Hadaen [The Marujan Brothers Series] Book One by Hannah888

of Amelia. "Do not move another muscle,
woman."
    Amelia saw the anger riding
across her friend's-- her
friend?-- emotion. And before she knew it,
a swirling golden fire ball was raised on top of one of Reese's
palms. In a moment it disappeared, vanishing in a puff. She spun on
her heel, glaring daggers at the man standing behind her at the
door. He smiled smugly and buffed his nails against the breast of
his coat.
    "I wouldn't be getting any
ideas, sweetheart," his unfamiliar voice sounded through the room.
"You have no idea
who you are dealing with." And in one sharp second he had her
slammed against him, twisting one hand behind her and his other
hand by her jaw. Amelia had seen that hold before. He could easily
snap her neck in a millisecond.
    "Let her go!" Amelia dodged Hadaen's
grip and came up to a stop before them. The look in her friend's
eyes told her she was not afraid. Amelia couldn't understand why
she wasn't.
    "You might want to encourage your
little witch here to speak up."
    "I am no witch!" Reese
shrieked.
    "Mmm... I was beginning to think
that," he went on. "You smell too damn good to be one."
    "Enough!" Hadaen moved up to them and
tugged Amelia behind him. "I have no patience for any fucking
chit-chat right now. The darkness Gideon sensed might already be
upon us."
    Reese stilled at those words. She
frowned deeply as if calculating something in her mind. "Doerci is
here?"
    Hadaen's brows rose immediately and he
glanced at his brother, then back to her. "What do you know of
him?"
    "Not until this oaf releases
me."
    He watched her closely before giving
Gideon a short nod. Reese shrugged him off and scratched her
temple. She then looked Amelia, who now looked scared to
death.
    "I'm sorry. You should've known by
now."
    "So I'm supposed to just believe all
of this?" she scoffed. "The three of you can go fuck
yourselves."
    The man snickered but quickly covered
it up with a cough. Reese silently pleaded with her. Hadaen looked
as if he wanted to murder someone.
    "My name is Esyth," Reese muttered.
She glanced at Hadaen. "I'm from a village within the mountains to
the east of Maruj."
    "The Hub of Lensai..." Hadaen nodded
her to proceed.
    "This sounds like it's going to be a
treat," the strange man drawled and then dropped himself down on
the sofa, feet up on the coffee table.
    "The oaf is my brother; Gideon Maruj,"
he told her. "And I'm Hadaen."
    Reese gasped, her face blushing hotly.
Gideon grinned, Amelia pouted and rolled her eyes. "My lord, I did
not know," she said quickly, throwing in a fast curtsey. "Very few
of us know what you look like."
    He nodded. "Tell me how you came to be
here?"
    Reese swallowed and took a
seat. "My people--there is only a few of us--are the protectors of
the Liberty. Many years ago we sensed the power of a spell." She
eyed Amelia. "It was a very powerful spell; served to break through
the many dimensions of our world. But there had been a flaw. It was
not executed properly and the energy of the mana surrounding it was shifted.
Whoever had cast that spell was doomed to a life of mortality."
Reese--Esyth--shook her head. "We managed to calculate the source
of the spell as well as the destination of the caster. It was you,
Amelia. Two of our best protectors were sent to find you and raise
you; keeping your energy hidden. You are Liberty in itself, Amelia,
and we knew one day that Deorci would find out."
    "What happened to the Protectors?"
Gideon decided to ask.
    "They were murdered." She remained
silent for a while, probably showing reverence. "When I got here, I
could smell the darkness from far. Its trail still lingered from
the burnt car, their bodies like char.” She turned to Amelia. “I
could do nothing but watch you grow up in the foster home. If I'd
taken you, Deorci would have known. I had to stay close and hidden
as I shielded your energy for you for years."
    Amelia moved towards the coffeemaker
shakily and poured herself a mug. She took two long sips. She was
going crazy.