Forged in Stone

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

  “And the way back you will not even need the cane.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “Just wait and see.”

  I’d oversold the actual helpfulness of the cane. It took some weight off my ankle and helped me balance better on one foot, but in return my arm was sore. I wasn’t one to complain, so I took the grin and bear it approach.

  Samantha looked over a few times and smiled. I got the sense that she knew what I was doing. For my part I focused on the scenery. We walked through the city gate into a young forest. The trees were all recently planted, and they were nowhere near as tall as the ones I’d seen earlier in my trip. Still, I eyed the roots warily.

  Samantha noticed my apprehension. “I heard about what happened. Not all trees here do that. It was controlled by someone.”

  “I assumed.” I had, but any information would be welcome. Although maybe more information would freak me out more.

  “Something is off. I felt it days ago when we first returned from our trip abroad, but Kevin told me I was wrong. I knew I was right.”

  “What do you mean things felt off?”

  “Just a sensation. You know? Do you get those?”

  “Sometimes.” I usually ignored them though.

  “There is no reason to worry over it now. When everyone returns we can plan.”

  “I need to go home eventually.”

  “The key word is eventually and only when your safety can be assured.” She smiled. “And we’re here.”

  “This is the springs?” I gazed at what appeared to be a pond surrounded by thick trees with a quiet stream flowing it.

  “It is the healing springs.”

  “The healing springs? Like people used to swim in it to help recover from illness?” I remembered learning about them in history class.

  “There is nothing used to it about this. Charlotte created this one a few years back. She was trying to find ways to use her healing abilities in a broader sense. It takes a lot of energy from her to heal someone individually. Which is why she did not fix your ankle initially. If Liam was away she probably would have, but he makes sure she is careful not to use too much of her energy. She would help everyone with every injury if she could.”

  “Wait, she can heal people? Is that why the pain in my ankle disappeared after she touched it? I still can’t put much weight on it, and it hurts when I do, but it doesn’t bother me when I stay off it now.”

  Samantha smiled. “Tricky girl. Yes. She probably only used a small amount of energy to do that. To fully heal it would have taken a lot more.”

  “But this spring? It really helps?”

  “It does. There are limits, but I bet a few minutes of soaking your foot is all it will take to heal your ankle.”

  “Sounds great.” I carefully took off my shoes, rolled up the cuffs of my pants, and walked in.

  “I will join you. I do not need the healing, but the water will feel nice anyway.” She moved into the water next to me. “How do you like Energo so far?”

  “It has been interesting.” I thought back to the previous night in the forest. Had it really only been the night before? Time seemed endless in Energo. I wondered if that was real.

  “I know you went through a terrifying experience. If James had not killed those men, I would have.”

  I hadn’t been expecting that from her. “Oh…”

  “I do not put up with men like them. Women are not playthings, but some men will never understand it.”

  “I still can’t believe he killed them.”

  “They were monsters. If he left them alive, they would have hurt you or someone else.”

  “But murder?”

  “Do not try to apply ethics to evil. It does not work.” She looked off into the distance.

  “I’m generally a pacifist. I don’t like violence.” At least I tried to be one.

  “I do not like it either, but sometimes it becomes necessary. Tell me, are you truly that adverse to violence?”

  “I’ve had the urge to punch someone once. Well, to punch two.” Despite how good the springs felt on my ankle, I felt the anger rise in me.

  “Does this have to do with that break up you mentioned?”

  “Yes.” I moved my ankle around in the shallow water. It already felt much better. Luckily my injury was to my ankle so I didn’t need to swim out to the deeper water. I loved to swim, but not in my clothes.

  “What happened?”

  “You really want to know?”

  “Why not? I am curious what made a pacifist contemplate violence.” She laughed.

  “My boyfriend—the one I was going to move in with and thought I’d marry— dumped me because he was in love with my step-sister.”

  “That would hurt.”

  “It did. It also hurt that they’d been sleeping together for months, waiting to get up the nerve to tell me. I hate them both.”

  “Hate. That is a strong word.”

  “It is, but it’s how I feel.”

  “And there is nothing wrong with that. I used to be motivated by hate.”

  “And?”

  “It got me far, but eventually it started to consume me. Luckily it was replaced by another motivating emotion. A far better one.”

  “Which one?”

  “Love.”

  I smiled. “Kevin?”

  “Yes. I wanted to hate him too. The arrogant boy raised in the lost world, but he managed to find his way under my skin. Once he was in, there was no turning back.”

  “He seems nice.” I hadn’t talked to Kevin much, but he’d been surprisingly friendly.

  “He is everything you could want in a man. Strong, brave, determined, yet with a heart that I did not believe could exist.”

  “You are lucky you found him.”

  “Luck has nothing to do with it when it comes to a Guard.”

  “Oh?”

  “They rarely unite because they usually cannot find someone compatible.”

  “Compatible?” I assumed she wasn’t talking personality tests.

  “Yes, with the delayed aging. That person is called their kindred.”

  “The what?” I could practically feel my eyes bug out.

  “I take it James never explained it to you?”

  “How old is he?” Please, please don’t let him really be middle aged I told myself. Or worse.

  “I think twenty-six. I could be wrong. I think he has already hit his prime age though.”

  “What?” I stepped out of the water. She needed to stop spurting out information like it was nothing.

  “The Essence is usually the Essence for hundreds of years. The Guard has to stay strong that whole time too.”

  “So he won’t get older?”

  “He will not age, no. Not until the new Essence is ready to come of age. That should be generations from now.”

  “And Kevin? You are okay with that?”

  “That is where the compatibility comes in. I am truly his match, despite my initial doubts, so I will not age until he does.”

  “Uh, that’s crazy.” Completely crazy.

  “It is. Charlotte almost refused to have kids, until Emma convinced her they would stop aging at their prime too.”

  “Wow. I’m glad I don’t have to worry about that.”

  “You sure about that?” She winked.

  “James and I aren’t. You know. That’s not what it’s like.”

  “You do not feel a pull? A magnetic charge that makes you long for him?” She watched me carefully.

  I said nothing. Did she have to use the exact words I had to describe my feelings?

  “Do you find yourself doing things you normally would never do? Wanting things you swore you would never want?” She was asking me the questions, but I could tell she was thinking back on herself. I refused to acknowledge that she was describing every one of my thoughts and feelings since meeting James.

  But I had to ask one question. “Does it fade when you are apart? Become more of a lon
ging… an achy longing?”

  She laughed. “James Mendel with a kindred. I never thought I would see the day.”

  “I never said I felt it. I was just asking.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Just asking while describing the exact feeling? There is no reason to pretend. Just because you feel it does not mean you have to be with him. I am sure if you return to your world it will fade out enough that you can move on. Of course he will not be so lucky.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Most Guards never find a kindred. The Source seems to only pick and choose. I guess those who do are the lucky ones. Or the unlucky ones depending on how you look at it. So if James has you as a kindred, that means you are the only one for him.”

  “Please tell me this is all a joke. James put you up to this to freak me out?” This situation was starting to feel more and more like a sci-fi movie or something.

  “You think James would put anyone up to this? Not a chance. I doubt he is ready to admit it to himself. He would understand what it means. Kevin did not know anything about it because he was not raised here. He thought it was intense attraction. James knows it for what it is. If he wanted to avoid it he should have left you in the lost world. Now that you are here… well, it is going to be hard for both of you if you really want to fight it.”

  I sat down on the sandy shore next to the water. “Ugh. This cannot be happening.”

  “I would be more concerned with the why.”

  “Meaning?” I looked at her.

  “You are from the lost world. Why are you his kindred?”

  “Isn’t that normal? I mean Liam is from my world too.”

  “Charlotte kissed him.”

  “Uh, I figured considering she’s pregnant.” I really hoped things didn’t work too differently in Energo.

  “I mean she kissed him when they were younger and that is how he became her Gerard. It is a long story.”

  “Ok. Well, James kissed me before we left.”

  She laughed. “Nice to know, but that was not before he was a Guardian. The same logic would not work once he was on the Guard.”

  “Oh. Well then maybe the pull is something else.”

  “Maybe…” She looked away.

  “Should we head back?”

  “Sure. Want to see if I was right about needing the cane?”

  “I trust you, I can move it normally again.” I stood up easily with no pain even when I put weight on it. My ankle was back to normal. “I’ll have to thank Charlotte.”

  “She has some pretty amazing abilities.”

  “I know. It’s funny because you would never know by looking at her.”

  “Looks can be deceiving.”

  “They can be.”

  “I am sorry you were hurt, but maybe it was all for the best. If it were not for their folly you would not have been in the house and would not have met James.”

  “Are you always this much of a glass-half-full person?” I rolled down my cuffs.

  “I never was.”

  “Not until love replaced hate.” As jaded as I was, I still believed that love was the single most powerful emotion.

  She laughed again. “Exactly. I have changed a lot since then.”

  “Where do you live? In the castle?”

  She shook her head. “No. We built a house a short ways away. We needed land for our dragon.”

  “Dragon?” My jaw dropped. “Is that a joke?”

  “No. I can show her to you later. It was a unification gift from a friend.”

  “Some gift,” I mumbled as we made our way back to Bellgard.

  * * *

  I waited impatiently in my room. It wasn’t that I was in a huge rush to see James. Ok, I was. After everything Samantha said, I needed to see him. I needed to reevaluate what my feelings really were. I’d changed back into the dress when we returned. First off, despite rolling them up, I’d gotten the pants wet, second of all, I couldn’t deny wanting to look good for our date. At least that’s what I was calling our plans.

  “Ainsley?” James called out my name while knocking on the door.

  “Come in.”

  His serious face turned into a smile as his eyes fell on me. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine. We didn’t do too much because of my ankle, but Samantha took me to the healing spring, and my ankle is much better now.”

  “The healing spring, huh?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you know Charlotte created it?” He sat down next to me on the bed.

  “Yes, Samantha told me. You should go. It might help your ribs.”

  “You up for a return journey then?”

  “I think so. Like I said, my ankle is better, but you might get there faster without me.”

  “The thing is.” He leaned in. “I have no interest in going anywhere without you.”

  “You did today.” I’d enjoyed my time with Samantha, but I was definitely glad he was back.

  “I did what I had to, but I am back for dinner. As promised.”

  “Nice to know you are a man of your word.”

  “I am.” His eyes were light, but there was a weariness to his face that worried me.

  “What did you find out?”

  “What do you mean?” He shifted his weight.

  “You are hiding something. I can tell.”

  “I discovered Emma and Stan are apparently searching for information too. We should have been made aware of that.”

  “They were protecting Charlotte. Parents do stuff like that. They hide information to protect their kids.” Despite my recent annoyance at my mom, she was a great mother.

  “I guess some parents might, but Charlotte is the Essence.”

  “She is still their daughter.”

  “If we want to make it to the spring before dinner, we need to go now.”

  “But the spring isn’t far.”

  “This one is.” His eyes twinkled.

  “Wait, there’s another?”

  “Not so much a healing spring, but it’s absolutely beautiful.”

  “But your ribs… isn’t that why we are going?”

  “My ribs will be fine.” He held out his hand in that formal way of his, and I accepted it. He eagerly led us out of the room.

  We didn’t run into anyone on our way out, and James just nodded at the guards. I was slowly but surely getting used to the castle, and I wasn’t sure what to make of that.

  He led me through the town square and past a row of beautiful stone houses. He turned past one and walked to a stable.

  “We’re riding?”

  “Yes, will that be a problem?”

  “I probably should have kept the pants on.”

  “Wait.” He dropped the reins of the horse and turned to me. “Did you change back into that dress for me?”

  “Yes, and I even had to get help with the ties.”

  He grinned wickedly. His grin would be the end of me. “I will be more than happy to help you unlace those later.”

  My body warmed. “The horse. The springs. Remember?”

  “I remember.” He led the horse out of the stables. Once outside he helped me on. “This will not take long.”

  23

  James

  Ainsley fit perfectly in my arms. Whether in my bed or on my horse, she always fit, always fell right into the place she needed to. I had partially hoped my feelings would dull while I was away, but instead they had turned into the same ache they had after I had left her the first time. Only the ache was worse now. The more I touched her, the more I needed her. How was it possible? It could not be. The Source had picked a Guard from the lost world, but that had been set into motion years before he was needed so he could grow into the position. That could not apply to Ainsley. Besides, a Guard only found a kindred for a reason, and very few did. Kevin had one. Liam became the Gerard. What was the chance that I would have one too? I certainly had not asked for it.

  Ainsley was quiet as we rode through the grassland. Eit
her she was lost in thought or too tired to speak. Otherwise she was always talking. I was afraid of what thoughts she could be having, but I did not want to break the silence until I could see her eyes. I kept my countless questions to myself.

  We heard the waterfall before we saw it. She sat up straighter. “What is that?”

  “Running water.”

  “Like a waterfall?” She asked excitedly. I had guessed right. This would impress her. I had a nonsensical need to impress her.

  “Yes.” I jumped off and helped her down next to me. It was a lot easier now that her ankle was better.

  “Beautiful.” She walked toward the protected pool of water that was at the bottom of the cascading water fall that flowed down the side of the mountain wall. “It makes me want to go swimming.”

  “We are going swimming.” I left the horse. He knew better than to run, and I pulled off my shirt.

  “Wait. What are you doing?” She stared at me.

  “We cannot swim in our clothes, can we?” I glanced up at the sun that was starting to set.

  She stepped away from me. “I’m not skinny dipping.”

  “You can wear what you want, but you already let me see you.”

  “But this is outside.”

  “And no one comes up here.” I had selected the spot for more than the beauty.

  “How do you know?”

  “I live here. I swim here often.”

  “With girls?”

  “No. Alone.” The jealousy was absolutely adorable.

  She touched my bandage. “Won’t the water ruin this?”

  I laughed. “Now you are just making excuses. Join me.”

  “I can’t get out of this dress even if I want to.”

  “And I already assured you I would have no problem with those laces.” I moved behind her and slowly untied the laces.

  “This is crazy.”

  “Any crazier than being in Energo? Or what happened between us last night, and this morning?” I started to slip off the top of her dress.

  She made no move to stop me, so I continued. I moved the long dress down her body until it pooled at her feet. She stepped out of it.

  I turned her to look at me. “Do you want me to help you finish undressing?”

  “I’m keeping these on.” She touched her bra. “If someone shows up, they aren’t catching me naked.”