Enduring Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #3)(8)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

Kevin wore a disappointed look but followed me. A voice in the back of my head told me I should be grateful for the interruption. A much louder voice told the first voice to quiet down.

Chapter Six

Charlotte

“You are so funny.” Calvin settled his hand on my hip as we rode our horse across the prairie.

“Why am I funny?” Without seeing his face, I couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not.

“You take nearly everything in stride, yet you are bothered by eating different foods.”

“I’m not bothered by it. I just like to know what I’m putting in my body.”

“I happen to care about your body, too.” He leaned forward to whisper, “But I still find humor in your reaction.”

A thrill ran through me when he talked about my body, and I decided to run with it. “Glad to know you care about my body.”

His hand tightened on my hip. “Despite everything we are facing, it is your body, and your face, that I cannot get out of my mind.”

I knew his words were genuine. He’d been hinting about his expectations for several days. Since we were back together and out from under the watchful eye of my mom, he assumed I was finally ready to sleep with him. It was a reasonable assumption, considering in the eyes of Energo, we were married. The question was whether or not I was ready. I was pretty sure of the answer.

Henry sped up and matched pace with us. “Something is wrong.”

Calvin adjusted the reins in his hand. “I was thinking the same thing. We should see people by now.”

I wasn’t sure what they meant. “Are we that close to Smidtle?”

Calvin straightened, moving away from me. “Close enough to the village that we should see someone.”

Liam fell in on the other side of our horse. “Do you think we’re moving into a trap?”

“I could open my mind. Try to find out.” Being an Essence was only fun when you actually got to use your powers.

“No.” Calvin tightened his hand on me. “This is not worth the risk.”

He was probably right, but I still didn’t like it.

“I’ll go ahead,” Liam volunteered. “You said the village is directly north of here?”

Calvin took a moment to respond, as if deciding whether or not to accept Liam’s offer. Then, he nodded. “At the first sign of trouble, turn back. I will not lose another Guardian if it is unnecessary.”

“I’d prefer to stay alive, too.” Liam smiled faintly. “Hold down the fort, Char.”

Henry laughed. “There is no fort. We are riding—”

“It sounded good.” Liam’s grin lit up his whole face. Despite the seriousness of our situation, he was still in a playful mood.

I wished I could be the same way. “Are we sure there’s no better way? I could at least try to open my mind—”

“No way. What if it’s Blake? He’d be able to get to you that way. ” Liam’s fear was logical, but I still had to fight the urge to argue.

“Be safe,” I whispered.

“You too.” He waved before riding off.

“He is a Guardian. He can take care of himself, Charlotte,” Calvin said.

“I know he can, but I’m still going to worry.”

“Of course you will.” Henry pulled out his water jug. “She always worries.”

Calvin rubbed my back. “There is no reason to worry. You should trust your Guardians.”

I had a feeling he also didn’t like the fact that Liam was the object of my worries. He wasn’t blind. He knew those feelings went more than one way, even if I’d never act on them. What was wrong with me? Mom made it sound normal, but how could it be? An Essence was only supposed to love her Gerard.

We moved forward at a snail’s pace, and I kept my eyes fixed ahead, watching for Liam’s return. Even if something was wrong, he’d have to see it in time to turn back.

“We should stop.” Calvin didn’t wait for Henry to respond before guiding our horse to a resting place at the edge of the woods. The sun was just disappearing beyond the horizon, and the forest had an eerie feel to it that gave me goose bumps. “He should be back by now.”

I shivered. “Do you think he’s hurt?”

Henry hopped off his horse and helped me dismount.

Calvin jumped down afterward. “I do not know. We are going to have to wait here for the night.”

I turned to Calvin. “No. We have to find Liam.”

Henry put a hand on my arm. “Calvin’s right, Charlotte. He is likely fine. Maybe he just stopped to rest.”

I shook my head. “Liam wouldn’t just rest.”

Henry tossed down his pack. “We cannot act recklessly. Without you, we are all in trouble.”

We heard a horse coming toward us.

“Liam!” I called before realizing the rider could be someone else.

The horse came into view with Liam on its back. He jumped down, and I ran into his arms.

He pulled me against him for a second. “Wow, Char. If this is the welcome I’m going to get, I’ll volunteer to be the scout more often.”

I pulled away so I could look at him. “What’s wrong? What took so long?” I searched his body for evidence of an injury. At least I could help with that.

Liam avoided my eyes. “Calvin, I need to talk to you.”

“No. You can’t discuss things without me.” I put a hand on my hip.

“He wants to leave me out, too,” Henry pointed out as though it changed anything.

Liam pleaded with his eyes. “Can’t you just give us a minute?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Fine.” Liam sighed. “If you’re going to insist.”

Calvin pulled me against him, wrapping me protectively in his arms. “What did you find?”

“A ghost town. There’s no one there—not a soul.” He glanced at me then back at Calvin. “I found only one body.”

“One body? Just one?” Calvin asked.

Liam shifted his weight from foot to foot. “This is the part I didn’t want to say in front of Charlotte.”

I struggled to swallow, dreading his next words. “Why?”

Liam looked down. “It was a girl.” He hesitated before continuing. “A girl who kind of looked like Charlotte.”

Calvin squeezed me tighter. “They were sending a message.”

“A message? They killed an innocent girl to send me a message?” I wanted to vomit, and I started to shake. We had to do something.