Alexander stood up, knocking his chair over in the process. “I will agree to it, but I want the record to reflect that I do not believe this needs a public hearing or a vote.”
“Duly noted, Alexander, but there will be both a hearing and a vote.” Marquis did not appear to be much of an Alexander fan either. “We meet in one day’s time to put this issue to rest. Session dismissed.”
Bry and Naomi waited for me outside the room. Their faces were unreadable, so I couldn’t figure out if they thought the meeting went well.
“Are you ready?” Naomi asked before she took off down the hallway. We pushed through the sea of people in the streets and walked back in silence. We found Samantha and Henry waiting in the lobby, and Naomi filled them in while we headed back to our room.
“What do we do now?” Even though afraid of the answer, I had to ask.
“You become a great orator.” Bry sounded so serious that I tried not to laugh.
“An orator? Like a speaker?”
“Yes. You have to convince the counsel to fight with us. Alexander has a lot of sway, but I would like to think that the council will see reason in your words if they would only listen.”
“At least we know you do not suffer from stage fright.” Henry smiled.
“We do?”
“Come on, Kevin. You play basketball in front of thousands of people every week, and I have seen one of your interviews on TV.” Henry stifled a yawn.
“That’s completely different.”
“Why?” Samantha and Henry asked simultaneously.
“Basketball and everything about it comes naturally. Making pro-war speeches, not so much.”
Naomi sat up, leaning up against the wall. “The reason sports come easy to you is that it is in your blood to be athletic. It is the same with being a good speaker. You just have to trust in yourself.”
“You guys keep talking about it being in my blood, but I don’t have quite that much faith.”
“Yes, you do. Stop playing dumb.” Samantha’s tone was sharp, but I was too distracted from watching her do leg stretches. Man, I had it bad. I was glad Marcus wasn’t there to see me; he would never have let me live it down.
I snapped out of it long enough to answer, “I’m not playing dumb.”
“Think about it, Kevin. You are a Guardian and the brother of the Essence, which means you were born to be a leader.” Henry’s tone was reassuring, and I tried to soak up some of his optimism.
“All right, so all I need to do is channel my inner strength as a leader and come up with a speech worthy of convincing a bunch of people to sacrifice their lives, right?”
“Exactly. Glad to see you get it.” Bry paused for a beat before breaking into a smile.
I let out a deep breath. One day had never seemed so short.
Chapter Thirteen
Charlotte
Everything after the checkpoint blended together. The endless prairie, spotted with small sections of forest, became monotonous. It didn’t help that the farther north we moved, the colder it got. I kept motivated by thinking of how amazing it would be to see my mom again. Still, I couldn’t vanquish thoughts of Calvin. The surge of excitement over the thought of seeing him had disappeared. All that remained was hurt.
I lost track of time as the day moved from morning into afternoon, and was unprepared when we heard the sound of a horse approaching.
“Get her out of here!” James screamed.
Liam picked me up and dove with me into the underbrush at the edge of the woods. Liam silenced my protest by putting a finger to his lips, signaling for me to keep quiet. It seemed strange and almost rehearsed to interact with Liam that way, making the threat seem more real.
The sound of hooves grew closer as I lay in the woods with Liam, both of us tense and silent.
A clear voice carried across the previously silent landscape. “I know she is in there. There is no point trying to hide her.” Although I didn’t immediately recognize the voice, I had my suspicions.
Monty asked, “What business do you have with the Essence?”
“You speak as though you have authority over the Essence. The only one in that position is her Gerard, and I seek the Essence to give her a message from him.”
My suspicions proved accurate when I heard William’s words. I jumped to my feet, ready to give away my location.
Liam grabbed my arm, holding me back. “It could be a trap.”
“It’s not a trap.” Even though I had started to doubt my intuition because of my weird feelings about James, I knew William wasn’t going to kidnap me. Liam loosened his hold, and I moved toward the path.
“May I have the message?” I asked, nearing William’s horse.
James jumped in front of me reaching for the sheet of paper William held in his hand. “Give me the message. I will pass it to her.”
“No, James. I’ll take it myself.” I had no idea what the note would say, but I didn’t want James reading it.
William leapt off his horse and handed the note to me. As I took it from his hand, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him. “I can take you to Calvin. Will you come with me?”
“Let go of her!” Liam and James yelled simultaneously.
William released my wrist when I grimaced. “So will you accompany me?”
“I will read his message, but I can’t come.” I rubbed my wrist, turning to walk away from William before I could change my mind.
“As you wish,” William said bitterly. I heard gravel fly as he took off down the road.
I sensed all eyes on me as I opened the letter. The off-white paper felt more like canvas, and the beautiful script inside surprised me. For someone relatively uneducated, Calvin had better penmanship than I did.
My Dearest Charlotte,
It has been months since we were last together, and I deeply regret the way events played out. Not a single day has passed when I have not longed to see you. A promise made to myself has prevented me from seeking you out. I wanted to allow you to make your own decisions and to return to me on your own terms, but I can no longer wait. You were right. I will not say more in this letter for fear of it being intercepted, but know that the wedge keeping us apart is gone.
I am sending this note with William, and you should receive it in a day’s time. Please meet with me tonight. All I ask is that you speak with me once. I will not keep you against your will. I swear that to you. It is urgent that we speak. I will come for you. I know that you will feel my presence and be able to find me.