The one in the suit moved to stand directly in front of the other male. "Do not underestimate her,” he urged.
"Relax,” he replied, letting out an uneasy chuckle. "By the time we reach the ball, all will be in place, and you’ll get everything as promised.”
"This is not about what I want,” he replied harshly. “I’m taking back what rightfully belongs to my family and me.”
What rightfully belonged to him and his family? What could he possibly mean? Was that Rowan in there? If it were, I’d strangle him first. Rage bloomed in my belly as tears welled in my eyes. It all made sense in an instant. It was him. Rowan seemed to know my father well. He would’ve known he’d be alone on that mountainside, and Dad would’ve never suspected he would betray him.
I second-guessed myself almost immediately.
The voice sounded like Rowan, but I had spent the bulk of my time with him. If he was responsible for all of this, why would he have taken the time to train me? We were secluded on a beach for hours at a time. He could have killed me a dozen times if he wanted. The only basis for my theory was a muffled voice. I wished there was a way to know for sure. At this stage, I couldn’t accuse anyone without proof.
I sank again, moving as close as I could to the door. The moment I heard movement coming my way, I hurried to stand. I had to get out of there before they caught me. Any noise would’ve alerted them. Sure, I wanted to kill them both, but I had to be smart. I was alone with no weapons, and I couldn’t fully control my powers. I softly backed up until I was a good distance away from the door, then I ran away as fast as I could.
After more endless roaming, I found a guard who led me to my bedroom. The evening skies outside my window reminded me of pink, orange, and purple cotton candy. My body was weak. When my stomach grumbled, I realized it had been a long time since I’d eaten. Someone had taken the old trays of food so I’d have to go down to the kitchen—wherever they might be—to get something to eat. Unfortunately, I still wore this bloody robe.
I needed to clean myself up. Once inside the bathroom, I unpeeled the bandage on my hand. The injury was gone. Whatever those creams were, they must have contained something magical. I removed the robe and took a much-needed bath. The warm water was just what my aching muscles needed. Once finished, I changed into one of the loose-fitting dresses in my closet and thought about my next move.
Above all else, I had to discover the truth. Rowan’s involvement was still undetermined. I’d use our training time to test his guilt or innocence, though I prayed my suspicions were wrong. The air court traitor said he had the council where he wanted them. I suspected he was either a council member himself or a high ranking elemental with influence. I’d attend the next council meetings to see if I could recognize his voice.
A cold chill ran up my spine. I had a feeling I would soon be fighting for not only my father’s life but my own.
Chapter Nineteen
Rowan
Ariel ran toward me with tears streaming down her cheeks.
There was blood on her dress, and something else I didn’t recognize. The sight of her chilled me to the bone. Had something happened to Kalin? A million possibilities flashed in my head. Or maybe this had nothing to do with Kalin. Was Marcus in trouble? Either way, it didn’t matter. Ariel was going to tell me what was going on. I stood in her path. “What’s got you so upset?” Panic laced my voice. “Are you hurt?”
“It’s Kalin,” she cried. “We can’t find her anywhere. I’ve got the entire castle guard looking for her.”
“Was she kidnapped?” When she didn’t answer straight away, I got in her face. With teeth clenched, I said, “Answer me.”
“Stop it. You’re scaring me,” she whimpered.
“I’m sorry, Ariel.” I took several steps backward to put distance between us. “I don’t know why I did that.”
She rubbed her arms like she was cold. “It’s okay. I know you’re worried. You care about Kalin, and you let your emotions get the best of you. I understand. I care about her too.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“Kalin didn’t get kidnapped,” Ariel insisted. “She ran away, but in her current condition, I don’t expect her to go far.”
Her condition? “What’s wrong with her?”
Ariel's lip trembled. “During our fitting, we discovered a poison in the fabric of her dress.”
A mix of panic and rage settled in my chest. Whoever did this will suffer such severe pain that they will beg me to kill them. “Where did the dress come from?”
Her hands clutched the sides of her dress. “The seamstresses brought the spool of fabric with them from the woodland court, but the poison didn’t affect them. They were just as shocked as we were.”
Whoever had done this was smart. Rather than attack here where we anticipated a threat to Kalin’s life, they smuggled poison in from the outside in a way that no one would suspect. “Where is the fabric now?”
“The knights took the dress, and the remaining fabric, to be analyzed. We need to know what kind of poison they used.”
I had to get a piece of that fabric. Until I knew who I could trust, I’d get the fabric examined outside of the castle. “What happened next?”
“Kalin couldn’t think straight. She started talking about her enemies being all around her, and she thought I was the one who poisoned her.” Ariel sniffled, visibly upset by Kalin’s accusation. “Then she startled us all when she broke a wine glass in her hand. Blood and wine were everywhere. The seamstresses tried to clean the glass out of her wound, but she ran away.”
“Lady Ariel,” Several knights rushed toward us. “The princess has been found.”
Relief spilled over my shoulders. “Is she okay?”
“She’s in her quarters resting,” He assured. “We stationed a guard in front of her door to make sure she wasn’t disturbed.”
“Is she still bleeding?” She asked in a panicked tone. “Does she need medical care?”
The knight faced Ariel. “There is blood on her robe, but her hand has healed. She said she didn’t need any medical care.”
I wasn’t surprised to hear it. Kalin probably healed without realizing she’d tapped into her power. “Thank you,” I replied.
The knight nodded, then turned and strode away.
“I’ll make her some food myself, in case she’s—” Ariel broke out into a heavy cry. “If something had happened to her, I would’ve never forgiven myself.”
I tensed, not sure what I should do. The guilt she didn’t deserve overwhelmed her. It was clear that she had done everything she could to help Kalin. She had no reason to blame herself. I wrapped my arms around her. “It’s okay. She’s safe now.”
Ariel gazed up at me with swollen red eyes. “Rowan, please keep her safe.”
I released her and bent down. Our eyes leveled. “Ariel, you have my word. Nothing or no one will hurt Kalin again. I swear it.”
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I have the worst feeling.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Kalin has had two close calls.” Her eyes widened with fear. “Someone is out there playing a dangerous game, and they’re getting bolder.”
Chapter Twenty
Kalin
The Midwinter’s Ball.
The day I had been planning for had finally arrived. I sat up and noticed a white gift box. Someone had left it at the bottom of my bed, which was concerning on multiple levels. The biggest scare was that someone had been in my room, and I had slept right through it. I had to be smarter. From this day forward, I’d have knights guarding my door around the clock. Now that someone had tried to poison me, I had to take every possible precaution.
I crawled to the box that looked like it had come from a clothing store. When I picked it up, it didn’t weigh much. The note on the box said, “Jellybean, put this on and meet me outside.” I rolled my eyes at the nickname. He was never going to let that go. I opened th
e box. Inside I found a canvas colored button-down shirt, a pair of dark jeans, and steel-toed leather boots. The choice of attire was unusual, even for him.
Why would Rowan want me to wear this to our training? I scooted out of bed, slipped on my new attire. The loose-fitting shirt was thicker than any I owned. I kept a bra and tank top on underneath in case I got too hot. The jeans were skinny cut, which fit my normal style. The boots were just the right size. I wasn’t sure why I needed all this, but it was put here for a purpose. I pulled my hair in a ponytail as I headed outside.
Once I got past the archway, I found Rowan. He leaned against a tree a few feet away from a portal. He wore a leather jacket with a flannel shirt and white t-shirt underneath. Black jeans, leather boots completed his look. Loose dark hairs tickled his cheekbones, and damn, he looked good. The only thing that was missing was a motorcycle. I crossed my arms. "Next time you come inside my room, I’d prefer you knock first.”
"I did.” The corner of his mouth curled into a half-smile. "You were passed out and snoring like a wild bear.”
I wasn’t sure if I was angry or mortified. There were a few times I had sleepovers as a kid, but no one ever mentioned me snoring. I had no idea if I made noises in my sleep or if Rowan was teasing me. I decided to play it off like I didn’t care. "Is there any particular reason I look like I’m going to a country-western hoedown?”
He made his way toward the fire portal. "You needed flame-resistant clothing for what I have planned for today.”
I froze. "What exactly do you have planned?”
"I’m going to get you all hot and bothered.”
Heat warmed my cheeks—as well as other parts of my body I was actively trying to ignore. He knew how to get a reaction out of me. I knew he was waiting on a response, so I didn’t say another word. Instead, I tried to appear emotionless as I took his arm and stepped inside the portal without saying another word.
We arrived at what had become our spot. Well, it wasn’t our spot like we were dating and had a special place we called our own. I mean, if we had a spot, it would be on the side of the mountain where he finally opened up to me. The beach was where we came to train, which was different. Then again, the beach was where he almost kissed me. He pretended like he didn’t, but he did. This time, I rolled my eyes at myself.
Rowan cleared his throat, jolting me out of my thoughts.
I hadn’t noticed he was now standing in front of me with an eyebrow raised. Had he been there for a while? I seriously needed to snap out of this thing I felt for him. He wasn’t my type anyway. I didn’t even like leather jackets. They were so cliché. Besides, I didn’t want a boyfriend with secrets and life-endangering family drama. I cringed. I realized I was doing it again, and I wanted to yell at my brain. What was going on with me? Why was I thinking about Rowan so much?
It wasn’t even twenty-four hours ago that I considered him a suspect. One of the voices did sound very similar to his. Plus, he knew Dad and could’ve easily gotten close to him. Not to mention, Rowan was a warrior. I wasn’t sure if he was strong enough to take down my father, but I was sure he maintained his royal powers. But none of that mattered because I didn’t think Rowan was involved. Dad saved his life, after all.
I rubbed my temples. I needed to get out of my head.
Tonight was the ball, and I had to focus. In my father’s absence, I had to display my elemental power for the air court. Power I didn’t know how to control. I wasn’t sure about the specifics, but I knew the fire queen would throw a fireball at me, and it was my job to extinguish it. And after what I had witnessed at the council meeting, I was sure Queen Liana wasn’t going to make it easy.
I sat on the sandy beach. "All right, I’m ready. Let the learning begin.”
Rowan flexed his hand; small flares coated his fingertips. "Do you know what extinguishes a fire?”
I had absolutely no idea. I untied my boots, digging my feet into the soft, warm sand. "I must’ve missed that chemistry lesson. Do tell.”
"Fire can’t exist without oxygen.” He made a fist, and the flame extinguished. “If you isolate the fire and remove the oxygen, the fire will go out.”
His explanation sounded perfectly complicated. "How am I supposed to do that?”
"I’ve taught you how to push the air away from you. Now, you need to learn to return it into you.”
How was this even possible? It took me days to learn to push the energy out, and now I had only a few hours to learn this new technique. An aching sense of doubt settled in my chest. "Why didn’t you teach me this first? All that other stuff could’ve waited until I got comfortable with this. Now, what am I supposed to do if I can’t figure it out? Let the fire queen burn me to death?”
His face turned serious. "You can’t be taught to take in your power without first learning to control it. This shit is serious. Anything can happen if you can’t maintain your center. You’re going to have to trust me. I did what was best for your safety. Now we’re wasting precious time. We need to get started. Are you ready?”
He wasn’t wrong. I was wasting time. I had no idea what the steps were in power training. I rose to a standing position with my hands on my hips. "Let’s get to it.”
"Find your center like I taught you. Once you’re relaxed, think about what it felt like to push the energy out through your arms.”
I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath. A cool breeze came off the ocean as the waves crashed onto the beach. The salty air tickled my nose. It was easy to see why Rowan brought me here to train. This undisturbed oasis was perfect tranquility.
Power surged beneath my skin, running from my shoulders to my fingers. "I feel it.”
I opened my eyes, and he was only inches from me. The silver barbell in his eyebrow shimmered in the sunlight. I jolted slightly when his hands cupped my elbows, sending tingles down the back of my arms. Gradually, he backed up while his hands slid down my forearms.
He lightly clasped my wrists, positioning my opened hands toward the sky. "Concentrate on the palms of your hands. Envision the energy you feel pulling something toward you like you were taking it inside of you.”
He backed up a few feet.
Rowan cupped his hands. As he pulled them apart, a perfectly round ball of blue fire rotated in the air. "I want you to position your hands exactly like mine, but don’t release the surge of power you feel.” I nodded. "Now, concentrate on pulling the energy inside of you while you slowly bring your hands together.”
I felt a suction like my hands were magnets wanting desperately to join. They smacked together with a pop. I glanced up at Rowan. The fire he held was nothing more than a few strands of simmering smoke. I jumped up and down with excitement. "I did it!” I looked again to make sure I hadn’t imagined it. "It worked.”
"You did great. Unfortunately, Liana isn’t going to make it as simple as I did. You have to learn to do that while the fireball is moving.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. "You mean while she’s throwing it at my head.”
“It won’t be easy.” He cocked his head. "That’s why you needed fire-resistant clothing.”
"Okay, so maybe you do know what I need,” I said, lazily shrugging my shoulders. "Sometimes.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. "Leave no doubt, Jellybean.”
I spent the next several hours having fireballs thrown at me from every possible angle. The cowgirl gear Rowan provided turned out to be useful, but it was also heavy. With the hot sun beating down on us, I was a sweaty, sticky mess by the end of our training. The good news was that I managed to extinguish many of the fireballs. That was a relief. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do it every time, and I was weak from all of the practice.
"You did well today.” He used the bottom of his t-shirt to wipe the sweat off his brow. The curved muscles of his abdomen were on full display. “I’m impressed.”
The urge to reach over and touch them made my fingers tingle. I had to remind myself to look away before he noticed. "I’d appreciat
e the sentiment more if you didn’t sound so surprised.”
He paused. I thought for sure he had noticed me staring at him, and was preparing a snarky response. "I ran into Ariel last night, and she told me about the poisoned dress.” I wasn’t expecting that.
I cringed. "I owe Ariel a serious apology. I said things I should’ve never said. I even accused her of being involved in Dad’s disappearance. I can only hope she’ll forgive me.”
“She didn’t seem angry when I spoke to her. Mostly, she was concerned about you.”
Even if she wasn’t upset, I still wanted to apologize. “One positive thing did happen during the fitting.”
"What?”
"I overheard a conversation in the basement of the castle. Part of a plan, I think. It had something to do with the ball.”
His eyes widened. "And you’re just now mentioning this?”
A genuinely valid statement. Why hadn’t I told Rowan the first minute I saw him today? "I didn’t say anything because I’m not exactly sure what I heard.”
He crossed his arms, and with a stern look, said, "Tell me everything.”
"There’s not much to tell. I was still feeling the effects of the poison when I ended up in the castle basement. I heard voices coming from a sealed door. I got down on the floor to try to see who it was.”
"Who was it?” A blue fire ignited at the tips of his fingers. He realized it quickly, fisted his hands, and the flame extinguished.
The surge of his power made my muscles tense. My body temperature rose, which was weird because a cool breeze blew all around us. "They were both males. Based on their shoes and the bottom of their clothing, I could tell one was from the air court. The other had a nice suit. He came off intimidating but nervous. The air court voice I didn’t recognize, but the other sounded a bit like you.”
Mortal Enchantment Complete Box Set Page 18