Tethered Wings (Hidden Wings Series) (23 page)

“Good morning, Sunshine,” he smiled.

“Good morning,” I returned, smiling back.

“So, you both leaving us today?” Dominic asked.

“Yes,” Lia sighed. “But I will remember this visit forever. It was the best vacation of my life.”

“It was the
only
vacation of your life,” Jeremy noted.

“It’s still the best.” Lia shot him a glare.

“So…looks like you and our Caleb here have hooked up,” Dominic blurted, pointing to Caleb with his fork.

“Yeah, so I’ll be back,” she said, turning to Caleb with a silly smile.

He blushed and then took a bite of his pancake.

“Ah, young love,” Dominic chuckled. Malachi elbowed him.  

We all sat around the table, laughing and joking, but it was bittersweet. The proverbial pink elephant was lingering; they would be gone soon. As much as I hated goodbyes Lia hated them more. So I began to mentally prepare myself for lots of messy tears.

After breakfast, we all walked out to the hall. They were leaving in twenty minutes, and my heart and stomach started to twist.

Stop. Be strong. Don’t cry. You’ll see them again.
I repeated this mantra over and over, trying to put my head in the right place.

Alaine stepped into the hallway dressed in a lavender pantsuit, with her hair pulled up into a tight bun.

“Thank you, Lia and Jeremy, for coming and spending some time with us. It has been nothing but joy to have you, and you will always be welcomed here.” She hugged them tightly.

“Thank you for having us. We really had a wonderful time, and you have a very beautiful home,” Lia said.

“Yes, thank you,” Jeremy added. “We both had a great time.”

Malachi and Dominic grabbed their luggage and carried it out, and we followed. I grabbed onto Kade’s hand.

When we exited, the Hummer was already parked out front. As Courtney and Caleb jumped in, my mantra flew out the window, and my emotions went haywire.

Jeremy stepped forward and hugged me.

“It was great seeing you again, Emma. If you ever need us, you know where we’ll be,” he said, his voice cracking. 

“I’ll be in touch. I promise.” I attempted to not break down. 

He nodded and then extended his hand to Kade. “Please take care of my friend.”

“I will,” Kade promised, shaking his hand. “It was nice to meet you again.”

“Same here,” Jeremy grinned. He then stepped back, and slid into the car.

Lia stood staring at me with a pained look in her eyes. Her lips were smiling, but her chin was quivering.

“Don’t,” I begged.

She shook her head and tears poured from her eyes. She ran to me and wrapped her arms around my neck, sobbing. I hugged her tightly, and my emotions burst. I couldn’t hold back.

“Darn you, Lia,” I sobbed.

“You know how bad I am at saying goodbye,” she whimpered.

“Then, let’s not say goodbye,” I said. I pulled back and wiped the tears from my face. “Let’s say, until next time.”

“Alright,” she said. “Until next time. And you better be ready for me, because next time I’m bringing a lot more luggage.”

“Good,” I laughed.

“I’m not kidding,” she said. She turned to Kade, and wrapped her arms around him, and he hugged her sweetly.

“Take care of my best friend, Kade. I know I’ve said that before, but she’s the only normal friend I have.” She said that last part extra loud, making sure Jeremy heard.

Kade chuckled. “I promise,” he said.

She took in a deep breath and exhaled. “Well, you two most beautiful people in the world… It’s time I go. And, Emma,” she said narrowing her swollen eyes on me. “You better keep in touch this time. I swear. Don’t make me have to come back here and hunt you down.”

“I promise. I’ll send you an email as soon as you leave.”

“You better. I’ll check. You know me.”

“I do.”

“Good luck with your testing,” she said. I almost forgot about the excuse Alaine gave.

“Thank you. I’ll need it. See you soon,” I said.

“See you soon,” she replied.

She slid in the seat and closed the door. I waved until the car pulled out of sight. 

And just like that…they were gone.

I turned to Kade and he wrapped his arms around me. “You’ve still got me,” he said.

“I wouldn’t know what I’d do if I didn’t.” He smiled and led me back into the house. The lack of sleep wrapped itself around my head, making me feel dizzy and my eyes heavy.

“Did you sleep well?” Kade asked.

“I did sleep at all,” I yawned.

“Well, you should, now that you can. Thomas and Alexander want me to go over to the cottage for a bit. The house is protected. James and Alaine are here, and I think Henry returns this afternoon.”

“Where was he?” I asked.

“His sister was ill, so he took a vacation and went back to England to take care of her.”

“Oh. It’ll be good to see him again,” I yawned.

Alaine popped out of her office. “You alright Emma?” she asked.

“Yes, I’m going to get some sleep since I haven’t had any yet. Kade is going to the cottage.”

“Oh, could you take something to Samuel for me?” she asked.

“Of course.” He turned to me, “I’ll see you later. Sleep sweet.” He leaned over and gave me a kiss.

“I will now,” I said, heading up the stairs.

In my room, I went over to the window, and pulled the curtains shut, instantly blacking out the sun. As the room went dark, the sadness lingered, so I pulled back the curtain back a couple of inches to let some sun in. It was comforting.

I dropped to my bed, and immediately faded.

I jumped awake to a loud thumping. I glanced at my clock. I had been asleep for five hours. Sitting up, I and walked over to the window. The sun was beginning to make its descent. I figured I’d get up, or else I would throw my whole sleeping schedule off. I went to the bathroom and washed up.

Dammit.
I forgot to email Lia. But I still had a little time, so I clicked on my laptop and finished brushing my hair. While making my bed, I suddenly had a craving for something sweet. After I sent Lia a quick email, letting her know I took a long nap, I decided to head downstairs.

The house was quiet. Kade must have still been over at the cottage with the others.

As I made my way to the kitchen, I smelled something sweet. When I entered, there were plates filled with homemade cookies on the counter, but Miss Lilly wasn’t here. She must have been on break. Dinner still wasn’t for a few more hours.

I ambled closer, drawn to their scent. Fresh baked, chocolate chip cookies. I took one and bit into it.

It was heaven. Crunchy on the outside, and warm and gooey on the inside. The chocolate melted in my mouth. They were sinful.

One of the plates was wrapped with cellophane and had a note card attached to it, which read: For Ethon.

I wondered if I should deliver it to him. It would be a nice gesture - sort of a peace offering. I felt horrible for the way things ended last night. I knew it wasn’t all his fault. The bond had the three of us twisted in knots and on edge. Truth was, if I had bonded to Ethon first, the tables would probably be turned in his favor.

There was no one around I could tell, but the tower was only a few yards away from the house. I doubted Lucian had eyes on this place every second of the day, and Darkling didn’t even come out in daylight. Once I made it to the tower, I knew Ethon would be there to protect me anyway. 

I carried the warm plate of cookies to the front door, opened it slightly, and peeked out. It looked completely clear. I took in a deep breath of air, and it was fresh and clear. No scent of Fallen at all. I quickly slipped out and ran to the entrance of the tower. Opening the door, I slipped inside. As soon as the door shut I heard a sound which made me freeze. It sounded like painful moans, almost like someone was injured.

What the?

I wondered if Ethon was hurt, or maybe it was Bane or Azzah. I was still trying to be certain I was in fact hearing correctly. A distinct sound of rattling chains and moaning came from up the spiraled stairs.

“Ethon?” I called, but there was no response. I cautiously made my way up.

I’d never been inside the tower, and always wondered what it was like. Towers seemed so mysterious and magical, but also ominous. I wasn’t protected by the barrier here, so I needed to be extra careful.

Halfway up, the sounds of the chains and painful groans made the hairs on my skin stand erect.

“Ethon?” I yelled up the stairwell. Again, there was no answer.

I heard a loud thumping sound.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Holy crap.
Someone is up there, and they must be hurt.

My gut instinct was to head toward the sound, but I quickly debated whether it would be better to just run away. Ultimately though, if I was hurt, I would want help.

My heart hammered as I ran up the stairs, accidentally dropping the plate of cookies on my way. The sound of the plate shattering sent a shiver up my spine, but I kept going.

At the top of the stairs, I stopped in a large circular room. Floor to ceiling windows framed in a total 360 degree view of the grounds. It was breathtaking. I could see how this would be the perfect place for Guardians to be stationed.

The inside was beautifully decorated in, a somewhat contemporary, red and gold. It was definitely a place one would be comfortable. On one side there was a large flat-screen TV, accompanied by a surround sound system, and a wrap-around couch. Everything was accented in contemporary colors.

Nothing in the room was over waist height, and everything was away from the windows, all to keep the view completely open.

There were spotlights set up at each window, a telescope, and a screen which showed all of the cameras views from around the grounds. Places I never knew they
had
cameras.  

I did a quick scan of the room, only to find it completely empty. There were no signs of Ethon or his goons, but there were empty plates stacked on the counter, next to cases of soda.

How could the room be empty? I swear I heard someone.

“Hello?” I called again. “Is anyone here?”

Another loud clunk made me jump. It was from an area behind me, but when I looked, it was empty. I hadn’t felt this scared in a long time. My heart was pounding so hard it threatened to leave my chest.

What the hell could be in here and where is it? I stood, silent.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The floor under my feet shook after each bang, and I screamed. I was standing on a dark gray carpet, and I suddenly realized it was the only thing in the room that looked out of place. It was totally not part of the color scheme. I held my breath, bent over and tugged it out of the way.

A trap door was revealed… I
hated
trap doors. The last time I was lured into one, bad things happened. I was still dealing with the side effects of that whole ordeal.

Was it one of the Fallen? Or a trap?
I started second guessing my decision to forge on by myself. I should probably run back down and get help.

Another deep, painful moan echoed from the door, and I knew that whoever it was, they were in a lot of pain.

I had to help.

Sucking in a deep breath, I walked closer. “Hello?”

There was no answer.

Grabbing hold of the handle with one hand, I released the latch with the other.  

There was struggle under the door, and I gathered every bit of strength within me to finish opening it. I wanted to run, but something deep inside me wouldn’t let me leave. Whatever it was, kept me there, urging me to open the door.

I hurried over and grabbed a small knife on the counter, and held it in my grasp - just in case. I wasn’t sure if it would do anything to keep me safe, but I felt better with at least some kind of a weapon in hand.

The Bloodstone amulet around my neck started to give off a dim glow. I knew, from previous encounters, whenever it glowed, danger was near. But this was different. It was very faint and it kept pulsing, on and off. I didn’t have a clue what it meant, so I made a calculated assumption. Maybe there was some kind of danger, but it wasn’t a great threat. I hoped I was right.

Twisting the knob, I slowly pushed the door open. I gasped and stepped back. Curled up in a fetal position was a large dark figure. A man. He was naked and covered with old and new blood. His feet and hands were bound, his mouth was gagged. There was blood splattered all over the cell’s walls, and also pooled on the floor where he laid.  

“Hello?” I said softly, noticing his legs were laying in an awkward position.

Oh my God.
They were broken.

His head snapped up, and his swollen, bloodshot eyes locked onto mine. A gag crossed his mouth and his nose was broken, flopping loosely to the side. He was moaning, as if he wanted to tell me something.