She leaned back and stared over the water in complete stupefaction. Her mind simply could not digest all she had been told. It wasn’t logical. But matters of faith rarely were.
“That is why you must now make a decision,” he said gently. “You may stay here with your father as he wishes, or you may return to your home. It is a decision that cannot languish lest you return to a world you are unfamiliar with, and should you decide to leave, you will be unable to return.”
“Why?” she asked.
“The bracelet you returned. It is the last of its kind. We have waited long for this moment. A time when we can be assured of our safety, of our way of life. We have long lived with the fear of discovery, but now there exists not a way back into the city.”
She frowned. “But my father came with the bracelet. Why did you not keep it then?”
Arcane’s eyes flashed regret and sadness. “The man known as Roderick fled the city, taking with him the bracelet we had rejoiced so over finding. Your father was sure you could find it in the place called England. So we sent out our guardians to see to your safety and protection and prayed for the return of the key.
“This time it will be destroyed along with the other six.”
She pursed her lips, thinking of the man in her cottage. “Is that how others have come here? The other bracelets?”
He nodded. “There were seven bracelets, and when the favored one was cast out, there was much confusion. The bracelets disappeared from the city, scattered over the earth as some of the inhabitants fled.
“Over the course of time, the bracelets have slowly filtered back to us as those seeking the city have made their way here. When Maximus came to us, he brought with him the sixth bracelet. Yours was the seventh and final.”
She let out a long breath. Nothing in her wildest dreams had prepared her for the truth of Pagoria. Theories, speculation, existed, abounded about the city, most of which she was intimately familiar with. But to sit here and have confirmed something so utterly amazing, it was the single most incredible event of her life.
“I can see I’ve given you much to think about,” he said. “I will leave you to ponder all I have said.” He stood, the material from his robe falling to the ground. “You must make your decision by the next sunrise. You may stay, or you may return to your world.”
She watched him walk away, her mind nearly exploding under the pressure of her ultimatum. She had come here in search of her family only to discover that maybe she had never had the sort of family she wanted. Now she must decide whether to stay and salvage what little she had or leave and give it all up. Her dreams, her wants, her needs. Leave to a life of uncertainty.
Her hands trembled, and she squeezed them together in one big ball to keep her entire body from following suit. If she stayed, she would never see Ridge again. But if she left, she would never see her father again, and she could not live the sort of life Ridge wanted. And she couldn’t, wouldn’t take away from him any more than she had already. Was she doomed to a life of misery either way?
She was afraid. So very afraid of making the wrong decision. So much so that the safe decision seemed to be the most attractive. The one that entailed no risks, no chance of her being hurt. She wanted to be sheltered for once. Away from the life she had led. Away from the possibility that she would disappoint Ridge.
She stared up at the sky as if the answer would be there written in the stars. She was afraid to look inward, to her own heart. She was afraid of what it might tell her.
There was so much to think about, and she only had until dawn.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Ridge woke to the uncomfortable sensation that he no longer had feet. He raised his head from his shoulder, and nearly groaned in protest. Then he moved his feet in an effort to restore the circulation, wincing as painful twinges shot up his leg.
He eyed the window and noticed the first streaks of dawn lighting the sky. His gaze slid over to the bed to where India lay, only she was not there.
He shot up from his chair. “India?” he called out, looking frantically around the room.
He hobbled out of the bedroom and scanned the living area for any sign of her. Where the devil had she gone? She had no business being up with such a serious injury.
Swallowing back a curse, he staggered out of the cottage, stomping his feet on the ground to restore proper feeling. “India?” he called again.
He looked in all directions, then started down the path to the lake. He relaxed when he saw her sitting on the bench, her back to him, staring out over the water.
He approached her and slid onto the bench beside her. She looked up at him, startled for a moment until she saw it was him.
“How are you feeling?” he asked. “You shouldn’t be up.”
She smiled. “I’m sore and stiff, but I needed some air. Needed to think.”
He put a hand out, twirling the ends of her hair with his fingers. “And what were you thinking so hard about?”
“This place,” she replied, staring out again over the rolling terrain.
“It’s amazing isn’t it?”
