Images of Cole in the same room as Rhi fueled a deep panic inside me. I took his power — okay, he gave it to me — and now, he was defenseless, which was my fault. There had to have been a way for me to take what my mother meant for me while leaving him with something. I hadn’t even tried to give him his power back, and I couldn’t believe I left him with nothing. I should have tried.
Amelia, you have to calm down.
Aidan’s voice ruptured my internal tirade.
I can hear your heartbeat racing and feel your guilt. Cole wouldn’t want this. He wouldn’t want you to feel like this. He made a choice, the same as you. Focus forward. We’re going to get him out of there.
I knew Aidan was right. His concern also hovered on the edges of my mind. If I focused on him and not on myself, it was easier. I let his love wash over me, stopping my erratic thoughts. I had to focus. I had to be ready.
I looked around and noticed everyone, having finished eating, was staring at me. I stood from the table. “Let’s go,” I said calmly.
Getting to Cresthaven and navigating the maze had been a cinch. With each potentially life-threatening situation I helped us make it through, my confidence grew. I had cloaked the group — me, Aidan, Bethany, Rynna, and Derreck — so we could approach the outer gates unnoticed. The door to the maze popped open as soon as I stood in front of it.
Rynna and I agreed we wanted to be farther into the maze before we attempted a door. As we ran down leafy corridors, surrounded by the eight-foot-tall hedges, I’d realized I could no longer separate Gaea’s power from my own. She was a part of me and I prayed I could control what she gave me to save my brother and friends. And that we could fulfill her wishes to help all of our people.
Sensing my anxiety, Aidan provided a wave of reassurance. Feeling him there, always in the back of my mind, was a relief. To some, perhaps it would have been an intrusion, but fundamentally, I had changed so much since he and I met. My power growing, the Keeper taking hold, my experience at Cresthaven, and then with Gaea…my power had been held hostage, amped up, combined with Cole’s, stripped of the Keeper, and merged with a Goddess. Aidan was my anchor. He reminded me of everything I was beneath the magic and prophecy. Amid a host of impulsive, half-baked decisions, his presence confirmed there was something I had done right. I had chosen him.
I love you.
He grinned over at me. I know. But you can keep telling me.
Shaking my head, I laughed. I slowed our jog to a walk and then stopped. “Here goes nothing,” I muttered as I plunged my hand into the hedge like Micah had. The leaves brushed my fingers before I felt the cool metal of the handle. I lightly traced the circular knob before grasping it and focusing on the door leading us to the library. I heard the snick of the latch and the hedge popped inward, revealing giant shelves and stacks of books.
I kept our cloak in place as we filed in. I led the way and was pleased to find Tragar in the center of the room, his back to us. “I knew I would see you again, little one,” he said. I lifted the cloak as he turned around. It was hard to know whether his immediate joy was seeing me, or Rynna and Derreck. They ran to him first and I heard Aidan and Bethany laughing quietly behind me.
I used another one of our newest tricks and lurked in Aidan’s mind, listening to their conversation.
“It just so happens that your friend here is only mostly dead,” Aidan said, his voice high, attempting to match Billy Crystal’s.
Bethany giggled. “Humperdinck! Humperdinck! Humperdinck!” She perfectly mimicked Miracle Max’s wife from Princess Bride and I found myself laughing along with them. They both looked at me and we erupted as a trio.
“Will you two stop!” I attempted to scold them through my laughter. “Tragar is sweet, even if he does look like Miracle Max.” I hadn’t ever made that connection myself, but the longer I looked at Tragar in his billowing robes with his crazy white hair and big nose, it was all too clear.
Rynna, Derreck, and Tragar all looked at us curiously. “Nothing, it’s nothing,” I assured them as I gestured Aidan and Bethany forward.
“Tragar, this is my best friend, Bethany, and my mate, Aidan.” They each stepped forward and shook Tragar’s hand.
“Her mate, you say?” Tragar questioned as he held onto Aidan’s hand a bit longer. Aidan nodded. “Yes, sir, made official by Gaea herself.” As Aidan held Tragar’s hand, I transferred a little of myself into him, directing my power to extend through Aidan’s palm into Tragar’s.
Tragar’s eyes went wide and I swore I could see doors unlocking in his mind. He dropped Aidan’s hand and stared at nothing, his eyes unfocused. A few seconds later, he was speaking rapid fire.
“I’ll be damned! It’s there. It’s all there. This whole time, I’ve searched every book and I’ve had it all locked away. Gaea. Our Mother. Oh, dear. We’ve failed. We’ve failed at everything she created us to be.” Tragar looked around wildly, until his eyes landed on me. “Amelia, you must fix this. You must stop this. I can’t believe we’ve allowed it to happen. You have to save us.”
I stepped forward and grasped his shaking hands. “Don’t worry, Tragar. That’s why we’re here. Aidan and I are going to fix this. I need you to help me, though. Micah told me to send you to find Joran and bring him here. We need Joran to find Cole and Micah and get them away from Rhi. Can you help us?”
Tragar nodded slowly, his pupils returning to normal as he calmed. Then, he grunted. “That boy knows I don’t like bringing them into my library. Damn demons, anyway. But you need Joran, you say? That poor Hunter has been tortured by Rhi ever since you left. I don’t know why you’d want him. Shadow of himself, you see. But, if that’s what Mikail told me to do, then that’s what old Tragar will do.”
Tragar continued to mutter to himself as he walked away. “Will you be okay, Tragar?” I called over to him.
“Yes, yes, don’t worry, little one. I’m just sorting through pieces of my life I’d long forgotten. I’ll go find Joran. Stay back in the stacks, just in case.” He quietly left the library and it was back to the five of us.
We stood in a circle. “Okay, we’re here. Joran should be here soon, and he can lead us to Cole and Micah. The question now is what all are we here to do?” I asked the question and let it linger in the air between us.
Uncle Derreck spoke first. “We should stay together, at least until we get to Cole. Then, you should let us get him out of here. If we have any hope of converting some of the Hunters to our side, you’re going to have to show them what you can do. You’re going to have to take out Rhi.”
You’re going to have to take out Rhi. His words repeated in my mind. Could I do that? Did I have the power for that?
Of course you do. You have a Goddess inside you and me beside you. You won’t do this alone. We’ll do it together.
Aidan slid his hand into mine and I slowly exhaled, nodding.
“I am going to take out Rhi,” I said. I wasn’t sure whether I was trying to convince them or myself.
The door to the library opened. We all dropped to a crouch and hid behind the shelves until we heard Tragar call out to us.
I stood to find Joran only feet from me. I knew it was him because I saw the familiar tattoos that wrapped around his bald head and I recognized his gentle eyes, but the rest of him looked like someone else. His body had to be half the size. His long, leather jacket hung off his frame, making it even more noticeable that he’d lost weight. I couldn’t imagine what he’d been put through.
“Thank you, Joran,” I said. His brow drew together in confusion.
“Thank you for fighting with us. Thank you for helping to save me. Thank you for coming with Tragar.”
His pinched features relaxed. “Prince Mikail told me to listen to Tragar before I made my decision. I assume now the decision is whether I will help you?”
“Yes, it is. We need to know if you will help us,” I said, gesturing around me. “Joran, this is my Uncle Derreck and Rynna.” His mouth quirked into a ghost of
a smile.
“Yes, we all know each other from many years ago,” he said.
“And this is my mate, Aidan. And my best friend, Bethany,” I said.
“I remember your mate from the laboratory. But why would you bring a human here?” he asked gruffly.
“She didn’t ‘bring a human here’,” Bethany shot at him, with full air quotes. “The human told her it wasn’t optional that I help stop that crazy bitch and get my friends back.” She glared at Joran with daggers I hadn’t seen before in her eyes. Bethany’s hatred for Hunters ran deep, no matter whose side they were on.
An eyebrow rose on Joran’s face. “I see. And does the human understand she is nothing but—”
“Enough,” I interrupted. “We’re not doing this. We don’t have time. Every minute we waste is one Rhi could be torturing Cole or Micah.”
Aidan finally spoke. “Joran, we are here to stop all of this. We want to get Cole and Micah, find Baleon, and kill Rhi. We want this night to end with Julia and Rhi no longer a threat to anyone, and we have the power to do it.” He looked at me and I closed my eyes. When I reopened them, I knew what Joran was seeing.
I extended my arm and flipped my palm up. “Joran, I have power in me no one on this earth has had before. Our Mother, Gaea, put it inside me herself.” White smoke built in my palm and started to swirl into a mini-tornado.
Joran looked interested, but not impressed, so I upped the level. I allowed the smoke to drift apart and focused on him. Without a word or movement from me, he rose into the air. Then, so did a stack of books. The books shot around him, creating a wide berth, but circling him like the rings of Saturn.
I watched him squint, clearly trying to fight back. “I won’t hurt you, obviously. This is me just having fun. I can feel your power, but it is a candle flame compared to the forest fire inside me. You know I’m telling the truth, I remember your gift. Am I lying when I tell you I met Gaea, that Aidan and I freed her from her prison? And after that, she mated us and gave me the ability to use her power to end Julia’s reign once and for all?”
I let the books drift back to their appropriate stacks as I set Joran back on the floor.
“You do not lie, Amelia,” Joran responded. “I see her in your eyes and in your heart. But how is it I see her at all? How can I see these memories I never knew I had?”
“When we freed Gaea and she gave me this power to fight Julia, she also explained that she locked away your memories,” I explained. “In order to stop the civil war the last King started, she had to wipe away all knowledge of how the Immortals came to that place. With the mention of her name, and the visible use of her power, everyone will remember.”
He nodded along as I spoke, finally saying, “I can see why. I may have preferred those memories stayed buried. Now, what is it you want to ask of me?”
“Joran, we need you to take us to where they are holding Micah and Cole,” I said. “We need to get into that chamber and a way to get them out. Will you help us? We know we can’t get in without a Hunter unless I make it very obvious we are here. If we do that, we lose the element of surprise, and that’s the only way we’re going to get to Rhi.” I didn’t want to beg Joran, even though I would if it came to that. I stood between Aidan and Bethany, and we waited.
After a long minute, Joran said, “If you will give me back what he took, I will do anything to bring Rhi to justice. Anything.”
I stepped forward and reached up to Joran’s cheek. My warm palm met his clammy skin and in that instant, I knew what he meant. Rhi had stripped him down to almost nothing. The power inside Joran was a fraction of what it should have been. The magic that should have flowed freely in his veins and centered in his soul was fragmented. The chunks were jagged puzzle pieces that couldn’t find a way back together.
Tears sprang to my eyes as his internal pain hit me. The fact that Joran wasn’t insane, that he hadn’t allowed Rhi’s torture to break his spirit entirely, was shocking. Of its own accord, my power flowed out of me into Joran. I watched the white smoke glide through him and capture the wayward pieces of power in an invisible net. It worked its way through him, until the net was full, and then sat in his core.
Aidan, I need you.
I was getting tired. I wasn’t sure what to do next and the only feeling I had was that I needed more.
I’m here, doll. I heard his voice, then felt the influx of energy. As soon as his power met mine, the smoke swirled around Joran’s magic. It churned and twirled until the edges of the pieces wore down. Sharp barbs were replaced by rounded corners. As each worn down piece ran into the next, they merged and the ball continued to grow. Once Joran’s power was completely coalesced, I heard him sigh.
I started to withdraw and with each inch my healing smoke pulled back, his power reached out. When I finally removed myself from him and my hand from his cheek, Joran looked down at me with utter relief.
“I can breathe. I can feel. You have given me back what I thought I would never have,” he said, then dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
“I make this oath to you, Amelia Bradbury. I will do as you bid, I will protect you, and those you love. I am yours to command from this day until you determine my debt is paid.” I looked around nervously.
Tragar finally said, “You must accept his oath, Amelia.”
I looked at Aidan. He shrugged. What can it hurt? he asked.
“Thank you, Joran. I accept,” I said.
He stood and pulled his closed fist to his heart, bowing once more. “And now, I will take you to your brother and the Prince. We must move quickly and quietly. We must be ghosts in these halls.”
41
Apparently, there were hidden passages all over Cresthaven. After Amelia cloaked Bethany again, Joran shocked Tragar by popping open a hidden door behind a set of shelves in the library.
“In order for us to be effective at protecting the Queen, we needed access to every part of the house. Many of these passages are rarely used, like this one,” he explained to a stammering Tragar. “We knew we were not welcome here.” Joran smirked and Tragar relaxed.
“Let me go first, Amelia,” I said to her. To my surprise, Amelia didn’t argue at all.
“That’s probably best,” she agreed. “I want to stay with Bethany. Even cloaked, she needs protection.”
While I hadn’t said it out loud, I was in Joran’s camp when it came to Bethany. She was my friend, too, but I didn’t agree with her coming with us for this. It was too dangerous and she was a liability. I worried about Amelia protecting Bethany before she protected herself.
It’s fine, Aidan. I can do both at once. That’s why I want to be close to her. I can feed you power from a distance.
If I could listen in on her, it was only fair she could do the same to me, but Amelia’s voice in my head was still a little off-putting.
I was still lost in my own thoughts when I felt a smack to the back of my head.
“Ow,” I said as I whipped around. There was no one there. Then, I felt something lightly brush against my neck, sending shivers down my spine. I spun around, looking in the other direction while everyone else watched me with amused smiles.
“What?” I asked, turning around again.
“Ah ha. Very funny, Blondie,” I said, and heard her chuckle to herself.
“I had to, Aidan. I just had to,” Bethany said. “I mean, if I’ve got the Cloak of Invisibility, why not have a little fun with it?”
We all laughed, but it was cut short by Joran.
“We must go,” Joran said. His seriousness overrode the humor Bethany had brought and we all fell in line. It looked like there was a gap between Amelia and Rynna, but Bethany was there, and Derreck brought up the rear.
“Be careful, all of you,” Tragar said as he closed the door behind us.
Joran raised a hand and orange fire erupted in his palm. “This way,” he said, and off we went.
We twisted and turned through the passage, moving more slowly than we might
have to keep a pace Bethany could maintain. No one spoke and the only sounds were quiet footsteps and quick breaths.
The passage forked multiple times, but Joran never hesitated. More than once, I shut down thoughts of him betraying us. He had made an oath and while I didn’t understand entirely what that meant, he also fought on our side once already. But, we couldn’t know how deep Rhi’s torture scarred him.
Before I could find the right question to ask, a door appeared at the end of the hall. As we got closer, Joran moved even slower. I used my power to even out my breathing and lighten my steps further. I instructed Amelia to do the same. She whispered back to Rynna and soon, we were silently moving, not a sound coming from anyone.
Joran approached the door cautiously. He put a hand to the wood and closed his eyes. When he turned back to us, he whispered, “Micah and Cole are there and alone. For now.”
Joran pulled the door open, but as he did, Amelia said, “Just hold on. We shouldn’t all go in. Just in case something goes wrong or this is some kind of trick, we can’t go barging in there.”
Joran stopped, the door open only a foot or so. “That is intelligent. We don’t know when the guards will return, but they will.”
“Amelia, why don’t you and Rynna stay here and let Derreck, Joran, and me check things out?” I asked.
Of course, she instantly disagreed. So did Rynna. And soon, the five of us were arguing in hushed tones. Then, we heard noise from the other side of the door and Joran quickly shoved it closed. We all fell silent.
Voices carried through the wood. The guards were back.
“Now what do we do?” I breathed out, asking Joran.
He put up a hand, and mouthed, “Wait.”
I leaned against the passage wall and felt Amelia grip a few of my fingers with hers.
I’m sorry for arguing with you. I’m just scared.
I know that, Amelia. But you have to trust me. I’m not keeping you from fighting, I’m making sure I have solid backup when shit hits the fan. Because we both know it will.
She laughed a little in my mind. You sound like — ohmygod, where is Bethany? Amelia looked around, squinting her eyes as she focused further down the passage. Aidan, she’s gone. Where did she go?
Bound by Prophecy (Bound Series Book 3) Page 22
