Bound by Duty

Chapter Twenty-Two

I woke up on the couch in the living room of my apartment. As I squinted my eyes open, sending a little jet through me to dull the pain in my head and the aches in my body, I saw Cole and Bethany sitting at the kitchen table. I looked around and Micah was gone. Or Prince Mikail, I suppose.

As soon as Bethany saw my partially-opened eyes she was next to me, helping me sit up. "Hey there, girl. What can I get you? Tea?" I nodded weakly and she disappeared into the kitchen. I turned myself so that I wasn't taking up the entire couch and found myself eye-to-eye with my very irritated brother.

"Would you like to explain what the hell just happened, Amelia?" His anger was at new heights, but I didn't have the energy for the argument.

I laughed a broken laugh. "Only if I knew where to start, Cole. I wish I could."

"Well, honey, why don't you start with what you've been hiding from your best friend?" Bethany stood in the kitchen, filling my mug with water and refusing to look at me. "Then, you can tell me what in goodness gracious I just witnessed out there, and you can end with why you were trying to kill my boyfriend! After that, we can get to why he brought you in here comatose before he disappeared. Those are really the high points we need, isn't that right, Cole?" Her sarcasm was tinged with hurt and it killed me to know that I had done that.

I stood up from the couch and took a few steps toward Bethany, taking the tea mugs from her and then yanking her in for a hug. I held on for dear life, for my sanity, and to try to show my friend in some small way that none of this was to hurt her. The realization that I had done exactly what had been done to me — lied to protect her — was a bitter taste in my mouth.

I finally let go, picking up our mugs and taking them to the couch.

"This is the short version, B, because it would take days to explain the long version. It's probably pretty clear that we have some...uh, different abilities than you do."

She snorted, "Really, Ame? Abilities? Your crazy magic business pretty much takes the cake."

I laughed at little. "Well, you seem to be rolling with it pretty well. Yes, we have some crazy magic business. Both Cole and I. Mine is a little different from his. I'm...uh, special. And I have some power other people don't. The people who took you are AniMages. They are a kind of Mage that has less power, but the ability to shift into animals. You saw what they can do."

"And they want your help? Who forced them out? Why? That Elias man seemed decent enough, but I'll tell you what, you scared the beejesus out of me when you went blank out there. What was that?" She was tapping her nail against the ceramic cup, the tiny ping-ping in rhythm with her foot tapping on floor. I was so impressed that she hadn't had her own meltdown. I could only imagine that there weren't many humans who could walk away from this ordeal without losing it.

I put my hand on her leg to stop the bouncing. "Too much, B. I'm going to skip some questions for now. The AniMages do want my help, and Elias showed me a very painful memory of his past." I looked up at Cole, whose concern was etched in the furrow of his brow, his lips pursed, and worry lines around his eyes. At my mention of sharing memories, sadness filled his eyes. Yet another dark piece of a limitless puzzle we now shared.

"And Micah? What happened between you two?" she asked.

I couldn't explain that to her without Cole going ballistic, so I didn't. "I won't lie to you again, B, but I can't tell you that yet. I will, but Cole and I need to talk first." She pulled back from me, hurt again.

"Oh. Well, then." She stood up and I grabbed her hand, stopping her exit. "Hey, look at me." She stared straight ahead for a moment but finally looked down at me.