room laughed. I didn’t get it. “What’s the joke?”
“James is worried Samantha will turn you against him,” Kevin explained.
“I wouldn’t worry about that.” No matter how much I wanted to stay away from him, I couldn’t. Nothing Samantha could say was going to change that.
“I love that confidence,” James whispered in my ear.
“Be back by dinner.” I leaned slightly into his arm.
“Enjoy your tour.” He started for the door.
“Be careful, James.” Charlotte warned.
Something about Charlotte’s warning set me off. If she was that worried about him, should I have been too?
21
JAMES
I despised leaving Ainsley at the castle, but I knew she would be safer there. I would be able to cover ground faster and ask the questions that actually needed to be asked if I went on my own, and that knowledge made the decision easier. Hopefully she would enjoy her time with Samantha. If nothing else, it would show her that Energo was not as sexist and traditional as she thought.
I ran by the stables for my horse before riding directly toward Icentris. The place held bad memories and was easily the coldest place in Energo, but it was where I would find my best shot at information. There was an arctic wolf-shifter up there who seemed to always know what was going on first. He had a keen eye and the ability to get information from the most difficult sources.
I enjoyed the fresh air as I road across the open plains. I knew there was something sinister out there, but I focused on the journey and the girl waiting for me back at the castle. No one was searching for me yet, at least not openly.
I rode on, putting on a coat as the temperature continued to drop. I welcomed the cold generally, but this kind of cold was more than I enjoyed. The ride took several hours. I crossed though the plains into a more wooded landscape that finally gave way to the arctic terrain of Icentris. My horse slowed down, about as excited to be in the frigid cold as I was. Neither of us had a choice.
I stopped in front of the old ice prison: the one that had held Charlotte’s mother for years while her family believed her dead. Seeing the completely metal fortress sheeted with ice riddled me with guilt. I had helped my father execute his plan and for that I would spend the rest of my life repenting. One day Ainsley would find out, and she would never look at me the same way again. Even a lifetime of trying to make things right cannot erase a past riddled with mistakes.
I dismounted my horse and walked past the prison. I wanted to make sure the locals knew I didn’t mean trouble.
I heard the howl of a wolf, but I never saw one. Instead a man walked out from around the side of the building. I was positive he’d been the one howling. The arctic wolf shifters were the only creatures, man or beast, that lived in this icy land.
“And to what do I owe this honor?” Talon grinned. He was not half bad for an Arco, and Arcos were the one kind of shifter I liked.
“I need information.”
“And you think I have this information you seek?” Talon tried to act tough, but it was all an act. He would help, especially once he found out it involved my father’s followers. We had all learned the hard lesson of what happens when evil has the time and space to grow.
I cut right to the chase. “Have you heard anything about an uprising?”
“Uprising of what?”
“Do not play dumb with me.”
“Then be straight with me. What are we talking about here? If you came straight from Bellgard, this was a long trip to ask questions.”
“Exactly. Which is why I need you to answer me.”
He cleared his throat, and gave me a long look. “There has been talk.”
“Talk of what?” I looked around at the snowy landscape. Icentris was a dream for arctic wolves, not so much for people.
“Talk of building another gate.”
“Another gate?” That was not what I expected to hear.
“Yes. A new gate to the hidden world being built by men touched by darkness. ”
“So you have seen them? You are sure they had the darkness?” I already knew my father’s followers were rising up again, but hearing it from Talon made it worse.
“Yes.”
I fought to keep my expression level. It would be foolish to show Talon any fear. “That is not what