Eternal: Chapter Four, Part 2

Her tears subsided, but she still hid her face. Even with the thick knot of emotions released, she must have felt obligated to still be apologetic and culpable.

“I don’t blame you for anything.”

“But it’s all my fault. I brought you back into it and endangered you because of it,” she said, lowering her hands from her face; her cheeks glistened and her eyes were bloodshot.

“And this isn’t you. I need the old you, Caroline. The confident, almost-arrogant fighter who could be nice.”

Sniffling, she took the napkin and blew her nose. “For what?” Then before I could begin to explain, she said, “God you look so different. You’re so pale…but still beautiful. What happened to you? And why the hell did it take you so long to let me know you were alive?” There was the Caroline I knew and wanted, needed. I loved how she could change gears so quickly.

Smiling, partially because she was now, I said, “I am different, and that’s a really long story; but I can’t go into any of that right now.”

She nodded. “So long as you tell me sometime.”

“Sure;” I wasn’t certain that was a possibility, but I could discuss the likelihood with Drei.

“God, Abs, I just can’t get over that you’re not dead;” she laughed to herself. I wasn’t sure if she was going into hysterics, really happy, or if she was losing it altogether. I hoped it wasn’t the latter. “What’s with the different name, anyway?”

“Caroline,” I said, sitting forward on my elbows, “it’s my turn to run the show. I’m preparing to start a revolution—more a movement. I want you on my team.”

Her bronze eyes grew large and she seemed to restrain herself from dropping her jaw as well. “Really? I-I mean…I never figured you to be one for something like that.”

“Well, I am. And that’s also the reason behind the name.”

“So I’ll have to call you Leirba from now on?” When I nodded, she smiled and admitted, “I’m still going to call you Abs from time to time. But I’ll try to remember not to in public,” she promised, grinning.

“Will you be on my team?”

I watched as she sat back, wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing them. “Abs—Leirba,” she sighed, shaking her head and looking away. “I don’t know if I can do it. Thinking you died really made me think about things. And I decided I don’t want—oh how do I put this?” She stopped speaking, rubbing her temples as she searched for the answer she was seeking. “I don’t want to be part of that scene if people die because of it.”

“Caroline,” I said, drawing her attention and taking one of her hands in mine. “People will die whether or not they participate. Now, what I have in mind is less incendiary than yours was, and I’m going to do my best to ensure people aren’t hurt. But there’s no guarantee and I won’t promise you that it’ll all be okay, because it might not be.” Her eyes darted away and she hugged herself again. I could relate to her internal conflict, but when I’d been there it was in regards to my own safety. “What I can promise you, is that I will do everything in my power to keep this as safe as possible. I would hate to lose anyone I’m bringing into this.”

“And what about yourself?” she asked, staring at me. “Because I really don’t think I’m strong enough to lose you again.”

Holding both of her hands in mine, I said, “No worries, I’m considerably harder to kill.”

She nodded her head. “I’ll do it. I’ll be on your team.”

“Great;” I couldn’t stop smiling. Caroline was in. That was one of six, possibly seven if I found another fire elemental.

“If you’re going for more of a peaceful approach, you’ll want Ian, I’m guessing;” how did she know me so well? Both of us smiling made it seem like no time had passed, like we were scheming all over again. Only, this time our roles had changed.

Nodding, I added, “And lawyers. Good ones. I don’t have time for legal issues and I’m not doing this quietly. Don’t have time for that either.”

“I have the perfect lawyer,” she said, bobbing her head and pushing her crimson locks behind an ear. “What kind of timeline are we looking at anyway?”

“Two years,” I replied, finishing my chai latte.

“For what? Planning, initiating—”

“Everything.”

Her eyes were huge disks again, this time her jaw hanging open as well. “You’re insane.”

“I didn’t have much choice.” Before we could blow this into an entirely different conversation—one I didn’t feel like having six plus different times—I suggested, “How about we find Ian?”

“He’ll be excited to see you.” Caroline let the timeline topic drop, but her eyes sparkled in such a way as to say she was still going to ask about it. “He’s missed having you around, even though he handled it better than I did.”