Bound by Spells (Bound Series Book 2) (6 page)

“No. No. No. He has to be here. He would have never let someone take Cole. And no one would take him, either. He has to be here. Amelia will kill me if anything happens to him,” Bethany muttered as she reopened the same four doors she’d already looked inside. Then I heard it. A deep
woof
so faint, there was no way she was hearing it.

“Wait! Listen!” I commanded. I stood still. So still, I thought my heart stopped beating. Bethany stopped moving as well. There it was again. I could hear him. Bethany looked around, hopelessly. “Outside! He has to be outside!” Before I could move, Bethany was tearing down the staircase, screaming Charlie’s name again.

I took the steps down two at a time behind her and we ran back around the building to the beach. The baying got louder and I could smell him. I scanned the lower level and finally found what I was looking for. Under Cole’s apartment building was some type of storage area barricaded by a huge wooden door. I could hear Charlie scratching and howling from behind it. I took off around Bethany and dove for the door. It was padlocked. Without a second thought, I grabbed the padlock and pulled it from the old wood. The rusty latch didn’t give without a fight, but beast strength was on my side. I stepped back just in time. The door flew open and out came a very irate Great Dane.

Charlie dove out from the storage area, taking off for the apartment. There was nothing we could do but follow. I couldn't even keep up with how fast his four huge legs moved him. When Bethany and I finally pushed back inside, we found Charlie whimpering and sitting next to the blood I’d smelled. Looking at Charlie, there was no question it was Cole’s.

Chapter 6

I
stood, staring at the closed door smugly, until Micah whipped me around, his face just centimeters from mine.

“Are you absolutely insane? Do you understand what you have done? You could have just played along. You could have at least given her time to get to know you. You did not have to force this already. Damn it, Amelia.”

Micah continued to berate me, his perfect English and proper accent becoming increasingly annoying. Finally, I yanked my hand from his and stepped back, crossing my arms over my chest. “Did you hear her? Consummate our marriage? What in the hell is she talking about?”

Guilt and frustration came from Micah in equal measures as he dragged a hand through his hair. “We are betrothed, Amelia. What exactly did you think she expected?” He rolled his eyes, his shoulders dropping as his body deflated of anger and settled into frustration. “And you could have at least afforded her the respect of being my mother—of being the Queen. Would that have been so terrible?”

I narrowed my eyes, questioning how he could possibly be an ally when he was clearly delusional. We stood in stalemate for another moment, until he finally exhaled loudly, yanked his hair back into a low ponytail, and held out his hand. I looked down, wrinkling my nose.

Clenching his jaw, Micah’s eyes narrowed as he snatched my hand up again and pulled me to him, whispering, “Now, more than ever,
fiancée
, you’re going to have to play the part. Because I am the only protection you have. So, you will stay by me at all times and I will try to keep you from getting yourself killed. Understood?” What had been frustration melted into a silent plea as his eyes softened.

He wasn’t just angry; there was a hint of fear that unnerved me more than it should have. I still didn’t understand, but I slowly nodded anyway, uncomfortable with the expression Micah wore. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, nodded, and led me into the house. As we crossed the threshold, his whole demeanor changed. To help me acclimate or as part of the show, I wasn’t certain. I had a hard time hearing him, though. All I could think was how beautiful this house of terrors was.

I turned my head from side to side, trying to take in the entryway filled with marble so polished, I could see my reflection, huge pieces of art depicting people I had to assume were royals, and a ceiling so high, I almost fell over trying to look to the top. I forced myself to look past the Hunters, who were everywhere. There were male and female Hunters and it occurred to me not all of them were dressed like those who served Julia in her guard. Black trench coats on the men were replaced with a servant uniform on the women.

“Are there anything but Hunters here? Who works here?” Micah had been pointing and explaining something, but I wasn’t listening to at all. He frowned at my interruption.

“No, there aren’t. My mother has ultimate control of the Hunters via the collars they wear, so they are the only ones she surrounds herself with.” His face held a look of disgust he couldn't mask, but as another Hunter strode through the entryway, holding a covered tray, Micah quickly grabbed my elbow and turned me toward a painting.

“Watch what you say here, Amelia. They are always listening.” His words were barely audible and I had to bite my tongue from telling him he sounded just like my father. Then again, my father had been right, and likely so was Micah.

Still gripping my elbow, Micah turned me toward one of the long corridors jetting off from the entryway. As we entered the hallway, Baleon appeared behind us. I hadn’t heard his footsteps and jumped a little as his shadow fell over me.

Like the entryway, the hallway was all marble floors and high ceilings. The light fixtures emitting a soft glow were medieval-looking sconces spaced every five or six feet. Micah spoke quickly, his head whipping between me and the things he was pointing out. He smiled as he explained the architecture and decor to me. He pointed out pieces along the corridors that came from the Fertile Crescent—items sculpted by his ancestors or painted by famous Mages from our history books. I was particularly drawn to the paintings and struggled to keep up as Micah kept walking, wanting to study each one to see what our homeland actually looked like.

Baleon followed just behind us, but each hallway we passed held another Hunter. As I looked back at the Hunters, they all stared me directly in the eyes. Their orange eyes swirled, looking far too much like a close-up of the sun as it spat solar flares into the universe. Their eyes would narrow as our gazes met and I could see the animosity coming from them. They made it perfectly clear they’d rather have me buried out back than walking their halls.

I was lost in my own thoughts as Micah finally slowed and stopped in front of a room. He didn’t speak for a moment and I was afraid of what would come next.

“We aren’t sharing a room!” The words were out before I could stop them and both of my hands flew to my mouth. I looked around to make sure no one else had heard my outburst.

Micah actually chuckled, a low reverberation reminding me far too much of Aidan and the sound he would make as he laughed. “No, Amelia. We will not be sharing a room. We are betrothed, not married—much to my mother’s dismay. This is your room and mine is directly across the hall. I paused because I was in the midst of making a decision.”

Micah turned away from me to face Baleon. “Bale, from now until the wedding, I am assigning you to protect Amelia. You will protect her with the same vows you swore to protect me. Understood?”

Baleon did not look thrilled. “Yes, Prince Mikail. As you wish.” Bale took up the position next to my door, never even acknowledging his new charge standing right in front of him.

“You’re joking, right? I mean, Micah, we both know I was right. Your mother needs me. She wants something from me she can't get if I’m—”

Before I could finish, Micah shoved me into my room and kicked the door shut.

“Will you stop?” he whisper-yelled. “Listen very carefully to me, Amelia.” He pointed his finger at me and waited until I nodded, looking up into his eyes.

“Every single person in this home works for my mother. Trust no one, no one but me and Baleon. He is my man, of that I am certain. And you misunderstand your position. Yes, you have something my mother wants, but she is playing a game I don’t even understand yet. Yes, there’s the prophecy, but she doesn’t seem anywhere near as concerned with it as she is with this wedding. It’s all she’s talked about. It’s the reason we flew alone. She wants us to spend time together. She wants you to…” He trailed off and looked past me.

“She wants me to fall in love with you? Are you joking?” Instantly, I knew I’d hurt his feelings and the laughter in my voice fell away to silence.

“Yes, that’s what she wants. And while I understand I’m not Aidan, we also have something bigger to deal with here. We have priorities. People’s lives are at stake, Amelia. And I don’t want or need you to love me, I just need you to stay alive and help me. Which means you have to stop pissing her off.”

I thought he was going to stop, but Micah stood back and crossed his arms over his chest, a cold look transforming his features. “You don’t understand what my mother has been through or how her mind works. I do. Believe me when I say you are not safe. You are not protected. You are a prisoner and I am your only lifeline. So, you stay by me. You listen to me. And you keep your damn mouth shut. Do you understand?”

For this moment, I had to disregard his patronizing tone and focus on the dots slowly connecting in my head. “Is that why you become someone else in front of her? Why you wear this mask of fear and intimidation around her and no one else? Because I don’t get you, Micah. One minute, you’re ordering me around, sneaking me out into the night, and the next, you’re cowering in your chair, acting like she just might turn you into a toad.” I stood a little taller, feeling good about finally calling him out on all his crap.

He simply shook his head and rolled his eyes. “You aren’t listening to me. You have to play her game. You cannot underestimate what she’ll do or the lengths she’ll go. She doesn’t bother with me because she thinks I’m not worthy of bothering with. She doesn’t know the extent of my knowledge or power, because while I am the spitting image of my father, I am nothing like him.” Micah paused, his brows drawn together and expression pained. “She never hesitates to remind me I am nothing at all like my courageous, charming, and powerful father.”

He turned from me, the stiffness of frustration making it seem as if he were growing taller while he tried to control his emotions. I could feel it all and knew better than to push for more answers right now, but his father had something to do with all of this. Instead of asking for elaboration, I decided to give us additional common ground to stand on.

“It’s strange how similar our childhoods seem to be. I would catch my father looking at me like he was seeing a ghost. Like it pained him to even turn his head in my direction. Rynna told me how much I looked like my mother and instead of bringing me closer to him, it only pushed him away.” I started to pace the room, anxious energy filling me as Micah’s words rolled around in my head.

I stopped and turned back to Micah. “Do you truly believe you can protect me?” The words were hushed. I didn’t want to actually say them and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.

“If I can’t protect you here, Amelia, no one can.”

It wasn’t until the door closed behind him that I thought to ask why he was so intent on protecting me in the first place.

Thankfully
, Micah and I were the only ones present for dinner the first night. When I asked where his mother was, he shrugged. “She does what she wants. She could have jetted off to some council meeting or she could be sitting in her room, plotting our demise.” His attempt at a joke fell flat as my mouth dropped in shock.

“Hey, hey, joking.” His hands rose in surrender. “I was merely joking. Baleon, can you please find out whether mother will be joining us?” Baleon nodded and disappeared, coming back minutes later to break the strained silence.

“Your mother was called away, Prince Mikail. The Eastern territories are reporting possible sightings and she wanted to confirm for herself.”

Micah nodded but gave himself away as he chewed his bottom lip.

"What does that mean? What sightings?" I asked.

“AniMages. It means they are reporting sightings of AniMages and if they aren’t being careful, it could mean even more are in the area. It’s been years since they’ve allowed themselves to be seen and my mother thought she had all but wiped them out. Now, they are becoming more blatant and allowing the other races to know they’ve outsmarted her. My mother will have none of that.”

Micah started pushing his food around on his plate. All I could do was wonder whether these were the “others” Rynna mentioned.