Bound by Spells (Bound Series Book 2) (12 page)

“Mr. Elias, sir, what is happening? Why is everyone doing this?” Dillon put more force than necessary behind his small voice. It broke and a few laughs came from the group, only fueling him more.

“These are our guests. We have rules.” He looked around frantically, his tiny arms locked at his sides. “We don’t treat guests like prisoners unless they really are prisoners and we are tricking them. Are they prisoners, Mr. Elias? Are we tricking them?”

I was impressed. Dillon wasn’t backing down an inch. He stuck his chin out and refused to look away from Elias. I raised an eyebrow, remaining silent as Elias and I stayed locked on each other.

Elias chuckled and shook his head, breaking away to look down at Little Man in front of him. “No, Dillon. These are not prisoners and yes, they are our guests. Everyone has gathered around because they want to see whether Mr. Aidan is who we think he is. Do you know who we think he is, Dillon?”

Dillon grinned as he nodded so fast, he looked like a bobble-head. “I sure do. We think Mr. Aidan is the one. He is our King and her companion. He is the one who will set her free. He will help her stop the Queen so we don't have to hide anymore.”

“And how do we know for sure, Dillon?” Elias kept up his game, suppressing a smile.

“Because we can all feel it. If Mr. Aidan told us to do something, we would have to obey. We would only feel that way if he were our King.” Dillon turned to me, pride and hope shining in his eyes. I could only stare—my mouth open and mind blank. Bethany gasped and Charlie let out a thunderous string of barks. Cheering erupted from every angle and Elias could barely be heard over the sound.

“You, Aidan Montgomery, are the key to the prophecy. You are your father’s son. You are our King and you are meant to lead us to victory.”

KING?
The word rang loudly in my mind and my reaction was completely out of my control.

The beast roared to life inside me, responding to the overwhelming onslaught of power, emotion, and shock. I had only seconds to leap from my seat and take off running. As I pushed off one foot, I heard the ripping of seams and a fur-covered paw was the next thing that landed.

I
had no idea where I was when I woke up. I was flat on my back and it was pitch black. My body ached and all I heard were Dillion’s words. His high-pitched pre-pubescent voice telling everyone I was a King. Something about a prophecy. That I would free
her
.
Her
had to be Amelia.

“Are you going to lie there all night? I’m really tired and want to go home.” The voice from my head was suddenly in my ears. I squinted and barely made out the small, half-naked body sitting a few feet from me on a low branch.

“Don’t you have parents? Shouldn’t you be in bed or something, kid?” I pushed myself up to sitting and had to duck as something flew at my head. Gym shorts.

“I’m not a kid. And no, I don’t have parents anymore. They died. Just put those on and come on.” He huffed as he dug behind a tree and pulled out a shirt for himself. “We’re close enough to walk. Mr. Elias said I should give you food and show you where to sleep. Come on.”

Dillon didn’t wait another second before tromping through the brush. I struggled against my pounding head as I yanked on the shorts and ran after him.

When he finally pointed to my “room,” I was exhausted. I’d eaten a few protein bars he tossed my way and was dead on my feet. Bethany and Charlie were pacing the small space and she looked like she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to punch me or hug me when I stumbled in.

“Where in the ever-loving-hell have you been? As if it isn’t bad enough that I watched you
poof
,” she snapped her fingers, “yourself right into a damn animal, then you go and leave me with the dog and all these…these…people!” She was trying not to yell and it was clear her southern manners wouldn’t let her call them what she wanted to. But I was too tired to do this right now.

“Gotta sleep. Sorry. Will try not to do it again. Just…gotta sleep.” I might have actually been sleeping before I climbed into bed and the last words were out. It didn’t last long, though. Just a few short hours later, I found myself covered with a blanket, wide awake. I tossed and turned a few times before giving up.

“Stay,” I quietly commanded Charlie as I got out of bed. He eyed me and stood up. I considered grabbing his paw to see whether I could control our exchange from my end, but I wasn’t ready for another adventure in a dog’s mind. “I’ll be fine. Just stay with her.” He exhaled in a huff and sat back down, begrudgingly.

I went back out to the clearing and sat by a dwindling fire. I heard a few
hoots
and looked up to see two large owls with bright blue eyes circling above me, likely lookouts. Throwing some smaller logs on, I stared into the dancing flames and let my mind wander. Amelia filled my thoughts. I was worried about her. I had no idea what she was up against. I only had vague notions of what the Queen was like from stories I’d heard. Some Bethany had told me, but others were just there. I was certain the Queen wasn’t someone I wanted Amelia left with for long. And then came the question, who was I? And how did Elias know my parents’ names so quickly? So easily?

“You are the spitting image of your father.”

I jumped, so lost in my thoughts I hadn’t heard him approach. I chastised myself for letting my guard down.

“Don’t. Don’t worry about it. It’s been a big day.” Elias spoke quietly as he came around me and sat across the fire. “You have questions. I know you do. I just didn’t want to answer them for the group. Go ahead.” He waved a hand at me as he sat back.

“Are you going to stay out of my head? If you know how to get in, you should know how to stay the hell out.” Anger I hadn’t really expected coated my words. Threats I didn’t want to make stiffened my posture.

He held up both hands. “That’s fair. I typically only use my gifts when necessary. I needed to know your intentions and I’ve gathered what I need, so I will indeed stay out of your head. And we’ll need to talk later about how you learn to feel and defend such threats.”

I nodded slowly and relaxed back onto the log. “My parents. How do you know them?”

A sad smile haunted his face. “I have known your parents since I was a child. Zendrick was my best friend and Kayla was the only woman he ever loved—from about four years old,” he said, chuckling as he shook his head. “I had no idea they had even had you. They must have ran as soon as they found out. Your father was one of Julia’s top targets and he would have done anything to protect your mother, and clearly, you.”

“Why? I know she hates AniMages, but why was my father a target?” There were so many pieces of the puzzle missing.

Elias looked away from me, staring into the dark. “Your father led the AniMages and was part of the royal council. The Elders consulted with the King, Julia’s father, and it was his job to put their words to action. The Elders were something we all believed in. They saw the future, they helped us assimilate as more humans entered our lands over the years…they even blessed our children. Julia never saw them that way, though. From her teen years until she was finally Queen, she believed the Elders should work for her and not the other way around.” He stopped and slowly shook his head back and forth.

“The night before the Queen’s birthday celebration and coronation, your father found out there was a plot to overthrow the royal family by one of the Hunters. The perpetrator’s name was Cane and he was a charmer, also belonging to a prominent family. He knew how to ensure everyone loved him, but he was a snake. You father confronted him and Cane went crazy.” Elias’s lips were pinched in tight line, his jaw locked. The cords of his neck stood out like ropes around a barrel.

“Cane was a very skilled and highly ranked Hunter. What your father did wasn’t easy, but he was a fighter himself. Cane was young and cocky. He forgot the basic rule of fighting.” Elias paused, a pleased look coming over him. “You’re not out of the fight unless you’re dead. And your father wasn’t dead. When the fight was over, your father was found standing over Cane’s body. Cane’s brother was the one to find your father, and he took that information right to the Queen.

“Almost overnight, the Queen changed. She didn’t just believe things should be different, she was hell-bent on making it happen. She became vengeful and hated the AniMages. The Queen convinced both the Hunters and Mages that AniMages should be eradicated. She told them our magic and our blood was polluting the Immortal gene pool. But then she surprised everyone when she went after the Elders, instead. She tortured AniMages, and sometimes even Mages, trying to find anyone with Elder blood running in their veins.

"Some of us believed she and Cane had a relationship, but no one could prove it, and it wouldn’t have mattered if they had. The Queen convinced the Hunters to fight for her and began targeting the AniMages, flushing us out of our homelands. Your parents were among the first to leave, and now I understand why. They left to save you. But at the time, a lot people were upset, thinking they had abandoned us. I can only imagine how hard that had to be for them. The rest of us tried to fight, but we were always outnumbered. Our wives and our children were dying around us. We’ve struggled to grow our numbers since. And yet, during all of this, the Queen had the Prince. No one even knew she was pregnant, which only furthered our intrigue around Cane. She kept the Prince hidden away and surrounded by Hunters his whole life, except when she apparently let him run off to college.”

Elias scowled and I found my face matching his as I thought about Micah. What I wouldn’t give for a few rounds of bare fists with that guy.

Elias grimaced, but then continued. “Those who could get away went as far as their feet or wings could take them. Many of them found their way to North America. There’s so much space here and it was easy to blend in when we wanted to, yet live in places where we could shift and be ourselves when we needed to.”

And this prophecy everyone talks about?” I asked.

“The Elders told Julia one of their own would stop her, with your help. At least, we believe it's you,” he said.

I sat back and absorbed Elias’s statement. There was so much information there, but my mind could only focus on one thing.

“It wasn’t a burglary, was it?” I asked, mostly to myself. Elias quirked a brow and I explained what I knew of my parents death and the supposed robbery of our home, leaving them dead but me alive.

“I would guess not. What I don’t understand is if your parents were killed, why weren’t you?” Elias rubbed a hand over his jaw and I could see his wheels spinning just as quickly as my own. Neither of us spoke for a few minutes.

“I can feel how conflicted you are, Aidan. Why don’t you tell me what it is you want to know?”

I appreciated Elias allowing me to process all of this the way I needed to.

“Tell me more about my parents and the AniMages,” I said.

He nodded. “The AniMages had their own figurehead. A family that governed and essentially ruled our people, which were the Montgomerys. Your father was our leader. He often went to the palace and worked directly with the royal family on any issues that arose. And your mother was also an AniMage. She was beautiful, kind, and had a wicked sense of humor.” Elias stopped talking and a smirk developed as he stared off in the distance.

I had to laugh at his expression. I wished I could reach into his mind and steal his memories of her, the way Charlie had shown me his stories. I couldn’t even picture her anymore. The only thing I still had was the melody of her song and the sound of her voice.

“You grew up together? You knew them well?” My voice was choked with emotion I hadn't allowed for years. I had stopped asking questions about my parents by the time I was five years old. It was clear no one knew them, or me, and it only made my foster families uncomfortable.

“I did. I knew them very well. Your father was my best friend. We grew up together. Where you found one of us, the other wasn’t far. Your mother was always part of our pack. Growing up, a group of us scoured the woods together and got into more trouble than we should have. But we took care of each other. Which is just one part of why I’m sitting here now. Our people need you, but your father was like a brother to me. I want to help you.

“Now, what about you, Aidan? How did you realize you were an AniMage?” Elias asked.

I shrugged. “All I know is one day, I couldn’t do any of this, and the next, I could. I've always felt like something was off, but I haven’t been turning into a wolf my whole life...that one was quite a shock. Growing up, I always had a lot of energy and a lot of anger. I always knew when I was with a bad family or when I needed to run. But, then I met Amelia and she made me feel...right. I was drawn to her, to the peace she brought me. Like…she was the light to the darkness I was always fighting. But then things just kept getting more weird...” I trailed off, my rambling seeming incoherent to even me. Elias let me stew in my own thoughts once again.

“Can you explain how Amelia fits into all of this? I need to understand how I could possibly be this prophecy.”

“You aren’t a prophecy yourself, but we believe you are part of the prophecy coming true. Unfortunately, though, the details aren’t as clear as we’d like. We know Julia captured and tortured Lavignia, an Elder we considered a seer, or someone who could see the future. As we have heard the story, the Queen wanted to know when she would die and how. Lavignia prophesied there would be just one Elder left, and she belonged to the ones who got away, which we believed to mean her parents also ran. Lavignia said the five families would merge inside her and only a man who was a King and companion could tame the wild and set her free. We have made guesses as to what it all means, but we know you are our rightful King—the King of the AniMages. We are also certain Amelia is an Elder. So…” Elias trailed off and we sat in silence.