Page 85 of The Heir

“I know, Emma, and I am so sorry. With time, you will learn how it all works.”

While I highly doubted that any amount of time would help me, because time had proven to me, over and over again, how much of a jerk it could be, I didn’t say anything about it.

“How come I never heard my mother's or my father’s melodies?”

“They knew how to shield them. Even though it is frowned upon, we all know how to shield our melodies.”

“Except for me,” I added, looking down at my feet.

“Emma, you didn’t grow up on Terra. You were not trained as we were. Your melody has been suppressed for nearly sixteenyears. Having a melody is new for you, sweetheart. How can you expect to shield a huge part of yourself?”

“Yes, I guess, but still, if I am the reason Ryker is in trouble—”

“Stop that. What is done is done. We cannot dwell on what we could have done or might have done or didn’t do. We must live in the now, Emma, and right now, we are going to save Ryker.”

I nodded as we reached our hotel room door.

“Thank you, Mary, for talking with me. I do not know what I would do without you. I am so grateful for you.” I gave her a hug and buried my face in her shoulder.

“I will always be here for you, Emma.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Ishowered, dressed, and packed my bags, my mind reeling with all of the new information, swimming around in my head. There was no way I could keep all of that information straight. Instead, I tried to focus on helping Ryker. Once he was safe, I could ask all the questions I wanted to ask and figure out more with time. I had time, right?

For the next phase of our journey, we would drive inland for a few hours in order to reach the trail which led to the cave where Keil believed Ryker was being held. Walking from the hotel, I put my bag in the trunk of the car and waited with Mary out front for Shad and Keil to arrive. They checked us out of our rooms and then grabbed a few supplies at a local sporting goods store across the street—because Mary and I did not have any realhiking gear with us. They came to the car with two large hiking backpacks, along with some light meals to carry with us.

As we moved further and further away from the coastline, Mary drove, and I watched Shad as he and Keil searched a map. They were pointing to some trails and marking things with a red pen.

“But if we take this one, it will cut one hour from our hike,” Keil said with a smile.

“Yes, Keil, but it is also a one foot wide trail, up the side of a cliff. I won’t risk that,” Shad persisted.

Keil nodded as if he understood that it was not a realistic route for our group.

I was grateful for not having to scale the side of a cliff.

“You ready?” Shad asked, holding my hand. Our melodies played back and forth together, and I found so much comfort in it.

“As ready as I'll ever be,” I replied with a fake smile.

“All will be well, Emma; all will be well. We will find Ryker, and everything will be okay.”

I nodded. I knew that Shad believed that, but I did not. I knew that it would be dangerous, and I was in no way prepared for what we were about to face. How could I be? It had been less than forty-eight hours since my life had completely turned inside out. At least, I had Shad. His melody had such a calming influence over me. I watched out the window as I tried to coax my mind to relax, the hills and trees moving swiftly past us.

The car stopped suddenly, causing my head to fall into Shad’s lap from off of his shoulder where I had fallen asleep. I looked up at him, and he smiled.

“Good dreams, Sleeping Beauty?” he asked, touching my face and brushing hair from off my cheek. His fingers lingered, caressing his electric touch into my skin. A fire spread within me—it was so wonderful, too wonderful—I want to kiss his mouth,his perfect mouth, his lips that lift so effortlessly into that smile—his smile.I pushed my thoughts away, hoping he had not heard them.

Emma—his melody called out to mine, and I could hear the longing within it.

“I’d wait even longer for you, than Prince Gideon did for his Briar,”

I smiled. The sleeping beauty story my mother had in her storybook was one of my favorites, but hard to believe.

“Did he really wait three hundred years for her?” I whispered.

He nodded, “He did, and he is your ancestor, you know, originating in Haleston, so he’s a distant uncle of some sort.”

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