“Good to see you.” Ollis surprised me with a hug. “Take care of your lady. You will not find another like her.”
“I know.” I patted his back. “Good to see you, too.” I turned back to the dragon. “So how do we get on these things?”
The dragons snorted.
“Sorry, on these dragons,” I corrected.
The one I’d been petting slowly lowered his head. At first I thought he was going to bite me or something, but then I realized the movement was so I could climb up into the saddle. I awkwardly put one leg on its back and pulled myself up. Samantha did the same thing with hers. It took me a moment to situate myself. There were reins, but I kind of wanted to hold on to something with more substance. Could I really hold on to a dragon’s neck?
As comfortable as I was going to get, I concentrated on the bigger picture. “Now what direction is Energo?”
“Here, take this.” Ollis handed me a metal-encased compass. “You need to go west. Cross the mountains, and you will be in the boundaries.”
Samantha nodded. “I can find the caves from there.”
“Great.” I let out a deep breath and tried to pretend I was on a horse.
That was easy enough until we started rising into the air. Luckily, I held back the girly scream that wanted to come out. Samantha would never have let me live that down.
Chapter Seventeen
Charlotte
We didn’t waste any time after meeting the turtle. Thankfully, Nal told us about a shortcut that would shave an entire day off our trip. The best part was that we’d avoid the desert. I wasn’t sure if I could handle that again. Charleston got hot in the summer, but between the beach and air conditioning, it was nothing compared to the Sutuni desert.
“Do you think Kevin made it back yet?” Henry tossed around one of Kevin’s old hacky sacks as we walked. He must have found it back at the house and brought it with him.
“I hope so.” I nabbed the ball after he tossed it. “I don’t think we’re going to get two chances to break into Bellgard. We need the Onyx.”
He grabbed the ball. “And we need Kevin. He is generally pretty good in tough situations.”
“He is, usually.”
Henry glanced ahead of us to see if the others were listening. They didn’t appear to be. “Are you ever going to tell us what the turtle said?”
“It’s hard to explain in words. We just have to go to Bellgard.” The true meaning of the words had hit me hard, and I wasn’t about to put the weight of them on anyone else. There was a reason I was the only one who could understand the writing.
“If you are sure…” Henry seemed torn on what to say next. “Just remember that if you ever want to talk about it, I am available.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I forced a smile, though my thoughts were churning a mile a minute.
“What are you going to do when this is all over?”
I rolled up my sleeves. The sun was high in sky, and I was starting to bake. “What do you mean?”
“Are you going to stay in Bellgard, or are you going to go back and finish school?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t actually thought about it.” I’d been living from day to day ever since discovering Energo. The future wasn’t something I could even picture.
“They are going to try to make you stay. He is, too.” He nodded toward Calvin.
“Calvin would never make me do anything.”
“He would not make you, but he certainly would give his opinion.”
“Yeah, he’s good at that, but then again, what man isn’t?”
Henry laughed. “Girls are good at that, too. Rachel has taught me that.”
“What opinions does she make clear?” I hadn’t thought about Rachel much over the past weeks, but I missed my spunky friend. She’d made my year in Charleston tons better, and the more time I spent with just guys, the more I wanted a girl around.
“She thinks I’m the one.” He blushed slightly.
“‘The one’? Wow. That’s big coming from Rachel.” I knew Rachel had gone into the relationship with Henry just wanting to have fun, then fallen hard for him. I just hadn’t known quite how far she’d fallen.
“Yeah, I thought so too. She is so different from anyone I have ever met.”
“Does that mean you’re going to go back for her?” I hadn’t even thought about that possibility.
“Yes.” His response was firm and absolute. My respect for Henry rose another ten levels.
“That’s awesome.”
He started with the ball again. “Do you think she would like Bellgard?”
“Bellgard? Why not just live in Charleston?”
“Well, that is why I was asking where you were going to be. I have to stay where you are.”
“No, you don’t!” I said it louder than I meant to. Calvin and Liam turned around. I waved at them and waited till they turned forward again, then I lowered my voice. “I just mean you can’t make decisions based on me.”
“But I am your Guardian. It is what I was born for.”
“I think you are getting enough Guardian points now. Besides, if we’re at peace, why would I need protection?”
“I want to bring her to Bellgard. Can you imagine her here? She would be in shock.”
I smiled. “I’d love to see her reaction.”
“My mom is going to like her. Mom is a spitfire, too. I think they will get along.”
“I bet she is. The mother of six boys has to be really strong.”
Henry’s expression darkened. “What do you think it is going to be like when everyone we know is gone?”
“What is with all these questions?”
“Have you not thought of it?”
“We need to get through this first, then I’ll worry about a long life.” Tears welled in my eyes.
He put an arm around me. “Are you okay?”
Both Calvin and Liam turned around and walked toward me.
“Charlotte?” Calvin asked.
“I’m fine. I’m fine.” I wiped my eyes with my arm. I hoped they got the hint that I didn’t want to talk about it.
***
“You can tell me anything.” Calvin’s whisper was barely audible as we lay cuddled by the fire.
We’d made it back to the plains quickly, but we couldn’t go farther without resting. My eyes were heavy, and I felt sleep pulling me under as soon as I lay down. All the stress and uncertainty was really wearing on me. Usually that was enough to keep me up, but physical exhaustion the magnitude of what I felt was pretty potent.