Perilous Light (13 page)

“
Your loyalty to your family is admirable.” Calvin sounded so formal. By the expression on his face, I gathered he would rather we not have to use words at all. His eyes told such a different story, filled with happiness, relief, and even lust.

“
It’s not just to my family.” I didn’t want to discuss politics, but my decision to leave had been the best decision for all of Energo.

“
I will not pretend to fully understand what made you decide to leave, but I believe you are right about Blake.” Calvin’s gaze never left my face. His eyes pleaded with me to believe him.

“
You do?” I struggled to sit up, and Calvin helped me, letting me lean back into him.

“
Blake refuses to abdicate authority. I thought at first it was my inexperience with Bellgard policies, but I can tell now he has no intention of turning Energo over to
us
.” Calvin emphasized the last word. He made me realize that, with all of my doubts, the bond between us had never been questioned; we were a couple whether physically together or not.

Still leaning against him, I picked up his hand and traced designs across it. Even though Calvin had not worked in a field for well over a year, his hands were still calloused. It would have been so easy to lose myself in the moment, but we had to finish our conversation, even if Blake was the last thing in the world I wanted to discuss.

“
Calvin, he’s planning to attack the Resistance, we have to stop him.”

“
I know, and I will do all I can. But I have to be careful.” Calvin pulled me tighter to him.

Although Calvin’s letter had suggested he was on our side, hearing him say it was incredible. Not only would it be wonderful to be close to Calvin again, it also meant a strengthening of my power.

“
You’ll come back with me, then? Maybe if we can get my mom, we can find a way to stop Blake.” My excitement intensified.

“
I want to stay by your side more than anything, but I will be of greater use if I can maintain the guise of supporting Blake.” Calvin turned me around so I faced him.

My heart dropped. “I don’t want to be separated from you again.” I could feel the tears starting, and didn’t try to fight them. I didn’t care if Calvin saw how much the thought of leaving him hurt. I had done enough pretending over the past year to last a lifetime.

“
I will not be far from you, Charlotte. Even if I wanted to, I could not allow you to be so far away again. We have barely been reunited, but I can feel our bond growing. It is going to hurt even more when we separate this time.” Calvin’s eyes locked with mine, and I couldn’t have looked away if I tried. His eyes were once again so expressive I could have drowned in them.

“
I can’t imagine it hurting any worse. I don’t think I would have made it through this year without my friends and family.” I didn’t want to hurt him, but I wanted to tell him the truth. I wanted him to know everything about me.

“
Then I am glad you had them.” He paused for a moment. “All of them.” He watched me intently.

Maybe it was his expression or the oppressive feel of the air between us, but in that pause I realized that he knew about the kiss with James. I must have been right about William.

“
It meant nothing, you know. He was just—”

“
Shh… I know. I never doubted you. Of course, I still want to hurt James for touching you, but you should feel no guilt. I know that you belong to me.” He shifted nervously, probably because the last time he told me I belonged to him, I freaked out and told him he didn’t own me.

“
As you belong to me.” He appeared surprised at my words, but I wasn’t. The year apart had made me realize the intensity of our bond, and that belonging to someone had more meanings than one.

“
That I do. I have belonged to you since the first moment we met.” I could see the excitement in his eyes, and it felt good to be the cause of his happiness.

“
So what now? Do we really go our separate ways again? I mean, I know it’s not a choice, but—”

“
You need to continue your journey to find your mother. You need her help and guidance. I will assist as possible, but I cannot raise suspicion yet.” He paused. “I will not let anything happen to you. I promise I will protect you, even if from a distance. But right now, we enjoy our time together. I need to get you back before anyone in your party realizes that you are gone, but we still have a few hours. I do not plan to waste a minute of it.”

I settled into Calvin’s arms and lost myself in his presence.

Chapter Fourteen

Kevin

It felt as though we had just arrived back at the hotel before we were leaving again. The night disappeared in the blink of an eye, and right after breakfast, we headed out the door. Bry and I were the only ones going, and I kind of wished Samantha, Henry, or Naomi were going, too. Bry seemed like a cool guy, and he helped a lot in the council chambers, but I still didn’t know him enough to want to spend the afternoon with him. When he told me he knew a place where I could get help preparing my speech, I agreed to go with him immediately, but my enthusiasm wavered when I found out we were going to see a tree.

“
You are the one who claimed to need help. I am bringing you to the one thing that can help you,” Bry tried to reassure me as we climbed the steep, rocky terrain. The Alak wilds, as Bry called it, weren’t very far from the city limits.

“
And talking to a tree is supposed to help me?” I probably sounded insulting, but exhaustion and stress tended to make me act that way. I trusted Bry, but he stretched my patience with the whole tree business.

“
I cannot fathom your lack of faith. After all, you are both the brother and son of an Essence.” Bry’s disbelief didn’t help his case.

“
What do my mom and sister have to do with a talking tree?”

Bry sighed. “It is not a talking tree; it is a tree that can pass on knowledge. And your family has everything to do with it. You are so connected to the Source, yet you refuse to accept that there are other vessels tied to it.”

“
I try not to focus on what Charlotte can actually do, and honestly, my mom is still just my mom to me. Maybe if I see her again, I’ll feel differently.” I hadn’t really thought about the fact that my mom used to be an Essence, and I didn’t particularly want to.

“
Keep an open mind. I believe the ancient oak will give you the confidence and strength you need.”

“
Strength? Now a tree is going to give me strength?” I started to reassess my trust in Bry. He sounded weirder and weirder.

“
Yes. We all know you have physical strength, Kevin, but you need to tap into your inner strength as well.” Bry shook his head in frustration.

We finished the climb in silence, neither of us interested in arguing further. Rounding the crest of the hill, I was shocked by the hulking trunk that stood in front of me. The tree trunk was not only massive, but so tall I had to crane my neck to see even the lowest branches. The only thing that even compared to it was Angel Oak back home outside of Charleston.

“
What am I supposed to do?” Looking at the tree, I felt even weirder about talking to it.

“
Touch it and open your mind.”

I half expected Bry to call me a
Jedi
and turn into Yoda. “I thought you said I had to talk to it?”

Bry smirked. “I did. But you did not really expect to talk the way we talk to one another, did you?”

I tentatively reached out and placed my hand on the trunk. Nothing happened, and I turned toward Bry for guidance.

“
Open your mind, Kevin.” Bry shook his head as if he thought I was stupid.

I tried again. I placed a hand on the tree, took a deep breath, and… nothing. I started to get frustrated when I was hit by an intense pressure in my head. Flashes of images and thoughts flooded my brain. I couldn’t see anything beyond the nearly overwhelming visions. My momentary fear was replaced by understanding as the pressure subsided. I let go of the tree.

“
Did you hear what you needed?”

“
I’m supposed to focus on family, focus on Charlotte…”

Bry interrupted, “No need to tell me, Kevin. Only you need to know.”

I shrugged and tried to comb through the new ideas flowing through my head. I wondered if the feeling was similar to how Charlotte felt when she used her abilities. The images and ideas blended into my own thoughts so that by the time we reached the base of the hill, I could no longer separate the foreign thoughts from my own.

***

After returning from the tree, I had just enough time to grab something to eat before we headed back to the council hall. Samantha and Henry came with us. The room looked exactly the same, except nearly every seat in the room was taken, with even more people standing around the edges. Glancing at the seated council members, I took my seat at the long table and tried to keep my cool. I was thankful to be seated between Bry and Naomi again. I knew that when it came time to give the speech, I would be on my own, but until then, it was nice to be surrounded by friends. Friends—it was funny how quickly my small group of companions had become my friends. Maybe it was because I didn’t have Liam and Monty with me. As much as I missed them, I was glad they were with Charlotte. Things probably weren’t any easier for her right now, and I wanted her to have all the help she could get.

I felt pretty good about things until Alexander entered. He shot me a venomous look as he crossed the room to take his seat. I really didn’t understand why the guy hated me so much. Naomi and Bry had told me that he was antagonistic all the time, but his reaction seemed personal. I chalked it up to my status in Energo, but it still bothered me.

Marquis was the last to enter, and instead of taking his seat at the head of the table, he stood facing us with his back to the audience. “We meet today to determine whether the Pact lends support to the Resistance in Energo. Kevin Winthrop will speak for the Resistance, and Alexander will be speaking against our involvement. I will turn the floor over to both men now.” Marquis preformed a half bow before moving over to his chair.

I didn’t have time to consider standing up before Alexander pushed back his chair and addressed the council. “Most of you know my dislike for Blake and the leadership at Bellgard, but Energo’s politics are not our concern. We cannot trust the Winthrops, and we have no proof of this boy’s intentions or loyalty. For all we know, he is working for Blake, and this is a ploy to get us to leave our lands unprotected and at risk. We must protect our own people instead of joining a fledgling resistance that is doomed to fail. I would say more, but there is no need. You all already realize that I am right. We must hear this foreign
child
, but afterward, let us put this issue to rest.”

Murmurs of agreement spread through the crowd. Several council members nodded, but I ignored them and focused on those who did support me. Standing to face the audience seemed like the appropriate thing to do, even though the council would be the ones making the vote. I found Samantha in the crowd, and she gave me an encouraging smile.

“
I understand that you each come from different nations and are most concerned with what happens within the borders of your homeland. I understand that you are afraid of the sacrifices required to step outside of your borders and take on Blake. I understand, but that doesn’t mean I agree. Alexander was right when he told you that I spent the first eighteen years of my life somewhere else. But he is wrong about presuming it has any bearing on my dedication to Energo and taking out Blake’s evil.” I heard a gasp from someone in the audience.

“
Yes,
evil
. I know that word is weighted, but when it comes to Blake, it’s true. I know some of you don’t know why you should trust me. Alexander might have you believe that I am secretly working for Blake, but that could not be further from the truth. So right here and now, I am going to put my cards on the table and show you why you need to believe me.”

I paused and studied the sea of faces. I found Henry and Samantha, who were literally sitting on the edge of their seats. I didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. I turned to look down the line of faces at the table. Naomi and Bry both gave encouraging nods. I returned my attention to the crowd.

“
How many of you have a family?” Hands went up around the room, and a quick glance told me that everyone at the table had a hand raised except for Alexander. I smiled when I noticed; that might work to my advantage. “Or if you have no family, how many of you have friends who are like a family?” More hands appeared.

“
Try to picture what I am about to tell you.” All eyes were on me; I swallowed and went with it. “You come home to find your sister missing. This is only a few years after being told your mother has died. You panic and soon discover your sister has been kidnapped and taken to another world. A situation many of you have faced, right?” I heard some light laughter.

“
Okay, so next you learn that it is up to you to try to find your sister, but she might not want to come home at all because she is so in love with one of her captors. Yeah, crazy, I know—but true. And it gets worse. The only way your sister escapes is because someone puts a sword to her neck and threatens to kill her. During all of this, you are helpless to do anything.”

“
And then you find out that the same guy who was behind your sister’s kidnapping was also behind your mom’s disappearance because, get this, she wasn’t really dead. So yeah, I have a pretty good reason to hate Blake and want to see him fall.” I paused again and caught Samantha’s eye. She was grinning.