Betrayals of Spring (17 page)

Anxious, I grab her hands and ask
hastily, “Meliantha, what’s wrong?” Her eyes are wide and terrified. Before she
has a chance to answer, I hear the most bone-chilling scream echoing in the
cold, frosty wind.

“It’s Elissa! We have to help her, now!
Come on!” Meliantha urges, raising her voice.

We race up the path toward the west side
of the palace. The sick feeling in my stomach warns me that what I am about to
witness isn’t going to be good. Aki races ahead of us and is nothing but a
white blur as he speeds across the snow. He will make it there long before we
will. I wish she would tell me what’s going on.

“What did Ashur say? You need to tell me
what is going on,” I demand.

“He told me what he saw. He believes the
dark sorcerer got to Elissa and made her kill someone,” she stammers hastily.
We move as fast as we can to the sound of the scream.

By the time we reach our destination,
there are about twenty of my warriors surrounding something
or someone
up ahead. Ashur comes running toward Meliantha and falls down to his knees at
her feet, pleading.

“She killed someone, Princess, or at
least her body did. I know for a fact it wasn’t actually her that did it. You
have to help her!”

He gets to his feet and turns to me,
“She would never hurt anyone, Prince Kalen. It wasn’t her that did it, and I
know this because…”

“Kalen!” I turn to see Breena running
toward us and she throws herself in my arms. Aki growls at my feet and bares
his teeth while snapping at her.

“Stop it, Aki!” I hiss.

I gently push her away and her eyes go
wide and she gasps in bewilderment. She looks angry and shocked when she
surveys my newly changed body.

The moment is over quickly and she
screams loudly, “She killed Darius! That heartless Summer bitch killed him and
I saw it. I saw everything!” Meliantha starts toward Breena looking angry and
ready to kill, so I hold my arm out to hold her back. Her face is blazing red
and I know that if I let Meliantha have her way with Breena there is no way she
would come out alive.

I whisper softly to Meliantha, “Calm
down, my love.” She’s breathing hard, but my soft words catch her attention.
She gazes into my eyes and eventually nods in compliance. I can tell it’s
taking a great effort for her to back away. It looks like she has grown quite a
temper in the last five years.

I recall Ashur never finishing what he
said. so I turn to him and ask curiously, “What were you saying, Ashur, when
you were interrupted? You said you think what?”

Ashur looks at Breena with a hate-filled
gaze and then back to me.

“I said I don’t think it was Elissa that
killed your fae. The reason why I know this is because she said something
before she collapsed, or might I say the dark sorcerer said something before he
left her body. His exact words were ‘I was just having a little fun, Guardian.
Give Meliantha my best and tell her I will see her soon.’ I know that isn’t
something Elissa would say.” Ashur pauses and then continues, “She was also
holding an iron dagger.”

Meliantha grabs my hand and squeezes.

“I believe him, Kalen. I saw her earlier
dancing with a young man and her eyes didn’t look right. They looked…evil. It
had to have been him in her body the whole time.”

“Well, then you’re just as guilty for this
murder as she is,” Breena hisses while pointing in the direction where, I
assume, Elissa is being held.

“You were too busy being a whore and
stealing my prince to care about anything or anyone else, right?”

Everything happens so quickly and I
couldn’t have stopped it if I tried. Meliantha’s fist flies hard and swift,
connecting with Breena’s face in a loud sounding crunch. By the sound of the
hit, I would have to say Breena’s nose is broken along with other bones in her
face. Her blood sprays across the white snow and she lands hard in a heap on
the ground. She deserves it, and I don’t feel a shred of sympathy for her
either.

I grab the closest warrior to give him
orders.

“Take Breena to her quarters. I want her
packed and gone by morning.”

Breena jumps to her feet, blood running
down her face, and wails, “But she’s the one who hit
me
! This is all her
fault, and she needs to be locked up with her friend and executed.”

Silence has descended upon the crowd and
they’re all looking at me. I have had enough of her mouth, and if she wasn’t a
female, she would already be laid out on the ground preparing for punishment.

I clench my hands into fists and through
gritted teeth I hiss, “If you don’t shut the hell up right now, I’m going to
send you out of the palace immediately. Be thankful your father is on the
council or else you would have already been gone. Do me a favor and get the
hell out of my sight.”

I nod my head at the warrior, and with a
firm grip he takes hold of Breena’s arm and prepares to haul her toward the
palace. Her look is menacing as she stares back and forth from Meliantha to me.

Her voice sounds hateful when she
sneers, “You’re going to pay for this...both of you.”

The warrior drags her away and I watch
as she is escorted to the palace. The laugh she expels makes the hair on the
back of my neck stand straight up. Something isn’t right about her and it
hasn’t been for a very long time. I just never could figure out what it was.

I command the warriors to step aside,
and once Elissa comes into view, Meliantha runs straight to her. She is still
passed out on the ground and not moving. Her hand looks misshapen and deformed
from the poison of the iron dagger. In time it will heal, but her hand will
remain badly scarred. I walk over to Meliantha and I kneel down on the ground
beside her. She takes off her red, silky gloves and places them on the ground
beside Elissa. I wonder what she plans on doing. I look her in the eyes and she
brings her finger to her lips as a silent gesture for me to stay quiet. I nod
my head in compliance and she closes her eyes. She picks up a fallen glove and
begins wrapping Elissa’s hand in it. Each second she’s touching Elissa’s bare
hand I see the tissues forming back together and healing before my eyes. How
can this be? I have never heard of a fae having healing capabilities like this.

By the time she’s finished wrapping
Elissa’s hand, her skin is completely back to normal and not misshapen at all.
But why would she keep this a secret? As soon as we are alone, I plan to ask
her.

“I need to take her with me, Meliantha.
I’m going to have Heylfred, our advisor, take a look at her. He’s very powerful
and he will be able to help her and figure out what happened.”

She looks up at me, and although her
expression is strong, I can still see the quiver in her lip when she asks, “Are
you going to lock her up?” My chest tightens at the thought of her friend being
punished for something she didn’t consciously do, but I have to take her with
me to make sure she is secured. I don’t want to cause Meliantha more pain, but
it’s looking like the dark sorcerer plans to continuously cause it. I really
hope one day we will find a way to destroy the bastard.

I take Meliantha’s hand and I lightly
kiss her palm.

“She’s not going to the dungeons, if
that’s what you are asking. I’ll have her safely secured in a nice room until
we figure it all out. She killed a noble, Meliantha. Dark sorcerer or not,
Darius is still gone, and we have to prove her innocence to the court.” I tilt
her chin to look up at me. “I am
so
sorry, my love.”

She nods her head and gets to her feet.
Her eyes look tired, but she’s holding her body strong. I admire her for her
loyalty and courage, and best of all, I love that she is mine. I pick Elissa up
off the ground and I cradle her in my arms. Ashur and Meliantha both place
gentle kisses on her head before stepping back.

“I’m going to take good care of her,” I
say to both of them.

Then to Meliantha I say, “After I get
Elissa settled and Heylfred sent to her, I’ll come see you first thing in the
morning. We haven’t finished talking yet.” She nods her head and kisses me
tenderly on the lips.

“Please keep her safe,” she whispers. I
watch her walk away with her guardian by her side. She looks back once before
disappearing down the path.

“Alright, warriors, let’s go.”

Last night was the best and worst night
of my life. Having the vision with Meliantha was the best, but having to take
away her best friend was the worst. Not to mention, the dark sorcerer is trying
to wreak havoc in Meliantha’s path. After I left her last night, I secured
Elissa in a private room where she remained unconscious throughout the night
until early this morning. I sat with her the whole time Heylfred performed his
magic and found the solution. The necklace Elissa had been wearing was spelled
with dark magic and that is how the dark sorcerer gained his entry. I wonder
where she got the necklace. It is now with Aelfric to be taken back to the
Elvish Kingdom where it can be destroyed in the magical fires, along with Finn’s
gold cuff.

After Elissa woke up, she was confused
and lethargic. I gave her a few minutes to herself before explaining to her
what happened. She was hysterical at first, but later calmed down slightly when
I promised to bring Meliantha and Ashur to come see her before the trial. It is
tragic that we lost one of our own, but the devastation and heartache Elissa is
going through right now is a punishment in its own. I wish I could console her,
but I know there is nothing that could make the events of the past night easier
on her. Meliantha will know what to do to help.

I couldn’t get my mind off Meliantha
last night. Knowing she was in the cottage alone with her past lover had me on
edge. Finn seems like an honorable warrior, but if he tries to seduce her in my
absence, I’m going to kick his ass all the way back to the Summer Court. If I
wasn’t busy handling this travesty, I would have liked her to stay with
me...alone.

I’m beginning to understand how the
twisted mind of the dark sorcerer works. He’s doing everything possible to keep
Meliantha and me apart. If we’re separated, we can’t fulfill our destiny. He’s
succeeded at it for five years so he could...damn it! He’s been laughing at us
the entire time while fucking with Meliantha physically and emotionally. Just
thinking about it makes my body shake in fury. He’s had his hands all over her
and done who knows what to her out of his sick and twisted enjoyment. I know
Meliantha is strong, and she has me to help her, but how long is it going to
before she breaks from the sorcerer’s perverted pleasures?

My eyes are heavy and they feel like a
bag of salt has been poured into them. I think I may have gotten about an hour
of sleep during the whole ordeal. I plan to spend the morning with Meliantha
and take her somewhere special before Elissa’s trial today. I don’t know when
she plans on leaving, but I know she has to go back to the Summer Court to get
everything arranged before forming our court. The pull to the land has grown
stronger since last night and I know it’s telling me to come claim it. I am
sure Meliantha is feeling the same way. I can’t wait to say the sacred words
and be bound to her for all eternity. I plan to make the announcement of our
bonding after the trial.

I rub my eyes and stretch to get the
kinks out of my muscles. It’s snowing outside, like usual, but for once I don’t
dread the day. I quickly get out of bed and into the shower. Once I’m out, I
towel dry and comb my hair. I have to be prepared if I’m to protect Meliantha,
so I put on my full warrior gear. My breast plate is in place and I have
everything strapped and laced. My sword is heavy hanging from the holster on my
hip, but it’s a welcome weight that I find great comfort in.

It’s still early, but I can’t wait a
moment longer to see her. Before walking out of my cabin, I see my reflection
in the window. After taking a shower earlier, I can’t believe I didn’t take the
time to notice my newly changed body. It’s amazing how different my skin looks
and feels. My heart finally feels like it belongs somewhere — it belongs with
Meliantha, and in
our
court.

I walk out the front door and Aki is
waiting for me on the porch.