Enduring Light (17 page)

She blushed about ten shades redder, and I put an arm around her. “Yeah, it’s too bad.”

 
I didn’t miss the smile she threw my way. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was acknowledging we were together or that she didn’t like the thought of dating one of Ollis’s sons. Maybe it was both. Either way, I liked it.

We emerged from the greenhouse, and moved into a courtyard with high walls covered in bright green vines.

“Here we are.” Ollis opened a set of double doors on a circular stone building. “Easy now, little ones.”

It took me a minute to realize he wasn’t talking to us. I peeked inside the room and stepped back. Right on Samantha’s foot.

Before I could apologize, she saw what made me step back. She didn’t flinch. “Wow. He cannot really mean for us to ride on those, can he?”

Four enormous winged creatures
c
overed in iridescent scales lay stretched out in a spacious arena. Sharp spines outlined their wings and tails. Two of the dragons were blue with green stripes down their sides. One was red, and the last was orange. They looked up at us, probably trying to decide whether we were of any concern. I hoped they were lazy dragons.

Ollis pointed at the pair that looked alike. “I would suggest the twins there. They are the gentlest, yet fastest flyers.”

“They’re the gentle ones?” I didn’t think they looked particularly gentle. At the moment, they were both eyeing me with less than friendly expressions.

“How do we approach them?” Samantha was already talking about approaching them? Maybe she was braver than I was. I kept expecting fire to come out of their nostrils.

“I will call them out for you. These boys will not hurt you as long as you are careful.”

“Boys? They’re male dragons?” I didn’t know why that surprised me.

“Yes. That is why I suggest them. The girls”—he pointed at the other two—“have more of a bite to them.”

“Bite. Lovely.”

Ollis smiled. “Should I get them saddled up for you?”

I got the impression that he liked seeing me so uncomfortable while Samantha might as well have been jumping up and down with excitement.

I nodded, trying to appear more relaxed. “Saddles? Right. Sure.”

Samantha whispered in my ear, “I have not seen you afraid of anything in a while. It is kind of cute.”

“I’m not scared.” The real question was why she wasn’t afraid. She was really okay just walking up to a giant animal who could probably kill us without moving its head?

I kept quiet as Ollis brought out the twins. We moved outside and waited while two men put saddles on them as if they were horses. Giant, brightly colored horses with scales and wings. Right.

Samantha walked right up to one of them and touched his nose. “Hello. My name is Samantha.”

The dragon made some sort of noise that actually sounded kind of happy, like a cat’s purr or something.

She gestured for me to join her. “Come here.”

They both snarled at me.

She laughed. “Maybe they do not like males.”

“Figures,” I grumbled.

“Hey, you act the same around Talen.” Her eyes twinkled.

I joined her and tentatively touched the nose of the second one. Upon closer inspection, the shiny scales showed an eerie reflection of my face. “I’m really not trying to move in on any of your women. I already have one.”

Samantha laughed. “And he is modest, too.”

The dragon lowered his head slightly. His hide actually felt kind of cool. Covered in rough scales, his skin was slightly warm to the touch.

Ollis walked over. “Can I trust you to bring these boys back when you are done? Dragons being rare and all.”

Samantha nodded. “Yes. We will bring them back as soon as possible.”

“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.

“I know.” I did know it, but being able to trust someone was different from having to keep something from them for their own good.

“Then tell me what is wrong. What did the scroll say that has you so upset?”

“I’m not upset.”

“Yes, you are. I can feel it. It is like you are trying to build a wall between us. I cannot let you do that. You are my other half, Charlotte. I need you to let me in.” His tormented expression ate at me.

“I love you. That’s all you need to know.”

“As I love you, but there is more. Tell me.”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Walk with me?”

“Now? It’s too late.”

“Please. We need time alone. I will take the blankets, and if you are too tired, I will carry you back to the campsite.”

“Okay.” I got to my feet. How could I say no to such a simple request when he’d say yes to anything I asked?

Henry looked over from where he stood watch but didn’t say anything as Calvin led me into the woods.

I leaned heavily into Calvin’s side. “Where are we going?”

“You will see.” He wrapped an arm around me.

I let him escort me through the dark woods until we reached a stream. “Is this…?”

“You remember it?”

“Of course. It’s where you kissed me for the first time.” I hadn’t realized how close we were to where I’d first met Calvin.

“I still remember how it felt to connect with you. How I felt like I would never be whole again without you.” He stopped in front of the rock we’d sat on that first day.

“If we only knew then…”
I took a seat on the rock, and he sat next to me.

He inched closer to me. “If I had known how hard a road we would have, I would have probably whisked you away. I would have selfishly kept you to myself instead of sharing you with our people.”

“I would have wanted that.”

“It is better that we did not know then, is it not? Without us, Energo would have no hope.”

I nodded. My exhaustion faded as I lost myself in memories.

“Let me kiss you, Charlotte. Let me kiss away that sadness.”

“Please do. It’s all I want.”

He kissed my cheeks, my eyelids, my earlobes, and my neck.

I sighed, trying to savor every sensation caused by his lips on my skin.

 
As his lips explored me, so did his hands, and before long, I was undressed in his arms. We’d left the rock and had a blanket spread out near the water.

Calvin looked down at me. “It is freeing, is it not? Being naked together out here all alone?”

“I hadn’t thought of it as freeing, but I do feel that way.” I ran a hand down his chest.

“This is the memory I want to hold with me forever.”

“Of tonight?”

“Of holding you, of watching the moonlight dance across your naked body.”

I rested my head on his chest. “Promise me you’ll live a happy life.”

“Of course I will. Having you beside me makes me the happiest man alive.”

“No matter what. You need to promise me.”

“Why does it sound like you are saying goodbye?”

“I just love you.”

“I love you, too.” He kissed me gently.

I looked into his eyes. “Make love to me, Calvin.”

“I have never been asked to do something I want more.”

***

Sometime in the night, Calvin kept his word and carried me back to our camp. I don’t remember dressing, but I also didn’t remember the last time I’d slept so soundly.

I was ready to face Bellgard. I was ready to face the Source.