Under the Winter Sun (Elemental Enchanters Series Book 3) (29 page)

“Hey, loosen up,” Lance told her and she jumped.

“Please don’t let Havok do that again,” Ava whispered, staring at Gabriel. “I’m not sure I could take it.”

“He won’t.”

After they ate, they gathered back inside the cabin, under Savina’s defensive charm and Peter’s protection. Ava noticed Gabriel had given her space, and she felt guilty. She hoped he hadn’t overheard her talking to Lance, but she wasn’t sure about anything yet. Savina stood next to Ava and took her hand.

“This will not physically hurt,” she said. “If you wish to do this some other time, we can. I know you do not want to relive this.”

“No. Everyone needs to see it.”

“We only need to do this to see if we can pick up clues or anything,” Sean said. “Are you ready?”

Ava nodded.

Sean held out his hand for her. She took a deep breath and brought a shaky hand up. Sean waited patiently. Ava reached for his hand, but pulled back slightly. She didn’t want to relive it, but had to. She could do this. Finally, she placed her hand in his. Everything went black and then she was back in the snowy forest calling for Peter and Gabriel.

Like a movie, the scenes unfolded before them. Ava tensed at the sight of Havok. She saw several of them flinch when she dropped to the ice. Lance tensed once he saw Melissa but when she started talking about Gabriel, Gabriel’s body went rigid. Ava was glad Gillian wasn’t there to see the next part with Jeremy. It would have destroyed her. Savina tightened her grasp on Ava’s hand as they watched Havok explain why her mother had promised Ava’s soul. The last thing they saw was Ava’s father writhing in pain.

Ava didn’t realize she’d been crying as the candles relit inside the cabin.

Lance held her. “We’ll kill him,” he whispered with such hatred in his voice.

“How could he have gotten inside your head?” Savina mused.

“I’m protecting her, I promise,” Peter said.

“I know. Something broke through the charm. Ava, what happened prior to you falling under? Why were you alone in the woods?”

She looked to Peter. “Peter and I were talking. He went back to his tent, and I needed a moment. I saw these strange looking orbs, just like the ones in the dream about my mom. I followed it, and that’s all I remember.”

“I wouldn’t have left if I knew something like this could’ve happened,” Peter told them.

“You couldn’t have known that,” Savina said. “I don’t understand.” She began pacing, something Colden always did when he was in deep thought.

Ava met Gabriel’s eyes. “Maybe someone’s a traitor here.” She hadn’t meant for that to come out but there was no turning back. She didn’t dismiss Gabriel setting his jaw. Eric squeezed his shoulder.

“It has crossed my mind,” Savina said.

They all looked to Savina.

She shook her head. “We all need to rest. We have a long day tomorrow.”

“What happens if he comes back in my dreams?” Ava asked. Her pulse quickened and her mouth went dry. There was no way she would sleep. “Or what if he begins torturing someone else?”

“We’re going to have to watch each other. A couple of us will have to stand guard all night and we’ll take turns. We’ll figure this out.”

As if on signal, a few of them readied for bed. Sean and Peter opted to stand guard for the first few hours of the night. Lance stayed near Ava like glue. She wouldn’t let anyone else near her.

Gabriel approached her, his eyes laden with sadness. “How are you?”

“I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry he did that to you.”

“I have to know if what they said was true. Were you a Cimmerian?”

His face fell, and he closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, there was a hard edge to them. A muscle twitched in his jaw, and she saw him clenching his fist. “Ava.”

“Answer the question,” she demanded. Lance squeezed her hand.

“Please don’t do this.”

Her heart pounded. His stalling gave her the answer. “Stay away from me.”

“Please let me explain.”

“Stay away from me.” A lump formed in her throat, and her heart sank as he walked away from her. How could the one person she trusted the most have kept something like that from her? She wanted to hear his explanation, but she was too distraught and tired. Ava regretted saying that to him, but she couldn’t trust him. Not when he could be a spy for Havok.

“We have to tell Savina,” she whispered to Lance.

“Tell her what?”

“He’s the spy, Lance.”

He shook his head. “Ava, he can’t be. He—.”

“No. It’s always who you least suspect. Think about it. He’s constantly near me. He teleported me to where my mom died, and we got ambushed. He teleported us to some deserted town, and we got ambushed again.”

“Stop being paranoid. Please try and get some sleep.”

“I’m not going to sleep. Are you crazy? They’ll get inside my head again.”

“I’ll tell Savina. Just stay right here.” He got to his feet and left Ava alone on the bed. She watched him exchange some words with Savina, but then she turned to look at Gabriel. He lay on his bed with his arm over his forehead, the muscles in his jaw twitching. She wanted to comfort him, but couldn’t. He was her enemy.

Lance returned and handed her some water. “I told Savina everything, and we’ll straighten it out. Are you thirsty?”

Ava nodded. She gulped it down and then Lance invited her to cuddle next to him. Within seconds, she closed her eyes.

Daylight gleamed across the snow. Its warmth enveloped Ava. How long had it been since she’d seen the sun? Three months? She rolled over and felt something cold and wet on her face. She opened her eyes and saw a sea of white, but it ended a few inches from her. Sitting upright, she inhaled a sharp breath. She was adjacent to the edge of a cliff. She scrambled backward on her knees and stopped when her back hit a tree. She was still too close to the edge. Clutching the bark, she stood up carefully.

Where was she? How did she get here? She saw nothing but a deep valley below and tall mountains closing her in. 

“Ava!”

She turned and saw Peter running for her as the cliff broke off the edge. She fell, feeling the air gush under her as she plummeted toward the ground. 

“Peter,” she screamed, but her screams got lost in the wind. 

Ava shut her eyes, not wanting to see the inevitable. She thought of her father. The way he held her when she cried. She thought of her failed mission. She’d never see her Aureole together again. She would die for nothing. And then she saw the sweet blue eyes gazing into hers and that confident smile. Gabriel.

The rocky cliff crumbled beneath her as it hit the ground. Then, she saw deep brown eyes peering into hers as she braced herself for the impact. But it never came. Instead, arms softly caught her and she opened her eyes.

“Peter.” She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest. But it was wrong. She didn’t want Peter holding her.

“It’s me.”

“I was falling. How did you save me?”

“I will always be here. They told me they want you.”

“Who?” She looked up.

“Havok. You belong with them, Ava. You’re strong like them.”

“No.” She struggled to free herself of his grip, but he wouldn’t let go.

“How could you not see this coming? I’ve always been part of them. I’ve always been an Enchanter. How do you think I made you fall in love with me?”

“No. You’re lying.” Ava fought out of his arms and stood in the snow. She looked up to see how far she’d fallen. The cliff was at least a few miles high. “How did you catch me? Where is everyone else?”

“I killed them.”

“Stop doing this,” she yelled. “Stop torturing me.”

“Then say the word, Ava,” Peter demanded. “I’ll keep doing this until you do.”

“I won’t give up.”

He took a step toward her and shook her arms.

“Ava, wake up. Wake up.”

She was jolted awake, her heart racing. Lance, Peter, Gabriel, and Savina stood over her. She exhaled and tried to catch her breath. They crowded her and the air felt thinner. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and leaned against the headboard.

“What did you dream?” Savina asked with a worried look in her green eyes. Ava repeated her dream to them, which made Savina only set her lips in a hard line. “We have to get out of here. Ava, how strong do you feel?”

“I’m fine.”

“We must stick together and be focused on our way. Peter, you will need to stay close to Ava. You have to protect her mind.” 

After packing everything up, they headed out for another dreadful day of hiking. Though, she wasn’t keen on Peter staying close to her, Ava was glad to be leaving. They walked together in rows, with Sean and Savina in front of Lance, Ava, and Peter with Eric, Gabriel, and Natalia behind them. 

Since being in a coma, Ava didn’t feel one-hundred percent, but she kept it to herself. She didn’t want to delay the group any more than she already had. She could make herself warm, but wondered if her powers were still as strong as before.

A change of scenery came in view, as they approached high snowcapped mountains. The same mountains from her dream. Did Havok know their exact path? How could he possibly know where they were? Was someone following them? Could it be Gabriel giving Havok clues? 

“Do we have to climb those?” Ava asked. She feared hiking the steep mountain. Her legs ached. Her body trembled. And the thought of walking so close to the edge sickened her.

“Yeah, you’ll be fine,” Gabriel said, no emotion in his voice. Ava hated his attitude. Lance never told her what Savina said about Gabriel. Maybe they were all spies.

As they walked, Ava slowed a few steps behind, trying to keep up.

“What is it?” Lance asked. “Why are you walking so slowly?”

“Sorry. I thought I saw something,” she lied.

She pushed forward, grateful for no falling snow. They began climbing, lucky it had a path that wound its way to the top. It was steep, but they each had the strength to climb, except Ava. She was weakening, but she urged herself to continue. Because of the narrow path that lay out in between the edge and a rocky wall, they had to walk in a single file line, Ava being last. She hoped they wouldn’t turn back and see how far she’d been straggling.

Breathing hard, she stopped and leaned against the rock wall for a minute before forcing herself to continue. When they came to a flat part, relieved, she dropped to her knees.

“What’s wrong with me?” she whispered to herself.

“Ava, are you in pain?” Gabriel asked as he backtracked and knelt beside her.

“I’m tired.”

“Can you walk?”

“My legs. They’re so weak.” She punched the snow. “I can’t delay us any longer.”

“Whatever they did to you left you weak. I’ll carry you.” He put her arm around his neck.

“What are you doing to me?” Ava shouted.

“Don’t you dare touch her!” Peter yelled as he ran to her. 

The ground shook. Behind him was a large saberwolf, teeth ready to clench down onto Peter’s head. His foot slipped, and he fell off the cliff to the right. His hands grasped the edge.

“Peter! No!” She struggled to stand and clumsily ran toward the cliff to catch him. But his hands lost their grip just as she reached him. He plummeted, and she lost his body in the thick clouds. “Peter!” She wailed. Hands grasped her, dragging her away from the edge. The image of him falling repeated itself in her head. 

“Ava, wake up!” she heard Gabriel yell. He was shaking her hard.

Her eyes opened. “I’m awake. Why are you shaking me? Where’s Peter?”

“What? What is it?” Peter asked, standing over her. A worried expression fixed on his face.

Gabriel’s face fell.

The rest of the group crowded around her.

“Y-you fell,” she said. “I saw you fall over the edge. A saberwolf attacked you.”

“She’s hallucinating,” Gabriel spat. “You have
got
to protect her better!” He yelled at Peter.

“I am protecting her!”

“Obviously not well enough.”

“Gabriel,” Savina warned. “Ava, you must block him from your mind.”

“I’m trying.”

“Can Peter stop this from happening?” Lance asked.

“What if she’s cursed beyond my repair?” Peter asked.

“She’s not,” Sean said. “If she keeps hallucinating, Havok could completely take over her mind, again. Peter, keep most of your protection on her.”

“We need to go,” Ava said.

“We can’t go on today,” Eric said. “It’s too dangerous. She’s struggling.”

“No,” she cried as she struggled to stand. “I can do this.”

“Yeah? What happens if you hallucinate and fall of the cliff?” Gabriel asked.

“I see it,” Savina said. “We will stay here. We continue to stand watch every hour.”

Ava’s shoulders dropped. She was holding them up. Delaying them longer. If she joined Havok now, she could end it. End everyone’s pain and suffering. But he wanted all of them. He wouldn’t stop until he had every single one of them. But why was he only torturing her?

“Why are you hallucinating about me?” Peter asked. “Do you want me dead or something?”

She stared at him. “Are you kidding me? No, I don’t want you dead. I’m sorry that I’m not hallucinating the right things for you.”

Gabriel helped her to her feet, and she moved a few inches away from him. “Peter, when she has delusions that are products of a curse, they aren’t coming from her subconscious. She’s seeing what they want her to see.”

The ground trembled like an earthquake, and Ava lost balance but Gabriel caught her before she hit the ground. Clumps of snow collapsed on the ground from the trees as the shaking continued.

“What is that?” Lance asked.

Ava gasped. They all froze as a pack of saberwolves descended down the mountain. Avalanches careened after them. Their low growls echoed in the twilight.

“Am-am I hallucinating?” Ava whispered.

“No, they’re real,” Gabriel said.

She held her breath as the saberwolves sauntered closer.