Forged in Fire (The Forged Chronicles Book 3) (6 page)

“You called me a human. That implies you are not one.” I sighed. “Great.”

A loud humming noise came from behind, and my heart started to race. I figured that humming wasn’t coming from anything good. When it was followed by a low growling, I was even more certain. I glanced all around me searching for the source of the sound, but it was too dark to see much of anything.

“And being non-human means I am bad?”

“No. Just dangerous.” Very dangerous to me.

“Why?”

“Because.” I continued to glance around. Something else was out there with us. I knew it.

“You cannot fear something simply because it is an unknown.” He said it completely matter-of-factly.

“Yet I will. I still don’t know why you are in the woods in the middle of the night.” The growling got slightly louder, and I hoped Elron had a plan to get us out of there. Going with him was seeming like a better and better option.

“I had a vision.”

“Oh yeah? I have those too.” Too often now.

“You do?” He took in a sharp breath.

“Yes. And there I went. Too much information.”

“You are a far more interesting human than I expected to find.”

“What did you expect?”

“I do not know. Maybe an unhappy girl running from her betrothed? But I do not think that is you.”

“My betrothed?” I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, not exactly.”

“Either way I would take you with me. Will you walk or should I carry you to my horse?”

“What is with men here and thinking I can’t walk?” It was getting increasingly annoying.

“It is dark, and you cannot see.”

“Yet you can. Interesting.” Not really. Just scary.

“You already know I am not human.”

“What are you?” I jumped as I heard another growl.

“I will let you see for yourself.”

“Wonderful.” But not at all surprising; however, I preferred his mystery identity to the mystery of the growling.

He chuckled before sweeping me into his arms. “You are very entertaining. That might make the long trip to Belgard worth it.”

“I’m not entertaining. I’m boring.”

“You my dear, are anything but boring.”

“And that’s how I know that you don’t know me at all.”

I
needed her
. I regretted my decision the moment I realized she had actually listened. I had kept Gregor distracted, and part of me expected to find her waiting for me in the tower afterward.

But she had listened. She had run into the woods toward places she barely knew all based on my assurances. It had been the right decision, but not the one I wanted.

I could still taste her. Hours later I could still taste her on my tongue, and I wanted more. I wanted her with me. I wanted to know she was safe.

I had been rash to send her away. Maybe she would have forgiven me after all.

That was not my thought, and I knew it. That thought was my father’s. Ainsley had no thirst for power. She only wanted a happy life. And answers. She always wanted answers. Answers I could not give.

I looked out into the woods. She could not have made it too far yet. My body warred with me to follow her. To bring her back where she belonged.

The darkness was taking over. I could feel it in the increased strength running through my veins and in the thoughts in my head. I was angry.
Angry that she listened
. Did she really think I wanted her to leave?

But there was nothing I could do. And she was safer. A small part of me still understood the choice I made even if the rest of me did not.

I would have her back one way or another. But for now I had other things to contend with.

“Is she sleeping again?” Gregor joined me where I stood in the clearing.

I looked off into the forest. “When I left she was awake.” I was getting far too skillful at these half-truths.

“She will thank you when this is all over.”

“Maybe she will.” Although I had little confidence in that outcome. “Either way we have no choice.”

“You seem different.” He watched me.

I kept my eyes fixed straight ahead trying to ignore the stare that was clear even in my periphery. “Different?”

Gregor walked in front of me. “Yes.”

I met his eyes since I no longer had a choice. “I am done fighting my father.”

“It is about time. You are lucky. He gave you the power.” There was a wistfulness to Gregor’s voice that I completely understood. That did not mean I agreed with his words.

“There is no luck about it.” Every decision of my father’s was calculated. What I wanted meant nothing. He had chosen to use me for a reason.

“I am his son as much as you.”

“So it seems.” I searched Gregor’s face for any signs of familial resemblance. He lacked the blond hair I shared with my father, but there was something about his eyes that reminded me of the man who had raised me.

“You will get power once we achieve our goals.” I would tell him what he wanted to hear, even though I had no plans to share power with him.

“Waiting is unwise. It is far too great a power for one man. It will likely destroy you.” Gregor had little concern for my well-being, but he was searching for excuses.

“Our father survived with it.” I would never give such destructive and limitless power to a man who threatened Ainsley. Blood or not, he would never earn my trust.

“You are not our father.” His eyes locked on mine.

“Yet he gave me the power. He believed I could hold the weight of the Cipher.”

“He was wise, but even the wise can be misguided.”

“The Cipher is never misguided.”

“Yet it must be. Choosing you was a colossal mistake. As was choosing that girl. Royal blood or not, she is not strong enough to handle what she must.”

“Do not speak of Ainsley.” When Gregor talked about me I felt little but annoyance at it, but when he talked about her, my anger grew.

“I will speak of her whenever I wish. And we need to wake her. We have no time to waste.”

“You will stay away.”

“Or what?” He stepped toward me. “What would you do?”

“Would you like a reminder? The only reason you survived our last confrontation was because of her. She is not standing here to save you.”

“No because she is thinking about wanting to be in my bed.”

I did not think. I swung at him and knocked him to the dirt floor. I was blinded by rage as I choked him. This time there was nothing to stop me. But then a thought raced through my brain. I released his neck. Gregor struggled for breaths as I stepped away.

He had wanted me to attack him, and that had to have been for a reason. Gregor was not suicidal. His motivation was entirely different.

R
iding
a horse with a man other than James felt wrong. Maybe that was silly. Maybe with everything else going on I shouldn’t have even been thinking about that, but I was. I was missing James more and more, and this kind of missing had nothing to do with my body craving him. I peered out into the dark night. I tried to stay confident, but I was terrified. I was out in the dark with a male creature I knew nothing about.

“Are you ill?” Elron asked.

“Maybe.”

“I can feel your energy fading. It is a slow depletion, but it means something is wrong.” He touched my shoulder gently.

“You can feel my energy depleting?” That was a new one.

“Yes. It is a skill of my people.”

I waited for him to expand on the statement, but he didn’t. “Maybe I need a nap.”

“I am not speaking of that kind of energy, but yes, sleep is important.”

“Are we almost there?” I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to arrive at his house, but sitting up on the horse was taking effort. The haze had lessened, but I was exhausted and uncomfortable sitting so close to a man I didn’t know who had already confirmed he wasn’t human. That was strange even in the context of the last few days. Some things took a long time to get used to.

“Nearly there.”

“If you live this far away, why were you in the woods where you found me?” I looked into the dark night wishing I could see. It was disconcerting to have absolutely no idea where we were.

“I told you. I had a vision.” He spoke calmly and succinctly. It was nothing like the panic welling inside me.

I wanted to scream and flail my hands around. I wanted to make someone understand how out of control my life had become, but I couldn’t. Instead I took a deep breath and asked a question. “A vision of what exactly?”

He slowed down the horse. Maybe asking him questions was a mistake. “It was of a girl lost and in danger.”

“So you knew what you were going to find.” I wasn’t surprised to learn that his appearance wasn’t random. Nothing seemed to be random in Energo.

“I did not know who you were.”

“But you knew that I was human.”

“Most other creatures are more adept at protecting themselves.” His voice held no judgement, but that didn’t mean it didn’t annoy me.

“Gee, thanks.”

“That was not meant as an insult. Your kind is different. Instead of all members of the species being given power, only the select few are. That is not how it works for my kind.”

“And what is your kind?” I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to know, but on a logical level I knew I should find out.

“You will see soon enough.”

“Is it obvious physically?” That would mean it was different than the wolves. You couldn’t tell while they were in human form.

“I would think so. That is if your parents read you fairy tales.”

“Yeah, not too many of those read in my house.” My mom was a realist through and through. My lack of a princess phase wasn’t entirely of my own making.

“Really? I thought the stories were still wildly told in Belgard.”

“I’m not from Belgard.”

“Then why did you ask to be taken there?”

“I asked for help finding Icentris actually.”

“So you could find a guide to Belgard. I am cutting out the middle man.”

“But I never said I was from Belgard.” I wouldn’t have volunteered that sort of information even if I was.

“Where are you from? We are hundreds of miles from the nearest village.”

“That’s a long story.”

“Another long story?”

“Kind of part of the same one.”

“Your speech is unlike any I have heard before. To be truthful, I doubted you were from the walled city.”

“I get that a lot.”

He laughed deep enough his entire body shook.

“Before you say it again, I’m not entertaining.”

“Why does it bother you if I say it?” he asked.

“Because it was my quest for a more exciting life that got me into this mess to begin with. I was tired of boring.”

“You admit you are unhappy with your present situation?”

“Did I seem happy to be lost in the woods?” I didn’t bother to hide the edge in my voice. I didn’t have the energy.

“You claimed to be doing just fine.”

“I can claim a lot of things.” Especially when it meant saving face.

He kept the horse at the same slower speed. “Was it a man who left you out there?”

“Isn’t that a personal question?”

“I am taking you to my home. Is it wrong to ask you a question like that?”

“Wait.” Panic seized me. “I thought we were going to your house for dinner. I didn’t agree to have sex with you.”

He laughed. “I realize what you agreed to. Although agree is probably the wrong word. I cajoled you to come with me.”

“Ok, good. Making sure we are on the same page.”

“But I want to know what sort of trouble I have walked into.”

“Major trouble. So if you want to drop me off that would be fine.” Not that I actually meant what I was saying. Now that I got the guy to take sex off the table, I was probably safer with him than out on my own. Besides, I might actually make it to Belgard with his help.

“Who are you?” He slowed the horse further and then came to a complete stop.

“Ainsley. I already told you that.”

“Ainsley from where?”

“From Charleston.” That was the most recent place I was from.

“And Charleston is where exactly?”

“A few hours from Belgard.”

“I have never heard of it.”

“I get that a lot too.”

He jumped off his horse and offered his hand. Not that I could see much of anything in the darkness.

He led me away from the horse and up to a doorway. He unlocked the door and stepped inside. I waited nervously until he lit a sconce. “Welcome.”

I took him in. He looked like an ordinary enough man at first. Handsome face. Long blonde hair. But then I noticed something off. His ears were longer than normal. The sight of them brought me back to old fantasy books.

“You’re an Elf?”

He grinned. “You did read the old stories.”

“Interesting.”

“Interesting good or bad?”

“I am trying to figure that out.” I remembered Elves usually being good, but I was sure in some stories they were bad.

“I assure you I am not a danger to you. I would not hurt an innocent.”

“Which is great to know.” Although what assurances did his word really give? All I could do was blindly go along with it and hope he was safer than whatever else waited outside.

I glanced around at his neat and sparsely furnished home. The dim light from the sconces made it difficult to see everything, but there were two paintings on the otherwise bare walls.

I walked over to look at them. One was clearly Elron sitting next to an absolutely beautiful elf girl. “Is that your girlfriend?”

He shook his head. “My sister.”

“Oh. She’s gorgeous.”

“She is.”

When he didn’t say anything else, I moved the conversation. “Nice place.”

“It suits my needs for the present.”

“For the present?” The house seemed permanent enough to me.

“I am here as a watcher. I will return home and unite one of these days.”

“So you aren’t from here?” I left the question of what a watcher was until later.

“No. I am here to watch.”

“Hence the term watcher.” Maybe something was straightforward for once.

“I suppose I should not laugh. You might grow upset again.” His eyes twinkled.

I glanced at an arched doorway that appeared to lead to a kitchen. “I assume you want to eat dinner now?”

“Are you in that much of a rush? Not long ago you implied you were not hungry.”

“I’m not hungry.” Not really. “But I’m anxious to reach Belgard.” I wasn’t sure how much time I had away from James, nor what was happening to him. I didn’t want to believe he could change completely, but I knew it was possible. Anything was possible.

“Would you like to clean up?”

“Do I look like I need to clean up?” I looked down at my dirty clothes. “Ok, maybe you have a point.”

“I will go get us some water.”

One of the things about Energo that was hard to get used to was the lack of modern amenities. I’d never take a toilet or sink for granted again. Or a hot shower. That one for sure.

With my hands washed, I helped Elron bring over a couple of containers to the table. I wasn’t particularly hungry, but I helped myself to some fruit. “Thank you.”

“Are you thanking me for the food?” He made a sandwich out of bread and some sort of meat.

“For the food, but mostly for getting me out of that forest. I was lost.” There was no reason to pretend otherwise now.

“So you admit it?” He took a bite of his sandwich.

“Yes.” I cracked a smile.

“I assumed as much.”

“All I want to do is get to Belgard.” Then back to James and hopefully to some normalcy, but I‘d start with Belgard.

“What is in Belgard you need so badly?”

I took a bite of a bright red fruit. It was juicy, and as I didn’t have a napkin I used the back of my hand to wipe my chin. “The Essence.”

He exhaled loudly. “You seek out the Essence?”

“Charlotte?” I took another bite of the fruit. “Yeah. I need her help.”

“And you assume you will get an audience with her?” Elron set aside his sandwich.

“I guess you could say we’re friends of friends.”

“Have you met her?” He watched me with interest.

“Yes.” And my initial impression had been a good one. Nothing about her had scared me, yet some things had changed, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face her.

“What is she like?” He resumed his eating.

“I take it you haven’t met her?”

He shook his head. “No. I met the Essence that came before the one before her.”

“Ok, that’s a confusing line, but I take it you mean the one before her mom?”

He nodded.

“What was she like?”

“I asked you about the current one first.”

“Ok.” I considered how much to share. “Charlotte is sweet. Beautiful of course.”

“Of course?” He finished off his sandwich. “Do you assume that all powerful people have beauty?”

“No. But she is.” She had an ethereal beauty to her, and I had assumed she was just as beautiful inside and out, but now James was making me doubt it.

“Ok. Sweet and beautiful. I would think there would be other words to describe the Essence.”

“She seemed like a normal girl to me. But maybe that’s because she was from the same wo—”I stopped myself.

He smiled. “What was that you were going to say?”

I sighed. “You already know, don’t you?”

“That you are not of Energo?”

“Yes.”

He shook his head. “I know you were not raised in Energo, but you are of this land.”

“Um, nope.”

“You are.”

“That’s impossible. I hadn’t even heard of it until a week ago.”

“But your parents must be from here.” He folded his hands in front of him on the table.

“My mom definitely isn’t.”

“And your father?” He leaned forward.

“I never met him.”

“Then that may be your answer.” He leaned back in his chair.

“How would you know anyway? It’s not like you can tell where someone is from just by looking at them.” I tried not to let his words unnerve me.

“It is one of the gifts of my people.”

I pushed around the food on my plate. It looked fine, but I had no appetite.

“Have you ever wondered who your father was?”

“Of course. How couldn’t I?” It was only natural to want to know who the man was, but my mom wasn’t interested in sharing, and I respected her enough to drop it.

“Then why not find out?”

“You make that sound easy. I doubt they do DNA tests on everyone here.” I wasn’t going to explain my mom’s reservations. That seemed too private to share.

“DNA tests?”

“Forget I said anything.” I looked down at the remaining fruit on my plate.

“I may be able to determine your lineage.”

“I’d rather you didn’t.” I ate an orange colored fruit in one bite. It took me a few moments to chew which didn’t bother me. It saved me from further conversation.

“You do not speak truthfully. You want to know.”

“I have more important things to deal with.”

“More important than discovering who you really are?”

I looked up. “I know who I am. My father’s identity doesn’t change that.”

“Those are wise words for one as young as you.”

“How much older are you?” I studied him in the dim light. He didn’t look much more than thirty.

“Far older than I look.”

“Oh.”

“Oh? What kind of reaction is that?”

“My reaction.” I shrugged.

“Elves live long lives.”

“Forever?”

He shook his head. “No. Immortality is not a gift of ours, but we live far longer lives than humans.”

“Where are you from?”

“Curious?” He took a piece of fruit from the platter in the center.

“More interesting conversation than my problems.”

“Problems you will need to detail to me eventually.”

“After dinner?” I took a piece of the bread. Now that I had started eating I was getting hungrier.

“After dinner we sleep.”

“I thought we were going to Belgard?” We had no time to waste.

“You nearly fell asleep on my horse. And I need rest to. It will be a long ride.”

“Then maybe I should go on my own.” Waiting wasn’t part of the plans.

“You do not mean that.”

I sighed. “No.”

“What is your fear? Do you worry I will try to take advantage of you? I assure you I would never.”

“No. I’m apprehensive about sleeping right now.”

“Why?”

“Because I tend to sleep longer than I want to, and there is too much to do.”

“I will wake you up.”

“I’m not sure how easy it is.” James hadn’t told me anything about my weird memory and sleep things. He hadn’t had the chance, or he hadn’t wanted to.

“Either way I will sleep.”

I made a sandwich similar to Elron’s and took a bite. “Wow. This is good.”

“I have many talents.”

“Cooking is another Elf gift?”