Elder (17 page)

Chapter 26

Clara Kate could barely think. Between the pain in her head and neck and whatever Metis was doing to try and influence her thoughts, she felt as though she was watching events unfold from outside her own body.

For a moment, when she heard Zachariah’s voice and turned to see her family, some of her instincts and training returned to her. Her legs were free, she reasoned in the back of her mind. There was surely something she could do to escape. She glanced at Ini-herit. For the first time, she was sure she saw something stir in his gaze.

Then Metis pulled her. She expected to hit the floor. When she realized they were instead free-falling, terror seized her. Thanks to the gag, her screams came out as little more than muted mewling.

She felt tugging on the ropes that bound her and looked over her shoulder. Metis had extended her luminescent wings and was trying to stop their rapid descent. It wasn’t working.

Above them, Clara Kate saw a streak of gold rapidly closing the distance between them and the dwindling image of Central. The further they got from the stronghold, the stronger the enchantments around it became. Soon, it would be gone from her sight and memory.

Issuing a curse, Metis maintained her hold on the rope and withdrew her dagger. She started hacking at the rope. Was she trying to free her?

The blade had no effect on the rope. Clara Kate knew by looking at the milky length wrapped around her that it was a special binding created by the Lekwuesti. It couldn’t be cut by metal. Metis must not know that. Since Clara Kate couldn’t communicate with the Orculesti through her thoughts, there was nothing she could do.

Metis gave up, letting go of the rope and using her wings to stop herself. Clara Kate watched her grow smaller and waited for the blast of pain that would mark her death as she hit the water.

Then the gold streak reached her. Sophia continued her dive in the form of the harpy eagle until she was able to clutch the rope in her talons. Clara Kate knew the bird would be no more successful in stopping her descent than Metis was.

Let me go!
she thought.

No
, Sophia returned, making Clara Kate realize they could now share thoughts like other elders and their core leaders. Sophia caught her gaze.
Trust me,
archigos
.

Although she was the elder, Clara Kate had no choice but to obey.

Ini-herit knew he would dream of the seemingly eternal fall from Central for centuries to come.

When he walked into the cooling chamber and saw Clara Kate in Metis’ grasp, he froze. His mind transposed the image of her in her white nightgown with the white sundress she wore in his memory from the human plane. The innocent image was now violated by the large red stain running from a cut on Clara Kate’s neck down to her waist.

She didn’t seem to realize how seriously she was injured. Her deep blue-green eyes moved to him, appearing hollow in her pale face. He had to get to her and heal her. She was going to bleed out.

But he didn’t have time. Metis moved so quickly that she took all of them off-guard. Well, almost all of them.

Sophia surged forward as Metis jumped, her animal instincts prompting her into action. She reached the edge of the floor shortly after Clara Kate’s feet disappeared. Then she leaped off the edge.

Ini-herit and the others followed as quickly as they could. He knew as he jumped that the head-start Metis got was probably enough to keep them from reaching Clara Kate before she hit the water. Still, he mimicked those around him by keeping his wings extinguished and streamlining his body as much as possible in a headfirst dive.

He tried to use his power to generate a protective landing barrier. He had done it once for Clara Kate’s mother, Amber, when she was flight training. But he’d been able to draw on Gabriel’s elder power and fear for his avowed at the time, and he couldn’t do so now. His efforts were unsuccessful.

Wind burned his eyes as he watched Metis extend her wings. Because she held Clara Kate, she didn’t slow much. It was enough to allow them to gain some ground on her. Sophia surged closer to her cousin.

A couple of seconds later, Metis released Clara Kate and locked her wings. They all flew past her, not expecting the maneuver. Ini-herit saw the others briefly exchange looks, but none of them pursued her. Clara Kate had to be their priority.

The water was so close. Ini-herit fought the instinct to extend his wings to stop himself. They watched as Sophia reached Clara Kate and took the rope. He realized she wasn’t going to succeed in slowing their fall. Her bird form was far too light. With mere yards to go before impact, all hope seemed lost.

Then Sophia wasn’t an eagle. She shifted into a golden kragen. The creature’s powerful wings tipped, the thick leather catching a current and lifting them into the air.

Everyone immediately angled their bodies to slow the airflow around them and then extended their wings. Ini-herit’s boot clipped a wave as he managed to pull up just in time. Quincy extended his wings a fraction earlier than everyone else, probably interpreting his avowed’s thoughts and realizing she wouldn’t crash. He soared after Sophia.

On Ini-herit’s right, he saw Zachariah grab the less experienced Tate around the waist and twist her sideways to keep her from striking the water. They skimmed the waves with him on his back and her on top of him.

Just as Ini-herit wondered about Tiege and Ariana, a splash of lavender caught his eye. He watched as the Lekwuesti disconnected from a parachute that she must have generated to slow their fall. Tiege had been holding onto her and now extended his wings, carrying her as the fabric vanished in a flash of lavender light.

“Sophia,” Ini-herit called out. “Bring Clara Kate to me.”

The wind stole his words. He hurried in pursuit of the kragen. Sophia instinctively headed in the direction from which they had come. He understood her reasoning, but he needed to heal Clara Kate.

He got closer to Sophia. Central reappeared in the distance. His gaze moved to Clara Kate, who dangled like a child’s doll from the kragen’s claws. Her eyes were closed. Something wet and warm hit his cheek as he got less than fifteen feet from her. When he reached up to wipe it away, his fingers came away red. Her blood, he realized. The inexplicable band around his chest tightened even more.

“Sophia!”

This time, his shout reached her. She turned her serpentine neck to glance at him.

“Let me heal her.”

She slowed. He didn’t pause when he reached Clara Kate’s side. Instead, he wrapped his hands around her neck and brought forth the full power of his healing abilities.

First, he closed the artery that Metis had opened. Then he sealed the wound. His attention moved to her head injury next. He healed the small skull fracture, the bruising on her brain and the broken skin. Then he focused on increasing her circulation to more quickly replenish her blood loss. He realized his efforts weren’t as effective as they should be. It was almost as though she had another injury requiring additional blood.

Before he could continue his examination, they reached Central. Sophia pulled Clara Kate from his grasp as she landed. The contact with the cold stone floor seemed to rouse Clara Kate. Her eyelids fluttered open. She still looked pale.

Ini-herit realized the other elders had made it to the room. They quickly gathered around Clara Kate, but he wanted to continue his assessment of her condition. Something wasn’t right.

Sebastian used his power to dissolve Clara Kate’s bindings with a single touch. Ini-herit approached her, removing her gag and pulling her to her feet. She held his gaze the entire time. He couldn’t read whatever it was she tried to convey through her eyes, but he realized that the band in his chest eased the longer she studied him. For a brief moment, he wanted it to remain. In its place waited an emotionless void.

“Thank you for healing me,” she said in a quiet voice.

“Of course,” he said. “Seeing to the welfare of a fellow elder is my highest priority.”

Again, he couldn’t read her expression, but he knew it wasn’t a positive reaction to his matter-of-fact statement. She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her gaze.

“Is that the only reason you came after me?” she asked.

He couldn’t answer her. His mind told him that this was the only reason he possibly had to pursue her with such ferocity, but another part of himself—a very small part—whispered of something more. All he could do was hold her gaze and hope she somehow understood.

“Oh, the hell with it,” she said, throwing her hands up in the air.

That small part of him shattered at the words. But then she stepped closer, grabbed him behind the neck and dragged him down to touch her lips to his.

A surge of energy exploded at the contact, followed by a series of exclamations by the witnesses in the room. Rather than pull away from Clara Kate over the unexpected reaction, Ini-herit drew her against him. When her lips parted beneath his, he claimed her in a way that was both familiar and foreign. Her taste filled him, provoking another powerful flash.

He was in Mrs. B’s home in Newnan. He heard his guardian speaking to someone at the front door and got up from doing his homework at the dining room table to see who had come to visit. As he heard the sweet, feminine voice of the stranger, a picture formed in his mind of what she would look like.

Then he saw her. Every imagined image paled in comparison. When she smiled shyly at him, her beauty hit him like a physical blow.

Time moved forward. He sat with her outside the school’s cafeteria, laughing at something she said. The sunlight shone on her upswept hair and her sparkling eyes. He felt himself falling hard for her and didn’t bother trying to stop it. Only when he realized that there were many other guys looking at her the same way did his good humor fade.

That image shifted to prom. As they danced to a slow song, he held her close, enjoying the feel of her arms around him and breathing in her wonderful scent. When she tipped her face up to catch his gaze, his throat constricted. How could he have possibly earned her love?

Another whirlwind of time and he sat with her in Mrs. B’s tree house. They spoke of things that should be impossible, but somehow felt all too true. She talked to him in her calm manner until he couldn’t help but accept what she said. Then she gave herself to him in a way he hadn’t expected…a way he would cherish forever.

That vow bled seamlessly to his next as they stood together at the transition point. Once he assumed his true form, he would make her his forever
.

Then nothing.

Chapter 27

Clara Kate wasn’t sure what possessed her to kiss Ini-herit. Normally, just the knowledge that so many people stood around them would have been enough to deter her. But as she held his gaze, she saw just the slightest flicker of expression as he considered how to answer her question about why he risked his life to save hers. It was enough to give her hope, and hope sliced right through her inhibitions.

She felt the snap of power all the way to her toes as their lips touched. After that, her every thought centered on the wonder and amazement that rushed through her whenever Ini-herit kissed her. When he didn’t deepen the kiss at first, she boldly parted her lips. That was all the encouragement he needed.

Her arms encircled his neck as he kissed her. He explored her with his tongue as though this was a new experience and he wanted to savor every second. But his hands moved along her body in a way that told her he remembered what pleased her most. A vibrant current flowed between them as the kiss continued, intensifying to an alarming level. Drawing on that, she instinctively funneled all of her love to him, sensing the current might help her convey how she felt in a way he could finally understand.

The energy crested. Clara Kate was so overwhelmed by a blast of emotions that tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think. She needed Ini-herit.

She needed Harry.

Without warning, the kiss ended. Ini-herit’s lips left hers and he fell to the ground. She looked at him in numb confusion. His eyes were closed. He wasn’t moving. It looked as though she had robbed him of every essence of life.

“No!” she cried, falling to her knees beside him. “Harry!”

Ignoring everyone else as they moved forward, she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her ear to his chest. Hot tears spilled from her eyes as she listened for his heartbeat. His skin felt far too cold against the side of her face. An eternity without him in it stretched before her, bleak and unbearable.

“Please don’t leave me,” she whispered.

Then he stirred. Issuing a low moan, he brought a hand to his head. Clara Kate lifted her head and struggled to look at this face through her blurred vision. She couldn’t keep her tears in check.

He slowly opened his eyes, blinking a couple of times as if acclimating to the lighting in the room. She sat back so he could sit up, but he just lay there for a long moment.

“Ini-herit?” she asked, wondering what to do.

Finally, he sat up and looked at her. She reached up to wipe more tears from her gaze so she could focus on him. Then she gasped.

His eyes were no longer silver, but gray.

“Please don’t cry, Angel,” he said.

Soft exclamations filled the air around them as everyone heard his human southern accent. The sound of Harry’s voice struck Clara Kate right in the heart. In direct opposition to his order, she burst into hysterical sobs.

He reached for her. She was too overcome to fight him as he pulled her onto his lap and hugged her tightly to his chest. His voice was husky as he said, “I’m so sorry that I didn’t keep my promises to you, love. I didn’t realize how much I had to overcome to retain my human awareness. When I think of all you’ve gone through these past months, thinking that I no longer loved you—God, you’re killing me, Angel. Please don’t cry.”

But she couldn’t stop. His words were a wish she had harbored in her heart for so long that their power overwhelmed her. All she could do was cling to him and weep.

“You helped me remember,” he said. He took an unsteady breath. For some reason, that gave her the strength she needed to regain some of her control. “All of these months, you’ve endured the pain of being near me. I can’t even imagine how it must have been, hearing me tell you that I didn’t remember you after I promised—”

He stopped talking. She knew he was close to losing his composure. Taking a deep breath, she eased away from his chest and did what she could to wipe her face dry. She vaguely realized that they were now alone and silently thanked her family for giving her this moment with him.

“I love you, Harry,” she said. “Even if you suck at keeping promises.”

His lips parted in surprise. Then he laughed, long and deep. The sight and sound brought a smile to her face and a fresh round of tears to her eyes.

“Lord, I needed that,” he said when his laughter faded. He cupped the side of her face, using his thumb to wipe away a tear. “I love you, too, Angel, more than I could ever possibly tell you. Now that I remember everything, I’ll spend the rest of my existence making these past months up to you.”

She started to reply, but he distracted her by leaning down and kissing her. Every other thought faded away. She sighed against his mouth, pleasure streaking through her with each stroke of his tongue. When his hands began roaming, caressing any bare skin they could find, she reciprocated. In the back of her mind, she registered the subtle differences between Harry’s Estilorian form and his human one. Before, he’d been fit and toned. Now, he was muscular and sublime.

After a couple of minutes, she broke off the kiss. Her heart thundered in her ears as she struggled to catch her breath. She knew her cheeks were flushed. The intimate thoughts that ran through her mind as she felt Harry’s touch were far from proper.

“Um, Harry…how do you think the whole ‘sharing thoughts with my dad’ thing is going to go?”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Well, up until you said that, fine. Now I’m having a hard time not broadcasting to him.”

Her blush deepened. “Sorry. We’ll have to figure something out. See, there’s something I have to tell—”

“Hey, can we come back in yet?” Tate shouted from outside the room. “We’d like to meet the ‘new and improved’ Ini-herit.”

Sighing, Clara Kate caught his gaze and said, “I guess we can’t tell them we’re never leaving this place, can we?”

“We could,” he answered, a grin flashing across his sinfully gorgeous face, “but I’d prefer never leaving somewhere with a bed.”

Oh, how she hoped he was keeping such thoughts from her father! Blushing with the intensity of a thousand suns, she shoved at his shoulder and shook her head in mock censure. He got to his feet, bringing her with him. When they both stood, he wrapped an arm around her waist and anchored her against his side. Then he kissed the top of her head and nodded.

“Come on back,” she called out to her family, her eyes on Ini-herit’s.

The others filtered into the room. Clara Kate recognized the curiosity in most of their gazes. Even the elders looked intrigued.

While everyone else hesitated a few feet away, Tate walked right up and flung her arms around them. Clara Kate’s heart swelled over the sincerely joyous gesture. She returned the hug with a big smile.

“I’m so happy for you!” her cousin exclaimed, her embrace tight and full of enthusiasm. When she pulled back, she gave Ini-herit a cheerful wink. “I knew you’d come around eventually. No one can outlast C.K.’s stubbornness.”

“Hey,” Clara Kate said, but she grinned as Ini-herit squeezed her shoulder. “Show more respect for your elder.”

Tate responded with a dimpled smile and a shrug.

“Thanks, Tate,” Ini-herit replied. “I appreciate the vote of confidence.”

“I wonder how long it’ll take me to get used to you smiling,” Knorbis said.

That started a loud conversation that flowed around Clara Kate like happy chaos. She barely registered the words as everyone approached and shared their variations of congratulations. At some point, Sebastian used his power to clean the blood from her clothes and skin. Several times, tears of elation pricked her eyes and she had to force them back. It all felt like an impossible dream.

“Congrats, you two,” Sophia said as she approached with Quincy. The hum of conversation continued behind them.

“Thanks, Soph,” Clara Kate said. She reached out and hugged her cousin. “And thanks for saving my life, while I’m at it.”

“Oh, sure,” Sophia replied, returning the hug. “What kind of commander would I be if I let my elder die on my first day on the job?”

Laughing, Clara Kate pulled back from the embrace. “Well, you certainly confirmed today that I made the right choice. All of you confirmed it.”

“It’s strange, though,” Sophia mused. “I heard your thoughts so distinctly when we were falling. Now, I can’t really hear you at all.”

“Your connection is still growing,” Ini-herit explained. “It’ll get stronger over time. For now, you’ll experience it more when there’s a need.”

Sophia nodded. Quincy put his arm over her shoulders and smiled at his elder.

“It’s great to see this new side of you,
archigos
,” he said. “I know this change will make everything easier for both of you, especially with the baby and all.”

All conversation ceased. Clara Kate struggled not to flush with guilt as everyone glanced in her direction. When she glanced at Ini-herit, she realized that he just looked confused. Beside them, Quincy paled.

“Oh, no,” he said. “I’m so sorry, C.K. I assumed…”

“It’s okay, Quincy,” she assured him. Then she took Ini-herit’s hands and turned to face him. For the first time, her pregnancy filled her with something besides shame and fear. “What Quincy is saying, Harry, is what I’ve been unable to until now. The thing is…you’re going to be a father.”

Metis knew better than to return to the main base. She couldn’t risk getting captured, and all of the entrances would certainly be secured by now. The knowledge had fury scalding the back of her throat. Battling the urge to scream, she wished that she could dispose of these emotions that had come to her as a result of her new form.

It was so much better to feel nothing.

She had come so close to achieving her goal. Although she didn’t know why Clara Kate was a key to acquiring the Elder Scroll, the fact that everyone risked their lives to rescue her told her that she had been on the right track.

Now she had to figure out how she was going to find Clara Kate again. Although the elders knew Metis’ current form and would take measures to ensure every one of their followers did, too, she decided that she needed to retain her Orculesti abilities. She hadn’t been in this form long enough to hope she could still read and influence thoughts if she changed forms. Even if she could, it wouldn’t be at the same level. No, she couldn’t afford to lose this particular power.

She would have to find knowledgeable Waresti on the mainland and attune herself to their thoughts. The Kynzesti would return to the mainland eventually, if for no other reason than to stop Eirik on his quest.

When they did, she would be ready. The Elder Scroll would be hers.