Bound by Duty (Bound Series Book 1) (33 page)

She didn’t even give me a chance to respond before she pulled my face all the way to the right and I almost fainted as I saw Bethany unconscious in Rhi’s arms. I wanted to look at Micah, but Julia wouldn’t allow me to move. She held my face, the pads of her fingers burning my skin while she forced me to stare at the limp body of my best friend held in the arms of my mother’s murderer. There was nothing random about this. Realizing, slowly, that Micah had been a part of all of this, a whole new fire came alive in me. As the queen brought my face back to hers, she saw it, too.

“You didn’t tell me she had violet eyes, Mikail. My, my, you are just the picture of your mother. I’ve never known anyone else to have those particular violet eyes. You are quite the prize, indeed.” I opened my mouth to argue, to tell her off, to finally take a stand, and instead found her finger across my lips.

I gritted my teeth and bit the inside of my cheek as she continued to speak, my control waning and anger spiraling. “You see her? She is just a fragile little human. Do you see? LOOK AT HER!”

I had refused to keep staring at Bethany’s slack form, but Julia turned my face back to her and held it until I opened my eyes.

She laughed. “This is my court. My kingdom. I make the rules here. If you want her to live, to go back to her happy little human life, then you’ll tell me the truth. Do you have the Keeper power? Are you coming for me?”

With every ounce of pain, hatred, and anger I had, I removed all barriers from the Keeper magic that sat ready and waiting, and let her do her worst.

“YES!” I screamed, the single word echoing from every inch of the cavernous room as the queen and her Hunters were blasted away from me. No one saw it coming and I took the moment to my advantage. I dove for Bethany, hoping I could do some kind of damage to Rhi to free her from his arms. The balls of electric energy pulsed around my hands as I ran to him. Rhi hadn’t moved, though a slow smile crept over his face. “Your little Keeper is no match for me, girl. Your mother should have known that.” I wanted to end him for so many reasons, but he was holding Bethany.

“Give her to me. She doesn’t need to be a part of this. You don’t want to fight me,” I warned him. I looked around and saw the Hunters closing ranks. Julia had righted herself and Micah still hadn’t moved from his chair. His face paled further while his eyes never left Bethany. What a coward.

Rhi laughed at the same moment the other Hunters converged on me. I pushed outward with everything I had, at the same moment calling on the elements that had aided me at the theater.
Blow them over.
The wind storm that erupted split the ranks of Hunters and slammed them against the walls. I blasted at them as well, sending them flying into heaps. I kept moving toward Rhi. He stood staring at me, looking pleasantly surprised by my show of ability. He still held the prize though, and we both knew it. I kept blasting and pushing, and only when I got within feet of them, did the queen join the party again.

“THAT’S IT!” she screeched. Then, I was floating ten feet up in the air and couldn’t breathe. I was gasping for air and clawing at my throat, trying to pull in oxygen from somewhere. There was nothing.

“I AM THE QUEEN. YOU WILL DO AS I COMMAND. YOU ARE NOTHING TO ME. I OWN YOU.” Her words reverberated off of the stone walls and the Hunters had to steady themselves against the shifting ground. I would have been more scared if I wasn’t so concerned with breathing.

“Mother!” I finally heard Micah yell. “She can’t help us if she’s dead. Mother, stop! Let me deal with her.”

With a wave of her hand, I dropped to the ground in a heap and could do nothing but gasp in huge breaths of air. “You do that, Mikail,” she snapped. “I expect to see a marked improvement the next time we meet.”

I could barely focus on Julia as she strode out of the room, followed by the majority of the Hunters and Rhi who was still holding Bethany. I couldn’t begin to think about moving and I soon felt myself being pulled into someone’s arms. I immediately started to struggle until Micah spoke, “Amelia. It’s me. Let me help you.”

I wasn’t able to do anything more than collapse into Micah’s arms as I lost consciousness. The last thought I had was
I’m sorry,
but I couldn’t decide whom exactly the apology was meant for.

I awoke with a start and darted up. It was dark in the room with only a small lamp on in the corner. It took me a moment to realize what had happened and where I was. Actually, I had no idea where I was, outside of sitting in the middle of an ornately-decorated four-poster bed. I saw Micah slumped in the chair across from me and was sad to realize it hadn’t been another of my nightmares.

I slowly laid back down and dropped my arm over my face. What had I been thinking? How could I have possibly thought it would be logical to believe I could just walk in and convince a power-hungry tormentor to just let me go have my happily-ever-after?
Idiot.

Cole would have never let me do this.
Oh, no
.
Cole.
My next thought sent fear to my core.
Bethany.
I shot back up.

“Bethany! Where’s Bethany?!” I tried to scream but my voice was still hoarse so it came out a garbled whisper.

Micah came awake with grunt. “What? What?” He rubbed his eyes as I tried to yell again. “Micah, where is she? Where is Bethany?”

“She’s next door. I can’t believe you brought her here. I can’t believe you endangered her like this. What in the hell were you thinking?” He stood over me now, fully awake and yelling. I chucked back the covers and scrambled to my feet. “Don’t you dare make this my fault,
Prince Mikail
. I told you I was coming and you let me walk into this ambush blind. How could
you
do
this
? How could you let your mother
use her
?”

“Me?
ME?
Did you actually think you could walk in here and convince my mother to just let you walk away and come back in three years? Have you lost your mind, Amelia? Her Hunter has been in your father’s head your whole life. She knows exactly what you are.” I started to explain about Aidan but realized that probably wasn’t information Micah needed at this point.

I crossed my arms over my now rumpled dress and glared at him. “You are the liar,” I hissed. “You are the one who played us all for a fool. You are going to break Bethany’s heart and I will never trust you again. Why are you even here? Get out. Just, GET OUT!”

“You don’t understand, Amelia. I was trying to help you.”

“I understand everything I need to,
Prince
. Get out.” This time the words were measured and cold.

I sat down on the bed and stared at the wall. I refused to acknowledge him. It was childish, but it wasn’t like I could be the one who left. Finally, Micah left the room with a slam of the door. I ran to it once I heard his footsteps go down the hall. As I expected, it was locked.

I decided there was no way I was hanging around for whatever they had in mind. I tried to build up my magic so I could blast my way out, but there was nothing. I searched and searched, but I couldn’t find one shred of power anywhere in my body.

I did everything I’ve done my whole life. I searched myself for the familiar tingle and hum, it was gone. I started to panic. I had never been without my power. Even when I didn’t know how to use it or was suppressing it, I always knew it was there.

I started beating on the door and yelling for Micah, or Prince Mikail, or anybody. Over and over, I yelled and pounded. Finally, I gave up and fell down onto the bed. I wanted to cry. The tears were there to be had, I just couldn’t. Micah was right on one count. I had walked myself and Bethany right into this disaster with my naivety. I couldn’t expect anyone else to get me out of it.

I laid there for what had to be hours, staring at the ceiling. I thought about all the ways I could kill Julia. Maim Micah. I thought about Bethany and wondered if she was scared. If they were feeding her. I thought about Cole and how worried he would be once he knew we were gone.

I realized I had no idea what time it was since there were no windows. Even after all of those things, I refused to think about Aidan. His face, his words, his beautiful blue Immortal eyes kept finding their way into my mind and I had to force them out again. I had to be brave. I had to find a way out of this, even if just for Bethany.

I fell asleep for a while, waking when I heard the door opening. Unfortunately, I was too tangled in covers to get out of bed fast enough to stand up. When I finally righted myself, I found Micah standing at the edge of the bed with a tray of food.

“I don’t want that.” I crossed my arms again and stepped back. “What did your mother do to me? Why is my power gone? Did she steal it?” The last question came out weakly. It was the last thought I was focused on before I fell asleep and I was terrified it was the truth.

Micah laughed. “There is so much you don’t know, Amelia.” His condescending tone grated on my nerves and made me even hungrier for the power I was missing.

“No, of course she didn’t steal it,” he continued. “That’s not possible, it’s just something the old women like to scare children with. This room has been enchanted and your power is bound while you’re in here. She knows what you’re capable of and I didn’t want you to hurt yourself or anyone else.” The way he said “anyone else” and looked to the right made me realize exactly what he meant.

“Did you feed her? Is she okay? Can I see her?” I peppered him with questions and Micah sighed. “No, you can’t see her. But yes, they took her food. She’s not very happy and won’t speak to me, but she seems okay.” He looked sad but I shoved down the compassion that snuck up on me. He didn’t deserve it.

“Will you let her go?” I wanted it to come out strong but the words were anything but. The longer I stayed in this room, the more I realized how much of an idiot I really was.

“I don’t know, Amelia. It’s not really up to me, now is it?” Micah snarled the words and shoved the tray across the covers. “You have to eat. You’re going to have to deal with my mother again soon and you’ll need your energy. Can you please stop insulting her and just pretend to have some amount of respect for her? It will only end badly if you don’t.”

Micah turned to walk away but there was one last question I had to ask. “Why, Micah?” I asked his back. His shoulders sagged. “Why did you find me? Why did you date my best friend? Why did you pretend to be my friend?”

He didn’t even turn around. “Because no one knows better than I do what she’s capable of and I knew you weren’t ready to take her on. I knew you were doomed if she got to you before I did. She was never going to wait the full term. She’s been looking for you ever since you left the protection of your father’s home.”

This time the door closed with a whisper. I wanted to throw the tray of food against the wall but Micah’s words rang in my ears. Julia had been looking for me. My home had been protected. If he was telling the truth, then Micah really had been trying to help me.

I dropped onto the bed and curled up into a ball. I would eat. I would eat and I would think and I would find a way out of here.

I counted the days by the meals. It had been three days. Micah brought me a tray three times a day. We would have short conversations but he wouldn’t say much and flat out refused to answer my questions. On the third day, I asked him if Cole knew where I was. “Yes. He knows. Your father has made quite a scene at the club a few times now trying to secure your release.”

That came as a shock. The last I had heard from Rynna my father hadn’t been well.

“Is he okay? My father?” I asked.

Micah nodded. “Yes. Luckily, my mother found it humorous that he would go to such lengths.” Micah started to leave and stopped at the door. “Amelia, I’ll be back soon with a dress and some make-up. You and Bethany will be coming to dinner. Please be on your best behavior. If you are, there is a chance she will let Bethany go. So, please, Amelia?” His eyes were pleading with more emotion than I had assumed he held for Bethany.

“Fine, Micah. But it’s for her, not for you,” I said indignantly. He nodded, his relief obvious, and was gone again. I wanted to trust him, but at this point I didn’t think I could trust anyone.

I went into the small bathroom to take a shower. They had brought me sweats and T-shirts the first day but nothing else. I had been confined to this room for three days and the prospect of getting out was more exciting than I had thought it would be. And, if I could just keep it together, at least Bethany could leave. Hopefully. I smiled for the first time since waking up that first day and started the water.

When I came out, the dress was waiting. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but a full-length, white, gauzy dress fit for a Roman goddess, wasn’t it. The dress was one-shouldered and had a thick, ropey silver belt around the waist. It was beautiful and set off my dark hair. My eyes were their normal hazel since I was devoid of power, but I could only imagine what they would look like once I had my magic back.

I used the hair dryer and curling iron and was sliding on the gladiator sandals I’d found on the floor when Micah knocked. I told him to come in and was happy to see the surprise when he took in my appearance.

It felt good to laugh at little at his sputtering before he finally spit out, “You look lovely, Amelia. Please, come with me.” I expected him to get Bethany as well but he gestured me in the other direction. I stopped in front of her door and gave him a quizzical look. “She’s already been taken to the dining room,” he said. That brought on a pout. I had hoped to get just a minute alone with her.

Sullen, I took Micah’s offered arm and let him lead me down the hallway and into a massive dining hall. This wasn’t a “room”, this was a ballroom. Queen Julia sat in a tall, silver chair at the end of the table. Hunters were stationed around the room and Bethany was trying to hide her shaking with rigid posture. She wore a similar gown to mine and looked breathtaking. I was relieved when Micah led me to the chair next to hers. As soon as I was seated, she grasped my hand. We entwined our fingers and gave each other a quick look before focusing back on the table in front of us. Micah had been specific that we shouldn’t look the queen in the eyes and that we should be as quiet as possible.