“Anything you need.” William put on his tunic and eyed me seriously.
“I want you to find Charlotte and take her this letter.” I passed William the paper that felt like a weight in my hand.
“Of course, but should I not simply retrieve her? Or do you wish to do that yourself?”
I could sense William’s excitement. I did not want to take her by surprise. Recognizing that William would not understand, I gave him no explanation. “This is the way I wish to proceed. Will you do it, or must I find someone else?” It was an idle threat. There was no one else I trusted.
“I will dispatch immediately. I only wanted to ask.” William looked at me strangely before grabbing his weapons. “Where is she?”
“She is north of Malian. I assume that she will camp in the Drewberg forest.” I trusted William, but allowing anyone from Bellgard close to her worried me.
Once William was ready, I followed him out to the stables. He prepared his horse without another word.
“Be quick and be well.” I watched as his horse disappeared into the night.
I hoped that my written words would be enough to persuade Charlotte to trust me. I assumed the physical pull existed for her, too, and maybe she would find it in herself to forgive me for my past mistakes. If nothing else, she needed to trust me. Our very lives depended on it.
Chapter Eleven:
Charlotte
There had been many times in my life when I would have loved pretending to be Liam’s girlfriend. The entire time I was in Alaska, I thought about the one time I had kissed him and what it would be like to do it again. Somehow, it wasn’t quite as comfortable to pretend at the moment.
“Remember the story and stick to it.” Monty found it necessary to remind us of the same thing about twenty times as we headed toward the checkpoint. He was only watching out for us, but I was tired of him treating me like a silly little girl who couldn’t follow directions. Between Monty’s overprotectiveness, James’s weirdness, and how awkward I felt about pretending to be with Liam, I was about to lose it.
“It is okay to feel doubt, Charlotte.” Lawson gave me a reassuring smile as he shifted his pack.
“Doubt? What do you mean?”
“I realize we do not know each other well, but I can tell that none of this has been easy on you. Becoming the Essence is difficult for one raised for it, and you did not have any warning or preparation. May I speak candidly?”
“Yes, of course.”
Lawson took a deep breath as though debating whether to continue. “You are too hard on yourself. You expect to be perfect, but that is unrealistic. Perhaps if you focused less on potential failures, it would come easier.”
I didn’t answer right away. Although I was thrown off by Lawson’s words, they made complete sense. I needed to stop beating myself up. I wasn’t perfect, nor would I ever be, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t be successful. “Thank you.”
Lawson smiled. “You are welcome. I am glad I did not offend you.”
“No, I appreciate the honesty.” Even though I had only known Lawson a few days, I really enjoyed his company. He had the same good-natured personality as Henry, but with more maturity. I was glad to have him with us.
The rest of the group hung back so we could catch up, effectively ending my conversation with Lawson.
“Charlotte and Liam, from now until we are through the checkpoint, you stay glued together.” I didn’t wait for Monty to repeat himself. I moved over to stand next to Liam.
“Not a problem.” Liam grinned at me as he arched an eyebrow. Only Liam could keep his sense of humor in such a tense situation. If he felt as awkward as I did, he didn’t show it.
“So you really think this is going to work?” I asked, hoping Monty had some words of encouragement.
“We have no other choice.” I was startled by James’s response. He had said barely two words to me all day.
“I get that. I was trying to get some reassurance.”
“You are not a child, Charlotte. Reassure yourself.” James’s words hurt. He had the unique ability to make me feel like nothing with only a few words. I couldn’t figure out why he was acting even harsher than usual. Wasn’t it just two days ago that he was kissing me?
“Ignore him.” Liam put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him. “Everything is going to be okay.”
I leaned into Liam and hoped he was right.
***
No one had to tell me we were getting close to the checkpoint because I could feel it. The fear in the pit of my stomach grew, and I had goose bumps all over. I pulled the hood of the cloak tighter around my head, grateful it was cold enough that I looked normal doing it. Liam’s arm tightened around me, and I took a deep breath.
Set up in the middle of nowhere, the checkpoint consisted of a line of soldiers. Blake knew our destination; that was the only explanation for the checkpoint. I shouldn’t have been surprised. I was sure Blake assumed that James would tell me where my mother was. My body went cold all of a sudden. What if I had been wrong all along and James was still in league with Blake? What if it was all a setup? I tried to quell the thought, but it wouldn’t fully disappear.
Liam must have felt me stiffen. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” It was better not to give Liam any more of a reason to hate James. I would have to deal with my sudden suspicions on my own first.
We hadn’t run into any other travelers that day, so I wasn’t surprised to find the soldiers alone. The nearly thirty men composing the stop all wore the black uniform of the Bravado. I hoped that none of the men were ones I had met at the castle; that would make it even more likely they would recognize me.
Monty led our group toward the line.
“What is the nature of your travels this far north?” a large redheaded guard asked.
“My brother and his promised are to be united at the Falls. We want to make it before the end of the season,” Monty explained.
I willed my eyes to remain fixed on the ground so I wouldn’t inadvertently ruin the charade.
The redhead did not seem convinced. “Where is the rest of your party?”
“The girl has no family, and my brothers and I are all that is left of ours.”
“I see.” As Monty and the man conversed, the other Bravado guards circled, scrutinizing us.
“Take off the cloak.”
I glanced up automatically, startled to see a man with a large scar across his face staring at me.