The Unknown Thief

Part 10

Chapter 10

Nathaniel may have appeared calm, but on the inside, he was nervous.  Ainsely was on the other side of the door, and the man knew more than he did about magic.  There was no doubt in his mind that Ainsely would win in a fight, but he needed to prove himself to Aubrey.  He needed to show her that he could protect them.

His hand pulled on the handle, and immediately, Ainsely pushed it open further.  The man froze as he saw Nathaniel standing there.  His eyes scanned Nathaniel’s body, turned towards Aubrey and did the same to her.  “Neither of you look rumpled.”

“We did not do anything,” Aubrey mumbled.

Nathaniel glanced over his shoulder at her and winked.  “Nothing that would rumple our clothing.”

A flush spread across her cheeks, giving Nathaniel the desired effect.  Looking towards Ainsely, he knew that the man was enraged.  He did not know why he wanted to fight with Ainsely; he just wanted to show the siblings that he could do something.  He was not just a poor prince with no powers.

“Aubrey,” Ainsely growled, “come here.”

He heard her shift behind him before she said, “No, Ainsely.  I am fine where I am.”

“Aubrey,” her brother said in a low tone.

Nathaniel felt his control slip.  Taking a step towards Ainsely, Nathaniel glared at the man.  “Do not speak to her that way.”

The angry expression on Ainsely’s face turned to shock as if he did not think Nathaniel would say anything.  How long has the prince gotten what he wanted?  When was the last time someone stood up to him?

“Who are you to tell me what to do with my sister?”

“We are engaged.”

“We were engaged,” Aubrey said.  “I talked your father out of that particular mishap.”

“Fine,” Nathaniel conceded. “We are bound.”

Silence met him.  Neither Aubrey nor Ainsely spoke for minutes following that statement. 

“Is it true?” Ainsely finally asked his sister.

“Yes,” Aubrey whispered.

Ainsely nodded in her direction before taking a step towards Nathaniel.  Before he knew what was happening, Ainsely threw a punch.  The air was knocked out of him.  Throwing his hands up, he waited for more blows, but nothing happened.  Opening his eyes, he looked up at Ainsely.  The only thing was that instead of standing over him, Ainsely’s back was on the ceiling.  The man was flailing about with aggravation marring his features.

“Let me down!”

Nathaniel jumped to his feet.  Turning towards Aubrey, he motioned towards her brother.  “Are you going to release him?”

“A better question would be: are you going to release him?”

“What do you mean?”

She rolled her eyes at him as if she was tired of dealing with him.  “You threw him up there, you let him down.”

Nathaniel looked up at an angry Ainsely before shaking his head.  “I think I like it better when he is up there.”

“Look,” Ainsely said from his spot, “if you let me down, I will not kill you.”

“Sounds like a good compromise,” Nathaniel conceded.  “Now, how do I let you down?”

The two of them stared at him annoyance.  “You do not know what you did?” Aubrey asked with a sigh.

Nathaniel shrugged at her.  “I threw my hands up to protect myself.”

“Try doing the opposite of what got me up here,” Ainsely supplied.  “That sometimes works when I did things accidentally.”

“You do magic that you do not know how to control?” Nathaniel asked in a slightly hopeful tone.  It would be nice if he were not the only person who had these mishaps.

Ainsely rolled his eyes, replicating his sister’s early expression.  “When I was four.  After that, I never made a mistake.”

He threw his hands up in exasperation.  “It is not my fault that my parents did not teach me these things.” Throwing his hands back down, he turned his back to the two.  A loud thump echoed in the room, along with groans.  Turning back around, he noticed that Ainsely was no longer above him.  The man was lying on the ground; his hands were cradled around his head. 

Aubrey knelt beside him.  “How are you?”

“My head hurts like bloody hell, how do you think I am?” 

She let out a laugh.  “I am guessing that you are not feeling well.”

“You would be guessing right,” Ainsely said before letting out a sigh.  “Will you tell me what you have gotten yourself into this time, Brey?”

She settled down beside her brother and let out a sigh of her own.  “Cara was attempting to help, and her magic did not come out as she wanted.”

“It came back on her?”

“Yes.  Now, we are bound.”

Ainsely looked up at his sister.  “You know what this means?”

“Yes, we cannot be far from one another.”

Ainsely turned his eyes towards Nathaniel.  “You have an excuse to be close to my sister, but that does not mean that I like it.”

“Understood,” Nathaniel said with a nod, “but I plan on being near her for a long while.”

Understanding crossed Ainsely’s face while Aubrey narrowed her eyes slightly and said, “I can break the bond.  It will take some things from different places, but I can use my magic to break it.”

Nathaniel bit his lip to keep his next words quiet.  He wanted to know what would happen if he did not want to break the bond?  What if he wanted to stay bound to her?  That was not right; he did not want to be stuck with a woman for the rest of his life.

“If you think it is best.”

Aubrey nodded.  “I do.”

“Aubrey,” Ainsely whispered, “you need to leave.”

She snapped her head in his direction with a frown.  “Why?”

He sent her a sheepish smile.  “I told father there was a man in his room.  If he asks the stones, he will know why Nathaniel is here. He will know that he is bound to you, and he will handle it in the only way he knows how.”

“By killing him,” she whispered before turning towards Nathaniel.  “I hope you are not afraid of heights.”