The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (131 page)

“Rose,” someone was saying. “Rose I need you to focus okay? We need you to push now,” they instructed.

“Okay,” she agreed weakly. Two hands pulled her up so her back was elevated a bit, while two more sets held on to her legs firmly.

“Alright, Rose,” said the male voice that had entered a while ago. Rose assumed he was the healer. “When you feel the need to push I want you to do it.”

Rose nodded, trying to see his face through the tears clouding her eyes. Time escaped her at that point. She felt like she pushed for hours as voice after voice said encouraging things. She squeezed Gabe’s hand each time as she put all her energy and strength into it. The cool cloth on her forehead would be replaced between pushes. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she gave one last push and the room erupted into a joyous outburst. Rose waited, on edge, for the sound that would be most important.

And then it came. A small wail filled the room, and Rose began laughing and crying at once. She watched as the baby was bundled and taken away as someone called out for her to keep pushing. She obeyed, finding whatever energy she had left. When it was over she lay back, her brow drenched with sweat, her dress sticking to her.

“You did well, Rose,” Gabe whispered. She gave his hand a final squeeze before letting it drop.

“She needs to rest,” someone said sternly.

“I will leave shortly, I promise.” Rose turned to see Chancellor Ottman standing beside the bed. He looked down with a smile that did not reach his eyes. “Congratulations, my lady. You have a strong, healthy baby boy.”

Rose laughed. “A boy?” she asked happily.

Ottman nodded. “The healer will bring him back once you have rested. He is small, but they believe he will be just fine.”

“Thank the Gods,” she said. “And Markus?”

“Gone, my lady.”

“To?”

“They headed south, my lady.”

Rose nodded, letting her eyelids close. She drifted off into a much needed sleep.

Chancellor Ottman stood looking down at the young girl for a moment before turning to leave. Franca pushed him out, closing the door behind him. He looked to the healer standing in the hall, his face pinched with worry.

“What do you think?” Ottman asked.

“She has lost a lot of blood,” he replied gravely. “The baby will live, but the mother…I cannot be sure, Chancellor. Only time will tell at this point.”

Ottman nodded, taking a deep breath. “She is so young,” he remarked softly.

“Aye, she is,” the healer agreed. “Callum will be distraught should he return to find she has passed.”

“At least he will have a son to love in her place,” Ottman offered. “Perhaps the Gods will find it in themselves to save her.”

“Perhaps.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“Where are they?” Logan asked for the tenth time. Wolf sent him a bland look before turning back to look in the direction Aiden and Elisa had disappeared to. It was already half past the hour they were supposed to meet back at, and there was still no sign of them.

“They probably just went further than they thought, so it’s taking them longer to get back,” Moose decided.

“How long should we wait before we search for them?” Stefan questioned.

Wolf looked back at the three guys feeling a twinge of unease in his stomach. It wasn’t like Aiden or Elisa to leave them waiting like this. It was Aiden who’d insisted they meet back in an hour.

“Let’s give them another quarter of an hour,” Wolf suggested. “If they’re not back by then we’ll go looking.”

Moose stood quickly, his body tense. He breathed in deeply. “Do you smell that?” he asked, brows pulled together in concentration.

Logan sniffed loudly. “What is that?”

“Fire,” Stefan answered gravely.

“Are you sure?” Logan sniffed again. “Could be someone cooking back at camp.”

“No,” Stefan stated, “fire!” They all looked where he was now pointing, above the tops of the trees. Dark smoke billowed in the sky in the distance.

“Elisa!” Wolf yelled instinctively. He started, running in the direction they had seen the two of them headed, his heart racing in his chest. Blood pounded in his ears as he skirted his way through the thick bush, heedless of the branches scraping his cheeks as he did. The others were running behind him. He could hear their footfalls, but he didn’t bother looking back to be sure. He called out her name again and again, each time sensing the sick feeling in his stomach grow worse. The others alternated calling Elisa’s and Aiden’s names.

The air thickened the further they went. Wolf’s eyes burned, watering against his will. He blinked frantically to clear his vision, lest he miss something important.

“There!” he heard Moose call out. He turned a fraction to see where his brother was pointing. His eyes followed the line to a small form lying motionless on the ground. His heart stopped. Her hair was spread out around her head, her face hidden behind the thick strands. Wolf moved, feeling as if the whole world had stopped – his eyes never leaving her. He knelt down slowly, reaching to turn her onto her back. Pale lids hid her bright eyes, her pink mouth slightly open.

“Elisa?” he said softly. Reluctantly he put his fingers to her throat, feeling for a pulse. Everything in him screamed that she be alright. When he felt the weak thump against his pads he let out the breath he had been anxiously holding.

“Is she…?” Logan stood beside him, looking down at Elisa in horror.

“She’s alive,” Wolf said.

“Thank the Gods,” Moose breathed.

“We need to get her back to the others,” Wolf began, lifting her easily into his arms. He stood, shifting her so he could support her head properly. “She needs a healer.”

“What about Aiden?” Moose asked, his head darting back and forth. Wolf felt guilt and unease hit him in the chest, but he knew Elisa came first. If Aiden wasn’t with her, something must have happened.

“I don’t think we’ll find him,” he stated unwillingly. “We need to get back and get her help. Elisa can tell us what happened.”

“We can’t just leave him out here,” Stefan argued. A loud crash had them all jumping. A large branch had fallen not too far from them, the fire spreading further.

“We stay, we die,” Wolf countered. “Aiden can take care of himself. Right now we need to get Elisa and ourselves back to camp.”

“He’s right,” Logan agreed, torn. “Aiden wouldn’t want us sticking around here if he knew we could get caught in the fire. We need to head back. If someone doesn’t stop this fire soon it will likely reach our camp.”

“Come on then,” Moose said. He turned and started down the way they had come, the others following. Wolf wondered where in Eden Aiden was, but he was mostly concerned with Elisa, still unconscious in his arms. He knew smoke could do a lot of damage if one breathed in too much of it. He only prayed someone back at camp would be able to help her. They hurried along, no one talking. But every once in while Wolf would catch someone looking over their shoulder, as if Aiden would magically appear there. He even found himself doing it at one point.
Where in the Gods are you, Aiden?
He wondered.

Elisa sat up in the makeshift bed someone had made in Jameson’s tent. Pillows were propped behind her so she could lean back comfortably. Numerous sets of eyes were pinned on her, and she found herself feeling nervous and uncomfortable. Something told her she was about to get into a lot of trouble for not coming to them right away when she’d found out about Aiden. She cleared her throat, wincing at how sore it was. The healer had given her something to drink to lessen the discomfort. Elisa had barely been able to choke it down. She was pretty sure he had just mixed mud and water in a cup and given to her.

“Elisa, you need to tell us what happened, and now,” her father said sternly. “We need to find Aiden. He could be hurt.”

“He’s not hurt,” she said hoarsely.

“How do you know? He could have been caught in the fire,” Jameson argued.

“Because I know,” she stated. “And he wasn’t caught in the fire, he’s the reason there was a fire.”

A few gasps erupted in the room, but most remained silent. She looked for Wolf who was standing at the back with Moose and Logan. They hadn’t had a chance to talk before everyone had squeezed inside the tent demanding an explanation. As she tried to catch his eye, she saw that he stared stubbornly at the ground. Was he angry with her? Pain spread through her chest at the thought.

“Elisa,” Jameson called her name, bringing her back to focus. She looked to Diana who seemed as nervous as she was. The witch gave her an encouraging smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Elisa guessed she wasn’t going to be the only one in trouble for keeping information. She turned to face the King, focusing solely on him.

“Aiden isn’t from his world,” she stated.

“What do you mean?”

“Aziz created him using the blood of the Elite and his magic so that he would be an undefeatable warrior,” she explained. She told them the whole story, from when she found the letter to Aiden’s reaction. Everyone was deathly silent. Elisa had never seen Jameson look as shocked and pale as he did now. “I don’t know where exactly he went, but I’m guessing he’s going to confront Aziz on his own.”

“We must go after him,” Turk said, his voice steady in spite of the recent revelations. “The army must start preparing for battle.”

“We can’t go anywhere until the fire is out,” Hawk pointed out.

“There are storm clouds coming in from the east,” Zachary added. “It looks like the Gods are looking down in your favour.”

“You knew, didn’t you?” Jameson asked as if he had just noticed the forest man sitting there.

Zachary’s expression remained impassive. “I knew something was different about him. I warned Lily that his essence wasn’t…right. I didn’t know exactly why until now, although it makes sense. The blood of the Elite,” he shook his head, “it is no wonder our Mother got involved. She does not take kindly to mortals meddling in such ways.”

“So what do we do?” Logan asked. Elisa glanced over toward him, but got stuck on Wolf. He was still looking at the ground, his mouth set in a hard line, brows lowered. He didn’t look happy. She continued on to Logan who seemed worried more than anything. Elisa knew Aiden’s friends wouldn’t turn their back on him just because of what he was. She only wished he were here to see it for himself.

“We wait until the fire is out,” Turk answered. “And then we move – fast.”

“Get everyone ready,” Jameson instructed. “We don’t have much time. Hopefully Aiden left enough of a path of destruction for us to follow.”

There was a moment where it felt like everyone was talking at once and then they were all gone. Everyone except Wolf, who remained standing near the tent’s entrance. Elisa waited for him to look up at her, her hands fisted nervously in the blankets. When he finally looked up she felt her heart sink at the anger there.

“I tried to tell you earlier,” she pointed out quickly. “It wasn’t like I had planned to keep this from you forever. You must see how difficult it was for me to let this out. I wasn’t sure how it would affect Aiden.”

His voice was low and firm when he spoke. “You think I’m mad because of what you knew about Aiden?”

“Aren’t you?” she asked, confused.

“No, Elisa. No I’m not.” He walked toward her slowly until he was standing beside the makeshift bed. “I’m
livid
because I could have lost you today,” he replied. Wolf sat beside her, placing one hand on either side of her hips so she was caged in. “The next time we split up into groups and I say you’re with me, you don’t argue, got it?” He stared at her, unblinking, until she nodded her head.

“Okay,” she said roughly. He continued to look at her closely, his eyes roaming over every inch of her face. Having him this close was doing funny things to her pulse. Her breathing was coming out quicker, and yet he hadn’t made another move toward her.

“I don’t know what I would have done if you had been…” he trailed off. He reached out a hand, cupping her cheek gently. Elisa leaned into his touch, loving the feeling of his rough skin on hers.

“I’m fine,” she said reassuringly. His thumb swept slowly across her bottom lip.

“I need you,” he whispered.