Enflame (Insight #6)(20)

I only halfway heard her. My insights were searching for Landen. He was only feet away, and his emotions were in balance at this moment, but I felt them intensifying with each second that passed.

“Where are my friends? What happened with Silas?”

“Nothing.”

“What do you mean, ‘nothing’?”

“I mean nothing. They convinced Guardian that the rising was done to save them, not hurt them.”

“You were gone a long time. What else?”

“They were concerned with the actions Silas planned to take against allies of yours.”

“Draven?”

“It seems Silas has found a new way to kill him and it was strongly suggested that he not attempt to do so.”

I grunted, ready to take Silas down myself, but I knew if Landen let him be, then the risk was low to nil for Draven at the moment.

“Where is Clarissa? Dane?”

“In The Realm. They will be back soon. Reality takes a lot out of them.”

As I judged her every word, my gaze eased across her. She spoke the truth.

“I’ve called a friend. She will be here soon. I’m walking down that hall, and if I figure out that you have hurt Landen or anyone else I care about there will be hell to pay.”

“Look around you. This is hell. Wait. Never mind. You’ve closed that channel. You see nothing now but your heart and your personal battle.”

“What is that disdain? I did nothing to you,” I said with a glare that should have humbled the bravest soul.

“You took him from us. You were foolishly grieving for a false love, and because you were weak, you were manipulated—possessed—when he chose to save you and then failed he left. So excuse me if I have disdain. I don’t care to hear of your troubles. They are nothing compared to the dead that walk with me daily.”

“I can’t answer for who I was. Frankly, I’m tired of trying to. I’m looking forward. No soul under my watch will ever fall.”

A gleam of hope scattered across her gray eyes. “Some need to fall.” She looked away from me. “He followed you to death’s door, not only because he loved you, but because he loved his followers. I know the man that is adored and feared across time would not choose his counterpart easily. I respect you. Please don’t take my harsh words personally. I have…I’ve waiting a very long time for my daughter to have a chance at a normal life once again…I fear for everyone of you. All that are called to the war of light and dark.”

I put my hand on her shoulder and calmly into her eyes. I felt her emotions, the grief and the fear. I felt her intent to help us. Her disdain for the life plan we were all fighting. “I like bluntness. I don’t do well with round about answers. You tell me what you know and we’ll figure this out.”

She smiled vaguely. “I’ll let you know when your guests arrive.”

I glanced over her once, offering a weak nod, then went to follow Landen’s emotion. It led me down the hall, where under the stairs there was a door. I opened the door cautiously, not sure what to expect.

Oddly, from what I could make out in the darkness, it was a rather large bedroom. Landen was lying across the bed. I felt the stare of Phoenix and found him to my right.

“You might want to close that. The light will be painful to him if he opens his eyes.”

I stepped in, then held the door open for him to leave. He didn't move. Instead, he just nodded his head, and the power to the house went out, leaving only the weak moonlight peering in from the windows around the front door to light the way.

“What are you staring at?” I murmured, not wanting to disturb Landen.

“Is my stare bothering you?”

“No. I just asked for kicks and giggles,” I mocked dryly.

He smirked in response. “I’ve been chasing your image for longer than I can recall. Forgive me if I try to figure you out.”

“Nothing special here,” I breathed as I assured myself that Landen’s chest was rising and falling peacefully.

“Doubtful.”

My gaze moved to the silhouette of Phoenix.

“He is fearless, dangerous, lethal...and you broke him. You managed to turn a warrior into a hopeless fool in love.”

“Love is supposed to make us stronger.” I was getting really sick of saying that to everyone.

“It is. But when it’s taken for no reason, when it’s dangled before someone, then ripped away, when the one that is loved looks blindly at you, that doesn’t make you stronger. It cripples you.”

I fought the urge to cry as I realized how horrible I could have been to Landen in the past. I was only aware of the peaceful lives. I wanted to run at that moment, find the furthest darkest corner, and hide there.

The moment that absurd daydream crossed my mind, Phoenix tensed and leaned toward me. “Tell me you’re thinking of running, and I throw you into the fire at this moment. You’re bound to have given him your innocence by now. This time, you will be a Phoenix. I won’t let you hurt him again.”

Rage engulfed me. I stepped dominantly toward him. “You can throw me into a fire, tear my flesh off piece by piece while I watch, and that act will not compare to what I feel right now. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I am darkness. Maybe I am a curse. It’s clear to me that he doesn’t belong to me—he belongs to the world, and I blind him from that charge.”