Bound by Duty

Chapter Seventeen

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."