I brushed back some ivy just enough to insert the key into the small keyhole. I turned the key and pushed open the gate, immediately stepping into the welcoming light of Energo. It was daytime there.
I closed the gate tightly behind me before walking through the vibrant garden. It was a sharp contrast to the withered one on the other side of the gate. Evidently maintaining the garden was not in the girl’s house sitting duties.
I made my way toward the village where I had left my horse. I was tired, and the little sleep I had gotten at the house was insufficient, but I had no choice. I needed to head back to Bellgard. After eight years of serving as a Guardian, I was ready for a break. Too bad my job came with longer than a lifetime duration.
I took the long way back toward the walled city I had always called home. I had loved my city as a child, but that was before everything changed.
Two guards opened the gates as I neared. They knew me well enough to avoid keeping me waiting. Of all the things about me that had changed over the years, my impatience had not. I was used to getting what I wanted. It is a hard habit to break after being raised as royalty.
I avoided the city center in order to get back to my house without being noticed, but my luck quickly ran out.
“Where have you been?” my friend and co-Guardian, Henry, called as I wound my way past the barracks. I had lived there for a few years, but I eventually moved on to a place of my own.
“I went into town.” There was no reason to pretend. He would notice it by the jeans and t-shirt I wore. I preferred the comfortable, simple cotton clothing of Energo, but they stood out in Charleston.
“Why? Why bother with the place?” Henry knew exactly where I was talking about. He spent time in Charleston back when I lived there, but the difference was he had fallen in love with a girl he had been forced to leave behind.
“No one knows me there, unlike here where I cannot go anywhere without being recognized.” I jumped off my horse.
“Why does that matter?”
“It matters because I am sick of it.”
“Everyone knows me too. It is part of being a Guardian.” Henry had not chosen the position any more than I had. It was something you were born to be. Turning down the job was out of the question. As much as it was an honor, it was also a curse. A Guardian was tasked with protecting the Essence, the most powerful person in our world. The current Essence also happened to be one of my best friends, Charlotte.
“They do not know me as a Guardian, they know me as my father’s son. That is different.” My father’s evil was widely known. He had nearly destroyed Energo in his lust for power.
“They also know you as the man who saved Charlotte. That counts for something.” Henry ran a hand through his blond hair.
“It is not enough. It will never make up for me bringing her back against her will to begin with.”
“Charlotte’s the only reason we have food to eat. If you had failed to bring her back we would all be dead.”
“No one remembers that.” They only remembered how close we came to losing everything. People only remember what they want to remember.
“Since when did you care what others thought? You have always been more concerned with your own assessment of yourself.”
“I am sick of it all.” Something in me had snapped. I was tired of being the man no one trusted. No matter how hard I worked, I was always viewed as a risk. As someone who had no right walking among the royal family.
“Then take a leave. I am sure Liam will let you. You have never taken one.”
“Like I will ever care whether Liam gives me permission.”
“You should. He is the Gerard, and your boss.”
“Yes, I am well aware.” A Guardian only answered to two people: the Essence and the Gerard. I had no problem answering to Charlotte, but Liam was another story.
“You could not have expected Calvin to have made you the Gerard in his place?”
“Of course not.” In addition to wielding power, the Gerard was also united with the Essence. That was never in the cards for Charlotte and me.
“She wants to see you by the way.”
“Charlotte?” It was not often that the Essence wanted to see me. She usually left me to my own devices.
“Who else would I mean? Unless...did you meet a girl?” Henry nudged me.
“Nope. No girl.” If it was so obvious that someone as oblivious as Henry was picking up on it, I needed to work harder to hide it. The problem was the gorgeous brunette was impossible to push from my mind.
“Use the meeting as an opportunity to secure a leave. You need it.”
“I need it now? I thought you believed I was crazy to return to Charleston?”
“Do not use it to go to Charleston. I would go spend some time with the Zales if I were you.” He winked.
“Yes, you do have a thing for those sparkly women.” The beautiful women of Zale were known for their sparkling appearance and nearly flawless figures.
He laughed. “They are enjoyable to look at. You cannot deny that.”
“I am not denying it, but their games are not quite so enjoyable.”
“Fair enough. Go see Charlotte. I will see to your horse.” He took the reins of my horse and led her toward the stable.
“Why are you in such a rush for me to speak with her? What is in it for you?” Henry rarely cared this much about anything.
“Nothing really.” He continued walking.
“Stop.”
Henry turned around.
“What are you holding back?”
“Charlotte offered to put me in charge of overseeing the new southern settlements.”
“I see. Some friend you are. You are won over by the mere mention of power?”
“It is not that, but it will give me a chance to see my brothers more. They have all moved away from Bellgard, and I miss them.”
“Yeah, well.” There was no reason to argue. I never minded a visit with Charlotte, and Henry had always been close to his four brothers. He had a very different upbringing from me. He had a family that cared whether he lived or died.
“Did I leave you speechless?” He grinned.
“Nope. Just dumbfounded.” I turned and walked away.
5
Ainsley
Jerks. I was surrounded by jerks. Jerks and backstabbing friends. I could maybe handle the jerks if I had a friend to complain to, but I didn’t. Not at all. Maybe I needed a pet. I wondered if the homeowners would mind if I got one of those tiny hypoallergenic dogs. Of course I’d have to have the money to get one of those dogs first.
I woke up late the next morning after a night of almost no sleep. I’d tried to get some rest after James left, but I couldn’t. I’d ended up looking through more of Charlotte’s old stuff. It was weird knowing the name of the girl who’d lived in the room before me, and it made me wonder where she’d gone. I sent an email to the neighbor, Debbie. I wondered if she knew anything about James. I considered calling her, but it was too early to do that yet.
I rushed around getting dressed, realizing I needed to add coffee to my grocery list. Hopefully I’d stay awake long enough to get some at work.
I hopped in my cold car, eyeing the garage I didn’t get to use. I was told that the owner was using it for storage. Normally I would have walked, but I didn’t have time. I headed right for Meeting Street and found a parking spot. I was only two minutes late. Hopefully no one would notice.
“Ainsley!” Brenda the office manager yelled as soon as I walked in. “Are you trying to give me an excuse to fire you?”
I straightened up. “No, not at all.”
“Then why are you late?”
I thought over all the possible excuses I could give. “Just running late. I apologize. I’ll make up the time on my lunch break. I’ll make sure I get everything filed before I leave today.”
Her reply came in the form of a stern gaze. Her looks were more intense than a thousand words.
Once I se
ttled into my desk, I dared to check my cell phone. I’d missed a bunch of calls from Grace the night before, but I still wasn’t up to listening to them. I also had a missed call from an unknown number. I sincerely hoped it wasn’t Brad, and a little part of me hoped it was someone else. Someone I’d kicked out of the house hours before. There was no way he could have gotten my phone number, was there?
* * *
“Hey, are you okay?” Rachel, the only female attorney in the office, stopped by my cubicle.
“Yeah, sorry. Do you need anything?” Rachel was always nice to me, but she never stopped by to chitchat.
“No, I saw you when you passed my office. You looked out of it.”
“Oh. It was a long night.”
“Want to talk about it over lunch?” Rachel usually went out for lunch by herself. I assumed she was meeting a boyfriend or something. I knew from studying her resume when I first applied for the job that she was in her first year out of law school. Even though she was only a few years older than me, that degree set us in different worlds. She was on a career path, and I wasn’t.
“I have to take a fifty-eight minute lunch today.” Brenda would be watching me like a hawk.
Rachel laughed. “I think we can manage to be back by then.”
“All right, sounds good.” I wasn’t really in the mood for small talk, but I wasn’t going to say no to one of the attorneys, especially not Rachel.
I grabbed my stuff and met her in the lobby before we headed outside.
“Want to go over to Slightly North of Broad?”
“Sure, sounds great.” I usually packed lunch, but since I had nothing in the house I’d have had to go out anyway. At least if I was splurging, it was going to be good food.
We waited a few minutes for a table, and I tried to resist looking at my watch too often. I didn’t want to seem rude.
“Relax. You won’t get fired for taking a long lunch.”
“You want to bet?” I glanced at the crowded restaurant.
“Who? Brenda? She’s all talk. Besides, I’ll say you were helping me if she complains at all.”
“Thanks.” I still didn’t understand why Rachel was being so friendly. Hopefully this wasn’t some excuse to talk to me about something I messed up.
“No problem, I’ve been meaning to ask you out to lunch since you started, but work’s been busy.”
I’d only been working there a few months, but it felt like years. “Oh, thanks. Was there a particular reason? ” I asked nervously.
“You seem nice.” She smiled.
Our table was ready so we followed the hostess to a small table by the window looking out onto Bay Street.
“Oh thanks. You seem nice too.” I slid into my seat. I sounded beyond lame.
She picked up her menu. “Have you been here before?”
“Once on a date my junior year.” It was with the same guy who’d broken my heart into a million pieces my senior year.
“So you went to college around here?”
“Yeah, Harrison.”
“Cool. I went to Emory, but I grew up in Charleston.”
“You majored in Political Science.” The words slipped out, and I looked down at my menu. I probably sounded like a stalker. “Sorry, I know from your bio.”
She laughed. “Glad you do your research.”
“You probably do too. I mean since you’re a lawyer and all.”
“I do when it comes to my job.”
The waiter came by to take our order. We fell into some office talk while we waited for our salads to be brought out. The second they arrived, I dug in.
The food seemed to signify a change, and Rachel moved the conversation away from work politics. “Do you live with college friends, or on your own?”
“I live alone. I’m house sitting down on the battery right now.”
“Oh yeah? I had a friend in high school who lived down there. Gorgeous house that looked right out on the water.”
“This one does too. It’s a huge house, and I still can’t believe I’m living there for free.”
She smiled. “Living anywhere free is a good deal.”
“It is, although it comes with caveats.”
“And my guess is this is where the story gets interesting.” She took a bite of her chicken salad.
“So last night after my friend tried to set me up on a horrible blind date—”
“Ugh, I hate those.” Rachel sipped her water through a straw.
“Me too, so you’ll understand when I say I was in a bad mood.” I hesitated, wondering if it was a mistake to tell her more.
“What happened?”
“Now it sounds stupid.” I sounded ridiculous. Why had I even let him stay at all?
“Try me. You’ve got my attention. You can’t leave me hanging.”
“A guy showed up in my house.” I looked down at my salad. Was I really admitting this?
“Showed up how?” She set aside her fork.
“He climbed in the balcony door in my room.”
She leaned forward with a terrified expression on her face. “Did you call the cops?”
“No.” Now it got worse.
“Why not?”
“Because he knew the kids who used to live there. He was even in some of their pictures.”
“But that doesn’t mean he’s allowed to break in.” She was in attorney mode. I’d seen her during a deposition before. Her whole face and mannerisms changed.
“I kicked him out eventually…” After I’d talked to him and shared way too many details about my life.
“Eventually?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Yes.”
“So in other words, the guy was really hot.”
At least she understood. “Extremely. Does that somehow make up for it?”
“Have you called the owner yet?”
“No. I do everything through a neighbor.”
“Did you call the neighbor?”
“I’m going to. I sent an email.” I sounded pathetic and out of my mind. What girl did nothing when a guy broke into her house?
“I’d be careful. What’s there to stop him from breaking in again?”
“He didn’t seem dangerous.” I tried to come up with a plausible explanation for my behavior so she didn’t write me off as crazy.
“Psychos don’t always look like psychos.”
“That’s a good point.” Who was I kidding? There was going to be no saving face.
“I’d talk to the neighbor before you go home tonight. If you’re still worried, you’re welcome to crash at my place. I have an extra bedroom.”
“Oh, that’s really generous, but I’ll be fine.”
“It’s your choice, but let me give you my cell number just in case.”
I pulled out my phone and typed in the numbers as she recited them. “Thanks.”
“You all set?” She glanced at her watch. “I might be able to get you back within your fifty-eight minute time limit.”
I laughed. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
The waitress came over with the check and Rachel insisted on paying for it. “You can get it next time.”
I nodded. “Deal.”
I walked back to the office in a good mood. Lunch with Rachel was nice, and despite her warnings, I wasn’t worried about James. If he’d wanted to hurt or take advantage of me, he would have done it right off when I’d been in only a towel. My body heated thinking about the way his eyes had raked over me. I wondered how much more intense the gaze would have been without the towel. I pushed away those thoughts. Completely inappropriate. Rachel was right. The guy could have been a pyscho.
6
James
Despite the hard time I gave Henry, I had no problem paying Charlotte a visit. Even if it were not my job to protect her, I would have still spent time with her. She was the truest friend I had, and I trusted her more than anyone else alive. I headed toward the castle. It was located deep in the city, closest to the mountain that
served as a secondary fortress to the already strong wall.
I detoured through the open air market. Despite the delicious food options in Charleston, none compared to the food of Energo, especially the fruit. The fruits of Energo were matched by none. I picked up a jade fruit for later, overpaying the vendor. I had a soft spot for people who made a living off the land. Jade fruits were by far my favorite. Shaped like a coconut, the fleshy insides of the fruit were both sweet and tart.
The guard at the castle entrance let me in with a nod, and I continued through the familiar halls of my childhood home. How times had changed.
I took a quick peek in the banquet room. Charlotte and Liam used it far more than my father ever did. The shy teenage girl Charlotte once was had slowly become the leader everyone needed her to be. Too bad we all had not grown into our roles that well.
“That didn’t take long.” Charlotte’s low voice had me turning.
“I would not want to leave the Essence waiting, now would I?”
“When have you ever concerned yourself with leaving someone waiting?” Her blue eyes twinkled with amusement.
I shrugged. “There is a first time for everything.”
“How are you?” She straightened the long skirt of her blue dress. It had not taken long for her to grow used to the traditional clothes of Energo.
“I am well, and yourself?” I rested a hand on the cold stone wall.
“I assume Henry told you I needed to see you?” She played with the ends of her long brown hair.
“Yes, is there something you need my services for?”
She smacked my arm. “Cut it out.”
“What? I am one of your Guardians after all.”
“I have news to share.” She grinned.
“News?”
“News.” She blushed.
“Wait, that kind of news?” There was only one thing that would make a girl smile that wide and also blush.
Forged in Stone Page 3
