Forged in Ice (3 page)

“
A
re
you ready to tell us what you wanted to talk about?” Although I had grown to respect Liam far more than I had originally, I still did not talk to him quite as respectfully as I probably should have. For his part, he appeared unconcerned.

“What happened at the Calloway house wasn’t isolated.”

“Did you ever think it was?” No one would break in to a house belonging to the ruling family unless it was imperative.

“No, but I thought maybe it was for a single piece of information. Something left behind.”

“But now you think it is something more?” Henry asked.

“I know it is.”

“What have you learned?”

“First things first, what did you learn?” He turned to me. “You still owe me a briefing from your trip.”

“There is movement up in Icentris.” I chose my words carefully, but shared as much as I could. “Men touched with darkness have been spotted. They are building another gate.”

“A gate?” Liam watched me with interest. “Leading to where?”

“To the lost world.” Calling it his world might have come off as insulting.

“Is that really how you refer to it still?” He leaned back against one of the tall stone walls.

“How else should I refer to it? Surely not home.” I did not mind the place as much now. Finding Ainsley there had changed my view.

His face darkened. “That’s not what I meant.”

“What we call it has no consequence. My father’s followers are building a gate in his name. That is the important part in all this.”

“Why would they want to go there?” Henry fidgeted with the sheath holding his sword. “There’s nothing there for them now that Charlotte is back.”

“There has to be a reason.” I thought over my father’s words about building a kingdom. There had to be a reason why he was choosing the lost world.

“Did you see the gate with your own eyes?” Liam straightened up. “Or is this hearsay?”

“Heard it from Talen.” Normally I would have checked it out myself, but I had been in a hurry to get back to Ainsley.

“Then how do you know it’s true?”

I averted his question. “Talen saw Emma and Stan. Do you know if they were heading up that way?”

“They didn’t say where they were going.”

“Really? They withheld that information from the Gerard?”

“I don’t question my in-laws’ every move.” It was humorous hearing Liam refer to the former Essence and her husband as in-laws.

“I need to talk to them about it.”

“Then why didn’t you follow their trail? You’re supposed to be good at that.”

“I had to get back here to report in.”

“To report in?” Liam raised an eyebrow. “You mean to see Ainsley.”

“That too.”

Liam laughed. “You can’t admit it?”

“Admit what?” I looked up at the bright sun in the sky. It was going to be a beautiful day. Too bad Ainsley and I could not enjoy it together.

“You missed her.”

“Missing her or not, I can do my job.” And I would. I would stay focused and protect her at the same time.

“Then you have permission to follow now.”

I shook my head. “Not a chance.” I could not leave Ainsley. If my dad was right about the poison, I could not be gone for long.

“And that reason is not Ainsley?” Henry narrowed his eyes.

“I promised her I would not leave her. I am a man of my word.”

“She’s safe here. You know that.” Liam took a few steps toward me.

“But that does not mean she feels safe.” She was comfortable, but Liam did not need to know that.

“You’re hiding something.” Liam crossed his arms. “What are you hiding?”

“Nothing. I briefed you. Now tell you what you learned.” I exerted authority I did not have, but often in life pretending you have power is enough.

“Not until you level with me. That is an order.” Liam’s eyes darkened.

I went with honesty. “I love her.”

“Uh…” Henry shifted uncomfortably.

“You asked me to level with you, and there it is. I am leveling. I refuse to leave her because she may never forgive me. I am lucky she is even talking to me after bringing her here.” The love part was true. I had accepted that, and I hoped a display of honesty and vulnerability was enough to move things forward. Telling Liam about the voice was out of the question.

“She is more than talking with you.” Henry waggled an eyebrow.

I ignored Henry and turned to Liam. “Is that enough leveling with you?”

Liam seemed to consider my words. “For now.”

“Then tell us. Why do you no longer think the break-in was isolated?”

“The gate in the arctic isn’t the only show of organization by Blake’s followers.”

“What else have you heard?” I froze. Would this news change anything?

“A group is mobilizing in the southern mountains.”

“That region has always been loyal to the Winthrops.”

“Exactly why it has me worried.” Liam began to pace.

“Why now? Things are better in Energo than they have been in years.” Henry rubbed his forehead. “Why would anyone support an uprising when times are good?”

“My thoughts exactly. I can only come up with one reason, and it has me very worried.” Liam looked away from both of us.

“What is it?” I tried to hide the nerves in my voice.

“There’s only one way someone else could take power in Energo.”

“Through a new Essence.” Henry’s eyes widened.

“Exactly… but there shouldn’t be a new one for years.” Liam gritted his teeth.

“And no one should even be considering the possibility…” Essences were supposed to rule for at least a hundred years. Emma had been an exception because of my father. “Unless they know Charlotte is expecting and think that baby could become one. There have been no girls born to the new generation of the family yet, but what if Charlotte is carrying one?”

“Exactly. And they shouldn’t know about that. No one outside these walls should know.” Liam’s entire face darkened. It was a reminder that you did not want to get on his bad side. I may have given him a hard time, but he was a fierce warrior. He was far stronger than he appeared.

Henry stiffened. “You think someone on the inside shared that news?”

“Maybe I’m wrong about the motivation, but it has me worried.” Liam looked up at the sky much as I had before, but I knew he wasn’t marveling at the sun and blue sky.

“Should we start questioning the staff?” Henry asked.

Liam shook his head. “We have to be careful. I don’t want to get anyone suspicious.”

“And you do not want to upset Charlotte.” If he was going to call me out on my feelings, I would do the same to him.

“No. She has enough to worry about right now.”

“Is an Essence pregnancy worse than a normal one?” Henry looked down at his boots. “Does she feel more of it?”

“I think so.” Liam sighed and for the first time I noticed the bags under his eyes. “She tries to act like she feels fine, but I can tell she’s feeling awful.”

“She is having trouble sleeping?” I could relate to insomnia. I had been plagued with it most of my life.

Liam nodded. “Yes, and you know I can’t let her stay up alone.”

“You know how she can get some help with it. She could go to the Source.” I made my suggestion despite how ill-advised it might be.

“I don’t want her connecting with the Source right now. It’s too dangerous.”

“But lack of sleep can be dangerous too.” Especially since she was pregnant. She needed to take care of her health.

“Are you really going to pretend you believe that?” Liam narrowed his eyes.

“She uses so much energy already. She is overextending herself, and you are well aware. She needs rest. It is your job to make sure she gets it.”

“Why don’t you suggest it to her? Then we’ll see if you’re so certain it’s a good idea.” Liam rubbed the back of his neck.

“I can handle Charlotte being annoyed at me. It happens a lot.”

“That’s because you aren’t married to her. She goes easy on you.”

Henry laughed. “I would not want to be on Charlotte’s bad side.”

“I can talk to her if you want. If she likes the idea you can take credit.” I was not worried about her getting upset with me, and if my idea could be useful it would be worth it.

Liam mulled over my offer. “I’m not worried about credit.”

“You can do this father thing.” I read through the lines.

Liam frowned. “This has nothing to do with it.”

“Sure it does. You never had a dad so you somehow interpret that to mean you are ill equipped, but the truth is one has nothing to do with the other. Give your kid half of the love you give Charlotte, and you will do fine.” I could not really believe the words coming out of my mouth. Normally I would have given Liam a hard time instead of advice, but I felt for him.

“James, are you ill?” Henry watched me warily.

“I am feeling uncharacteristically giving today.”

“And that has nothing to do with Ainsley?” Henry smiled.

“Does it matter if it does or not?”

He shrugged. “No. Not really.”

“So what do you want us to do?” I was in a hurry to get back to Ainsley.

Liam relaxed as we moved the topic of conversation off of his impending fatherhood. “Right now, talk to any contacts you have. We need to find out how far reaching this new uprising is.”

“The tables do turn.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I was a kid my father said the same thing…”

“Don’t compare me to your father.”

“I am comparing the situations, not the people.” I turned and walked back toward the main section of the castle.

“Did I release you, James?” Liam called after me.

I stopped, but I did not turn around. I had gone sappy once, and I was done with that for the day. “No, but I could tell you were done talking.”

“If you see Charlotte feel free to give your suggestion, but if she flips I’m denying the permission.”

“Understood.” I continued toward the door. I held back my snarky response.

I
knew
the castle would have a nice library. I wasn’t surprised in the slightest when Charlotte pushed open the door to a room with floor-to-ceiling bookcases that covered the walls. Still, assuming something is different than actually seeing it.

“Before you ask, no I haven’t read all of the books in here.”

“I wasn’t going to ask that.” You would have to have a lot of free time to read that many books. There had to be thousands.

“I’ve read some, particularly that wall over there.” She pointed to a back corner. “Those are the books I brought here from back home.”

“I’ll have to remember that section if I end up spending a lot of time here.”

“Are you still doubting you will?” She watched me carefully.

“This isn’t my home.” I kept my tone light. I didn’t want to offend her, but she had to realize I had no intention of staying in Energo for the rest of my life.

“Maybe not this castle, but I am convinced you have a tie to Energo. I just need to figure out what it is.”

“I don’t have a tie.”

“You do.” She said it simply as though there were no other possibilities.

“Arguing with you further will be pointless.” Even if I completely disagreed. I’d never even heard of Energo before meeting James, and I was positive no one in my family had.

“Yes, as it will be if I keep trying to argue with you.” She smiled.

“Then should we just agree to disagree?”

“Sounds like a plan.” She walked towards the shelf she had pointed out earlier.

“Going to pick out a book to read?”

“Not exactly.” She passed the section of the books from our world and continued to another dustier shelf. She grabbed hold of the spine of a large black book. After a moment, the shelf gave way and opened into some sort of passageway.

“Follow me.” Charlotte stepped into the passage. She touched a sconce on the wall and it lit up with fire. All the other ones down the wall did the same thing.

I stared in wonder. “I’m not sure if I should.”

“Come on, it’s cool. I promise.”

I took a few steps forward and the wall of books closed behind us.

“What is this place?” I glanced around at the stone walls surrounding us.

“It’s a secret passage.” She grinned. “Kind of cool, huh?”

“Very.” I gazed around some more. I was still trying to accept her touch could create fire. Everyone told me how powerful she was, and I knew she could heal, but seeing her create fire seemed even more intense and even a little bit frightening.

“There are quite a few in the castle, but this one is my favorite.” She continued down the narrow passageway.

I have mild claustrophobia, but I wasn’t going to admit it. I could handle this.

“You okay?” She glanced over her shoulder.

“Yes. Fine.” I felt like I was overheating, and I wanted to sit down, but I could make it to wherever we were going.

“You sure?” She squinted to get a better look at my face in the low light.

“Yup.”

“Ok. It opens up a lot more soon.”

“Can you read my thoughts?” How did she know I was concerned with how narrow the passage was?

“No, but your feelings kind of jump out at me.”

“Is that normal?”

“Not normal exactly, but not alarming. My abilities are mostly tied to the elements, but I’ve found some other weird ones over the years.”

“Glad to be part of another weird one.”

She frowned. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know. I was only kidding.”

“You have his humor too.”

“Huh?”

“James. He has this sarcastic sense of humor I didn’t get at all when I first met him.”

“He definitely has that humor.” I watched the flickering flame of one of the sconces. “How did you do that with the fire?” I was still trying to understand how it was possible, even though I knew it was magic.

“The fire is easy since there was still the remnants buried inside from the last time it was lit.” She continued walking. “I’m not sure if you’ll find this as cool as I do, but I wanted to show you.”

“Where are we going exactly?” All I could see were gray stone walls. The sconces provided some light, but the dimly lit passage was nothing like what I was used to back home.

“You’ll see soon.”

The path sloped down. “Are we going down to the basement or something?”

“Kind of.”

“Kind of?” There was no kind of. Either you were doing something or you weren’t.

“It’s just above the cellar.”

“Okay.” Just above was better than inside.

“I found this room by accident, and I’ve gone back a lot.”

“Does Liam know about it?” I got this strange feeling Charlotte wasn’t really supposed to be taking me wherever we were going.

“No. He gives me my spaces.”

“But what if you got stuck down here?” I couldn’t help and wonder as we continued down. Maybe calling my claustrophobia mild was inappropriate. My chest tightened and my breathing got labored.

Charlotte spun around. “We won’t get stuck.” She put her hands on either side of my face.

I was enveloped in a comforting warmth followed by calmness, and then I let out a deep breath. “Wow.”

She smiled. “Works fast, huh?”

“That’s crazy.”

“One of the perks of who I am.”

“Was it hard to learn?”

“I learned a lot of it naturally, but I am learning more every day. I tend to focus on the healing arts the most. They come to me naturally.”

“You’re good at it.” I felt amazing.

“I heard you went to the spring.”

“You know everything.” I laughed. Now that the walls no longer felt like they were closing in I was ready to laugh.

“Not really. Samantha told me.”

“Or that.”

She turned and started down the still sloping stone floor again. “You should be fine now, but tell me if you start feeling sick again.”

“I will, thanks.” The walk could take forever for all I cared. I’d gone from ready to pass out to ready to take on the world.

“No problem.”

We continued farther and farther down until Charlotte stopped suddenly. She touched the wall with one hand and closed her eyes.

I watched in amazement as the wall opened up. She stepped through it without opening her eyes, and I followed.

She touched a sconce and lit up the large room in the same way she’d lit up the hallway.

We stepped through into a room that looked like a mix of a laboratory and a library. There were two large tables each piled with books, plants, and strange liquids. There were several large bookcases lining one wall. Multiple shelves on the bookcases were covered in a visible layer of dust.

Charlotte spun around. “I found this place a few years ago. I think my great-great-great-great grandmother started the collection here.”

“Is the Essence always in your family?”

She nodded. “Yup. It skips generations a lot.”

“Yeah I heard about the slow aging thing…”

“Can I trust you with a secret?” Her eyes locked on mine.

“Yes,” I answered immediately. I’d keep any secret she wanted me to keep. I still owed her for getting rid of my panic attack.

“I have a plan.”

“What kind of plan?”

She touched her stomach. “To make sure this baby lives as long as I do.”

“Uh… is that possible?” Samantha had made it sound unlikely.

“Normally no, but I think I know how.”

“How to give someone eternal life?”

“It’s not eternal. No life truly lasts forever.” She walked around to the far side of one of the tables.

“Then what is it?”

She looked at the solid stone wall. I assumed she knew how to open it again. “There is a flower that only grows in one place in Energo. The extracts from it are said to give longevity, but they are heavily guarded by creatures that live longer than any Essence.

“Uh, what kind of creatures?”

“They’re dangerous, but then again so am I.” She grinned.

“But you’re pregnant. Don’t do anything stupid.” Maybe I shouldn’t have been talking so freely with her, but she was emotional, and emotions can make people do less than intelligent things.

“I’m being careful.”

“Yet, Liam and no one else on your Guard knows about it?” It wasn’t actually a question. My feeling on the walk down had been correct. Charlotte had her secrets.

“Nope. Liam would never let me try this, and the others will have to report to him.”

“Even James? He doesn’t seem like the type to report.” I couldn’t imagine him listening or reporting to anyone else even. He was so independent and strong-willed.

“I’ve considered asking him for help.”

“And?” I waited.

“What do you think?”

“About asking him?”

“Yes.” She folded her hands and rested them on the table.

“I say yes. You don’t want to do something without thinking through every possibility, and he might give advice.” And he cared about Charlotte. He’d protect her. His protective side was as big as his strong-willed one. They seemed to go hand-in-hand.

“You have to understand though, right?” Her face fell. “Or maybe not. I probably wouldn’t have understood before I was pregnant.”

“Understand your desire to give your child a longer life?”

“Yes.” She watched me with bright blue eyes. They were the kind of blue that seemed unreal, and they were at least several shades darker than my own.

“I understand it, but that doesn’t mean it’s worth putting yourself and your unborn child at risk. Also have you thought about the effect the extract could have on the baby? Side effects?”

“I’ll know. I can sense things.”

She was confident, and maybe it was appropriate confidence, but there were also limits.

“Maybe I can help you.” I wasn’t going to let her do something crazy on her own. Hopefully we’d be able to get James’ help too.

“Your company helps.”

“What’s next in your plan?” I dug for details.

“Sneaking past these creatures seems like the riskier option. I am going to barter.”

“Barter with what?”

“I’m not sure, but I have access to plenty of things they might want.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

“What about the plan isn’t?” She sighed. “But I have no choice. I can’t have a baby knowing I’ll outlive her.”

“Her? Do you know what you are having?”

“I can feel it.” She spoke in barely a whisper.

“I guess you’ll know for sure in a few months.”

She touched her stomach again. “I already know.”

“Did you bring me here so we could talk in private, or was there another reason?”

“There was another reason. You asked about the kindred.”

“Yes, I did.” At the mention of the word I thought of James again. Would he worry when he couldn’t find me in the castle? Maybe he was still in his meeting with Liam.

“First tell me what you know.”

“Just that it’s a bond thing with a Guardian and someone else. I know about the aging link and everything.”

“And do you know why someone would be selected as a kindred?”

“They’re a good match for the person?” That was all I’d been able to come up with so far.

“Yes, but it’s more than that. There’s more than one person who would make James a good match.” There was something weighted about her response.

“We weren’t talking about James. We were talking more in general.”

“We were talking about James.”

“I’m not trying to hurt him.” I got defensive without meaning to, but I didn’t like the way she was watching me.

“I know you’re not, but I also know you have to be more than you think you are.”

“What do you mean? We already discussed this before, and we agreed to disagree.”

“I would know if you were trying to trick me. You’re not. You truly have no understanding of why you were selected.”

“Then what are you implying?”

“That there’s more going on here than you think.”

“Could you spell this out? I’m not quite catching your drift.”

“The Source always has a reason for doing things.”

“You guys keep talking about the Source.”

“Everything that happens here starts with the Source. It’s why I’m Essence, and it’s why you’re somehow James’ kindred. What I don’t understand yet is why.”

I need James.
A need inside me roared its head. “Do you think we should head back up soon?”

“Are you in a rush?”

“Not really.”

“Great, then let’s start with the basics.” She gestured for me to take a seat at the table.

I pulled out a chair and waited for her to sit, but she didn’t. Instead she walked around behind me and put her hands on my shoulders.

“I’ve never tried to do this with anyone who wasn’t in my Guard, but you’re James’ kindred, so I have faith it will work.”

“What are you doing exactly?”

She didn’t answer.

“It won’t work.” She walked around to the other side. “Sorry.”

“What were you trying to do?”

“Show you everything I know about kindreds. I thought it would work.”

“Oh. Well, I’m not on your Guard so maybe it works differently.”

“I’ll have to try it on Samantha.”

“Good idea.”
I need him
. The thoughts came back to me. I wanted his touch. His taste. I blinked a few times. These thoughts were inappropriate for the situation I was in. I’d just seen him, and I would see him again soon.

“Are you feeling ill again?”

“No. That was in the passage.”

“But you’re sweating.”

I ran a hand over my forehead. I was.

“Yeah, I am. Strange.”

She put a hand on my forehead. “You’ve got an elevated temperature.”

“A fever?”

“Yes, but that makes no sense.” Her brows scrunched together.

“Maybe I need to get some sleep or something.”

“What were you thinking about?”

“What do you mean?”

“Right before you started to sweat more I could tell you were thinking about something seriously.”

“James.” His name slid off my tongue.

“And that upset you somehow?”

“I miss him I guess.”

“But you just saw him this morning.”

“Yeah… is this normal for a kindred?” I hoped it was. Otherwise I was entering into the obsession zone, and I wasn’t okay with that.