The Binding

  Tharin nods. I hand the piece of paper with Julia’s address over to Tolan. He takes it from me , gently touching my fingers. Embarrassed, I pull my hand away quickly. I meet his eyes and he smiles at me again. He then bows slightly and is quickly out the door.

  I’m not sure if Tharin noticed, not that he would care . I just don’t want him to think I was flirting with his brother . Then I realize that Tharin isn’t even looking at me . He doesn’t wait for me either. He walks out the front door without a word . I follow behind him as he leads me out into the night.

  *

  Chapter Twelve ~ Tharin ~

  I stand in the middle of the small living room looking around me . This is a humble home, warm and welcoming. The furniture is old and worn, but clean and covered with blankets knitted by caring hands. The small old bookshelves are mismatched and full of well—read books of all types. The wood floors are worn, but clean and dust—free as are the rest of the furnishings in this quiet, unassuming home. I suddenly feel like an intruder, a thief in the night come to steal the princess away. Lily and the life she surrounds herself with is not what I expected. She’s the daughter of Queen Senestra and John Michaels, a human warrior in his own right. She’s also sister to Lucas, the Black Prince . I expected her to be pampered and ensconced in a life of luxury. Instead I find a humble being who has n o t deserved any of my rudeness or anger.

  The image of her standing in her room, with her top still over her head, and then how she quickly pulled her shirt down comes back to me. Her modesty surprised me , standing there shaking with a look of fear and innocence . I found myself thinking about how beautiful she is, even if she doesn’t know it. At that moment I wanted to go to her and just hold her, the way I held her in the chair. I wanted to rub her back and tell her that everything would be okay. I wanted to wash away any fear and comfort her until she stopped shaking. Instead, I had to look away. I walked out of there before I did something I would regret.

  I shut my eyes and clench my fists even tighter. I will not care for her. I will marry her and honor the treaty. Then I will let her do as she pleases. She can come back here and have as many lovers as she wants ; I don’t care. As for me, I will go through the Binding with Kalis as we were meant to . Kalis. I realize that I haven’t thought of her since the attack earlier. I try to think of Kalis and bring her face to my mind, but all I can see is a black hair she-devil with innocent honey-colored eyes.

  I hear Lily come out of her room, but I keep my back to her, waiting for her to come to me. Instead, she walks over to Tolan and asks him to do her a favor. When she hands the note to Tolan, I see the contact between them and I turn away. Maybe she and Tolan will be lovers and I won’t have to worry about her any longer. Then why do I have the urge to strangle my brother?

  “I have to leave her with you, Tharin. Promise me you’ll not mistreat her again.” Tolan’s words come quietly in my mind, but the hard edge behind them doesn’t escape me.

  Without a word I nod. I watch as he walks out the door, and then he’s gone. He’s going after Julia because our little Princess doesn’t want to leave her friend. Now that’s more of what I expected.

  As soon as I sense her approach, I walk toward the front door and lead her out into the night. I don’t want to look at her. I don’t want to see those honey-colored eyes staring back at me filled with fear and mistrust ― those same eyes that looked upon Tolan with trust and kindness. I take another deep breath and straighten my shoulders. I will not be bowled over by this girl, for I am Tharin Lunar of the Oak Clan. I am the future king of Velesi , le ader of the Thirte en Clans and Lily Michaels is my betrothed.

  I sigh heavily before landing another step. I just wish someone had told her that.

  *

  Chapter Thirteen Lily

  We hav e been walking for about four blocks now with Tharin leading and me following along. He hasn’t said a word since we left the house. When we walked out I was heading for the car, but Tharin continued north on foot. I figured we would be back before Marilyn returned from Australia so we could have taken her car while she was gone. I mean, how long can it take to find Lucas and bring him back?

  Tharin stops at the corner in front of a 7-Eleven convenien ce store. It’s late and there’s no one at the gas pumps, but there i s light coming from within the store. Every now and then he would slow down and wait for me to catch up. Each time we stopped he would start to say something to me, but then he woul d take a frustrated breath and continue walk ing . If he has something to say, I wish he woul d just say it.

  Tharin watches me as I finally catch up to him at the pumps . Again , he’s about to say something, but turns and walks away. After two steps he stops , his body tense and alert. I sense the tension running through him and feel it growing within my own body. In one smooth motion, he takes off his coat throwing it around my shoulders , and pulls me against him. He practically lifts me as we head for the convenience store when a spinning silver blade sho o t s past us with unbelievable speed. It’s shaped like a Frisbee, but bigger. It fl ies by us and crashes through the glass doors , continuing through the far end of the store . Seconds later , as we mak e it through the door, the spiraling disk comes back at us without losing any momentum. Tharin shoves me to the side , covering me with his own body as we hit the floor hard. As soon as the disk whips past us, Tharin i s back up on his feet . He pulls me up after him as he runs toward the opposite side of the store, trying to reach the back room . I look behind me and see the young male clerk watching wide-eye d in shock.

  “Get down!” I yell at him . That seem s to shake him out of his stun ned disbelief . Without hesitation he throws himself on the floor behind the counter.

  “Move!” yells Tharin as he continues dragging me with him.

  We make it to the door to the back room when I hear the spinning sound come again. I’m slow t o react . I feel a searing pain as something strikes me from behind. I stumble to my knees, but Tharin lifts me up and throws me into the back room, slamming the door s hut with him on the other side. I land on my knee and feel the pain shoot through my left hip . I sit back, breathing hard. I shove my hands through the arms of Tharin’s coat, and flip the length behind me as I pull up my left leg. The knee is tender, but not seriously hurt . I get up on my feet and limp my way back to the door. Just as I reach the handle , the door flies open and Tharin rushes in. Without missing a beat , he grabs his coat and pulls me forward taking me along for the ride. He tucks me into the croo k of his arm and with his other hand shoves my head into his chest. His rock-hard body is warm and safe. I can’t breath e and trying to catch my breath is painful. I struggle to keep up and can feel the sticky sweat through his shirt. I pull my head up enough to look at my hand and see red. He’s bleeding! I try to pull out of his hold when we burst through the back door and find ourselves in an alley. To the right is the way back to the street and between freedom and us are three men with their back s to us.

  At the sound of the door opening , they turn on us swiftly, weapons ready . One holds something that looks like a machine gun , another has a semi-automatic and the third is holding a large hand gun. I’m terrified and in pain , but my mind is focused on the blood on my hand. Without thinking, I pull away from Tharin shoving him behind me. I stand with my arms out as if to shield him from the men in front of us. I don’t know what I’m thinking or doing, but I know I can’t let Tharin keep putting himself in danger for me. He’s hurt and I have to give him time to get away.

  “Don’t come near us!” The strength of my voice surprises me. I command Tharin to run.

  The men in front of me relax a bit, looking from one to the other . When I don’t hear any movement from behind me, I turn to Tharin, “What are you waiting for? Run , I said! RUN!”

  Tharin doesn’t move, instead he looks at me bewildered before bending over laughing.

  “What the…?” I turn back to the three men and find them smiling at me. It’s then that I finally notice they bear a close resembl
ance to Tharin. Each is wearing a coat and beanie just like Tharin and To lan. They start walking toward us, and e ven though I know they must also be e lves, I still push myself back against Tharin, my arms out protecting him, keeping myself between him and them. The men each look at me as they walk past. When the building that we were just in starts to shake, it’s their cue to take off, with the guy at the end taking one last glance at me. He smiles and winks before running after his friends.

  “What the …?” What just happened ? “Who are they?”

  “I think they were the enemy, but good thing for me you’re here to scare them away.”

  I turn to face Tharin and see him still amused. He’s making fun of me. What a jerk! Here I am trying to save him .

  “Are you laughing at me?”

  “Why would I be laughing at you?” His tone is moc king and I feel my back stiffen.

  “It’s obvious you’re serious about protecting me as I do seem like I need it, especially protection from someone who looks like you .”

  “You son-of-a-biscuit eater!” I swing at him but the pain in my back stops me in my tracks . His coat feel s heavy as the pain from the earlier hit cramps my entire body. My knee suddenly gives out and I feel myself falling. Tharin catches me , but the pain shoots through my entire body . To my shame, my eyes start to water . There’s a buzzing sensation in my ears, and the world seems to spin around me. Tharin quickly picks me up and turns away from the alley heading back to the front of the building.

  As he carries me, I close my eyes and try to silence my cries of pain. His movements are smooth, but t he pain is so excruciating that I find myself drifting in and out of consciousness. At some point , I sense we’re join ed by others . They’re all silen t, like Tharin, but I know they are there. I can feel their presence . When we finally come to a stop, I try to pull away and look around me . Tharin put s his hand on my head and gentl y pulls me back to him. I’m exhausted and in too much pain to fight him. When I drift back into consciousness, I feel a difference in the motion in the way I’m being carried. I’m still held against someone, but I’m not certain who. I hear Tharin’s voice in the distance, but he’s not talking to me. My last thoughts are of the young clerk. His face…then everything goes dark.

  *

  Chapter Fourteen ~ Tharin ~

  My coat prevented the glick from cutting through her, but its impact had finally hit Lily hard . I’m surprise d that she held it together for as long as she did. I look her over as I carry her away from the alley. What was I thinking? Putting her in danger like this when all I had to do was call Mellis? I only thought to give us some time to talk, to talk about the treaty , about the wedding . I wanted to let her know that after the wedding, I wouldn’t hold he r to anything. Damn. If I weren’t so angry about my situation with Lily and Kalis I would have had my wits about me . I would have called for Mellis and the others to meet us at Lily’s house. I was too arrogant, too sure of my self that I would know what Lucas’ next move would be.

  If I a m to be honest, I must admit I also wanted to show Lily that she means nothing to me but an oath to be kept…o r was it that I wanted to prove that to myself ? How did I allow this to happen? I repeat to myself once again that my duty is to bring her back safe, to marry her and unite the two most powerful houses of the Thirteen Clans. Then after that, she would be free to go.

  Lily moans in my arms and tries to lift her head. I gently lay it back down , and for once she doesn’t fight me . Her face is pale and her breathing shallow. An unexpected and unknown fear grips me that I just can’t shake . I underestimated Lucas. I expected him to wait until he was fully healed before coming after us. Instead, he sent the Ange ahead without him. The two days that I had hoped for are gone.

  As Mellis and the others appear beside me, I feel the ground shake as the building behind us explodes. I know that either Alorn or Phoris would have moved the clerk away from the explosion before sending the building and Rinis to oblivion. I think of the young clerk. Just a kid, only a few years younger than me, than any of us, Lily included . Lily. She risked her life to try and wa rn him to get down. If she hadn’t hesitate d , she would’ve been through the door without being hit. A sense of pride comes over me, follow ed by anger. A lot of good it d id her to warn him, the kid didn’t listen. And what did Lily get in return? She got a glick to her back. If I hadn’t put the coat over her I would be carr ying her in two separate bags to Velesi. That thought bothers me more than I want to admit.

  We move ahead four more blocks within minutes. The vehicles are waiting on a deserted street, but the night is waning and we need to leave. When word gets back that we took Rinis out, Lucas will send the others. This time he’ll know that I’m not alone with Lily and may send all four of the Ange, including Harlu, their leader. If that’s the case, I’ve even less time to get Lily to Velesi.

  “Tharin,” asks Mellis, coming to a stop next to me, “how was it that Rinis found you?”

  “I don’t know, c ousin . We need to make it to our next destination before word gets back that he’s no longer breathing .”

  It’s not that Rinis was killed in the explosion, but that he’s killed here, in this realm . He was a deadly enemy, but even your worst enemy deserves to be laid to rest in his native soil.

  Looking down at Lily, Mellis says , “She’s not what I exp ected.” I pass her over to him.

  “Did you see how she tried to protect you?” asks Alorn coming up from behind. “She’s got nerve, that’s for sure.”

  Without thought, she had pushed me beh ind her. I knew she was afraid ― no, she was terrified. There was no way that she would have been able to defend the two of us against Mellis and the others. Yet, she didn’t hesitate. She put herself before me, to protect me. I shake my head giving up trying to figure her out.

  Mellis is right. She’s not what any of us expected, but I do know this . From this point on , no more risks. I will not let my emotions about this situation with her and Kalis distract me from doing what needs to be done. She won’t leave my side until she’s safely back at Velesi. I give orders to the others and turn back t o find Mellis still holding Lily .

  “Mellis put her in my car . You ride with Phoris and Alorn.” I command, maybe a little sharper than I mean to. He stares at her a moment longer , and then looks at me . A n uneasy feeling slowly creeps into my chest. What i s going on here? Why this feeling of distrust, first with Tolan and now with Mellis? Before I can put my finger on it, Mellis swings her around and puts her in the passenger seat. He walks up to me after he shuts her door . He places his hand on my shoulder and gives it a brotherly squeeze.

  “She’ll suit you well, c ousin,” and with that, he walks pas t me to the waiting SUV ahead of us. I watch him walk away, not sure what just happened. I must be exhausted from constantly being on my guard all night ― against the attackers and the girl in the car.

  I wait along the side of the car when Tolan pulls up behind us. A young girl in black jeans, black t-shirt and torn sneakers bursts out of the passenger side running toward Lily. She tries to open the door but it’s locked. She slaps at the window with her palms calling for Lily to wake up. Before I make a move, Tolan comes up behind her and pulls her away roughly . I’m stun ned by my brother’s treatment of her. I stand aside and watch as the girl, who I assume is Julia, turns to face my brother. They stare each other down, breathing hard , both their faces are furious ly red . I watch my brother’s reaction to Lily’s friend, and then I look her over. Unlike Lily, Julia is tall and lean. Her blonde hair rivals my brother’s in color. While Lily’s hair falls down her back, Julia’s hair is crudely cut in a short bob the same length as Tolan’s. They a re like two burning stars compl e menting each other. That is if it didn’t look like they wanted to kill each other first .

  “Tolan?”

  Without losing eye contact with Julia , he answers, “What is it , Tharin?”

  “Will you introduce me to Lily’s friend?” I ask lean ing against the S
UV.

  “No! She isn’t worth an introduction, ” sneers my brother. If he weren’t so serious I would fall down laughing.

  “Why, you pig! I should have hit you harder!” yells Julia .

  I look over at Tolan and see a knot forming at the side of his left temple. I also note the murderous look on his face. I glance over at Julia , but she’s beyond murder and stands her ground, facing my brother with steel resolve. Her feet set for any move that Tolan might make. Unlike Lily, here was a trained fighter. Before either Julia or I know of his intentions, Tolan swoops in on her, grabbing her by the waist, pulling her roughly against him and kisses her hard. Julia struggles for a moment, but then leans into him, letting him take her weight. It takes me a few seconds to realize that I’m staring with my mouth wide open.

  When he finally pulls away, they hold on to each other without a feeling of romantic intent . Instead they’re hold ing on to one another for support , having lost their equilibrium. Tolan looks down at Julia then bends to take her lips again. This time the kiss is more gentle, but not less urgent. When he finally releases her, they are both weak and dazed. He walks Julia , who is leaning against him, to the car they came in. Once he has her inside, he shuts the door and nods once at her when she thanks him in a quiet voice. He then walks back toward me , still breathing unevenly .

  “You okay, brother?” I ask still stun ned by the whole scene.

  He nods his head several seconds before looking at me. As he continues to catch his breath , he turns once again to look at Julia . She sits in the passenger seat staring back at him in the same dazed state .

  “I’m going to have Mellis drive her,” he finally says not taking his eyes off Julia . Abruptly, he turns and makes his way to the first SUV. I watch as he knocks on the window and waits for Mellis to roll it down . He moves back as Mellis steps out trying to figure out what Tolan is saying. Mellis looks over at Julia , takes t he key from Tolan and walks past me with a smile. He makes his way to the car and gets behind the wheel. I look back at Tolan, but he’s already in the passenger seat. This has been an unusual night. I make my way to the driver’s side, climb in and just sit for a second. What just happened? I look over at Lily and reach past her. I find the latch at the side and slowly let the seat recline as far back as it will go. Once I buckle her in, I adjust her head so that it lies in a more comfortable angle. I trace her jaw line, pushing some of her hair from her face.