Forged in Fire (The Forged Chronicles Book 3) (13 page)

“No.” I shook my head. “I do not believe you inherit something like that from your parents. I am more of a nature person.”

“Nature?” Elron wrinkled his brow. “You enjoy animals in their native environment?”

“I mean the nature vs. nurture debate. It isn’t all in your genes.”

“Oh.” Elron nodded. “I understand what you are saying, but this is specific to you. Not a broad rule. To have a heart so pure as to completely resist the darkness is almost unheard of in humans. The most rare traits tend to pass.”

“What are you talking about?” I struggled to remember the little bit of genetics I knew. “That’s the opposite.”

“Forget what you think you know. We are not discussing anything you have knowledge of. Understanding the heart is our expertise.”

“Ok, fine. Assuming I inherited a pure heart from my dad, what does that mean for us?”

Adaline took both of my hands in hers. “It means you are stronger than you think. But it will not be easy because we still need to break the toxic connection between you and James. It is the only way to save your life.”

“Break the connection?”

“The poison.” Elron stood from his chair. “The poison in your system will kill you even if it doesn’t take over your heart.”

“But only if I’m not with James.”

“And you are not with James now.” Adaline squeezed my hands. “Why is that?”

I sighed. “Because he wanted me to go to Belgard to get help from the Essence. It’s where I should be now.”

“The Essence cannot break this connection.”

“She is strong.”

“Yes, but she is young, and this poison is designed to be resistant to her abilities.”

“Fine. Forget the poison in me. We have an entire world of people to worry about. Let’s focus on saving them.”

“Do you truly believe James will destroy your world?” Elron took the seat on my other side. I was sandwiched in.

I shook my head. “No, but I know he is not the James I love. He almost killed a man. His half-brother.”

“That does not mean he would destroy innocents.” Adaline straightened her shoulders. “He had the strength to send you away. And he must have done that for a reason.”

“He said it was too dangerous for me there.”

“He understood you were a weapon.” Elron leaned forward on his elbows. “If we break the connection, you can help the Essence. We can defeat the darkness and rid all the worlds of the Cipher’s power once and for all.”

“Uh…”

“Yes.” Adaline smiled. “That is right.”

“How am I going to help the Essence?”

“You have Winthrop blood strengthened by the darkness.”

“How can darkness strengthen blood?” I buried my head in my hands. “Isn’t that counter intuitive?”

“No.” Adaline shook her head. “Your resistance strengthened you.”

“I wish. There is nothing strong about me.”

“There is everything strong about you.” Adaline gripped my hands even tighter. “Start believing that.”

“Ok. So what do we do?” I didn’t know what I believed, but getting rid of the Cipher’s power seemed like a good place to start.

“That answer hinges on one question only you can answer.”

“What is that?”

“Is the love you share with James strong enough to fight the darkness?”

I didn’t hesitate with my answer. “Yes.”

“Then we start by finding James.”

I
would find her
. I would find Ainsley and make everything right. She was mine, and she belonged by my side. I should have believed in myself more. I should have believed I could fight the darkness. I never should have sent her away. But something inside my heart told me it had been the right decision. If there was any solution to the disastrous situation we were in, it would only come with sending her away.

I headed toward Icentris both hoping Ainsley would be there, and that she wouldn’t. I wanted her to have made it to Belgard already even though my desire to have her near was far stronger than anything else.

It should not have taken me so long to think of Icentris. The location had significance that went far beyond the Arcos. It was where my father kept Emma prisoner, and there had to have been a reason. If he had only wanted isolation there were many other places for that. There was something there. Something he wanted or needed. I searched the new memories and found nothing. The only memories I had of Icentris were my own, and that had to have significance too. He had allowed me access to some of his most personal experiences. To leave the Icentris ones out could not have been a coincidence. The bigger question was whether the omission was by choice.

As I rode across the barren plains, I thought over everything I had learned since accepting my father’s help. He was not the man I had once thought he was, but neither was I. I could not have accepted the Cipher’s power unless I already had a darkness in me. I had spent my entire adult life trying to be someone I was never meant to be.

And what did that mean for Ainsley? Did I deserve to have such a woman when I was unworthy? But she was my kindred. She was meant to be mine. Maybe that was it. She was given to me as a punishment. She was meant to mock me and show me the happiness I did not deserve.

But how could I live without her? How could I spend the rest of my life alone after experiencing all the pleasure and happiness that could come with having Ainsley?

My heart ached for the loss I feared must come. I needed to save her. There had to be a way to sever our connection so she could go on with her life without me. She could. She would find someone else. Someone worthy of her goodness. Someone like Brad. My blood boiled as I thought about the idiot back in Charleston. He was unworthy of her too. All men were.

She was
mine
. Why was I even considering the opposite? There was no need. Whether I was successful or not, she would still be mine.

I reached the icy landscape. I urged my horse on even though she wanted to stop. She did not respond to me the way she used to. She felt my darkness.

I saw no one as I reached the crest of the hill and the great icy wall of the prison came into view, but I knew there were Arcos around. They were hidden, their white fur blending in with the snow and ice. It did not matter. No Arco wanted to step foot in the prison now.

I left my horse and walked up to the massive metal wall covered in ice. I hesitated just outside of the large archway that led inside the compound. The last time I entered the prison it was to rescue Emma. I had never imagined I would return.

Once through the archway I entered a cave. Like everything else in Icentris it was coated completely in ice. Large icicles hung from the ceiling obstructing the faint glow I followed from the other side of the cave.

As I exited the cave entrance I stood in the open courtyard and looked up at the large metal prison box that sat atop a tall tower. The metal box looked the same as when we left it so many years before, and I remembered at the time we had believed freeing Emma would fix everything. We had been wrong. Even killing my father had failed. He had lived on somehow.

And then it hit me.
Like a bolt of lightning, a new understanding shocked my system. He had been there all along, dormant and waiting. I had no idea how it happened, but it had. My heart had been dark enough to accept the power. It had been there waiting until it was ready to rise again.

I felt sick. My empty stomach heaved as I realized people had been right about me. I was like my father. No, I was my father.

I fell to my knees in the ice and snow. My head pounded with the realization I had failed everyone. I had failed Charlotte—the Essence I was bound to protect. And I had failed Ainsley, the woman I would love until my dying breath.

I needed to be destroyed. Destroyed in a way that the darkness could no longer be transferred, but that was impossible. We had failed with my father and they would fail now when they sought to destroy me.

I had to figure out why my father had imprisoned Emma here. That might be the only way.

I looked at the icy wall. I had no ice picks or rope. I had nothing to make my climb up the wall, but somehow it would not matter. My father had designed this prison for Emma, and I was positive he would have made it so he could visit her anytime he wanted. It was his obsession with her that fueled him and kept his power growing. As is my obsession with Ainsley. The thought flitted through my mind.

But mine was not obsession. It was love, and I would not allow it to become corrupted the way my father’s had.

I looked up at the box and then down at the ground. The spot just below the prison was a slightly different color, as if the ice had not been frozen for quite as long.

I kneeled down and put my hand on top of it. An intense heat flooded me before the ice in that spot disappeared. I leaned over to look into the dark hole full of water I had created. I saw nothing. I reached my hand down through the cold water, not sure what I would find. At first I felt nothing, but then I reached further into the icy slush until I felt a rock. Convinced it was nothing, I was about to throw it down when I noticed a hint of something blue inside. I grabbed it and pulled it out. When I opened my hand I found a small blue crystal key. It looked a lot like the crystal key I always carried with me to get access to the lost world, but this one was different. I pulled out my own key, that I also carried with me, and compared it. Aside from the different color, it also had a completely different groove pattern.

But where else could the key lead? I pocketed both crystal keys and stood up. I took one more glance up at the prison box. It would forever be a reminder of what darkness could do to a man.

I walked back through the frozen cave and out through the archway.

“
N
o matter
how strong James’ love is for me, that doesn’t fix everything.” If love was the answer, I’d have stayed at James’ side instead of traveling half of Energo with a virtual stranger.

“I never said it would fix it, but it will help. It is our only chance.” Adaline sounded so concerned and genuine, but I didn’t know her. It could have all been an act. Except it wasn’t. Maybe I was gullible, but she seemed so much like the real deal. Her eyes were open pools that made it appear impossible she was hiding anything.

“He sent me away. He seemed pretty intent on me doing whatever I needed to do without him.”

“But you readily admit that he loves you.” Adaline shifted in her seat.

“He sent me away because he believed it was the only way.” I blinked back tears. I wasn’t allowed to cry. There was too much going on to waste time with being sentimental; I couldn’t use sentimentality.

“Where is he?”

“Elron should know. I hadn’t made it very far when he found me.”

“I did not hear that part of the story yet.” Adaline kept her eyes on me.

“I had a vision and went searching,” Elron explained.

A knock on the door had us all frozen.

“Who is it?” Adaline called. She hadn’t asked Elron that same question, so his rhythmic knock must have been some sort of code.

“Arlo,” a male voice replied.

I recognized the name of the Elf we met when we’d first stepped through the portal.

“Come in,” Adaline turned to the door.

The door opened and Arlo walked in. He bowed to both mother and son. He gave me another long look as if he didn’t know what to make of me.

Arlo straightened. “I apologize for the intrusion, but Malton is demanding an audience with Elron. It has all been made worse since an intruder was found right where he opened the portal.”

“An intruder?” Elron frowned.

“Yes. He claims to have been following the girl.” Arlo pointed to me.

“Where is the intruder?” Adaline asked calmly. “Is he near?”

Arlo nodded. “He has been brought to the castle.”

“Ainsley.” Adaline touched my arm gently. “I am afraid we will have to make a detour before we find James.”

I shook my head. “We are out of time. Maybe I should go back alone.”

“Do you think you could find James alone?” Elron pushed back his chair and stood. “Besides, we need to be there. You need our help.”

“What if the king doesn’t let you help?” I asked a question I feared the answer to.

Adaline laughed.

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

“No, but the king cannot stand in the way of what must be done.”

“What must be done? This is just our plan.” I pushed back my chair.

“It is a plan to rid the worlds of the greatest evil. No one could stand in the way of that.” Adaline spoke with finality.

Elron held out his hand.

“I hope you are right,” I mumbled accepting Elron’s hand to help me stand even though I didn’t need it at all.

Elron grinned. “My mother is always right.”

Arlo led the way toward the doorway, and Elron clasped my hand. “Remember not to look down.”

“I’ll try not to this time.”

“We are going to be climbing even higher.”

“Higher?” I gasped. I couldn’t imagine climbing higher into the treetops.

“Yes. Remember I told you to just wait until you saw the castle.”

“She will be fine.” Adaline spoke as though there was no other possibility. “She has survived far worse than this.”

“She has.” Elron smiled. “She is not quite as weak as I had expected.”

I rolled my eyes. “I guess there is a plus to low expectations.”

Arlo laughed, but then tried to cover it up with a cough.

We didn’t retrace our steps. Instead Arlo led the way further down the wooden plank that served as the main walkway. As we walked, several groups of Elves stepped to the side to let us pass. They all bowed and curtseyed just as the others had.

At first nothing was different. We passed at least a dozen more tree houses, before we reached another ladder. Elron suggested I follow Arlo, and he followed behind. I held onto the ropes as I tried counting the steps to help me focus and distract me from the faraway ground below. We climbed forty-eight steps before reaching another plank.

I looked down, and my hand flew to my chest. My heart beat erratically.

“I told you not to look down,” Elron scolded.

“You make it sound easy. When someone tells you not to do something it makes you need to do it more.”

“Come along, relax yourself.” Adaline pointed to another ladder. “We need to keep moving.”

“Wait. There’s more? We are going even higher?” I’d thought I had survived the worst already.

“Of course.” Elron nodded. “The castle is in the clouds.”

“Holy sh—" I stopped myself before I let the curse slip out. Cursing in front of Adaline felt wrong.

“Do not worry. Our air is not thin here. You will be able to breath,” Adaline reassured me.

“I wasn’t worried about that part.” Although maybe I should have been. Breathing was clearly important.

“Then what are you worried about?” Arlo asked.

I went with my primary worry. “Falling to my death.”

“You would only fall if you slipped, and you seem to have good balance.” Arlo started toward the next ladder.

“That’s what you think.” I reluctantly followed him and began the next climb.

We repeated the same process over and over. By the fifth time I was no longer counting steps. Instead I was worrying over how long it would take to get to James at this rate. I really hoped whoever had followed me was someone I wanted to see, but in Energo, people who fit that description were few and far between.

Maybe it was James. The thought crossed my mind several times, but each time I realized it couldn’t be. They would have recognized him, and they wouldn’t have treated him as just any intruder.

We continued up until I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. I stepped off a ladder and waited for someone to point out the next one to me.

I took a moment to get used to the somewhat solid ground before looking around. And that’s when I saw the giant wooden castle. It was perched on the branches of the largest tree I had ever seen. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed it from the ground, but all the trees had seemed so tall. As Elron had promised, it was in the clouds. We were in the clouds. “We made it.”

Elron grinned. “We did.”

“It’s beautiful.” Despite everything I had to admit that. The gorgeous castle, the clouds. If it wasn’t for how ridiculously high up we were, and everything else goes on, it would have been a dream experience.

“I told you it would be.”

“Do I have to go inside?”

“You must be curious about the intruder.”

“It can’t be him.” I admitted my disappointment out loud. I wanted to see James. I both missed and needed him.

“James you mean?” Adaline asked.

“Yes. Everyone would have known it was him.”

“That is true. It will not be James, but it may be someone who can help us.”

“Or someone who wants to hurt me.” My thoughts immediately went to Gregor, and I shivered.

“No one will harm you here.” Adaline patted my back. “You are protected.”

“Why?” I had to ask the question. “Because I may be a Winthrop’s daughter?”

“Because you are my guest.” Elron linked his arm with mine. “Your lineage also helps.”

“But what if your dad decides to listen to the intruder?”

“Have you forgotten he is also Elven? He will be able to read the intruder’s heart as well as yours.”

“And what if it’s the same?” Without knowing who the intruder was, it was impossible to guess anything about the type of person it was.

“Then you have nothing to worry about, do you?”

I looked at the castle. “I have plenty to worry about, but the biggest risk is wasting time, so we need to do this quickly.”

Adaline nodded. “A very good attitude.”

“A desperate attitude.”

Elron led me toward the large double doors. He didn’t need to knock. The doors flew open as soon as we approached.

The guards at the door bowed as we walked into the impossibly tall entryway,

I struggled to take in all of my surroundings. The tall walls were etched with words in a language I assumed had to be Elven. Large chandeliers similar to the ones in Adaline’s cottage hung from the cathedral ceiling, only these consisted of a variety of different colors giving the effect of various types of gems.

Elron continued forward, pulling me with him.

“I want one of those for my room. That is if I ever get back there,” I muttered.

Elron laughed. “We can try to arrange that. But let us get rid of the darkness first.”

“Adaline!” A booming voice shouted from somewhere behind us.

I spun around and watched a man with long brown hair walking down the steps. He was green white robes.

“Hello, Malton.” Adaline walked toward the stairs.

When Malton reached the bottom he took her hand and kissed it. He looked up and gazed into her eyes. “I did not expect your presence.”

The intensity between them was palpable. I could feel it.

Elron must have noticed my surprise. He leaned in to whisper, “Yes, they are always like that.”

“Is this the girl causing all the fuss?” Malton still holding Adaline’s hand walked toward us.

Elron bowed slightly to his father. “Her name is Ainsley, and she is a daughter of Belgard.”

Malton nodded. “And has she been sent for an alliance?”

Elron shook his head. “I am afraid not. She is the kindred of a Guardian.”

Malton frowned. “I see. It seems our other visitor was speaking the truth.”

“Which visitor?” I addressed Malton.

He looked at me curiously.

“Oh, was I supposed to curtsey?” I did my weak attempt at one again.

“No. I was surprised by your voice.” Malton dropped Adaline’s hand and stepped toward me.

“Is there something wrong with my voice?” It wasn’t something anyone had commented on before.

“No. Nothing wrong, but I expected you to sound different. Meek. The way your friend spoke, you were completely defenseless and childlike.”

“Do you have Talen here?” His name came immediately to my head when I heard the critiques.

“Yes. “Malton watched me with amusement. “I take it that his criticism is not new.”

“I barely know him, but he’s not a fan. I don’t take it personally because he was even ruder to my friend Rachel.” I’d barely thought of Rachel at all. I wondered how she was doing and whether she and Henry would rekindle their flame so to speak. Nothing about that would be easy. Being from different worlds was no little thing to get over. I was learning that first hand. Lucky for her Henry didn’t have the epitome of evil inside him.

Malton stood perfectly straight. “He says you are in grave danger.”

“Did he tell you anything else?” I looked down at the floor. I wasn’t ready to face Malton when he answered.

“Please look at me when you address me.”

“Sorry.” I looked up.

“I expect respect from everyone, including royalty.” His eyes bore into mine.

“It was not a lack of respect. It was out of embarrassment.”

“Why would you be embarrassed? A royal should never be embarrassed.” Malton raised his chin.

“Yeah well, I just found out I might be one, and that still needs to be proven. So I wasn’t raised that way.”

“You need to work on your speech. It is unbecoming.”

“Got it.” I was in no state of mind to argue with the king.

“Malton, please. The girl has been through so much.” Adaline touched her husband’s arm. “What have you learned from, Talen, was it?”

“He claimed she was a Guardian’s kindred, and that she was in danger. He also suggested the danger may affect our own people if we do not provide aid.”

“I do believe that is true.” Elron shifted his weight from foot to foot. “We are talking about a darkness like no other.”

“You are with
that
Guardian.” Malton scowled.

“His name is James.” No matter what anyone thought of him, he had a name. He was his own person.

“And he has gotten you into some serious trouble?” Malton’s eyes were icy.

“He is in plenty of trouble himself.” Even more than I was, since he didn’t even have his own mind anymore.

“Show him the mark,” Adaline coaxed.

“What mark?” Malton turned to his wife.

“I might as well get this over with.” Those words were becoming a mantra. I pulled down the fabric of my shirt enough to show him.

Malton in took a sharp breath. “How did you get this?”

“It showed up after she was intimate with James Mendel,” Elron explained, sparing me from having to go through that embarrassing explanation again. “He was surprised by it, and neither understood what it meant.”

“And you believe him?” Malton narrowed his eyes.

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Malton—we are short on time. Let me give you a briefing on what we have discussed.” Adaline nodded to her husband.

“That would be helpful.”

Adaline turned to me. “Forgive me but I am going to switch to our own language for this. I can speak it twice as fast.”

“Ok.” I wasn’t sure what to think. Instead I stared as she started to talk in a language I couldn’t understand at all, but which seemed to be the same as the one Elron had been chanting. It had a beautiful, melodic sound to it, and even though the meaning was lost on me, I listened for the pure enjoyment of the sound.

Malton looked over at me a few times as Adaline spoke. I heard my name once or twice. And James’. Finally she finished and Malton nodded. “I understand.”

I waited nervously, wondering if he was going to help.

He watched me for a moment. “Guards, please bring in the intruder.”

“Talen?” I asked. “You are bringing him here?”

“Do you fear him?” Malton asked.

“No.” I shook his head.

“Good. “He nodded. “I can save us all another lecture.”

I watched the entryway like a hawk, waiting to see if it was really Talen they brought in. I idly wondered what form he would be in, but I assumed it would have to be a human.