more concerned with the why.”
“Meaning?” I looked at her.
“You are from the lost world. Why are you his kindred?”
“Isn’t that normal? I mean Liam is from my world too.”
“Charlotte kissed him.”
“Uh, I figured considering she’s pregnant.” I really hoped things didn’t work too differently in Energo.
“I mean she kissed him when they were younger and that is how he became her Gerard. It is a long story.”
“Ok. Well, James kissed me before we left.”
She laughed. “Nice to know, but that was not before he was a Guardian. The same logic would not work once he was on the Guard.”
“Oh. Well then maybe the pull is something else.”
“Maybe…” She looked away.
“Should we head back?”
“Sure. Want to see if I was right about needing the cane?”
“I trust you, I can move it normally again.” I stood up easily with no pain even when I put weight on it. My ankle was back to normal. “I’ll have to thank Charlotte.”
“She has some pretty amazing abilities.”
“I know. It’s funny because you would never know by looking at her.”
“Looks can be deceiving.”
“They can be.”
“I am sorry you were hurt, but maybe it was all for the best. If it were not for their folly you would not have been in the house and would not have met James.”
“Are you always this much of a glass-half-full person?” I rolled down my cuffs.
“I never was.”
“Not until love replaced hate.” As jaded as I was, I still believed that love was the single most powerful emotion.
She laughed again. “Exactly. I have changed a lot since then.”
“Where do you live? In the castle?”
She shook her head. “No. We built a house a short ways away. We needed land for our dragon.”
“Dragon?” My jaw dropped. “Is that a joke?”
“No. I can show her to you later. It was a unification gift from a friend.”
“Some gift,” I mumbled as we made our way back to Bellgard.
* * *
I WAITED IMPATIENTLY in my room. It wasn’t that I was in a huge rush to see James. Ok, I was. After everything Samantha said, I needed to see him. I needed to reevaluate what my feelings really were. I’d changed back into the dress when we returned. First off, despite rolling them up, I’d gotten the pants wet, second of all, I couldn’t deny wanting to look good for our date. At least that’s what I was calling our plans.
“Ainsley?” James called out my name while knocking on the door.
“Come in.”
His serious face turned into a smile as his eyes fell on me. “How are you?”
“I’m fine. We didn’t do too much because of my ankle, but Samantha took me to the healing spring, and my ankle is much better now.”
“The healing spring, huh?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know Charlotte created it?” He sat down next to me on the bed.
“Yes, Samantha told me. You should go. It might help your ribs.”
“You up for a return journey then?”
“I think so. Like I said, my ankle is better, but you might get there faster without me.”
“The thing is.” He leaned in. “I have no interest in going anywhere without you.”
“You did today.” I’d enjoyed my time with Samantha, but I was definitely glad he was back.
“I did what I had to, but I am back for dinner. As promised.”
“Nice to know you are a man of your word.”
“I am.” His eyes were light, but there was a weariness to his face that worried me.
“What did you find out?”
“What do you mean?” He shifted his weight.
“You are hiding something. I can tell.”
“I discovered Emma and Stan are apparently searching for information too. We should have been made aware of that.”
“They were protecting Charlotte. Parents do stuff like that. They hide information to protect their kids.” Despite my recent annoyance at my mom, she was a great mother.
“I guess some parents might, but Charlotte is the Essence.”
“She is still their daughter.”
“If we want to make it to the spring before dinner, we need to go now.”
“But the spring isn’t far.”
“This one is.” His eyes twinkled.
“Wait, there’s another?”
“Not so much a healing spring, but it’s absolutely beautiful.”
“But your ribs… isn’t that why we are going?”
“My ribs will be fine.” He held out his hand in that formal way of his, and I accepted it. He eagerly led us out of the room.
We didn’t run into anyone on our way out, and James just nodded at the guards. I was slowly but surely getting used to the castle, and I wasn’t sure what to make of that.
He led me through the