Under the Winter Sun (Elemental Enchanters Series Book 3) (34 page)

A pang of sadness hit Ava in the chest. She didn’t know what she would do if Gabriel ever got hurt. “We have to convince Havok not to kill them. That they can be useful.”

Gillian shook her head. “I don’t like this at all.”

“What if we somehow separate ourselves from the group?” Thomas asked. “If we escape, then we could get to Caprington and join. That way when the Elders come, there won’t be a battle.”

“They’d never let us separate,” Lance said. “Besides, we don’t know how to get to Caprington.”

“I know we’re the most powerful and all, but we’re missing two of our members,” Gillian said. “How are the four of us possibly going to attack the Cimmerians from within? There are probably hundreds of them.”

“I don’t know,” Ava said. “I haven’t gotten that far into the plan.”

“We act like spies,” Thomas said. “It might take time, but maybe we could earn the trust of the Cimmerians and somehow convince them to fight with us.”

“They were raised Cimmerian. Why would they want to switch sides?”

“Let’s tackle one thing at a time,” Lance said. “So are we all doing this?”

Ava’s heart pounded. “I’m in.”

Thomas nodded. “Me too.”

“I’m in. Gillian?”

She swept her eyes over each of them. “Yes. We’re in this together.”

Ava peeled out of her bloody pajamas and slipped into the shower. Too many times she had watched blood and dirt mix with water as it swirled down the drain. Tears pooled in her eyes. She had to distance herself from Gabriel and from everyone else. It would be easier than to let things continue. She didn’t want to lose him, but she had to do what she could.

She dried off and dressed in clean clothes. Sinking onto the edge of the bed, she savored the silence. Her body shook from anxiety, and exhaustion wore on her. She didn’t know Ilya that well, but he had violated her in a way she never thought possible. He had taken something intimate and innocent from her and caught a glimpse of her the way only Peter had.

There was a soft knock at her door. She answered it, and Gabriel waited on the outside. He had taken a shower, shaved his beard, and put on fresh clothes. She moved aside, allowing him to enter and then closed the door.

Ava leaned against the bureau and crossed her arms.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I know it wasn’t you. But all I see now is the chilling look in your eye. The menacing voice. My mind is out of sorts.” That was an understatement. “He tried to make me think you had betrayed me.”

Gabriel crossed the floor to her. He tenderly took her face in his hands. The delicateness of his touch hummed like a current throughout her. She loved feeling him close. And those eyes. Hauntingly beautiful eyes stared at her, hiding no emotions. Giving her everything. “I would never hurt you. I would do anything to keep you safe. I know you know it wasn’t me, but hopefully I can help your mind decipher the truth.” His hands moved to her shoulders, but still held her eyes.

“I would do anything for you, Gabriel. I hate how they toyed with my mind. I feel so…
violated
.”

He drew her into an embrace. She inhaled his juniper scent and relaxed. “Will you stay with me tonight?” she asked.

“Of course.”

Ava knew she would have to turn off her emotions soon and distance herself from him, but for the night she wanted to be with him. No tricks. Just the two of them.

She tugged him toward the bed and pulled down the sheets. They lay down. He held her tight against his body.

His touch sent a shudder of pleasure through her. His breath tickled her neck, and she stiffened when he swept her hair from her shoulders. His lips grazed her skin, and the hairs on the nape of her neck stood on end. “This is me,” he whispered as his lips travelled to her collarbone.

She closed her eyes and dug her nails into his side.

His fingers skimmed across her stomach and her body jerked. He pinned her with his heavy gaze, his eyes yearning and honest. “This is me.” He kissed her softly at first, and then she pressed harder. She loved Gabriel, and she wasn’t sure how she could betray him. She couldn’t confide in him about the plans, because she knew he would try to stop her.

Ava clung onto him with everything she had and let him feel every emotion she had for him. For it would be the last time.

“This is so hard.” Gillian sighed and crossed her arms. She was sitting around the campfire with Ava, Thomas, Lance, and Gabriel practicing the Heart of Stone.

It had been about two weeks since they left Lighthollow Village. Each day they had traveled, the four of them had practiced strengthening their minds. Ava had tried distancing herself from Gabriel, but failed miserably. He was vital in helping them. More than that, she hated the thought of hurting him. But she had to.

“You do so well, and then it’s like you forget.” Thomas rolled his eyes. “You manipulate minds. Try using that on yourself.”

“In her case, it might actually help,” Gabriel said.

“I’m scared that the second I see Jeremy, I’m going to fall apart.”

Gabriel scratched his growing beard. Ava knew it drove him crazy. “You have to prepare yourself for that. You will see him, and he may fight you.”

“Come on, G. You can do this,” Lance said. “You can do this for Jeremy. For Melissa.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re right.”

“Jeremy is dead,” Gabriel said, and they all watched her reaction. She maintained her composure. “Your father was a Cimmerian who abandoned you.” He verbally attacked her and moved on to each of them randomly.

Each Elemental upheld their self-control and never once broke their façade. Gabriel explained that even if they saw something in the battle that shocked them, they had to leave their emotions off and keep their thoughts clear.

They kept at it during the days that followed, and they grew stronger. Ava felt more powerful than before, but she still wasn’t tough enough to break Gabriel’s heart.

It was another cloudy day, and they walked for miles until they reached another tunnel. They crossed through the dark, dank tunnel with no problems, but once they reached the other side, Ava tensed. Something about the air or the surroundings clung to her like a shadow. Like death waited around the corner. It weighed on her heavily.

“Another trick of the Cimmerians,” Gabriel said.

Thunderous water crashed nearby, and as they moved forward the sound amplified. It started snowing, and they reached the source of the sound. Rapids violently rushed over an edge into a wide gorge. Mist clouded Ava’s view of what was below. The river was so wide she couldn’t see the other side.

Aaron looked to Savina and Gustav. “We have to go around.”

“We can cross here,” Ava said.

“It’s too treacherous,” Savina said.

“I can help. I’ll control the water.”

“It’s too risky,” she said. “We can walk along the river to see if there is a safer path to cross.”

“Who knows how long this river is?” Thomas said. “This could take days.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Link said. “We can’t waste much more time. Ava can help us cross.”

“No more discussion,” Aaron demanded.

Ava clenched her teeth. If she could jump and grab ahold of the jutting rock the water rolled over, she could force the rapids to calm long enough for everyone to pass. The water would obey her. She could control it.

“Don’t even think about it,” Gabriel said.

Ava started walking beside him, following the rest of the group. She exchanged a knowing look with Thomas. She darted toward the water.

“Ava, no!” She heard Gabriel yell.

She leapt into the air and for a second, felt like she was flying. Her hands grabbed the rock, but instead of holding her weight, it broke loose. Feeling a rush of wind, she plummeted downward. The rock made a huge splash as it fell into the water, and then she plunged underneath. The icy water pierced her, knocking the breath out of her. The force of the waterfall pushed her underwater several times before she finally surfaced. The strong current flung her in all directions. As the water carried her downstream, she snagged a low tree branch. The water was unforgiving as it smashed against her. With everything she had, she forced the raging water to stop falling.

“Cross,” Ava yelled. “Everyone cross.” She felt a warm liquid travel down her nose as she detained the water. Pain stabbed at her body. Her head throbbed. Her body trembled violently from the cold. She was losing her grip. She could feel her concentration slipping. The water’s strength was too much to contend with. She couldn’t hold on much longer.

She freed the water, and it fell with a vengeance. 

The water slammed into her like a cement wall, breaking her hold from the tree branch. She slipped underneath and collided with rocks along the way. Her head smashed against something hard, and she saw blackness.

Ava came to as she felt something dragging her across the water. A hand. Someone pulled her out, and she coughed up water, gasping for air. She looked up and saw at least twenty Erics. They had lined up, like a human chain, from the top of the cliff to where she lay. The clones passed her one by one until she made it to the top. Eric eased her onto the snow and everyone crowded her. Gabriel knelt beside her with a hard look in his eyes.

Eric shook his head. “You’d better be glad one of us can duplicate ourselves to drag you out of there. You do understand you owe me now.”

Ava inhaled deeply as her head pounded. “Why couldn’t I breathe underwater?”

“I told you the water was too treacherous.” Aaron glared at her. “You must start listening to us.”

“Don’t you know the closer we get to Caprington, the more things are going to be cursed?” Eric said. “Things aren’t going to work in your favor.”

“Seemed to work just fine.”

He groaned. “You’re impossible.”

“Are you asking for a death wish?” Gabriel demanded, checking her over.

“No. I had to get us across.”

“Yeah, you cracked your skull open.”

“Ava, please no more heroics,” Savina sternly said. “But thank you for your bravery.” She waved her hands over Ava, and soon the throbbing pain in her head vanished.

“Thank you.” Ava got to her feet, completely soaked, but she made herself warm.

“Everyone stick together,” Aaron said. “We are in uncharted territory and
nothing
is as it seems. Nothing is forgiving.”

She took a step to follow the group, but Gabriel held her back. She had to turn off her emotions.

“What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking about getting us across. You know, maybe if you actually teleported us, I wouldn’t have had to do that.”

“You know I can’t do that here. You saw what happened to yourself just now.”

“Well, at least I got things done.”

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “What are you really angry about?”

“Leave me alone.” She started after the group, and he matched her stride.

“You can’t let him get inside your head, Ava. These woods can make you angry and make you hate others.”

She let out a long sigh. “He’s not inside my head. I wish you wouldn’t hover over me like I’m some weakling, like I can’t take care of myself.”

“I only care about you.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t.”

“Don’t do this.”

“You don’t get a say in what I do.”

“I know what you’re doing.”

Ava didn’t deny that. She hated being this way toward him, but she had to.

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but don’t do it. Don’t even think about it.”

“I’m not planning anything, okay? So just back off.”

Hurt flashed in his eyes, but she moved on without a care.

They trekked farther, making their way down a mountain. As they descended, the snow became sparse on the dead brown grassy knolls. Aaron, Savina, Gustav, and Sean halted and looked beyond into the distance. What looked like small orange orbs, lights surrounded a black medieval castle, and reflected in the moat in front of the fortress. A town lay out beyond the castle, reminding Ava of Lighthollow Village.

“Caprington,” Savina whispered.

They had traveled for miles in blizzards, endless cloudy days, and bitter cold, through nightmares, comas and heartbreak, but when they reached the hill overlooking that immense black castle, nothing mattered to anyone other than killing every soul inside that evil place.

“We must surround the castle and attack those on the outside,” Aaron said. “Gillian, you need to get in the minds of the guards and see if you can get them to kill each other.”

Gillian nodded, but then she glanced at Ava.

“Savina can make them envision pain, but once they start screaming, we have to move quickly because more will come. Everyone stay focused and do not attack until we give a signal. The four of us.” He pointed to himself, Savina, Gustav, and Sean. “Will move first. We will give you a sign when you need to move ahead.”

With his signal, they spread out, with two Elders together and stealthily encroached on the castle grounds. Ava’s heart railed against her ribcage. This was it. Her hands balled into fists, trying to hold back the water that begged to be released. She took a deep breath, willing her thoughts away and keeping her emotions turned off.

The rest of them hid in the thick dead grass, staring at the ridiculously sized fortress. It was black outside without a breeze, but the air was crisp. White capped mountains surrounded them. A clear lake gleamed to the left. Miles and miles of snow patched rolling hills ringed in the valley. Clouds encompassed the sky as usual, but there was something haunting and eerie about the way they hung over the castle.

Ava glanced at Thomas and Lance. She looked toward the castle and saw a few guards drop to their deaths. She saw a woman with long red hair, holding a torch nearby. Sorcha. Ava’s pulse quickened as she gripped the soil in her hands. It turned to mud as water dripped down her arms. But she wouldn’t fight the Cimmerians. Instead, she ducked her head further behind the grass.

“Trying to sneak up on us?” A voice said from behind them.

Ava jumped to her feet and once she turned around, she saw an entire army of Cimmerians. For a second, no one budged. And then the Cimmerians charged them. Link threw bombs. They detonated, killing a group, their flesh exploding. Storms formed, hurling Cimmerians in the air. Natalia serenaded a man, and then snapped his neck. Ava and the Elementals stood their ground, unsure of what to do. Everyone clashed with each other and then everything froze. Attacks paused midair. No one moved. Even the snow had stopped in midflight. Her breath hitched.

“Ava, I only have a second,” Gabriel said.

“What are you doing?”

“I stopped time.” He held her head between his hands. “Whatever happens, you must be strong. I will protect you, but don’t do what you’re thinking. Please know I would do anything for you. I would let them torture or kill me if it meant saving you.”

Before she could say anything, he crushed his lips against hers. Relenting, she returned the kiss. She wanted to remember the way his lips felt. She wanted to hold on to the memory forever.

But it ended as hands roughly grabbed her and ripped them apart.