“We all do sometimes. Shall we?” Liam gestured toward the path.
We walked back and met up with James. The guards at the edge of the cave entrance stepped out of the way to let us enter. A large crowd had converged around a fire, and I noticed Kevin, Samantha, and Henry huddled together. I figured they were discussing their plans for the next day.
I watched Samantha for a moment. It wasn’t hard to see what attracted Kevin. She was gorgeous, but she also had a strength about her that I envied. I just looked at her and knew she was completely confident, but not in an obnoxious way.
“Charlotte!” Tearing my gaze from Samantha, I saw Tara running over to me, hand in hand with a guy who had to be in his mid- to late-twenties.
“Tara! It’s so good to see you.” I had missed my cousin a lot. She had been a real comfort during my time in Bellgard, and it was wonderful to see her outside of the castle. She appeared so different from the last time I had seen her. She was full of life and contentment. Tara could have easily been the one in my position, forced apart from the man she loved and with the weight of Energo on her shoulders. I swallowed down the jealousy I felt at her happiness, and smiled.
“Charlotte, this is Owen.” Tara patted the arm of the man by her side.
He beamed at her before turning his attention to me. “It is an honor to meet you, our Essence. I am Owen Ashwell.”
“Ashwell? So you’re another one of Henry’s brothers?”
He chortled. “Yes. Although it is not often that I am referred to as Henry’s brother. He is the baby of the family while I am the oldest.”
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Your brother has been a good friend. It’s nice to meet more of his family.” I was beginning to see a pattern with the Ashwell boys—tall, blond, and attractive. I could understand Tara’s interest in him, even though he was so much older.
“We will be family once Tara and I are officially united. With the current state of affairs, we have had to postpone, but it will be soon.”
“Wow. That’s great.” Uniting was the Energo version of marriage. Calvin had talked to me about it during our few days together in Bellgard.
“And you must be Liam.” Owen reached out to shake Liam’s hand.
“Yes. You’ve heard of me?” Liam wrinkled his brow.
Owen nodded. “I heard you are quite the shot with a crossbow.”
“Oh, that. Yeah, well, you step up to the challenges life gives you, right?”
“I agree completely. But come now, you both must be hungry.” When he said both, I realized James wasn’t with us anymore.
Dinner was bland with small portions. There were lots of mouths to feed and not a lot of food. It really wasn’t a problem for me. I was so nervous and on edge that I probably couldn’t have eaten much anyway. I did make sure to finish off my plate; I didn’t want to waste what little we had.
After dinner, Theodore led us to a crowded room with at least fifty cots. It had the feel of a rescue shelter during a hurricane. I had felt the tension at dinner, but it was magnified by the emptiness of the large sleeping area.
“I’m sorry I cannot offer you better accommodations, Charlotte, but space is limited. I assume you will be comfortable enough for tonight?” Theodore braced himself for my response, as if he expected me to complain. I wondered if my mother had been high maintenance.
“Yes, that’s fine.” I slipped under the blankets of one of the cots, and Monty and Kevin took beds on either side of me. I said some goodnights and closed my eyes, knowing I was getting ready to face a long day.
Chapter Six
Calvin
“I have already explained it to you, William. I know that Charlotte loves me and that any kiss she had with James meant nothing.”
I was tired of having the same argument with William. He had only been back a few hours, but would not relent. Even though the words were true, I hated to speak them. The thought of Charlotte kissing another man, especially one of the Guardians, made me ill. Already fighting the agony of her absence, having to worry about James touching her did not make it any easier.
“I do not understand why you refuse to retrieve her. She is your Essence, and it is fully within your rights as her Gerard.” William took out his frustration on me as we sparred in one of the interior courtyards.
“I am not bringing her back against her will. I will never force Charlotte into anything again.” One of the many things I learned from Charlotte’s absence was that she was not like the other girls I knew. She would not be told what to do; she had to make her own decisions. William was not the only one practicing more aggressively that day. He momentarily lost his footing after I nearly sliced him with my sword.
“You cannot mean to allow her to stay with James. What if he tries to do more than kiss her?” William might have been my friend and confidant, but he was pushing the limits of my patience with the insinuation. If I were a less honorable man, I would have drawn blood for that comment, but I controlled my anger. I had no doubt that I would kill James if he took his advances further. Charlotte belonged to me whether she chose to stay away or not.
“He would not dare. Even James Mendel would not steal the Essence’s honor.” Easily blocking William, I knocked his sword out of his hand. My limited traditional training did not prevent me from defeating any man I sparred with. William was no exception. Being the Gerard imbued me with a strength and skill that only continued to grow.
William retrieved his sword before retreating to lean against a column. “What do you mean to do, then?”
“I will continue to wait. She will return one day, and when she does, I will appeal to her and try to win back her trust.” What I did not tell William was that I would not be above groveling at her feet to regain her favor.
“I only say this for your own good. It is unwise for you to delay reuniting with Charlotte much longer. Your power will be substantially greater when you join together.”
I knew that he spoke truthfully. I needed her and could not handle much more time apart. The Gerard and Essence were never meant to be separated; every part of me craved her. It had been more than a year’s time and still not a single night had gone by without me dreaming of having her back. Thinking of our short time together, I frequently felt bitter regret for wasting so much of it with her locked in the dungeon.
I had begun making mistakes the night of our ceremony. That was supposed to be our night; we were supposed to spend it in each other’s arms, reveling in each other. The ceremony constituted a union. We were officially bonded with no need for any other formalities. Instead, I had brushed away my concern over her sudden change in demeanor after speaking to Blake, and blindly let her return to her room with no explanation.