Perilous Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #2)(39)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

She knew. Damn! Hopefully, she didn’t know I had been practically ogling her.

“Yeah. Sure. Sort of?” I had no idea what she was talking about.

She turned around and strolled over to me. “Ever since you and your sister arrived in Energo, there has been a change in the air. Now it is even stronger.” Samantha seemed so confident and excited that I didn’t want to let her down.

I tried to play it off as though I actually understood what she was saying. “Yeah, it’s great, huh?”

Samantha laughed. “It is almost like a large weight has been lifted. We can do this. We can defeat Blake.” I gave her a weak smile, but couldn’t help focusing on her lips.

As if she read my mind, she filled in the distance between us. I was sweaty from my run, but figured she had been working out, too, so I didn’t let it stop me. I kissed her, and just like the night before, it was incredible. A warm chill spread through me, giving me goose bumps as I lightly touched the small of her back.

She pulled back, breathless for a moment. “Whatever is developing between us cannot get in the way of our duty and our fight. We can only continue if you understand that.”

“I get it. I completely understand.” I was grinning like a Cheshire cat. I would have agreed to anything at that moment; things just felt right. My life back home started to feel further and further away, but that didn’t bother me. My biggest concern was somehow doing my part to save Energo while trying not to screw things up with Samantha.

Wordlessly, Samantha started running, and I joined her. We took the long route back to the hotel, and I let myself relax and enjoy the exercise. By the time we separated and went to our respective rooms, I felt recharged. I took a shower and got changed before any of the other guys were even up.

***

After pacing the lobby for at least a half hour, I was relieved that someone else finally woke up and joined me.

Henry stepped out of the elevator eagerly and walked over to me. “I thought about going out to explore, do you want to come?”

“Sure, there’s nothing much to do here.”

The streets were no longer empty as we exited the hotel, but it was still early enough that we didn’t have to deal with the bustling crowds.

“If I remember correctly, there is an open air market nearby. I need to find a gift,” Henry explained as we headed in the opposite direction from the park.

“Who’s the gift for?”

“Rachel. I do not know when I will see her again, but I want to have something to give her to help make up for my unexplained absence.”

“Good point, a gift can’t hurt. So are you two serious, then?” I asked as we continued walking.

“I have never met anyone like her.” He smiled momentarily, but it quickly faded. “Yet I do not know how it would ever work between us.”

“Why? Because you come from different worlds?” I laughed, realizing how true the words were.

“I am a Guardian. I have to stay with Charlotte, and eventually, she will take her place in Bellgard. Rachel would never leave her life behind.”

“You know I never really thought about that before.”

“About what?” he asked.

“About Charlotte and I really living in Energo. I mean, she hasn’t even finished high school.”

“She is the Essence; she does not need to finish school. I suppose there is no reason to worry about any of that now. None of it matters if we cannot overthrow Blake.”

“Right.” I let Henry’s words sink in. For a few minutes, I had actually let myself forget about Blake.

After a short walk, we arrived at the market. Set up along the water, it spanned several city blocks. Rows of stalls were covered with canvas canopies that made it difficult to see the goods unless you ducked underneath. We walked through the market slowly. Henry stopped occasionally to look at some stalls.

“So what about you and Samantha? What is happening with the two of you?”

“I wish I knew.” I shook my head. “I have no idea what I’m doing or how to date someone in Energo.”

“Samantha probably does not have any idea how to either. She is not exactly a typical Energo girl.”

“Yeah, I can see that. Even Charlotte is forced to wear dresses in Energo so she blends in, yet I’ve never seen Samantha in anything but pants. I don’t think there is anything typical about her.” I continued to peruse the items in the stalls with little interest. “I like that she’s different. I can’t really imagine myself with a traditional Energo girl. Well, I guess we are both in impossible relationships.”

“Maybe, maybe not. You may have been raised somewhere else, but your home is Energo. You have that advantage.”

“Possibly.” I thought about the truth in his words. Energo may not have been home, but it was definitely growing on me. “I hope things work out for you and Rachel,” I said genuinely. It was obvious that Henry had real feelings for her.

“Thank you.” Henry stopped at a stall selling jewelry. He lifted a bead necklace off the table and held it up to the light. The small beads looked somewhat like pearls, but they seemed to be glowing. “This seems like Rachel.”

“How are you going to explain glowing beads? They’re not exactly the type of thing you find in Charleston.”

“I will tell her I bought it somewhere in Europe,” Henry joked.

“Do you wish to buy one for someone special?” the old woman manning the table asked.

I reached into my pocket and fingered the coins that Monty had given me before I left the caves. Energo’s currency was accepted almost anywhere. “No thanks. I don’t think she’s really a jewelry person.”

“Every woman loves jewelry.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe next time.”

The woman smiled kindly. “Please come back if you change your mind.”

Henry paid for the necklace, and we headed back in the direction we came.

After fending off an eager merchant trying to sell us some sort of pottery, Henry pointed to a small food stand on the corner. “You have to try one of these calu; they are incredibly delicious.”

“I have no idea what it is, but why not? I’ll try anything once.”

Henry handed over a few coins to the seller and accepted two pretzel-like items wrapped in paper.

I bit into the snack Henry handed me. Crunchy and shaped like a figure eight, it was covered with a sweet seaweed-like coating. “Wow, that’s awesome.”