Bound by Spells (Bound Series Book 2) (36 page)

We
were running as a unit toward the door when Rhi leapt out in front of us. I hadn’t expected him, and with Amelia in my arms, I couldn’t do anything. The Mages stayed with us, the green and red mixture of their power a shield between him and us. The battle hadn’t stopped around us, though the women and the AniMages seemed to have the upper hand.

“Do you honestly think your pathetic little spell will stop me? I will have her, Nathaniel. I told you I would have her and I have had her every day since. Just give her to me and I won’t do to your son what I did to you.” I wanted to punch him until the smile he held was nothing but teeth scattered across the floor. I didn’t want magic power; I wanted ten uninterrupted minutes to smash his head into the concrete.

I could only see the back of Nathaniel’s head as he stepped forward, breaking the circle. Rynna and Derreck reestablished the protective barrier but she cried out, “Nathaniel, no! She just got you back!”

“What happened to you, Rhi? We were friends once. We sat around the same fires growing up and we told stories about the world we wanted to live in when we grew older and took the power from our parents. What has my daughter done to you? What did Liana do to you? Why are you bound to terrorize my family?”

I watched the green power building around Nathaniel and the smile I hated form on Rhi's face again. “Do you want my sob story, Nathaniel? Do you want to know what broke me and sent me to this place? You. Your wife. All of you. You did this.

“It was me she was supposed to marry. All those years, I watched you with her and you were nothing.
Nothing.
Just some Mage’s son. I would rule our people and Cane would stand by my side. My brother would be my second and we would make the dreams you spoke of come true, but I would have done it with Liana. She was mine. The Elders had blessed it, yet they still let her go! You took her from me and they let you. And then Zendrick took my brother. Murdered him before he was even a man. You took everything from me, Nathaniel. So I have taken everything from you. I will do it again. I will bind you and your son and you can watch while I torture your pretty little girl until she gives us everything we need to restore this world to the proper order.”

I had been watching Nathaniel as he inched closer to one of the medical carts, his lips moving quickly, though no audible sounds were coming from him. Rhi was so busy gloating for all of us, he didn’t see what Nathaniel was doing. I pulled Amelia closer to me as Rynna and Derreck shared a surprised look. Nathaniel stood in front of the cart, holding a handful of instruments behind his back.

“She never told anyone who it was she was supposed to marry. Not even me,” Rynna whispered.

“You will not touch either of my children. Not now. Not ever!” Nathaniel took off for Rhi before any of us could stop him. He ran directly at him, pelting the Hunter with blasts, and knocking him backward as he shouted words I didn’t understand.

Cole moved to help Nathaniel and I shouted for him to stop. Derreck grabbed Cole and shoved him back toward Amelia. “No, Cole. She needs you!”

“But so does he!” Cole screamed, fighting against Derreck.

Micah and Baleon came running from behind us as Rhi unleashed his fury on Nathaniel. Soon, it was a combination of red, green, and orange flying back and forth. The Queen was screaming from her knees on the ground, her hands at her temples as she shouted for Rhi to stop and not hurt Mikail. Baleon moved to shove Micah behind him, pushing him toward us. Rhi froze momentarily, the collar around his neck glowing bright red. It finally gave Nathaniel the opening he needed. His lips moved faster and the metal in his hand glowed bright green. But just as he threw the blades, the red of Rhi’s collar faded and he was able to move again. At the last moment, Rhi was able to throw out a hand and deflect all but one of the enchanted scalpels. That one sunk deep into his chest, near his heart.

Rhi was flat on his back as Nathaniel ran to him. Nathaniel lifted his arms, power surrounding him and going for what I assumed was the deathblow, when Rhi suddenly yanked the blade from his chest and hurled it at Nathaniel. “You aren’t out of the fight until you’re dead, Nathaniel. Isn’t that what they said when your friend Zendrick killed my brother?”

Cole roared from behind me as Derreck restrained him and Rynna screamed. I pulled Amelia to me, praying she had no idea what had just happened, what her father had done for her.

Nathaniel sputtered, the blade buried in his neck. He started to fall backwards, but Baleon caught him and laid him on the floor as blood poured down his chest and spurted from his mouth and nose. Micah appeared in front of me, yelling and gesturing. My head finally snapped back to the present. I had never watched someone die, but I had to focus on the life I had to save in my arms.

“Let’s go! This way, Aidan!” He led us to the only open door and directed us up. “Go until you get to the library. Just keep going up. Once you’re there, Tragar will lead you into the maze. We’ll do what we can to get the rest out. I’ll send as many as I can up in the next ten minutes. After that, get out of here. Run until the maze gives you an exit, just keep thinking about needing to get Amelia to safety and one will appear. Her father’s death cannot be in vain.”

He was just as beat up as I was and I didn’t know how to thank him, so I simply nodded and took off up the stairs. Derreck had somehow gotten through to Cole and by the time we reached the maze, he was back in step with me, his hand around Amelia’s ankle as tears streamed down his cheeks.

As we hid in the maze, waiting for the others to emerge, he turned to me. “I never had the chance to tell him I was sorry. To tell him I understood what he had done for us.”

The
last thing I expected was to see a parade of pregnant women and two large cats following Elias, Derreck, and Rynna into the maze. Micah, Baleon, and the unknown Hunter had fought with us to give the women time to get out. They left Nathaniel’s body and we had to restrain Cole from going back down to retrieve it. I sent some of the birds ahead to get vehicles as we ushered the women into the woods. We needed to get out of there and our only hope was that Julia was still incapacitated. Rynna said she was unconscious on the floor with Rhi by her side when they left, giving them the opening to get themselves and the women out. Realizing the women were Julia’s only link to the future she hoped for, we knew the Hunters wouldn’t come at us full force. They would have to regroup and find a safe way to recover the women. It was our saving grace.

We made it to the cabin and in only a few hours, we were back on the road, headed to California. Micah and Baleon didn’t show up. We knew it was no longer safe for them at Cresthaven, but Rynna assured us they knew where we were headed and would find us. We had no idea how to unbind the remaining pregnant women Amelia hadn’t gotten to, but Amelia was the only person I could worry about now.

I hadn’t left her side. Once we reached Derreck’s cabin, I alternated between pacing the room she slept in and lying beside her. She would call out for me while she slept, screaming my name and crying. She never fully awoke, but I could feel the pain inside her. I could only get so far from her before the screaming would start and Cole was still grieving his father, so he couldn’t help me calm her down.

I was afraid to connect to her again. Rynna had explained her power and how they called it the Keeper. I could feel the so-called Keeper there, but I could barely find the trace of Amelia’s power. It was still deep inside her, but it was a tiny thread that used to be a rope I could connect to. And after what had happened—the way the Keeper had responded to me and taken so much in such a small amount of time—I was afraid if I tried again, I would lose myself to it. That I would be the reason we lost her completely.

A soft knock on the door drew me out. I hadn’t allowed anyone in the room with me, not even Bethany, who now stood in front of me. Charlie had stood sentry, not trying to come in, but helping to keep everyone out. He dropped his head as Bethany scratched his ears, clearly welcoming the affection and break from his duties.

“How long are you going to keep this up?” she asked. There was no accusation and I could plainly see the worry on her face. “Don’t you think it’s time to ask for help?”

Away from the AniMages, the pregnant women I still didn’t completely understand, and the Mages, I could finally tell someone the truth. Bethany and I went through this together and she was the only one I’d been able to be completely honest with. With her, I wasn’t the King of the AniMages or Amelia’s mate. I wasn’t half of a prophecy. I was just Aidan.

“They all think I’m her mate, which means I am supposed to be the one who pulls her out of this and brings her back. But Cole is catatonic, Rynna is trying to help the women, and I don’t even know what Derreck is doing. Who’s supposed to help me, Bethany?”

I sighed and dragged a hand through my hair. I needed a shower. I needed sleep. I needed her to come back to me.

“You need to cut yourself a break, Aidan. Remember, she got herself into this. She chose to put herself out there to try to save those women. I’m proud of her, but she allowed herself to get to this point. You can’t be expected to save her from herself. All you can do is give her a reason to come back to us. Maybe you should take a walk. Get some air. Give your mind some time to process. This has been a lot for you, too. I know you can’t go far, but I’ve seen you outside. You don’t have to be gone long, just take some space to breathe.” Amelia had always talked about Bethany’s tendency toward getting right to the heart of things and I appreciated it more than she knew.

Bethany stopped as she walked past me, giving my arm a squeeze.

“She’ll come back to us. I know it.” She whistled and Charlie scrambled to follow her. It was time for him to eat and spend some time with his brother, Onyx. He deserved it. I turned to go back in the room when I heard Elias call my name.

After much convincing, Elias finally dragged me away from Amelia and forced me to eat. I was staring absently into the eggs he put in front of me as he swore at me, lecturing me again on the need to be planning, not a zombie.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t take the anger, the judgment, or the unanswered questions. The plate in front of me flew across the room and shattered into tiny, jagged pieces.

“What do you want me to do?” I screamed. “I’m giving her everything I can. I’m trying to hear what you’re saying but I can’t be everything to everyone. You tell me I’m her mate and we need her to survive, so what is it you want me to do?”

“We have to make a plan! We have to figure out our next move. If you think those Hunters aren’t out looking for us now, you’re insane. We have to figure out how to help these women—my wife, Aidan. How are we going to help
my wife
?” He looked past me and out the window, where Nell lay in the sun. From what I’d learned, she had to stay in her shifted form until the kittens were born.

“We have to prepare for the rest of the pack’s arrival and how we’re going to house and protect them all. We have to figure out what the Queen having her cuff means. And what about all the women we weren’t able to get out? Yes, we need to help Amelia, but if she isn’t waking up, then we have to keep going!” I had no idea who this Elias was. The easy-going, calm guy I’d met was nowhere to be found and I was sick of his dictating.

In an uncharacteristic blast of rage, I shoved the heavy kitchen table across the room at Elias. “She will wake up! And you want me to worry about your wife while I worry about Amelia, too? Your wife is fine. Amelia gave her everything she had to make her fine. She’ll have her kittens and you’ll get her back. You know that. I don’t have your same luxury!”

“Stop it.” Elias and I both turned to find a red-haired woman standing in the doorway of the kitchen. It was Cora, one of the few we rescued who wasn’t pregnant.

“You do have a house full of women. Women who are pregnant, finally at full strength and free from years of imprisonment. Which means you don’t have to figure out what to do with us or how to prepare for the arrival of the pack—and what will hopefully be some of our families. We will do it. We want to do it. Derreck has offered us his barn, and we are working to create a space for everyone there.

“The Queen will come for us. She needs us now, more than ever. We have time. Not a lot, but enough for you to focus on your mate. She gave everything to save us and she needs you to find her way back to herself. She cannot do it alone.”

I didn’t know what to say. “Thank you” didn't feel like enough, but it was all I could muster.

“Thank you, Aidan. Make no mistake, you will save her. You are the only one who can. But your human friend is right, you need a break. And the answers you need are coming. When I know things, I’m sure of them, even when the details aren’t clear. I can tell you with certainty that the information you need is coming.”

Her words were cryptic, but she said the answers were coming—not here. Right now, being close to Amelia was the only thing I wanted or needed. I walked out of the kitchen without another word to either of them, and quietly slipped into bed next to Amelia. I pulled her onto my chest and reveled in the small sigh she made as she got comfortable. She would wake up. She had to.

Chapter 34