Betrothed (21 page)

‘How do I use them?’ I couldn’t stop touching them and admiring the way they twinkled. It was as though there was a constant rearrangement of light inside, like the surface of a lake on a sunny day seen through sheer pink fabric.

‘We’ll get to that, Marla, but first we need to clear the area. Would you like to help me?’

‘How?’

‘See the men over there?’ Leif pointed to the edge of the cliff where the three men were flying their remote-controlled planes.

‘Uh-huh.’

‘What do you think might send them home?’

‘Oh, I don’t know—lots of things I suppose. Their lunch might be ready, their wives might be waiting, there might be a football game on TV.’

‘Good, you’ve got the idea. Now choose one that’s not too unkind.’

‘The football game?’

‘Perfect. You will need to go and stand beside them. I will lend you my power and you will be able to confuse them.’

‘You can do that?’

He grinned. ‘I am prince.’

‘What was I thinking?’ I smiled, tapping my forehead with my palm. ‘But what about my wings?’

‘It doesn’t matter. They will forget later anyway.’

‘All right.’

‘You will have to focus on one man at a time. Stand beside him, the closer the better, and look into his eyes as you give him your story.’

‘Is that all there is?’ It sounded too simple.

‘That’s all there is.’

I looked at him, eyebrows raised.

He smiled. ‘That’s all, Marla, I promise. Go on now.’

I strolled over to the men. The man closest to me turned as I approached. ‘G’day, love,’ he said as he eyed me up and down. ‘Are you off to a fancy dress party?’

‘Not quite,’ I said, and felt a bit silly when I added, ‘but you do know your football game is about to start.’ At that moment, a wave of Leif’s power came into me, starting at my feet and surging all the way through my body before leaving through my hands. It left behind a lovely tingling feeling, like the warmth from a hot shower on an icy day.

‘So it is,’ the man murmured after glancing at his watch. ‘Thanks for reminding me.’ He brought his plane in to land and began packing it away into its box.

I turned around and grinned at Leif. He smiled and nodded but stayed where he was. As the first man was preparing to leave, I turned to the second and repeated the process. Like the first man, he packed his plane away and left the scene. When all three men had left the area, I returned to Leif.

‘That was too easy,’ I said, feeling smug.

‘You’re obviously very clever,’ he replied.

I wrapped my arms around his hips. ‘This is so much fun.’

‘I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.’

‘What about all of the others in the air and down there?’ I said, nodding in the direction of the launch area.

‘Hmm, there is a storm coming I think.’ As Leif said it, his eyes took in the people both in the air and on the land. Within moments the spectators had dispersed and the gliders in the air were landing and joining their fellow thrill seekers in swiftly packing up their equipment.

I held tight to Leif and watched in disbelief as the whole area became clear in a few short minutes. When everyone was gone I turned my attention back to him.

‘You’re amazing.’

He smiled and reached behind his back to unlock my hands from him. ‘Are you ready to fly, Marla?’

I couldn’t imagine it. I caught my bottom lip between my teeth and gnawed on it while I considered. ‘I’m not sure,’ I said after a moment.

‘Not sure? But you have your wings now. You are ready,’ he assured me. He reached behind me and ran a slow finger down my back. ‘These muscles, Marla, at the base of your wings—just move them. See what happens.’

‘I’m nervous.’

‘Don’t be, I’m here with you.’

I reached out to him and he took my hands, then I closed my eyes and put every bit of my focus on the muscles that joined to my wings. The wings began to move back and forth—slowly at first, then faster until they seemed to beat without me even trying. It was instinctual, like breathing. Then Leif’s hands vanished from mine as the pace increased and I flew up into the air like a helium balloon. I screamed, completely unprepared and utterly terrified. Though I made no conscious decision to do so, I must have stopped the movement, because the next thing I knew I was plummeting back to Earth and a little part of my mind was preparing my body for the impending crash. But Leif caught me deftly and gently in his arms. He was laughing but I was too relieved to be in one piece and hyperventilating too hard to tell him off for it.

‘That was good,’ he said, ‘But next time, don’t stop.’

‘Next time! You must be joking—I’m not doing that again!’

‘You will be fine.’

‘I’m not doing it.’ I folded my arms across my chest, reminding myself of my mother.

‘Well then, there’s only one other way.’ He ignored my protests and scooped me into his arms before flying out over the sea again. I felt tiny and insignificant as I glanced back to the cliff. Especially since I knew what Leif was about to do.

‘Ready?’ he asked when we were high in the sky again.

‘No.’

‘Come, Marla, be brave.’

‘Fine, but you’d better stay close.’

He released me from his arms and we both began to plummet towards the ocean. My wings sailed out behind me uselessly.

Go on, Marla, you can do this.

But I couldn’t, I was too frozen with fear. ‘Leif, I can’t,’ I cried to the wind. ‘Please hold me.’

He flew close and hauled me back into his strong arms. Then he took me high into the sky again. ‘You did this before, Marla. You can do it again. We are in the air now—there is nowhere for you to crash.’

‘There’s the sea,’ I pointed out.

‘You
know
I will not let that happen.’

‘Maybe I can do it if you hold onto me.’

He kept my hands and gave the rest of me to the sky. But this time he didn’t allow us to fall. Instead he hovered in the air, letting me dangle beneath him.

I started to move my wings and just like before, they seemed to speed up of their own accord. I shrieked as I shot above his head.

It’s okay, I’ve got you.
Leif’s grip on my hands was firm, and after some serious concentration, I managed to gain some control. I wobbled up and down, adjusting the speed of the movements and soon—to my delight—I found myself keeping perfect time with him, my body matching his, weightless in the sky.

‘I’m flying, Leif!’

‘You are, my love.’ He laughed and let go of my hands.

I squealed, euphoric as I found my bearings after a few dips and twirls. Then I flew through the sky, my confidence complete, laughing like a mad thing as the cold air pricked my skin and whipped strands of hair around my face. I couldn’t stop. We played together, Leif and me, far out over the deep green sea where nobody could see us. We tumbled and chased each other, clutching at limbs and tangling together in the naked sky. But suddenly Leif stopped and hovered in place. I went to him and hovered beside him.

‘What time is it?’ he asked.

‘Quarter past two,’ I replied after looking at my watch. ‘Whoops.’

‘Come, it will be faster if I carry you.’

He took me in his arms. With a flick of my newfound muscles, my wings vanished and Leif flew as fast as a lightning strike to my home.

If there was one thing guaranteed to provoke my mother’s wrath, it was being late for Sunday lunch when you’d made a commitment to being there. And if you were late, you’d better have a good excuse. I wondered if mine qualified.

But I needn’t have worried, because when Leif and I came through the balcony door, lunch was nowhere to be seen and my mother was sitting on the lounge looking pale and overwrought, her hand tucked securely into my father’s.

Dad looked up from their joined hands. The expression on his face was similar to the one he’d worn at his father’s funeral. Something inside of me came undone.

‘What’s wrong?’ I cried, rushing to my father’s side, praying that everything was okay.

‘Sit down, love . . . we need to talk—you too, Leif.’

My heart was pounding behind my ribs. ‘Nobody’s hurt are they? Where’s Ash?’

‘Everything’s fine, love, your sister’s at a friend’s house.’

Then I realised all the gloom was because of me. I relaxed back into my seat. Leif took my hand and held it in his lap.

After a moment, Dad said, ‘Everything you told us was true.’

I didn’t know if it was a question or a statement—not that it mattered. ‘Yes.’

‘The betrothal connection—this other world—the immortality at eighteen?’

‘All of it, Dad.’

My mother looked at me, her eyes were red and swollen and filled with something I’d never seen before—fear, perhaps? Whatever it was, I didn’t like it. I lay my hand on her arm and said, ‘It’s okay, Mum.’

A tear slipped from the corner of her eye as she murmured, ‘You’re my daughter, how could I not know?’

‘I’m still me, Mum. Nothing’s really changed.’

‘Everything’s changed . . . ’ A sobbing sound caught in the back of her throat and more tears started to leak from her eyes. She whispered, ‘I’ll wake up in a minute. I must wake up in a minute.’

Dad pulled her hard against him. Outside of our family, everyone thought Mum was the tough one and that Dad was quiet and gentle. But it wasn’t true. I mean it was true that Dad was quiet and gentle, but he also had this invisible strength—like he was made of steel but all wrapped up in cotton wool. And in my whole life, I’d never been more grateful for it than now. As he stroked my mother’s shoulder, he tucked his forehead against hers and said, ‘Karen, everything is going to be all right. Amy is safe and well and that’s all that matters.’ Then he looked at me and said, ‘Grab some money from the jar, love. Get you and Leif some lunch; your mum just needs a bit more time.’

He wanted us to leave them alone. I went to the kitchen and took a few dollars from the emergency stash and then Leif and I flew off to the beach.

When we returned a couple of hours later, though her eyes were still puffy, Mum seemed a bit more together.

‘Are you okay, Mum?’

She nodded but didn’t seem able to speak.

Dad made a pot of tea and put it on the table. After he’d brought milk and sugar and cups, he said we all needed to have a chat.

When we were seated at the table, Dad looked directly at Leif and in a voice that left no room for avoidance, said, ‘Is our daughter in any kind of danger?’

Leif didn’t miss a beat. He said, ‘I will
never
allow harm to come to your daughter, Lewis.’

Dad said, ‘Sounds like you’re evading the question, Leif, so I’ll rephrase. Is your father any threat to my daughter? He did banish her from this . . . Faera, did he not?’

‘My father is king. He is more powerful than you could possibly imagine. But I promise you that if he had wished Marla more harm than this earth was always bound to afford her, then her parents bringing her here would have been no real impediment to him.’ Leif’s face softened. ‘But please be assured, I will be staying close by until this whole situation is resolved.’

My eyes opened wide. I looked at Leif, but his face gave nothing away. I didn’t understand. Yesterday he’d told me it was unsafe for him to remain even one more night and now he intended to stay. Not wanting to worry my parents further, I kept the observation to myself.

‘And what exactly does that involve—the situation being resolved?’ my father asked.

‘Faera is Marla’s rightful home and I am currently in the process of acquiring leave for her to make it so. Only in Faera will she be able to reach immortality and become the person she was born to be.’

My mother’s hand flew to her mouth, stifling a strangled sob. Dad wound an arm around her, drawing her to his body.

‘Mum, don’t worry about it! I probably won’t even be allowed to go to Faera anyway!’ I gave Leif a look that told him he’d said too much.

He said, ‘Karen, please do not be concerned. I am prince of Faera and as my wife, your daughter will be permitted to come and go between Faera and Earth as she pleases.’

‘Your wife!’ my mother cried, trembling now. ‘Amy is only seventeen! She hasn’t even finished high school!’

I glared at Leif and this time he shut his big mouth.

‘Where is this place, Faera?’ Dad asked Leif.

Leif was thoughtful for a moment and all eyes were on him, waiting. ‘Where the sun reaches, Faera exists. It cannot be seen, unless you are within in it, but it is as tangible and connected to the sun as your Earth.’

‘Surely if the place exists we should be able to see it?’ Dad said.

‘The wind cannot be seen, nor the air,’ Leif said.

‘It’s not the same thing,’ Dad said, sounding impatient. ‘Those are not things that can be touched—they are not meant to be seen.’

‘And Faera is not meant to be seen by humans,’ Leif said, his voice gentle. He paused, but my father made no response, just sat staring at the cup before him, so Leif continued. ‘We are of different worlds, Lewis. If not for my father’s temper, our paths would not have crossed. Marla would be in Faera now, with little knowledge of this place. She and I would be planning our future together.’