascade of power from the door dropped, a thunderous whoosh echoing across the room. At the same time, the light between our hands flared and we were both thrown backwards.
We landed in a heap, limbs tangled. My head smacked on the cold stone and I fought dizziness as I tried to get to my feet. I had no idea what would come through that space and I needed to protect us. Thankfully, Amelia’s healing had done the trick. My power was no longer depleted and the dizziness cleared quickly. I helped Amelia to her feet when the light in the room strobed.
Our heads whipped around and we both shielded our eyes against the brightness streaming in from the doorway we’d opened. It was blinding at first, permeating the cavern with stark white light. It filled every nook and crevice, bringing with it a warmth that wrapped around me like a blanket. I instantly lost the need to fight or protect. I only wanted to be close to whatever was coming.
The vibrancy dimmed slowly and a silhouette appeared. A woman shaped like an hourglass wearing a one-shouldered dress that clung to her figure and fell to the floor. She came across the threshold, and said, “I am Gaea. Mother of all Immortals, Mother of all beings, Mother Earth. And you are the saviors of everything I hold dear.”
32
“Gaea?” I croaked out. My voice echoed the disbelief running through my brain.
The woman continued to take measured steps toward us, her hands clasped loosely in front of her. Had I ever envisioned a run-in with a Greek goddess, I wouldn’t have imagined her to be this tall, curvaceous woman with salt and pepper hair flowing down her back and life’s wrinkles crisscrossing her face. I spent enough time with my head in mythology books to know who Gaea was, but my mind couldn’t reconcile the deity with the woman in front of me.
She gave me a small smile, amusement dancing in her eyes. “Gaea is indeed my name, Amelia. And I have long waited for you to come. For my children to finally save themselves and send me the ones who would bring me home.”
Bound by Prophecy (Bound Series Book 3) Page 17
