Perilous Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #2)(28)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

“But you know why she did, right?” Liam asked. “To protect you.”

I didn’t answer; there was nothing to say. We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. One of the things I loved about spending time with Liam was that neither of us worried about filling the empty spaces; we could just exist.

Liam finally broke the silence. “But seriously, Char, you need to get some sleep, okay?”

I thought about arguing, but I couldn’t deny my exhaustion. It didn’t take long to fall asleep, as talking to Liam about my feelings had helped ease the disquiet keeping me awake.

***

I woke up well rested. I had only slept a few hours, but it had been a deep, dreamless sleep that did wonders. After a quick breakfast, we packed up our gear and started to walk again.

“We will be there before nightfall.” James’s voice broke through the fog of my thoughts, and the meaning of his words hit me.

“We’re going to see my mom tonight.” I felt weak. I understood the whole purpose of the journey was to get to her, but as we got closer, my fear intensified.

Monty placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Charlotte, you need to prepare yourself. Your mother is not going to look like herself.” When he touched me, I recognized the worry I carried that Monty was somehow upset with me. I guessed I had taken for granted the huge importance Monty held in my life, and the thought of disappointing him grated on me.

“What do you think she’s going to look like?” I didn’t really want to know, but I needed to ask.

James didn’t give Monty the chance to answer. “She’s in a sleep-like state. My father figured out how to keep her powers controlled.”

“So how do we know Charlotte won’t get hurt by whatever it is that has kept her mom weak?” Liam sounded concerned. I hadn’t even thought about it.

“We don’t.” James’s face was emotionless.

“I thought you were one of her Guardians. How could you knowingly lead her to danger?” Liam yelled.

“I am not going to let her get hurt. Besides, Charlotte wants to do this. It is a risk she is willing to take.”

“You act like she’s expendable. That’s bull!” Liam yelled. I had never heard him so impassioned.

“Liam, no one is going to let anything happen to Charlotte. You know I would never put her in danger,” Monty said.

“Even if it meant saving your sister?” Liam’s words were thick with implications.

“I am not even going to answer that, Liam. Charlotte is my niece; I love her like my own daughter. I promised Emma I would always protect her children, and I have done my best.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I don’t like this.” Liam wrung his hands and paced.

Watching Liam so distraught pushed me into action. I was done feeling sorry for myself; I had a job to do. “Okay. That’s enough discussion on my safety; we’re doing this. We’ve come too far to turn back. Besides, if we want the opportunity to defeat Blake, we have to get my mom.”

We came to the crest of a hill, and everyone fell silent. A wall that appeared to be made completely of ice loomed in the distance. We walked further, the others surrounding me protectively, and I shivered just looking at it. When we finally reached the giant wall, I realized that a thick layer of ice coated it.

“Is this Icentris?” I asked, even though aware that it couldn’t be anything else.

“It must be,” James said evenly before closing the distance between us and the wall.

Liam pointed to a tall archway. “So do we just walk through that arch? There has to be a catch, right?” The archway appeared out of place between the large stone walls, as though it should hold a gate.

“I’d say we should scale the wall, but it is twice the height of the one at Bellgard, and even that one proved difficult.” Monty touched the icy wall, as if to see if it were actually solid.

“If it is a trap, we are already caught. We are at risk out here in the open. We might as well enter.” Lawson spoke with conviction, giving me some optimism.

“Let’s do it.” I started to walk through the arch, but James pushed me behind him.

“Now is not the time to play hero, Charlotte.”

I expected the arch to open directly into a courtyard, like at Bellgard, but it led into a cave. From the entrance, I could see a faint source of light in the distance. Large icicles dangled from the ceiling, some nearly touching the guys’ heads. I started to panic. Something felt incredibly wrong, but I couldn’t figure out where the sensation originated. In the near darkness, I jumped when someone touched me, but it was only Monty trying to pull me closer. We had almost reached the light ahead when James and Liam suddenly stopped in front of me. Monty’s arm tightened and Lawson walked into me.

“What’s going on?” I whispered, unable to see around Liam and James.

“Stay back!” James and Liam yelled in unison.

I wanted to complain, but the words stuck in my throat when I heard an angry growl. Every inch of me turned cold.

Chapter Sixteen

Charlotte

Lawson pushed into me again, with more momentum. Monty gripped my arm as we followed Liam and James out of the darkness. I still had no idea what had made the growling noise and was terrified to find out. I had faced some scary things in Energo, but no animal had ever frightened me as much.

Searching the area in front of me once we entered the light, I didn’t see anything. Then I squinted and realized that the snow almost completely camouflaged two white wolves. Liam stepped back and took my other arm, a panicked expression on his face. I followed his gaze and spotted more wolves. We were surrounded.

“They must be Arcos,” Lawson said timidly, a voice that seemed wrong coming out of him.

James’s shoulders slumped. “Yes, but I thought they were all gone.”

“Is an Arco somehow worse than any other giant wolf?” Liam asked, still holding my arm firmly.

“You spent time with Naomi the last time you were in Energo, did you not?” Lawson’s voice came from directly behind me.

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, you know how she can turn into a cat? The Arcos can shift form as well,” Lawson explained.

“So these are pretty much arctic werewolves?” I should have expected more shifters were around, but I hadn’t contemplated anything as frightening as the creatures in front of me.

“Yes, except they do not depend on phases of the moon.” Monty moved beside me and pulled out his sword. I realized the others had theirs out, too. James’s Guardian sword glowed green, reflecting eerily off of the snow and ice.