The Binding (33 page)

“Been here before?”
I ask not sure what s he’s trying to tell me.

“You’ll find your answers in the Book of the Manui in the library of the Willow Clan.”
She turns her head sideways as if listening to her mate. I watch him quietly and the sense of familiarity comes back to me.

“You’re the couple from the gas station , ”
I say. It was more of statement than a question.

“You’re quick,”
replies the male wolf. His voice is deep and commanding in my head. H
is presence makes me want to fall to my knees and bow to him. I fight the urge and remain standing.

As if
he find s humor in knowing my struggle to kneel before him, he says “Relax, child. We ask only this of you ,”
he pauses as the she-wolf whines at him, nudging his face with her nose. He nudges her back gently, and she submits to him, standing quietly as if mentally moving aside for him to speak.

“
The Manui statue, give it back to Lilianethia .”

At the mention of Lily, my shoulder s tense as I quietly ask, “Why?”

“Because it belongs to her, the gift was given to her.”
He doesn’t say any thing more but waits for my answer.

I think back to the field, when Mellis blew up the vehicles. I remember how Lily asked about the statue, worried that it was in the vehicles when the y exploded. She didn’t give a reason, or even questioned that I had it. She took my word for it and then didn’t bring it up again.

I nod my head slowly. Satisfied, the black wolf steps back again.

“One more thing, Prince Tharin,”
says the she-wolf, “Falsad’s master is real and lives among your circle at the Oak Tower . We’re unable to discover who h e is. But we do know this, he is not Sidhe. Black magic has been used to disguise him and has allowed him to live among you . He has lived among the Oak Clan for many years now. Beware of those around you.”

“What do you mean disguised as a Sidhe?”

They remain silent, confirming my fears. There are a few of us who can sense the true core of a being. Alorn, my father and I have this ability. We would know if there was an imposter living among us.

“Why not take Lucas’
body? At least then he has a c lan to rule, to form an alliance with others , not to mention his own army?
Why let his underlings do it instead ?
”

“Have you not been listening all these years, b oy?
”
The black wolf steps forward, anger in his tone.
“The key is Lilianethia. She is the daughter of Senestra, a line of healers, seers and the direct line to Mother Earth herself. This evil doesn’t want your throne, he wants to destroy Velesi. And, to do so, he needs the p rincess.”

I feel my own anger rise and I struggle to steady my temper when the she-wolf steps in saying, “The answer to your question is that only those who are first and seco nd to the throne cannot be over power ed by a demon. Lucas was never in line.”

“
No, Lucas was Senestra’s son, and first born. H
e wa s first in line,”
I correct her, confused that she would make such a simple mistake.

“The first in line is Lily. The second in line is Harlu. He i s Lily’s twin brother.”

The shock silences me. I know that Harlu and Lily look like twins, but actual twins? In c lans, royal families look alike and often cousins are mistaken for twins, especially first cousins. I think again of Mellis and Alorn.

“How is this possible?
”
I ask . “
All her life, Lily was raised with Lucas as her brother .
How can he not be Senestra’s son?”

“King Thilthen is the one you should be asking,”
answers the black wolf. He turns to his mate and she quietly retreats into the shadows.
“Remember, son of Thilthen, the Manui statue. Give it back to her.”

The communication is broken and the two disappear into the shadows. I send out my senses quickl y trying to track them but they ’
re gone. Tolan finishes as I turn in time to see the old pine’s branches lower and gently take Fien’s body. Within seconds, Fien is nowhere in sight, swallowed by the old pine until we send for his body later.

Tolan turns to me ready to go. He looks at my face and then looks around him sensing something is amiss. “What is it Tharin?” he asks, finally looking in the general direction of my attention .

Then like a whisper in the wind the she-wolf calls back, “Make haste , Prince, Lilianethia needs you!”

Ignoring Tolan, I take off heading back to where we left the others. I feel him catch up and run along side me in silence. We weave in and out of the trees, leaving nothing behind us to mark our passing . The forest around me becomes a blur as a sense of urgency knots in the pit of my stomach.

As we approach, Phoris, Julia and Lily are bent over Alorn under the tree . I look at Mellis and he’s laying flat o n the snow. Alorn is out cold, and both Julia and Phoris ar e speaking urgently to Lily who i s kneeling before Alorn as if in a trance. She falls heavily onto Julia as she stares off into the trees .

*

The pressure in my head starts to recede and the dizziness slowly goes away. I feel Julia stroking my hair and talking softly. I take a deep breath and the last of the nausea disappears. I try to sit up when someone grabs me , lifts me by my shoulders shaking and yell ing at me .

“Oh my God, Tharin! Will you stop manhandling me!” I shove myself out of his grip. I step back looking at him and it’s as if he ha s lost his mind. He s tands before me breathing hard, worry and concern etched into his face.

That look pisses me off .
What right does he have to be worried about me? He has a girlfriend and has no business touching me or even being worrying about me.
I’m not Kalis .
I can’t take the roller coaster of emotions I get with him anymore.
I know I’m over reacting, but I’m exhausted and cold and scared and ready to break down.

“What is wrong with you?” My words sound harsher than I mean them to be, but I can’t stop myself. “Ever since you met me you’ve been pushing me around, shaking me like a rag doll and bullying me! Don’t touch me again !
I’m no substitute! Just leave me alone!”

I regret the words as soon as I say them . Too late for an apology as Tharin turns and walks away, his face hard and unreadable. My chest aches so much I feel like dying.
What did I just do?
I watch him walk over to check on Alorn, speak ing softly to Phoris . After listening to his cousin’s response he says something quietly in return before getting up . He walks over to grab one of the bags and heads for a tree f a rther down from us. Julia comes to me as I see Tolan look after his brother. He turns and stares at me with a look that embarrasses and humbles me to the bone .
I have to look away .
What have I done?
Julia puts an arm around me . She leads me to a tree next to the one that Mellis and Alorn are still lying under.
What did I just do?

Even as Julia leads me away, all I want to do is run after Tharin and tell him that I’m sorry, so sorry. I want him to pull me near and hold me as he did at the football field. I want him to smile at me and tell me to calm down.
That will never happen again, not after what I just said to him.
Ugh…why did I say those things to him, why?
It’s too much .
I sit under the tree, feeling the wetness from the snow seep through my jeans, but I don’t care. I pull my knees in and place my head on folded arms to try block out the scene.
Why did I do that? Why?
I can’t stop berating myself. I feel Julia next to me shivering as she sits on the cold snow.

“Are you okay?” she asks, as she puts her arm comfortingly around my shoulder.

I
can’t answer her , so I just shake my head without lifting it.

“He knows you didn’t mean it , Lil.”

I
look up at her saying, “Really, Jules? Because he walked away like he didn’t know.” I put my head down again.

“Seriously, Lil, what’s wrong. Was it seeing all that blood? I mean, I’ve seen my share of bloodied faces, broken bones and bad bruising, but I’ve never seen anything like that. And you handle d it like a pro.”

I lift my head again, “Really? Because after it was over I felt nauseous and my head really hurt. I thought it was going to explode, and just when I was feeling better, h em an over there comes and starts shaking me again.”

She
nudges me gently asking, “What’s wrong? You know you can tell me.”

“That’s just it , Jules,” I say looking down at the snow .
“I don’t know what’s wrong. I’m so confused. It’s just so much for one person to handle, you know? I mean, two nights ago I was just a girl from San Diego who just finished high school , not sure if I want ed to go to college, running in the park minding my own business and this man, this e lf…this Sidhe p rince knocks me down.” I pause for a moment then quietly finish , “I haven’t been able to find my balance since.”

“Lil, are you falling for Tharin?”

I look at her stun ned that she would know how I secretly feel about him, “No! Of course I don’t, what do you mean? No, oh please.”

“Sister, once you admit it to yourself, things will be a lot easier, trust me,” she states as she looks at Tolan, who is now working on Alorn. I watch her face as it lights up just from looking at him.

I shake my head, “I can’t, Jules.”

“And
why the hell not?”

“Kalis.”

“Oh,” she says nodding her head slowly.

“Yeah, oh.”

“I don’t think , ” she starts slowly, “that Tharin has the same feelings for her as he once did.”

I roll my eyes at her saying, “Oh please, Jules. You told me yourself that Mellis said Tharin’s in love with her. Everyone is in love with her .
”
I glance over at Tolan and correct myself, “
O
kay, almost everyone.”

She gives me a smug smile before saying, “Yeah, well, it doesn’t seem like that anymore. I mean Tharin is definitely male material, but he’s not like any of the guys we knew from school.
None of them are,”
she says waving her hand toward the others. “
And I’m not just talking about the ears.
It’s like you told me about Tolan, T
harin’s a really good guy.
From what little I know of him…a bit bossy , but still .
I’ve seen him save you time and time again. He worries over you and watch es after you , especially when you’re not looking.”

“Really?” I ask , surprise d .
“It doesn’t matter, Jules. He’s with someone else. Someone w ho’s waiting for him in Velesi.
Besides, when I confronted him about it, he didn’t deny it.”

“What?” she says in a raised voice that causes the others to look our way. I grab at her arm to quiet her down. She looks about and then back at me saying , “That b astard! Are you serious? You confronted him about Kalis and he didn’t deny his feelings for her? Oh, he’s the low est of the low. What a scum b ag…you stay away from him, do you hear me?”

I sit for a minute looking at the disgusted face of my oldest fr iend and I start to laugh. She’s so ridiculous and I love her for it. Julia sees the change in my mood and smiles satisfied that I’m no longer sulking.

“Listen,” she softly demands, “you need to figure out what you really want when it comes to Tharin. I know that this wedding thing isn’t something you want to talk about, but Tolan told me it’s a really big deal. If you don’t marry Tharin, there could be war among the clans. But, if it’s not what you want, you have my full support, you know that. I just want you to start thinking about it seriously and how you’re going to handle Tharin when you tell him.”

“Tell him? Are you nuts? He’ll tie me up, gag me and marry me anyway ,” I answer shaking my head. “I can’t marry him . H
e’s in love with someone else. I’m sorry about the whole war thing, but seriously Jules, how is that my problem?”

She’s quiet for a moment and says , “You know, Lil, you’ve always looked out for everyone else your entire life. First your brother, then me, then Marilyn, and there’s never been a time that I can remember you turning your back on us, or anyone who asked you for help. Do you know what it means to go to war? Remember all the news stories of what’s happening in Afghanistan ? All the pictures and news reels we watched of the outcome ; dead bodies in the streets while small babies sit nearby crying for their mothers. Have you forgotten? From what Tolan tells me, many will be killed . Many left homeless; men, women, and children, just like those we’ve seen. Could you really allow that to happen if you had the power to prevent it? Can you turn your back on that?”

Her words weigh heavily on me until I feel my anger rising, “How can you put that on me? How can you tell me that I’ll be responsible for all those deaths? How can you?”