Forged in Fire (The Forged Chronicles Book 3) (5 page)

I
stared at James blankly
. I wasn’t sure what to think or feel. I was terrified and confused, and all I wanted to do was curl up and go back to sleep. But that wasn’t an option.

“I would do anything to keep you here with me. It is nearly impossible to let you go, yet I have to. Neither of us will ever forgive me if I lose the battle I am facing inside. I cannot take that chance. I need you in my life, Ainsley. I need you to survive, and that means I have to send you away.”

“What about the poison? Are you forgetting how sick I got when we were apart?” My head was spinning a mile a minute. The one thing I knew for sure was that James wanted me to stay close. Now he was trying to get rid of me?

“I think we have been intimate enough to buy us some time, besides I am somehow also making you sick. Your exhaustion and memory problems. I am sure they are my fault.” He looked down.

“But what if you are wrong, and it kills me?” I voiced my fear out loud.

“My fear is you are more likely to face danger if you stay here.” James met my eyes. “Besides, maybe Charlotte was right after all.”

“What do you mean?’

“Maybe she could help you. I know more than I did when I left.”

“What does that mean?” I was getting more and more confused by the minute.

“I promise you will find out everything, but I cannot hold the darkness off much longer. Please.”

“Who is going to help me get back to Belgard?” Putting aside the fact that James was backtracking on the needing to stay with him or I die thing, I had no clue how in the world I was going to make it back to Belgard. For the moment, that was my top priority.

“You need to find Talen’s people, the Arcos, they will help you.”

“The arctic wolves?” I raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t the answer I’d been expecting.

“Yes.”

“And why are they going to help me?”

“Because they will understand.”

“That doesn’t exactly explain anything.” I tried to stay calm, but deep breathing wasn’t going to work this time.

“Ainsley, you have to go. Find the river in the woods and follow it. Eventually it will lead you toward Icentris, and the Arcos will get you to Belgard.”

“This is insane. I could get killed.”

“And you could get killed here. I wanted to believe I could protect you, but I cannot promise that anymore. “

“Come with me. We can get help together.”

“I cannot.” James gave a pained stare. “You know I would if I could, but my father will not let me.”

“I can help you fight the darkness. You said so yourself.”

“That will only last so long. You can make it before then. Get there and listen to Charlotte.”

“You changed your mind so quickly.” That was the part I didn’t get. A few hours before he was making me promise to never leave.

“Because I thought I was stronger. I am not. I am weak. Ainsley, please.”

“Why the rush?”

“Because if you wait much longer I will never let you go.”

“I need you, James. I can’t do this alone.” He was the only reason I’d even made it through the craziness so far. But it was more than that. I loved him. I loved him more than I ever believed possible. My heart ached at the thought of leaving his side.

“You saw me with Gregor. I saw the fear in your eyes. I refuse to see that again.”

“You would never hurt me. You said so yourself.” I had to believe that was true. It was one of the few things I had left to hold onto.

“And I never intentionally would, but I am losing control.” He put his hands on either side of his head. “I am not fully myself anymore, even though I wish I were strong enough to be.”

“James?” I reached out and touched him.

“Go into the woods and find the river. It will lead you directly to Icentris. If Talen is there he will know what to do. If not, tell them you are a friend of Charlotte’s. They will get you there. If all else fails tell them you are a lost daughter of Belgard.”

“A what?”

“A lost daughter of Belgard.”

“Ummm..”

“That is who you are. It is not my secret to tell. Find the Arcos, and they will bring you to Charlotte.”

“I am not going anywhere until you explain what the hell that means.” I was getting angry. I was tired of the confusion and the haze.

“You need to go now, Ainsley, before I change my mind.” He clenched his eyes shut.

“What if I can’t do this?”

He opened his eyes. “You can. And you can do it quickly.”

“And what if Charlotte can’t help? What if she locks me up, and I die without you?”

His eyes darkened. “I will not let that happen.” His lips crushed against mine, as he pulled me against him. I slipped a hand underneath his shirt desperate to feel him, to feed the desire welling inside me.

We removed our clothes in a blur, and before I knew what was happening James hovered above me. “I need you one more time before you go.”

I nodded, needing him as much as he needed me. I reached up and pulled the full weight of him down on me just as he thrust into me.

I closed my eyes this time, trying to savor each moment of our connection. He moved inside me as his lips attacked my neck and his hands explored me. I opened up to him, understanding this would be the last time for a long time. I soaked in every taste and sensation as he pushed me over the edge.

He reached his release and stayed inside me for a few moments, before suddenly pulling away and leaving the bed. He got dressed quickly. “If I do not leave now, I never will.” He kissed me lightly on the lips before hurrying out of the room.

I got dressed in a daze, still trying to figure out which way was up. Leaving James was terrifying, but all I needed to do was remember the look in his eyes as he almost choked Gregor to death. Staying was out of the question. I had to stop Blake.

I wasn’t leaving James. I was leaving the man he was going to become if we could not stop his father. We would stop him. It wasn’t just my life and James’ that hung in the balance. It was everyone I had ever known or cared about. I didn’t doubt the destruction Blake’s power could unleash.

I opened the door and hurried down the steep steps of the tower. James wasn’t the only one who needed to worry about changing their mind.

James was nowhere in sight as I reached the ground, and I ran right for the woods. I had no clue where I was going, but I wasn’t going to wait around for Gregor. Whether he thought it would strengthen me or not, the guy had thrown me in the lake. He had enjoyed it. He’d enjoyed watching me suffer, and that in itself was terrifying.

I dashed into the woods with no clear direction in mind. The trees were dense with long vines wrapping around the trunks of many of them.

I had to find a river and someone that would lead me to Icentris. I was a bit skeptical about the whole thing. Talen hadn’t exactly been a fan of mine, and he was likely the friendliest of the bunch.

I spent the first few minutes getting as far from the tower as possible. Leaving James wasn’t fun, but I wanted to get my trek over with. I wasn’t sure what to think of Charlotte anymore, but she was from my world. She had been nice to me before, I had no reason to believe she wouldn’t be now. Well, aside from the fact that she’d locked James up. That was a pretty big reason to be worried.

I didn’t stop moving until the light had all but disappeared. I wasn’t sure if the sun had set or if it was because of the thick canopy of trees, but either way, I wanted to get out of the woods.

I narrowed my eyes and looked for anything resembling a river. All I saw were trees and rocks. Neither of those were going to help me. They all looked the same, and it wasn’t like James had given me any clues about the landscape.

Once I accepted my eyes weren’t going to help me, I stopped. I stood there completely still, straining my ears. I listened for running water. Anything to serve as evidence of what direction the river was in, but I heard nothing.

I sighed. I was going to die. Either the poison running through my veins would kill me, or someone or something else would. This was hopeless. I wasn’t exactly an outdoor survival expert, and I was going to need to be one if I wanted to make it to Icentris.

I thought about all the times I’d complained about the lack of public transportation in Charleston. At least we had cabs there. I wasn’t going to find anything like that in these woods.

With no idea of what direction was the right one, I picked one that seemed to lead in the opposite direction of the tower. James had put way too much faith in my sense of direction.

It got darker and darker until I could see almost nothing in front of me. I wrapped my arms around myself wondering if I’d made a mistake. Maybe it would have been better to stay. The only thing I had going for me now was that the haze had lifted. Just like the voice had said. I really was crazy. I was trusting voices in my head. But then again everything in my life was hard to believe.

Including James. Yet I’d just had sex with him. Again. My body had a mind of its own. That was the only reason I’d fallen into bed with him again. My body warmed thinking about it. Great. Now I was stuck and lost in the woods and in the mood for him. I needed to stop. I had to clear my mind and forget about James and those needs until I was in a safer place. But how could I even trust James? One minute he was promising he’d never leave my side, and the next he was telling me to run. That and the fact he claimed he’d been taken over by his father’s darkness. I was so confused it wasn’t even funny. And now I could add being lost to that list.

I walked into a small clearing and sat down on a large boulder. I closed my eyes.
No thoughts of James
I repeated to myself. I opened my eyes, stood, and continued walking in a direction I hoped was right. My ankle got snarled in something and I panicked. I reached down at my ankle expecting to find an iron clad root wrapped around me. I didn’t. Instead I found only a vine. I pulled it off. It wasn’t a crazy moving tree.

I walked until I reached another clearing. This one also had large boulder. It jutted out in exactly the same way as the one I’d sat on before. That was it. I was going in circles. It was the same boulder in the same clearing. I fell to my knees in the dirt. Giving up wasn’t going to help me but walking in circles wasn’t either.

The sound of approaching hooves had me back on my feet. I dashed behind a tree, but I realized that wasn’t going to help. Whoever it was could probably see far better than I could.

The hooves stopped.

“You can come out now. I will not hurt you,” an unfamiliar male voice called. My heart beat a million miles a minute. The voice sounded friendly enough, but it was a stranger in the middle of dark woods in Energo. He couldn’t be too welcoming.

“Come on, now. It is late and these woods are no place for you.”

I said nothing, not sure if I would be better off if the guy found me or not.

“Fine then. I will get you myself.”

I hurried away in the direction I thought was the opposite of the voice, but something grabbed my shoulder.

I froze before my body was turned around, and I squinted through the darkness to see the figure in front of me.

“I told you not to be afraid.” The man’s face was hidden in the shadows, but he looked human in size and shape.

“Who are you?” I asked in the strongest voice I could muster, and it wasn’t a particularly strong one.

“Elron. And who are you?”

I answered without thinking. “Ainsley.”

“And why are you in these woods?” There was concern in is voice, and I hoped that would work to my advantage.

“I am trying to find Icentris?” I asked almost as a question.

“Icentris?” He asked with surprise. “Why in all the worlds would you want to go there?”

“Because I need a guide to Belgard.” I had no idea why I was admitting all of this to a stranger, but I saw no other choice. I had nothing. James had sent me running into danger.

“Belgard. Now that seems like a more normal choice, but you are nowhere near there.”

“I know.” I sighed. “Look. I don’t want any trouble. Could you please direct me toward Icentris?”

“No.” He squeezed my shoulder. “But I will take you to Belgard.”

“You will?” I asked with surprise.

“Yes.”

“I can pay you back.” I dug my hand into my empty pocket. I had no wallet on me. Not that my money would mean anything in Energo. “I think.”

“But first you need to explain to me how you came to be out here.”

“I wish I could.” It would help if I understood it at all.

“You can. I assure you I am a good listener, and I speak many languages.”

“I don’t actually know where I am. I was taken here by—” I stopped. James was the one person I didn’t want to talk about. “By someone.”

“Someone you know?”

“Yes, but it is a long story.”

“Then we can discuss it over dinner. Come along now,” he urged.

“Wait, dinner?” That word sounded almost too normal considering the circumstances.

“Or have you eaten already? Either way I need to eat.”

“Where are we eating?” I held back the idle worry in my head that I was going to become someone’s dinner. It was too dark to see who I was dealing with. By the feel of his hands and what I could see of his face, he was humanoid, but considering the wolves had seemed normal on the outside, that didn’t actually mean much.

“To my home.”

“Uh, yeah about that.” I glanced around debating whether to try to make a run for it. The forest was dark, and I had no idea what else could be waiting for me deeper in the woods.

“I will not hurt you, but other things in these woods might. We need to go.”

“Do I have a choice?” Whether it changed anything or not, I was going to ask questions.

“A choice?” He leaned in.

“Yes. If I said no, would you leave me?”

“No.” He tightened his grip on me. “I could not in any good conscience leave you here.”

“Because I’m a girl?” Sexism was alive and well in Energo.

“Because you are a powerless human girl.”

“And there you went and said that. Now I know I shouldn’t go with you.”

“Why?” There was a hint of genuine surprise in his voice.