Henry spun around searching for the source of the words. “Lawson?”
The guys took out their weapons and surrounded me. The trees were so dense that I couldn’t see a thing. Quickly, I closed my eyes and pictured the trees cleared, allowing me to see. A mild heat flowed through me as the image grew stronger.
“I take it you are the new Essence?”
Opening my eyes, I watched a figure approach the circle surrounding me. The guys looked around in surprise. It took me a minute to realize that the trees had bent and moved out of the way, forming a circle of clearing. Relief flooded through me; I could still use my abilities.
“Any particular reason you decided to scare us?” Henry asked, walking toward the speaker.
“None really. But I was on watch and thought I would scare you a little, seeing as you took off without even telling the family.”
“I was doing my job.” Henry took a step back and put his arm around my shoulders. “You know, as a Guardian, my job is to protect the Essence.”
“Speaking of the Essence…” The man held out his hand to me. “I am Lawson Ashwell.”
I accepted his firm handshake. “Henry talks about his brothers a lot; it’s nice to meet one! I’m Charlotte.”
Kevin, Monty, and Liam stepped up and introduced themselves.
“Nice to meet you all.” Lawson smiled, then turned his attention to James. “So I hear you turned your back on your father.”
“I was not interested in watching him hurt the Essence.” James glowered at Lawson. It was rare to see James so serious.
Lawson frowned momentarily before turning his attention back to me. “Charlotte, tell me, has my brother done a good job on your Guard?”
“Of course. Henry’s great!” I appreciated Lawson’s use of my name, and I warmed to him immediately.
“Yeah, he does a great job when he is not hanging all over his girl.” James laughed.
“You have a girl, Henry? You are pretty young to be uniting, but Mother will be thrilled.”
Henry turned bright red.
James smirked. “I never said he united; I said he had a girl.”
“What?” Lawson frowned. “Please tell me you have not harmed a girl’s virtue!”
“I wouldn’t worry too much about Rachel,” James jibed.
“Shut up, James.” I wasn’t going to sit there and let James imply that there was anything wrong with Rachel. So she liked to make out with her boyfriend, that wasn’t a crime.
“Besides, James, who are you to talk? You think everyone is going to be happy that you kissed the Essence?” Henry asked, dropping his arm from my shoulders.
“What the hell is he talking about?” Kevin asked. Liam and Monty each grabbed one of Kevin’s arms, holding him back from attacking James.
“I protected her from unwanted attention.” James winked at me. My stomach churned. I should have taken care of that guy myself, but what good was being constantly followed around by Guardians if they couldn’t take care of things like that?
“Lawson, I am sure you have plenty of questions for Henry, but do you think we could continue to the cave? I need to speak with my brother.” Still holding Kevin’s arm, Monty cut off the conversation. Even having met Theodore, I thought it sounded strange to hear Monty refer to his brother. I understood that Monty had withheld the truth about my family in order to protect me, but it definitely strained our relationship a little. I couldn’t help but wonder what else he was keeping from me, but at the moment, I was grateful for the new subject of conversation.
“Sure, follow me.” Lawson started off at a brisk pace.
Walking sandwiched between Liam and Kevin, I continued through the fern grotto. After hearing about James, Kevin wasn’t about to let me out of his sight. The only other time I had been to the Cason caves was after leaving Bellgard, and I had barely registered anything that was happening. Everything seemed unfamiliar as we pushed through the heavy ferns and waited while Lawson moved some large rocks out of the way. I had expected the Resistance to grow, but I was in no way prepared for the crowd that appeared as we neared the cave entrance.
“Wow. Theodore did some recruiting.” Kevin’s expression mirrored my surprise.
“It’s a relief. I didn’t know what to expect.” Monty wiped his brow.
“Hello, brother.” Theodore walked over and embraced Monty. Monty stiffened. I could practically feel the tension between the two brothers.
Monty pulled away and addressed his brother coolly. “Theodore, we heard you needed us urgently.”
“Yes, we have received word that Blake is planning an attack.” Theodore awkwardly let his arms fall to his sides.
“What can we do?” Kevin took a few steps further to join Monty and Theodore.
“I wanted to talk to Monty about this first, but we have a big job for you, Kevin.”
Monty put a hand on Kevin’s arm. “What kind of job? Theodore, should we speak about this privately first?”
“We cannot defeat Blake on our own. We need to get the support of the other nations. We need the Pact behind us.” Theodore ran his hands through his hair, a nervous habit he shared with Monty.
“And you think sending Kevin is the answer?” Monty raised his voice to a level just below yelling.
Liam nudged me. He caught my eye, silently asking me if I knew what was going on.
“As the Essence’s brother, Kevin is technically second to the Gerard. They will at least have to give him an audience.” Theodore’s voice had risen to match Monty’s volume.
“What you say is true. But who will accompany him on his journey? I am not leaving Charlotte’s side.” Monty started to pace. Five minutes with his brother and Monty was already talking formally.
“Will someone please fill me in here? I’m the one you’re talking about.” Kevin was obviously getting annoyed. I understood the feeling. Few things were more frustrating than having people make decisions for you without asking for your input.
Monty stopped pacing long enough to question Kevin. “Do you know what the Pact is?”
“Yeah. It’s something like the United Nations. But what do I have to do with it?”
“You need to convince the other nations to join with us, to stand against Blake.” Theodore lowered his voice after taking a few breaths to calm down.
“And you really think I’m the one to do it?” Kevin asked.
Theodore didn’t hesitate. “You are the only one to do it.”