“That sounds nice.” I smiled, knowing I'd like to say
goodbye to my friends along with Gavin before they left. He hadn't been the
perfect father, but when I'd needed him, he'd been there to help me find
Joshua.
Lunch was delicious. Ainsley joined us along with the
others. She was younger than my mother, but older than me. Her hair was short
and golden, framed just below her shoulders, with tiny ears and a small nose.
She couldn't have been an inch taller than me. She had eyes the color of coffee
and her skin a rich cream. Ainsley got along well with Adelaide although no one
had told she might become her caretaker. Wrinkles formed at the corners of her
lips as she grinned affectionately at Adelaide. I wanted to tell Adelaide but
only when I was sure they were both ready.
Joshua sat beside me as Tria and two others cleared the
table and helped her. I hadn't asked their names as they were busy and I didn't
want to interrupt. “Can I talk to you?” I heard Joshua's soft whisper beside
me.
“Sure.” I shifted in my seat, hoping he wasn't against
Ainsley looking after Adelaide. It would be good for her to have a home again.
Living in a suite and with us wasn't in her best interest. I understood that
now, more than I had when I'd first met her.
“I'm going to Torv tomorrow with Gavin and a few others,”
Joshua confessed. He was trying to gauge my reaction.
“Good,” I answered. “I spoke with Henry earlier today and
thought one of us should go and make sure they accept Spade into the new
council.” Joshua gave me a strange look. I wasn't sure quite why or what he was
thinking. “What?” I asked rather blatantly.
“I want to find out if anyone else from Shadow is alive.
Maybe they stayed in Torv.” It was a long shot. “I also want to see what they
know about Isaura. It's possible she's not working alone.”
I reached for his hand. “Be careful, okay?” I had no idea
what she'd be capable of from the Mindonsiphan and it terrified me. We'd faced
a lot together already but Isaura was something entirely new.
“Of course.” Joshua gave my hand a squeeze. “I also want to see
how they react when I tell them Shadow was destroyed.”
I frowned. “You think they already know?” I didn't
understand how they could. News didn't travel particularly fast and I doubted
Isaura had visited Torv. I shuddered at the thought.
“Possibly. It's why I want to see how surprised they are
with the news. I also spoke with Henry.” Joshua gave me a pointed look I
couldn't quite read.
“Okay. About what?” I asked.
Joshua leaned in, dropping a soft kiss to my cheek. “I know
I don't have anything to worry about.” My jaw dropped. What had he said to
Henry? Joshua trusted me, didn't he? “I'll be back before you know it.”
“You’d better.” I leaned in, capturing his lips with a kiss.
Inwardly I debated on whether I should join him to Torv. I wanted to go, to
travel and be with him, but I also knew someone needed to stay in Spade and
make sure everything was as it seemed. Besides, Isaura would be looking for us–especially
me–and I didn't want to chance her finding me on the open road.
We said our goodbyes and I felt my heart constrict as
Joshua, Gavin, Elsa, Aidan and a few others I was unfamiliar with, headed out
in a van towards Torv.
Ainsley stood beside Adelaide, keeping an eye on her as she
waved goodbye to them. Once the gates closed, Ainsley bent down to Adelaide's
level. “Would you like to come home with me this afternoon?” she asked the
young girl. I appreciated that Ainsley tried to make it seem like something
special and not forced. Adelaide was a tough girl and had been through a lot
already. She was the last person who would be told what to do, even if she was
a child.
Adelaide pondered over it for a moment. “Do you have cookies
there?”
I tried to hide the laugh bubbling within me as Ainsley
answered her. “We can make some together. Just you and me.”
“I'd like that.” Adelaide turned towards me. “Is it okay if
I go with her, Olivia?”
“Of course.” I gave Adelaide a hug. “Have fun.” I waved as
Ainsley took her hand and they together walked through the city square. At
least someone had found a new home in Spade.
“I'm going for a walk,” Cate announced. “I'll see you two
tonight at dinner.” I didn't know what type of walk entailed her being gone all
day, but I didn't argue. She had a mind of her own and I suspected she wanted
time alone as she adjusted to this new life in Spade.
Already I missed Adelaide, Joshua, and Gavin. I glanced
beside me letting out a sigh, realizing Rane had stayed behind. I hadn't spoken
to her much. It wasn't that I hadn't been glad she'd come and helped us find
Joshua, but I'd been busy and hadn't seen her around.
“You stayed.” I glanced at Rane as she anxiously picked at
her nails.
“I guess I did,” she mused. It was unlikely they'd travel
back to Torv anytime soon. Certainly not before Joshua and the advisors
returned.
I was puzzled to see that she'd decided to stay. Her home
was gone, much like mine had been destroyed. Torv had been a second, or more
specifically, third home for her. It was no wonder she was trying to find her
way again. “How are you liking it here?” I didn't know what to say to her.
Every conversation always felt awkward between us, at least to me. Probably
because she'd once liked Joshua and now he was mine.
Rane sighed, glancing towards the closed gate that rose as
high as the stone around the cities. “Everyone's been nice.” Her answer sounded
rehearsed.
“And Henry?” I asked, glancing at her. He hadn't said
goodbye to his advisors when they'd left and I didn't question why. I assumed
if he did rule this city he was often busy with important matters.
Rane shrugged, giving the faintest smile. “He's cute. He's
not my type, though.”
“And what's that?” I raised an eye. “Not powerful, wealthy
and good looking?” I felt that accurately described Henry.
Rane glanced at me and I felt my stomach somersault. “He's
not Joshua.” There it was, the one thing I had hoped we'd gotten past.
“No, he's not.” I breathed.
“I know Joshua's spoken for,” Rane quickly explained. “You
two are happily married and I would never come between that. I just,” she
paused. “You seem so happy together and I've never felt that about anyone
before. He's such a nice guy.” Rane continued, “When I first met him, he
treated me like a friend and I hardly knew him. Most people in Haven weren't
like that.”
“That's just how he is,” I offered. “He'll be back and he's
still a friend.” I wasn't keeping him from befriending her.
“I know and Henry is cute.” She laughed and her cheeks
reddened as she spoke. “But he doesn't even notice I exist.” Rane sighed. “All
he ever looks at is you, Olivia. Every guy I know loves you. You walk in a room
and their heads all turn. It's not fair,” she whined.
“What?” I laughed at her words. I wasn't beautiful. I was
pretty, but I was still ordinary. People noticed me because of who I was and
what I was capable of, naturally conceiving a child. They were curious, that
was why they looked. “Rane, you're gorgeous.” I confessed, “I saw you with
Joshua and
I
was jealous.” I hadn't wanted to ever tell her about that
moment.
Rane stared at me with a curious expression. “Really?”
“Yes, really.” I grabbed her arm. “Now come on. Let's find
the Grand Duke of Spade,” I laughed leading her inside the tower as we searched
for Henry.
“Henry?” I peered around the corner finding him inside a
room studying maps. “Do you need any help?” I offered, inviting Rane and myself
into the room without so much as a knock.
Henry glanced up from what he was doing. He rolled the maps,
shaking his head. “No, I just finished.”
Rane glanced from Henry to me looking utterly uncomfortable.
If she did like Henry, she wasn't going out of her way to show it.
“Your advisors and the others have left for Spade,” I told
him. He walked towards his cabinet, placing the maps inside a drawer. What they
were maps of, Cabal? The old rebel cities? I would want to look later and find
out if he refused to show me.
“I'm aware. Rane would you mind giving us a few minutes?” he
asked.
“She can stay.” I wanted Henry to know I trusted Rane and
that he could too. Maybe he hadn't opened his eyes to what was in front of him.
At the very least she could be a companion, a friend. I didn't doubt Henry
needed one, we all did.
Henry gave me a pointed look. “If you insist.” He took a
seat at the giant oak desk, relaxing into his chair. “Mindonsiphan.” It was one
word. A warning that if I wanted to discuss it alone it was my job to send Rane
out.
“She already knows about it.” She'd witnessed what I'd done
to those men who had attacked us on our way to Haven. Although she might not
have been privy to Henry's injection of the drug, I didn't see any harm in her
finding out. “What do you want to talk about?” I asked and grabbed a seat on
the opposite wall along the sofa. The furniture looked old and smelled that way
too. Something from another time and generation but had been restored. Most of
Spade felt that way.
Henry sighed. “Isaura for one. We know she's out there and
is probably searching for you.”
Rane laughed. “I think Olivia already knows that.” She
frowned glancing at me curiously. “Sorry to interject, but is there a reason no
one has tried the Mindonsiphan to create pregnancies?”
“I may have used my abilities to keep one woman from dying.”
I wasn't sure whether I'd saved her life or the injection Elsa and Chloe
administered had done so. “I wasn't left with a training manual on what does
and doesn't work. Besides we don't have a supply of Mindonsiphan around to
inject pregnant women.”
Henry sighed. “So what were you left with? In terms of an
explanation.”
Although I'd already explained to him what I could, I tried
again. “Mindonsiphan works on the basis of perception. Our minds are always
capable of doing far more but our own beliefs keep us from being able to do
such things.”
“That sounds like crap.” Rane rolled her eyes. “I would love
to do some of the things you're capable of and I believe I can.” She crossed
her arms. “But it doesn't happen.”
I shook my head. “You don't believe. Not in the same way
because you know it's impossible. You have to know in here.” I pointed at her
heart as she sat beside me. “That you can and will do it. It's more than just
courage and bravery. It takes strength and endurance. It's willpower that
extends beyond the imaginable.”
“Rane's right. Why can't women who have been injected with
Mindonsiphan become pregnant?” Henry questioned.
“I don't know. Maybe they could? You can't work against science
and reality, though. For instance, you can't make Rane pregnant merely by
looking at her. It's not magic,” I explained.
“So it's an illusion? The fire you started on the road?”
Rane asked.
I rubbed my forehead growing frustrated. “No. It's not a trick.
It's real, but it's only real as science allows. You can't make the world spin
faster merely by thinking it.”
Henry considered what I said. “But we made it from Haven to
Shadow, how?” he asked me. “Whatever it was, it wasn't any science I know of.”
He was right. From what we understood of science, the
Mindonsiphan allowed us the chance to bend our reality. Nothing more. I let out
a heavy breath trying to voice my thoughts. “Maybe it's science we haven't
uncovered yet. Long before Newton discovered gravity, it had always been there.”
Rane smiled. “You are right about that.” She stood up and
glanced around. “Maybe I'm selfish in asking this but do you have any of it
left? Any Mindonsiphan? I'd be willing to be a test subject to see if I could
get pregnant.”
“No, the last of it was taken by Isaura or destroyed in
Shadow. There's nothing left and I don't know what it consisted of to produce
more.” I should have saved a syringe. At least if I'd done that we could have had
a chance to understand what was in it. Now the only existence of it left was
running through our bodies. I did not want to be a guinea pig.
Henry glanced from Rane back to me. He was quiet for several
long moments before he finally spoke. “I have an idea.” He glanced at Rane
standing up from his chair as he approached. “Please forgive me for being so
rude in asking this, but is it not possible for me to heal Rane and help us
conceive a child together?”
My mouth dropped slightly. “I don't know.” It was the truth.
We'd tried a lot before arriving in Torv to help with the pregnant women, but
the fact was we'd been forbidden to use Mindonsiphan. Was it not possible that
it had the properties to heal? I'd seen it fix Joshua after he'd been badly
injured at the hands of Craynor. My own palms that had been sliced from glass
had healed quickly on their own.
Henry smiled reaching for Rane's hand. “I'd like to try.” I
tried not to scoff at the notion of what they suggested. Was it outrageous or
could it actually be done?
Rane hesitated only a brief moment before she took his hand,
eyeing him up and down. “What becomes of me if we conceive a child?” She was
smart in her questions. The child would become the rightful heir of Spade.
Henry grinned, stepping closer and brushing his lips beside
her ear. Sitting so close I could hear him, even if he was trying to offer an
intimate moment. “You would become my wife.”
Her cheeks reddened as she stood up. Was she nervous? She
held herself well, if she were. Henry guided her out of the room and I gave a
slight laugh and wave as they left. Were they seriously going to try now?
I waited a moment and stood, glancing down the hall to make
sure I was alone before walking towards the desk. I didn't know how much time I
had before someone came by. I opened the drawer, doing my best to be quiet as I
pulled out the rolled maps. One by one I spread them across the table,
surprised to see they extended far beyond the borders of Cabal.