Unearth (The Bound Ones Book 3) Read online

  “What if we leave?” she asked. “What if we neither join you nor fight you, and just decide to walk away.”

  He considered this for a moment, and while he did, she put her hand over his and slowly pulled it away from her throat.

  “I had not considered that as an option,” he admitted. “The world is changing. I will soon rule every country, every continent. Why would you choose to be merely citizens of such a world when you can be leaders of it?”

  Phoenyx did not respond. She merely kept eye contact.

  “I suppose if you wanted to leave, you would be free to leave,” he said. “Despite how foolish a choice that is.”

  “You wouldn’t keep us against our will, the way you did Ayanna?”

  “Does she look like she’s here against her will?” Joran asked.

  “You know what I mean?” Phoenyx said.

  “No, I would not. I have already told you, I want you to choose me, and that is the only way I will have you.”

  “So we would be completely free?” she asked for verification.

  “Completely. Unless you ever became a problem, in which case I would terminate you.”

  She nodded. “Very well. Then with your blessing—and the queen’s, of course—we will stay until we make our decision. What will you tell Ayanna? You have told her we are enemies. How will she ever accept us?”

  “I have told her that you are enemies that I want to become allies,” he said. “When the time is right, when you have made your choice, I will tell her whatever I need to. She will believe anything I tell her.”

  His last sentence made rage boil up her throat, but she kept her cool.

  “Where will we stay?” she said, her way of saying she accepted his terms.

  “You can stay in my room,” he said, his hands sliding down her backside.

  She grabbed his hand and yanked it away forcefully, giving him a dangerous look. “I am not your toy yet.”

  The song ended and she pulled away from him.

  “But you will be,” he hissed, watching her as she made her way through the crowd to where Sebastian and her friends were waiting for her.

  Yes, she was playing a dangerous game, but at least she had secured their place among Joran’s ranks. Now they just had to wait for their moment to get to Ayanna. Phoenyx didn’t know what their plan was, but this was a good place to start.

  Ayanna

  “You invited the traitors to stay with us?” Ayanna asked, exasperated.

  The long day had finally come to an end, and the two of them were up their room getting ready for bed. She didn’t want to upset Joran by questioning his judgment, but she didn’t understand this particular decision.

  Ayanna hated that girl, the redhead in the way too sexy red dress. She had the audacity to steal Joran away and practically throw herself at him in front of all their guests. It was disgusting the way she had been touching him, and what was worse was that Joran had let her. She wanted that girl to be thrown out on her perfect little ass, not be given a room so close to theirs.

  She knew that she was not being rational, that jealousy was taking control of her, but she didn’t know any other way to react. Joran was her entire world. He was the only thing she knew in this life, the only person she could depend on. The thought of someone taking him away from her was unbearable.

  “You sound upset, my love,” Joran said, pulling down the shoulders of her dress and letting the dress fall down her body.

  Being mostly naked under his hungry dark eyes distracted her a little from her irritation.

  “I don’t trust them,” she said. I don’t trust her.

  “This is a good thing,” he insisted. “They were once very good friends, and they are very sorry for their betrayal. It was my deepest hope that they would come to their senses and join us. We would be much better off having them as allies rather than enemies.”

  He unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off, then began removing his pants.

  “How do you know you can trust them?” she asked.

  “I don’t. Not yet. They are here on a trial basis. And I assure you, if they defy us, I will destroy them.” Such a severe threat voiced in such a nonchalant way.

  Shouldn’t she be bothered with the way he was talking? Destroying them. Joran had said that he’d killed before, but she hadn’t witnessed this. Should discussing the possible death of strangers upset her? She wasn’t sure how to feel. All she knew was that the idea of that redhead being out of their hair, by whatever means, was comforting.

  “Can you tell me more about these people?” she asked. “You say they have powers. I want to know what their powers are so I know what to expect.”

  “Very well,” he sighed, moving to the bed to sit against the headboard.

  She followed, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

  “They are known as the Bound Ones,” he began. “Even before you and I were born, our people bound the spirits of the four elements to the souls of those four. The blond boy, Air, can read thoughts and move objects with his mind. The raven-haired boy can control water and cast illusions. The brunette girl—perhaps the most powerful of them all, yet the most mild-mannered—has access to all of Earth’s powers. She can move the ground, she can inspire plants to grow, and she can heal any wound. And lastly, the redhead, whom you dislike so much, is Fire. She can control all forms of fire, and also compel people by igniting passion within them.”

  This did not make Ayanna feel any better. The powers of the other three were daunting enough, but the embodiment of desire that the redhead already was, she also had the ability to control people through lust!? This was not acceptable.

  Her jealous panic must have been all over her face because Joran put his hand lightly on hers.

  “Come over here,” he invited. “Let me help you relax.”

  “How are you so calm with such powerful foes under your roof?” she asked.

  “There are certain perks to having the power of soul,” he said. “I recently discovered that I can access the powers of anyone close to me. If they try to use their powers against me, I can use their same powers against them. They can’t hurt me this time.” He smiled triumphantly.

  “What about me?” Ayanna said. “I have no powers to defend myself. They can still hurt me.”

  “You are worrying over nothing, my sweet, I assure you,” he said, appearing bored by this conversation. “I will protect you, should the need arise.”

  Why was he being so casual about this? She was the queen, a queen who had recently been made extremely vulnerable by memory loss. If these Bound Ones had hurt her once, how was Joran so sure that they wouldn’t do it again?

  “Please, come to bed,” Joran implored, getting comfortable against the headboard again.

  She sat still for a moment. Curling up into a ball in Joran’s arms sounded wonderful right now. She could let herself disappear in his embrace and feel totally safe and loved. But the defiant side of her wanted some space, and the logical side of her needed to think.

  “I will soon,” she promised. “I just need some air.”

  She looked at him, as if waiting for his permission.

  “If you insist,” he said, waving his hand toward the door. “But don’t be long. Last night was too good not to have an encore.”

  The memory of the previous night warmed her all over, tempting her to stay and reenact it. But the itch to get outside and breathe in the cool night air was too strong to ignore. She placed a kiss on Joran’s cheek, slipped on a robe and departed their chambers.

  Her legs carried her through the hallways, which were now dark and empty. All the occupants of this castle had gone to bed, which she should be doing.

  Ayanna didn’t know where she was going, or why she was even leaving the safety of Joran’s powerful presence with these dangerous people in their midst. She just felt the need to seek out some solitude. She hadn’t been alone since the moment she first woke up, and she was hoping that some time to herself would h
elp her work through the confusion in her head, and in her heart.

  After some aimless wandering, Ayanna found herself in a library. As soon as she saw the tall shelves of countless books, she remembered that books were a true passion of hers. The titles of some of her favorite books rang in her head—The Principia by Isaac Newton, Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, Faust by von Goethe.

  Yes, she had read hundreds—no, thousands of books! But she had been buried in the earth for millennia, so how could she have read so many books? Had there been books before she’d been buried? She really needed to have Joran help her sort out their timeline so that anything made sense.

  She trailed along the bookshelves, glancing over the titles on the spines, both new and crumblingly old.

  “I think I’ve found my new favorite room,” she said to herself.

  A noise from the hall alerted her. Footsteps. The sound of someone who didn’t want to be heard. She shouldn’t have heard such a soft sound, but the stone that made up the walls and floors acted as amplifiers.

  Ayanna turned to the entrance of the library, expecting to see someone attempting to sneak up on her. The redhead perhaps. But no one emerged through the doorway.

  Just as she was about to shrug it off as paranoia and return to her perusal of the books, she saw a shadow move along the wall of the hallway beyond.

  No, she wasn’t just hearing things or being overly suspicious. Someone was moving about the castle. Was it one of the maids? Ayanna doubted that. A maid wouldn’t be trying so hard to be quiet. Ayanna had the feeling that whoever was walking out there shouldn’t be.

  She crept over the rug to look out the door just in time to see a feminine silhouette disappear around the corner. Driven by intrigue, Ayanna decided to follow her.

  The girl hastened with light feet into the now empty ballroom. The pale light of the moon streamed in through the stained glass windows and illuminated the girl’s face enough for Ayanna to recognize her. This was the brunette, the girl with the power of Earth.

  What is she doing? The girl was clearly up to something. But should Ayanna follow her? Joran had told her that this girl was the most powerful of the Bound Ones. Ayanna would be taking a huge risk by pursuing her.

  But Joran had also said that this girl was the most mild-mannered, and she looked so innocent and unthreatening. Did that mean Ayanna had any less reason to be cautious?

  Ayanna and Joran had been buried in the ground by the Bound Ones, which had to have been mostly Earth’s doing. Anyone who could intentionally bury someone alive was no innocent.

  The girl hurried out into the garden, and with no more time to deliberate, Ayanna quickly crossed the ballroom floor after her.

  By the time Ayanna made it to the door, she was afraid she’d lost the girl, but one glance through the cracked doors and she spotted the girl sitting on a bench. And she wasn’t alone. A man was sitting next to her. It was the witch! He was the one who had freed them from their tombs, he was supposed to be loyal to Joran. What was he doing meeting this girl in the middle of the night, in secret?

  Ayanna slithered out the heavy wooden doors and crept to a bush behind the bench where she could hear their whispered conversation.

  “Sam, we really shouldn’t be doing this,” the girl said.

  “I know,” Sam said. “But I have too many questions for texting, and…I just needed to see you.”

  “We can’t talk long, it’s just too risky,” the girl said. “If anyone sees us together, you’ll be in danger. I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you.”

  “That’s exactly how I feel about you, Lily,” he said. Ayanna couldn’t see either of their faces, but she imagined that this was news to Lily because of the professing way that Sam said it. “And that’s why I have to ask, what the hell are you guys doing here?”

  “We’re here for Ayanna,” Lily said.

  Ayanna’s brows jumped at hearing her own name. They’re here for me? Are they going to try to take me?

  “She thinks she’s safe here,” Lily continued. “She thinks Joran loves her. But did you see the marks on her back?”

  “I did,” Sam said in a dark tone, and Ayanna could almost hear his head shake in dismay.

  “We have to find some way to remind her who she is,” Lily said. “Who Joran is. It breaks my heart that she doesn’t remember who we are and all that we’ve been through together. Phoenyx said that Ayanna hates us…” Lily stopped talking and began weeping.

  Ayanna had the irrational urge to come out of the bushes and hug the crying girl, to reassure her that she didn’t hate her. Why should she want to comfort this girl? Lily had betrayed her, or so Joran said. And yet, this girl was crying for her.

  “It’s not her fault, and it’s not your fault,” Sam told Lily. “We will find a way to restore Ayanna’s memories. I promise.”

  There was a silence for a moment. But it was the loudest silence Ayanna had ever experienced, as confusing questions were buzzing around in her head.

  They wanted Ayanna to remember. Why would they want that? Did they somehow believe they were the good guys in this scenario? Or was everything she knew a lie?

  “There is nothing I regret more than not listening to you when you came to me in New Orleans,” Sam said. “None of this would be happening if I had just heard you out.”

  “Who could blame you?” Lily said. “You thought you had found your family.”

  “In a way, I feel like I have. Not with the Four Corners, but with you. I have never felt so connected to another person before.” There was a pause, and Ayanna could almost see the two staring deeply at each other. “I will never let you down again.”

  Ayanna dared to peak over the bushes and saw that the two young lovers were kissing. She wasn’t sure why, but the sight made her heart skip a joyful beat. The witch who had set Joran free was kissing the Bound One that imprisoned him in the first place. They were both traitors, and yet Ayanna was smiling at their budding romance. For some inexplicable reason, she felt in her soul that these two deserved to be happy.

  Their kiss ended, and even in the monochrome moonlight, she could see the blush in their cheeks.

  “You should go now,” Lily said so softly that Ayanna barely heard her.

  Sam nodded reluctantly. “Until tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” Lily asked.

  “Joran has invited the higher ups to witness his first display of power tomorrow,” Sam informed her. “I assume he will want the four of you to see it too.”

  “Where?” Lily asked.

  “Pentonville Prison.”

  A prison? Why does Joran want to display his power at prison?

  When she looked back up at the bench, Sam was gone and Lily was running back inside the castle. Now Ayanna was alone in the garden.

  She had come out for a walk to find some clarity, but now she had even more questions than before. Why did the Bound Ones care about her? And why did she innately care about them? Why would they want her to remember her past if they were the villains in it? And if they weren’t, why would Joran lie to her about it?

  Her head began to ache fiercely, and suddenly all she wanted to do was sleep. She let out a heavy sigh, which turned into a yawn, and made her way back inside the castle toward her room.

  Once inside the bedroom, she softly closed the door, took off the robe and slipped into bed quietly so as not to wake Joran. Howevere, as soon as she got beneath the covers, Joran’s arm wrapped around her and pulled her close against his body.

  “Have a nice walk?” he asked against her neck.

  “Mm-hmm,” she hummed affirmatively.

  “Do you feel any better?” he asked.

  No, I feel so much worse.

  Part of her wanted to tell him about what she saw, wanted him to give her a reasonable explanation for everything. Shouldn’t she also warn him that the witch he trusted and the earth girl were sneaking around behind his back? But she couldn’t tell him any of it. Something inside her scre
amed to keep it to herself, at least for now.

  “What’s wrong, my sweet?” Joran asked, propping himself up on his elbow so he could see her face.

  His expression was so sweetly, genuinely concerned. How could she doubt him?

  “Nothing. I just have a splitting headache.” That wasn’t a lie, her head really did hurt.

  “Ah, a side effect of your memory loss,” he said. “Maybe I can distract you.”

  Before she could ask what he meant, his hands were fondling her in the most delightful way. His mouth covered hers, and that was all it took for her to push her worries to the back of her mind and put all her focus on Joran.

  The night had been a strange one. Not one of the four of them had gotten much sleep. How could anyone sleep under the roof of an enemy who could rip out your soul at whim?

  Joran’s servants had offered each of them their own room, but none of them felt safe on their own. Of course, there was no way that Phoenyx and Sebastian would sleep separately anyway, but Phoenyx was afraid of Joran’s advances—as was Sebastian—and Sebastian was afraid of being removed as an obstacle to Phoenyx. So the four of them insisted on sharing one room.

  Aside from an unusually long bathroom break on Lily’s part, the four of them kept a close eye on each other, looking around the room for one another through their restless broken sleep.

  Sebastian had kept his arms so firmly around Phoenyx’s waist that it was difficult for her to breathe comfortably. She couldn’t blame him—she didn’t want to be any farther away from him either.

  The little show she had put on for Joran and Ayanna had been a little too convincing. It was only a matter of time before Joran came to collect. And though Phoenyx and Sebastian’s relationship was accustomed to the addition of her necessary affairs, this was different, and they both knew it. Joran wanted more than just Phoenyx’s body, more than the pleasure her powers could bring. He wanted her soul.

  The risk to their safety wasn’t the only thing that kept them all tossing and turning and twitching all night. Lily told them about Joran’s invitation to the Four Corner’s elite to witness some “display of power” at the prison the following day. They could all easily guess what that would entail, and none of them were too keen on watching it. But if they were asked to attend, they couldn’t refuse, and if the things they saw bothered them, they couldn’t do anything to stop it.