Free Bound by Spells (Bound Series Book 2) by Stormy Smith

He rolled his eyes as he continued, in more of a mumble, “All the better for us to bond, she said.”
    I chose to ignore that last part. A betrothal was one thing; this whole consummation business was something else. “What does that mean? Have they found the—” I didn’t get to finish my sentence before Micah started speaking loudly over me, glaring at me intently as he did.
    “It means we can do some uninterrupted work together and I can show you around. This home is one of my favorite places in the world and I’ve never really been able to show it to anyone.”
    I mentally smacked myself in the forehead. Of course. We were in the middle of the hallway and there were Hunters everywhere. I let my questions lie and jumped into his line of conversation.
    “No one? Didn’t you have friends growing up? Aren’t there other royal people you hung out with? Did they keep you away from everyone, too?” It disturbed me to think he had been as isolated as I was and I was genuinely shocked to see the sadness Micah didn’t bother to hide. He looked knowingly at me, all of his normal charm was gone and it was plain to see we weren’t so different after all.
    He clasped his hands behind him as we strolled along a hall. As we turned the next corner, he grabbed my arm and quickly drew me into a room, closing the door. “There are stories I owe you. Explanations you need. But this isn’t the time nor the place for them.” Micah’s words were quick and hushed. He kept glancing over my shoulder at the door. “They are watching—always watching. They will report our every word to my mother. For both of our sakes, give me time and I’ll find a way for us to talk openly. Just try to keep your more in-depth questions to yourself. Do you understand?”
    His breath was warm on my face as I nodded. A hundred questions raced through my mind and I pushed all of them back but one.
    “But why? Can you just tell me why you’re helping me?” My own words were an exhale into his ear as I tried to be as quiet as I could. Micah’s lips were at my ear as footsteps moved toward us. The loud, thudding footfalls could only be the Hunters.
    “Blood does not trump madness. She must be stopped, and you are the key.”
    I didn’t even have time to register his full meaning before he snapped his fingers, the drapes opened, and he started loudly describing the library and the hundreds of years’ worth of knowledge stored there. The door banged open and an unknown Hunter looked disappointed to find us five feet from each other with Micah droning on about the ancient tomes of our people. Micah didn’t spare him a glance as I smiled widely and winked at him. His lips pressed into a tight slash against his light brown skin and he strode from the room, leaving the door wide open.
    I turned back to Micah, my smile real this time. “Hundreds of years’ worth of knowledge, huh?”
    His grin was all I needed to know I was right where I needed to be.
    I started to walk the perimeter of the room, stopping in my tracks as I rounded a bookcase. My feet were rooted to the ground as I stared, my head swiveling back and forth. What I had thought to be a small room was only the entryway to a massive gymnasium-sized cavern. Three floors with rolling ladders and thousands of books. Micah sauntered past me and stood in the atrium of the room.
    He spread his arms wide, and said, “Amelia, meet my friends. Welcome to my playground.”
    “Where did all of this come from?” I exhaled the question from a gaping mouth, my eyes wide. I couldn’t even begin to estimate how many thousands of books were here. Micah’s smile softened as he looked around fondly.
    “Everywhere. Every royal family added to it and Tragar, the royal historian, maintains it. He’s not here right now, he’s out tracking down more volumes, but he’ll be back soon and I can’t wait to introduce you to him. He’s hundreds of years old and a walking encyclopedia. He spends all of his