Made By Design (Blood Bound Series Book 2) (39 page)

Shit, shit, shit.

Caius’s arms closed around me, and I held my breath. The electricity inside my body surged from my heart in veiny sparks. It didn’t run along my exposed skin, but instead shot from inside to every part of me that he touched.

Caius jerked back ever so slightly, eyes wide and lips frowning. Now he knew. The power he’d engineered me for resided in my bones.

A controlled mask reset his wrinkled features as he turned back to the crowd. “Our Oracle, Miss Amelia Lamont.”

As the awestruck council members began to clap, a commotion sounded from outside. I whirled on the spot to see the two guards. One guard was hauling someone through the tall open doors. The other had his sword pointed at the guy’s back.

I blinked, unable to believe my eyes. Their hands were clenched around the biceps of someone I knew. My throat choked closed in disbelief at the boy being thrust forward.

Kendrick?
The fight and raw determination across his face was familiar. But I’d never seen my best friend look like that. The Kendrick who still stood beside me mirrored my frozen shock.

“My Lord, he was outside.” The guard with his sword aimed addressed Caius with a nod. “Though we already saw him enter the hall, and not leave.”

Kendrick’s double growled, struggling against the guards’ vice-hard grips. Veins along his neck and arms popped against his pale skin. As he freed one arm, two more guards—ones I hadn’t even noticed—rushed in from the back of the hall. They joined the restraining force, locking hands behind Kendrick’s double’s back and immobilizing his legs. The sword now lay kissing the flesh at his jugular.

Caius curled his fingers around the arm of the Kendrick beside me. Then he thrust him forward to face his double. “One of you is an intruder. Reveal your true form or you will both be sentenced for plotting against The Council.”

Serafina vaulted to Caius’s side, losing her cold control. “No, Kendrick would never.” She panned back and forth between the two, bewilderment raging through her silver-blue eyes. She had no idea who the real Kendrick was, either.

But I did.

Ignoring the crawling of my skin at being so close to my murderer, I stepped forward. I took the hand of the Kendrick who had been standing beside me. The same Kendrick I’d arrived with. The same one’s eyes I’d seen through when my tattoo was revealed. “This is the real Kendrick.”

As the words left my mouth, fear crushed my heart. Squeezing tension threatened to burst the muscle. I pressed the amulet hidden beneath my blouse’s neckline to my chest. I knew who the other boy was.

“No.” The ghostly whisper of my voice barely registered through the bickering council noise. “You said you’d stay away.”

Gold rippled across the boy’s sad, silver eyes. Then his body began to shake, trembling and blurring. A nail gun of small snaps erupted and pain contorted his pale face. Black hair replaced golden brown, and growing muscles bulged under his once loose jeans and shirt as he morphed back to his true form. “Sorry.”

Caius’s smile was wicked and triumphant. “Lycan.” He hissed the word through fully extended fangs. “Arrest him!”

The room jumped into chaos, council members hissing and leaping away. More guards rushed in from every angle, responding to the threat. In a matter of seconds they had their intruder incapacitated. Ty struggled as chains whipped out, locking around his wrists and ankles.

Tears muddied my sight as my mom came to Caius’s side. “Caius, please,” I begged. “Let him go.”

Caius’s smile broadened. “The wolves know our laws, and he was trespassing. I love you, Amelia.” A fire grew in the pit of my stomach at his insincere words. “But I will not bestow special treatment onto him. Instead, I urge you to exhibit some restraint, lest you disgrace yourself as our Oracle.”

I lifted my tear-filled eyes to my mom. “You know he’s not a spy. Mom, please. Do something.”

She shook her head, deep sadness cutting her lineless face. “It’s not in my power. He’s trespassed on council land. He’s our enemy. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

I raked my eyes over the room, searching for an escape route. There had to be some way to get us out of here alive. But there were so many guards, not just restraining Ty who continued to struggle behind me, but around the entire room, at every door and pitched window. There was no way out.

I glared at Caius, fists clenching as electricity welled beneath my gloves. “What will you do to him?”

“He will be imprisoned…until the execution.”

My blood ran cold as death and I staggered. Kendrick’s hand shot out to catch me, a static shock above the cover of my glove forcing him to jerk away. Instead, Marcus was the one to break my fall, pulling me up before I hit the ground. The static was again absorbed with his touch. But I couldn’t think about how or why.

Staring at my former uncle, I gritted my teeth. “When?”

The prick waved a dismissive hand and the guards began hauling Ty away, swords forcing him on. “Your coronation as Oracle will commence during the next full moon. As is custom. The execution will be carried out afterward.”

Dazed, I watched as Ty was dragged around a bend down the hallway. My stomach seized and I fought back the rising urge to vomit. The moon would be full in three night’s time. That was all that separated Ty from death.

Caius turned back to the council members, calming their still outraged remarks. He began talking in a deep, level voice, bringing continuity back to the meeting and planning out the details for my coronation.

I heard none of it. My heart and mind felt a million miles away. My body was numb and detached.

Marcus lifted me into his arms and walked out the main doors. Kendrick remained tight behind us. “Don’t worry,” Marcus whispered into my ear. “He won’t be executed. I have a plan.”

~

“I wouldn’t dream of calling you my friend, but—” I hesitated into my iPhone’s speaker, managing to rein in the static without my gloves. “But, thank you.” I hung up and shoved the phone into my hoodie. “It’s done.”

We were in the rec room upstairs and Dorian was perched on the edge of the leather couch in suspense. Beside him Kendrick’s head was twisted over his shoulder, watching as I paced.

Marcus was lounged on an armchair. His body was relaxed, but his face was serious as hell. “Good. Now—”

“Marcus, you don’t have to do this,” I said, unable to stop pacing. “I mean, I appreciate it. I do. But you shouldn’t be burdened with helping me save Ty.”

Marcus’s gaze turned vacant, staring into space. Was he remembering the moment he found his father, throat torn out in the entry of the Vladimir manor? He shook himself and clenched his jaw. “Amelia, I want to do this. I need to.”

There was no talking him out of this. And really, I didn’t want to. If we were going to save Ty, I needed his help. “Fine.” I leapt over the back of the other armchair, needing to sit before my legs gave out.

Marcus clapped his hands together, all business as he turned to Dorian and Kendrick. “Now, Dorian, you’ll be expected to arrive with your mother for the coronation, but once you’ve been seen by—”

“That SOB Caius,” Dorian cut in.

Marcus nodded. “You’ll need to slip out, without being noticed. You’re our best bet for compelling the guards if needed. I’d go myself, but I have to witness the event from the Vladimir’s throne on stage.”

Kendrick slumped back into the couch, slinging his arms over his chest. He already knew his role, and he wasn’t happy about it. “I still don’t see why I can’t go with Amelia to get Ty.”

“You know why,” I said before Marcus could reply. “You need to be our visual link to the ceremony.”

“Our warning signal if the guards decide to come and get Ty early,” Dorian added.

“And,” Marcus cut in. “You need to hold up the facade that everything is as it should be. As long as Amelia escapes with Ty, and Dorian, you get back before the completion of the coronation, you’ll all have an alibi. Caius won’t be able to pin Ty’s escape on any of you.”

“And if we get caught?” My voice sounded like a grim shadow of the dread swimming through my veins.

Marcus grasped my hand and squeezed. “I won’t let that happen.”

Even though it wasn’t Ty or even Kendrick, having someone touch my bare skin, even just my hand, felt nice.

Marcus came closer, his next words whispered into my ear. “I would never let any harm come to you, my—Amelia.”

A sudden flame of irritation flared up my neck. Unbridled jealousy streamed from Kendrick. His eyes were fixed like flesh-burning lasers on our joined hands. I reared, about to hit him with a look that said,
c’mon, you’re jealous of Marcus too?
Before I could, an eerily light tingling warmed my heart. Then the sensation split down the length of my body. My eyes rolled back and my knees gave out.

When my lids snapped open, the scene before me sent splintering ice through my veins. There was movement and shouting all around. A sound like hissing snakes.

Terror swarmed my bones. The damned. They were everywhere. Chairs were upended and black and red slicked the ground. The ground where lifeless bodies lay, cooling on the marble. They were slaughtering every vampire in sight.

A blunt force connected with my chest and I fell to my knees. My lungs ached and my breath was hard and fast.

Around me the background became a hazy rush, like I was centered on a spindle. The only thing I now saw was Ty. He was across the room and snarling, fully transformed into a towering black wolf. Bunching lines creased his muzzle, bearing sharp teeth that dripped glossy black.

Before him was Caius, brandishing a silver sword that he had trained at Ty. He traced an arc with the blade, slicing through the pungent air. Its thickness was drenched with fresh spilled blood. There was another scent too. It was vile and decomposing. In any other circumstance it would have forced me to retch. But not now. I couldn’t crumble with the scene before me.

Tacky red oozed from wide gashes across Ty’s shoulders, legs, and back. He grunted and snarled as he weaved out of the blade’s path. Then he lunged back to snap at Caius. But something was wrong, even more than everything I could see. Ty was tired. His movements had become less precise and more desperate. Every gliding arc of Caius’s sword now afforded closer calls with Ty’s flesh.

A surge of fear, stronger and more compelling than any I had ever experienced, had my pulse pounding through my ears. The ice in my veins thawed with a sudden surge of adrenaline. My legs began hammering without order, pounding the red and black slicked ground. I darted around and over figures—faceless people—warring around me.

Then, like a pair of tightening hands inside my chest cavity, the air was squeezed from my lungs. Everything became black. A complete body spasm shot me from the vision.

I gasped, and something pressed against my lips. Broken flesh spilled blood into my mouth. Against my will my fangs unsheathed, biting down, clamping the source like a bear trap.

“You’re okay. I’ve got you.” Marcus’s lips brushed against my ear.

As my mind caught up to reality, I could feel his supporting arm, cradling me against his trembling chest. A streak of anger pierced my soul, too. I retracted my fangs, blinking against light-blinding starbursts while boiling jealousy seared up my throat.

A new set of arms tore me from Marcus’s hold. “I’ll take it from here.” Kendrick’s tone was sharp, betraying his not so latent feelings for me.

I glared up at him. How could he be possessive after what I’d just seen? “Really?”

Kendrick shrugged, his expression innocent. “What?”

“Let me down.”

Before I could wriggle out of his arms, simultaneous sparks erupted from my body. Kendrick’s arms shot away from me, forced by the power, and I fell. But this time no one caught me. Instead, I used Ty’s training, twisting my body to plant my feet as I landed in a crouch. I stood slowly, limbs and mind still recovering as I slid back onto the armchair.

Marcus ran a finger along his healing wrist. Another person I’d used. And another time I’d broken my promise to Ty. “Why did you do that? Bottled would have been fine.”

Marcus half laughed. “You’re the Oracle. Bottled human blood may have cut it before, but not anymore. Once your residence is arranged, I’m sure they’ll assign you a personal donor.”

I stared, shocked and speechless. I wouldn’t agree to it. They couldn’t make me.

“Back to the fire,” Dorian cut in, knowing the look on my face meant I wanted to change the subject. “So, what did you see, sis?”

Marcus seemed to flinch at the interruption. Then he knelt before me. His face was riddled with worry as he pressed a hand against my knee. “Go on.”

I breathed in and out, working through the horrifying vision and feeling the shock of what I’d seen. Kendrick was already sifting through my thoughts while the others waited. I cleared my throat. “The damned are coming. It’s going to happen at the Portsmouth Council.”

“The night of your coronation?” Dorian guessed.

“It has to be,” Kendrick answered for me, his jealousy for Marcus now replaced by fear. “The place was packed.”

“So much blood…it was everywhere.” I coughed, remembering the other pungent smell that had thickened the air. Damned blood. “Caius will stand against us all. I saw him.”

“Then we all need to get out straight after your coronation.” Kendrick spoke the words I was thinking. “Drug our moms and cart them out if need be. But it has to be done before the guards are summoned to retrieve Ty for the execution.”

“Why before?” Dorian questioned.

“Because Ty was there,” I said, bile exploding up my throat like little live grenades.

“And the guards won’t be sent to retrieve him until you’re named,” Marcus said, looking at me.

“Exactly,” Kendrick and I chimed in unison.

Then I added. “We can’t mess this up.”
Ty’s life depends on it,
was my internal thought to Kendrick. “And we need to go back to The Council and force them to listen. They need to know what’s coming for them, all of them.”

“That could force them to postpone the coronation.” Kendrick slid back onto the couch, his mind reeling with my thoughts.