Bound by Duty

  Chapter 17

  Far too early for my liking, Cole was pounding on my door. “Up and at’em, Amelia! We’ve got places to go and people to see!”

  He was way too damn happy for 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday.

  “Come on, come on!” he yelled. I then heard massive paws thundering around the apartment. Clearly, Charlie took that command as a challenge and a fierce tug of war game had ensued. Realizing I would never win this battle — and that I wanted to meet this mystery man — I resigned to getting up.

  I had packed my bags last night once I pulled myself together. I checked my phone again and there was still no response from Aidan. Not knowing who exactly we were meeting, I took a little more care with myself. I put on a flowing teal skirt, silver gladiator sandals, and a white sleeveless top. I sent a little zing through my system, trying to get my brain in gear while also removing the puffiness around my eyes from crying. It was only twenty minutes by the time I joined Cole, but he already had coffee in to-go mugs, our bags sitting by the door, Charlie’s pail of food, and he promised me breakfast burritos on the way out of town.

  “Are you ready for this?!” He gave me a poke in the shoulder, looking far too jovial for my non-caffeinated state. I took my first sip, showing no expression as I slowly swallowed, as if just that tiny bit of coffee would make all the difference. As if it could dull the ache that was slowly spreading through me, sapping any happiness one draining ounce at a time.

  “I’m tired of half-truths and secrets, Cole. I’m tired of not knowing how to protect myself, or even how to keep from outing myself. I’m tired of feeling alone and having to push people away. I’m sick and damn tired of crying. So, if by ‘ready for this’ you mean do I want to know who this guy is and why he matters, then yes. I’m absolutely ready for this.” I grabbed my girly weekender and stomped out of the apartment, leaving Cole muttering after me about how this should be fun. Yeah, right.

  Clearly, the morning was off to a rough start. We’d gotten breakfast and headed east on I-80. Thankfully, Cole’s car had Bluetooth and he let me have first pick of the music selection. I pulled up my music app and started an alternative radio station. I didn’t need romance tracks, I needed change. I needed reassurance that sometimes you have to make the hard choice, that you might even have to run away from people you want to run toward in order to make the right choice.

  Cole let me stew in my own thoughts for quite some time. It was something I appreciated about our relationship, the fact that he didn’t need to take up my space. When I finally unfolded myself from the corner of the passenger side and reached back to love Charlie up a little, Cole finally spoke.

  “I know I didn’t fulfill my end of the bargain, Ame. And, I still haven’t told you everything because I just can’t. But, you know that no matter what happens, I’ve got your back in this. I’m not going to let you do it alone, or unprepared, if I can help it. I know you didn’t get to choose this path, but there’s a chance you can do something really amazing with what you’ve been handed. You could marry that prince, someday be Queen, and really change things for all of us.” He looked so hopeful, his eyes alight with possibility and clearly feeling some sense of purpose I didn’t.

  “Shouldn’t this be a choice though, Cole? Shouldn’t it have been my choice to learn to use my Elder abilities, to master them and realize what I was capable of? Shouldn’t I have been able to make a choice to understand exactly what had happened to our people and then choose to do something about it?” I struggled to stop my trembling hands, already feeling myself spinning out of control.

  Cole laid a hand on mine and a sad understanding crossed between us as the weight on my chest lifted the tiniest bit. “It should have been a choice, Ame. You should have been prepared. But, life doesn’t always hand you a choice. Sometimes it just picks you up and puts you where you need to be. And, I know you have this thing for Aidan, but you have to understand that in the scheme of things a human can never be for you. The queen would kill him in an instant if she understood what he meant to you.”

  He was right. I was being selfish. But, I also knew I was the only one faced with spending the rest of my life with a man I could very likely hate and being ruled by a tyrant I already knew I did. But, based on everything I’d learned, the danger to Aidan was as real as anything else I’d faced. There was no right answer. There was no way out of it and I didn’t have a choice.

  “I just need more,” I resigned. “I need more of life that’s mine. I need more information about who and what I am. I’d even love to know who this mysterious prince is that I’m supposedly marrying. Dad has kept me isolated from our entire world and even Ryn won’t help. More than anything, right now, I need to know how to control what’s happening to me and who these people are. Why they want me. So, is it time for you to spill the beans, big brother, or what? Who is this guy?”

  “Not yet,” he said with smile that seemed far too excited. “I promised I’d let him introduce himself. It’s only a few more hours, just stick with me.”

  I rolled my eyes, reclined my seat, and let Charlie put his head on the headrest next to mine. I let his soft snorts of breath calm my own breathing and restless power, and fell asleep.

   

   

  I woke up as the car came to a stop. We were in the woods. Not just woods — trees the likes of General Sherman. Trees with bigger trunks than a car.

  Cole and Charlie were already out of the car and romping around, trying to get out some of Charlie’s pent up energy, and all I could do was stare at our surroundings. I looked behind us at a dirt road that resembled more of a path and wondered how I possibly slept through the ruts I could see. I got out of the car, smoothing my skirt and making sure my braid was still intact.

  “Hey, Cole? Why are we parked at a dead end in the middle of the forest?” I tried to sound like that was no big deal, but I couldn’t help but be a little freaked out. It was the middle of the day and the trees cast such a shadow, it was as if the sun was setting even though it was only late morning. There was a quiet rustling of leaves that made me feel surrounded on all sides, causing my internal panic to slowly grow.

  As if on cue, Charlie bolted. Just went tearing off into the woods at full speed. Even Cole, in perfect shape with a little magical push, couldn’t have attempted to keep up with a dog the size of a small horse. I was screaming at him to come back, running toward him, when Cole grabbed my arm and stopped me.

  “What are you doing, Cole? We can’t let Charlie run off like that! He could get hurt, he could get lost. What are you doing?” I wrenched my arm from his grasp and my power leapt out, searching for Charlie itself. Ever since our “conversation” the other night, I could always get a decent read on where he was. I was frantically following his mental signature when Cole grabbed me again, this time with both hands and a good shake. “God, Amelia. STOP. Charlie’s fine. He knows where he is.”

  I narrowed my eyes. Cole was still smiling while my scowl only deepened and my frustration grew.

  I crossed my arms and glared. “Explain. Now.”

  He let me go and I stepped back, putting some space between us. “Well, he—”

  Suddenly a voice came from behind me, deep and melodic, sounding all too familiar. “Charlie is quite comfortable here because this is where he was born. He’s currently playing with his brother, Onyx. They are having quite the time.”

  I turned to find a tall man striding toward me through the trees as I heard deep, happy barks and yips in the distance. He wore his dark hair long and pulled back, had to be at least six-foot-three, and looked like a lumberjack. He was even wearing a red, plaid button-down with dark jeans and hiking boots. He had a thick beard but even that couldn’t hide his giant smile. Cole almost ran to him, giving him a huge hug. When they turned back to me again, the man’s arm slung over Cole’s shoulders, he finally let the bomb drop.

  “Hi, Amelia. I’ve wanted to meet you for many years. I’m Derreck — your uncle.”

&nbs
p; I leaned in as if I didn’t hear him correctly. “My what? What did you say?”“

  Derreck smiled, looking triumphantly at Cole and then back at me. “Your uncle. Your mother’s brother.”

  Standing back, my hands clenched so tightly I could feel the press of my nails into my palms, I focused all of my attention on Cole.

  With barely restrained fury, I yelled, “My UNCLE, Cole? You’ve been hiding our uncle? You thought it best not to share that little tidbit with me?”

  My power blasted through me and a whole new state of pissed-off found its home inside of me.

  I stalked toward Cole, yelling, “Don’t you think, oh big brother of mine, that I might have appreciated knowing him? That maybe in all the years Dad was berating me and in no way preparing me for a life I hadn’t even chosen, that maybe I could have used someone? That because I didn’t even get time with mom, I might have benefited from him?”

  I threw my hand out at Derreck, just trying to make a point, but unfortunately my unrestrained power had other plans. The two men were standing there, mouths slacked and looking stupefied, when suddenly they were both on their backs on the forest floor.

  “God DAMMIT! I’m sick of this.” I stamped my foot, sending a tremor through the ground as I hissed in anger and walked over to help them up. I did a quick scan and this time it was actually me, not the scary part of me, lashing out. Even as livid as I was, they didn’t deserve that low blow. Cole was already halfway up and I extended my hand out to Derreck. I finally looked in his eyes and all I could see was the photo of my mother in my mind. They had the same eyes. The same smile. As our hands connected and Derreck met my eyes, I watched him wince a little.

  Once he was on his feet, he explained, “That’s, uh, quite a punch you’ve got there, Amelia. I think maybe it’s time we talked about how to control it.”

  “Give it your best shot, buddy. I’ve been trying for months.” The sarcasm was dripping from my words but again, all he did was smile.

  I turned to Cole, who still hadn’t spoken. “Is this guy where you get the non-stop smiles, because damn it if you both aren’t driving me crazy with the smiling and the optimism.” I got the desired effect and he broke out into a grin. I returned his smile with a hesitant one of my own, feeling better about putting us back on equal footing. I hadn’t forgiven either of them, but there was a possibility of answers and I wanted them.

  “Are one of you going to tell me where we’re actually going? I didn’t dress up to hang out in the forest all day,” I asked flippantly.

  With another giant smile and a laugh, Derreck pointed off in the distance. “This way, it isn’t far.”

  I was shocked at how “not far” it was. We only walked for maybe five minutes and then his giant log cabin was just there. “Wait a minute…that wasn’t there. I would have seen it as we were walking.”

  I was turning in circles, thoroughly confused, as Charlie and another giant Dane that had to be Onyx, came bounding up.

  “Magic, my dear. It can do far more than you realize,” Derreck said with a grin that was still too similar to Cole’s for me to be comfortable with.

  Charlie head-butted my hand, breaking my train of thought and running in circles around me as Onyx joined him. I could tell he wanted me to meet his brother, his mind was a repeating image of me petting Onyx and playing fetch with them both.

  I laughed and squatted down. I didn’t even have the chance to say his name before Onyx came to a skidding stop in front of me. He was jet black with eyes so dark, they blended in with his shiny coat. He was gorgeous and only slightly smaller than Charlie. I cautiously reached out to establish a connection as I also stretched my hand to take his lifted paw, sending reassuring vibes as I did both, though he looked all too happy to interact. As soon as I touched his mind, he immediately flooded me with images.

  He dipped his head into my hand and I found him squatting between my legs as he wiggled in as close to me as possible, his thick tail thumping a quick rhythm in the dry dirt. I couldn’t focus as he assaulted me with every memory he had of his brother — from being a puppy and playing with Charlie, to how sad he was when he left, to Cole bringing Charlie to visit. It was clear that the best days were when Charlie was “home” with him, and that Cole had been here often.

  I couldn’t believe all of the emotion he conveyed. I gave him a hug, sending him my own images of me and Charlie cuddled on the couch and how good it felt to have him with me. Then, I stood up, intending to send him off to play, but before I could, Onyx lifted a massive paw and dropped it onto my thigh. With that deliberate connection by him, the images from his mind hit me harder than they had previously. Instead of flitting through my head like a movie reel, his thoughts slammed into my head and took over.

  Suddenly, my father’s image filled my head. I expected this to be some kind of memory from years ago, realizing it was only logical for my father and uncle to have known each other. Yet, as the memory played, I realized that I wasn’t seeing a younger version of my father, that it was him, now, recently. As he walked away, I also caught Rynna in the background, laughing at something Derreck was saying. She was leaned in closely to him, her hand on his arm.

  “Onyx, down! No! I told you to keep things to yourself, you mangy brat.” Derreck’s booming voice filled my ears as Onyx was pulled away from me, our connection breaking, and with it, the vision of my father disappeared. I was still crouched on the ground, my head feeling fuzzy, as I looked up at my uncle. He held Onyx by the collar, glaring down at him. The dog tucked his head sheepishly behind his master’s leg, sneaking a look around and at me. I swear, in my head, I heard him whisper, You needed to know.

  I tried to stand up, but was assaulted by spinning nausea and dropped back to my hands and knees.

  “I’m sorry, Amelia. Sometimes Onyx comes on a little strong. He’s only really used to me and Cole being around.” Derreck grasped my biceps and helped to steady me as I stood. As soon as I had righted myself and the world stopped spinning around me, I yanked away and stepped back.

  “How about my dad? Is he used to him? Or Rynna? She looked pretty comfortable with you. Does Onyx know her, too? It’s great that your dog is telling me things you aren’t. Very reassuring.” My words were biting. I spat them out coated in angry venom, so completely sick of the lies that followed me everywhere.

  Derreck’s shoulders slumped and he didn’t even bother with a rebuttal as he pulled a hand through his hair and wrapped it around the back of his neck in obvious frustration. Cole had been standing just behind him, leaned on the deck railing, but when he heard my accusations, came to stand beside me.

  “I thought you were supposed to different, Uncle,” I said with contempt. “You were supposed to help, but you’re no different than everyone else.” I stood my ground, feeling strong with Cole beside me.

  “Why was he here? Rynna told me he wanted to go see someone who had answers. What answers do you have?” I asked, swallowing the lump in my throat. I hadn’t expected the emotion that lodged itself there. Cole put his hand on my shoulder and the constriction in my chest let up the tiniest bit. My eyes glowed brightly but I was able to quell the waves into ripples as my power stretched itself through me.

  “Is what Onyx showed her true, Uncle? Why didn’t you tell me?” I felt the hurt before I looked over at my brother, his expression pained.

  At that exact moment, Charlie came bounding around the house and skidded to a stop next to me. A low growl hummed in his throat as he took one step toward Derreck, feeling the animosity radiating from both Cole and me.

  Derreck’s head snapped back in surprise. “Charlie, it’s okay. It’s just me.” He held his hands up and looked over at Cole and me, questioning what we had done. Without breaking eye contact, I laid my hand on Charlie’s scruff and silently told him to heel. He stepped back beside me and sat down, though the quiet growls continued.

  I quirked an eyebrow at Derreck, still waiting for a response.

  “Alright. Yes. Yo
ur father and Rynna were here. He did come to me for answers. He thought I could help break the spell the Hunters had put on him for good.” Derreck’s words were quiet and calm but his eyes were filled with shame.

  Cole and I turned to each other, and then back to him, saying at the same time, “What spell?”

  Derreck took a deep breath, forcefully blowing the air out of his mouth as he tried to control his own reaction to his words. A flash of green in his eyes was all that truly gave away his internal struggle. The thought that I was jealous of his control deepened that scowl I was already wearing.

  “There is so much you two don’t understand. So much we’ve tried to protect you from in various ways, but we can’t do it anymore. The time is coming and from what Cole has told me, they’ve realized who you are, Amelia. Let’s go inside, this may take some time.” Derreck turned and walked up the wooden stairs into the cabin. He took dragging steps, his boots making a distinct thud on each one, as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. In minutes, he seemed to have aged hours, all the joy and happiness he’d shown me earlier erased.

  I closed my eyes and tried to understand what was happening.

  My father has been under a spell?

  Rynna knew?

  I have an uncle?

  Cole knew Derreck all these years? What else isn’t he telling me?

  There were more unanswered questions than I had even realized and it seemed like the more I asked, the less I knew. I took a few steps forward until I realized Cole was still standing where I’d left him.

  “Hey. We need to go inside. We need to find out what’s going on, Cole.” I stood in front of him, looking into his glazed and unfocused eyes, and finally waved a hand in front of his face. “Cole!” I shouted.

  He slowly blinked and focused a now angry stare on me. “He’s been lying to me, Amelia. All these years.”

  I couldn’t stop my bitter laugh. “Welcome to the club, big brother. This is how it’s always been. I wish I could say you get used to it.” I lightly smacked him on the chest twice, punctuating my words, and turned away. “The only thing you can do is listen when people talk and decide later what was worth hearing.”

  As I walked up the stairs and toward the front door of the cabin, the pit in my stomach grew, along with the inescapable feeling that in just a few steps nothing would ever be the same.