Journey into the Realm: The Stolen Child (Journey into the Realm Series) (25 page)

***

“What does this mean for us?” Nathan wondered dejectedly, after I had reiterated the memory Eder had allowed me to witness.

He was sitting on the boulder again. I remained standing. I couldn’t sit still with all the tension that hung in the air between us. I had to keep moving to keep from screaming. I couldn’t let that earth fairy tear Nathan and me apart. I couldn’t let him ruin the one solid truth in my life. I was prepared to do anything to make Nathan understand that.

“Nothing between us has changed, I promise you that,” I said. “And this isn’t even about Eder. It’s about my mother. She
stole
my memories.” I started pacing; I couldn’t help it. “She altered my life for her own benefit. What if I could have been stronger than this? Before she made Eder go away,
I knew
things
, Nathan. I knew that I had a great destiny, and I accepted it. But then she reverted me back to my old, ignorant self. She changed the natural path of my life, and what if doing so has ruined my chances for success?”

“I’m sure if that were true, she wouldn’t have done what she did,” Nathan commented. “Like Eder told you, she must have known things about the future that neither of you did. Maybe your relationship with Eder took you off the right path and removing your memories of him was the only way to put you back on track.”

“So you’re on her side?” I cried.

He shook his head. “No, no, of course not. I’m always on your side, no matter what. But I can’t hate her for what she did.”

I scowled. “Why not?”

“Because,” he said, looking away from me and staring into the dense jungle of the Element Fairy Realm. “If Eder had stayed with you, if you had stayed with him, how would we have met?”

My shoulders sagged, the weight of the world suddenly too heavy to bear. “I don’t know. I have to trust that we would have, somehow, and that I still would have chosen you.”

“I guess we’ll never know for certain,” he muttered.

I swallowed the ache in my throat. “Are you upset with me?”

His gaze returned to meet mine. “No. How could I be? None of what happened is your fault. I’m just…afraid.”

“Of what?” I asked.

“Of Eder,” he admitted. “Of what he might do to us.”

“He doesn’t want anything from me,” I insisted.

“Yeah, and he can say that all he likes and it will never be true,” Nathan retorted.

“How do you know?”

“Because it’s what I used to say to you when you were with Stellan. It was always a lie.” I heard him take a deep breath. “He may not expect anything from you, but that won’t stop him from wanting you. Fairies are tricky with their bended truths.”

“But, Nathan –”

“I know what desire looks like, Ramsey,” he interrupted. “He desires you. I saw it when he said your name. I almost didn’t believe it, but now that I know your history….”

“Fine. Whatever. So he still loves me,” I said, throwing my hands up in the air out of frustration. “But his feelings for me won’t change the ones I have for you. I swear. I want us to be strong together, like you said. Please, believe me.”

“I’ll try,” he said softly.

I sat down beside him. “Now kiss me again.”

This kiss was nothing like our last embrace. Short, sweet, yet filled with Nathan’s sorrow, the kiss left its mark on my heart when it ended. Despite his willingness to trust me, my history with Eder was in some way worse than when I had tried to push Nathan away. I didn’t know why, but I felt it in our kiss.

The sound of someone clearing his throat brought me out of my thoughts. “Sorry to interrupt, but I think it’s time we traveled to the rebellion.”

Eder stood not ten feet away from Nathan and me. His expression was unreadable, his eyes dark, but I knew he had witnessed our embrace. My cheeks grew warm with embarrassment. Nathan’s grip was suddenly tight around my hand.

“You’re back,” I blurted, stating the obvious.

“I thought you needed some time to accept…this,” he said, gesturing to his fae body and wings.

I nodded. “We’ve decided to continue following you, but only because you’re our only tie to Joseph and the rebellion.”

“I take it that means you’re still angry with me,” Eder anticipated.

“You’re right. She is,” Nathan said. “And so am I.”

Eder chuckled. “For an entirely different reason, I presume.”

“Nothing about this situation is funny, Eder,” I told him with bitterness in my voice. “Let’s find the others and get moving.”

His bemused grin stirred emotions within me that I promised myself I could ignore. This disregard would act as my only defense against the fairy with desire in his eyes that I could now plainly see.

Our trek through the suffocating humidity and abundant foliage made the previous Realms we had traveled through insignificant in comparison. I would take crazy mermaids and dancing fairies over this balmy, insufferable weather any day. The Element Fairy Realm was no vacation destination. Being here was absolute torture.

To make matters worse, as soon as we began traveling, I started seeing things. Flashes of Ellie’s red wings behind a palm tree. Stellan’s ashes mingling with the dirt. Finn’s cruel gaze in the face of a boulder. Too many horrible memories lived here. Too many to forget, too many to control. It had been hard enough dealing with my grief in the Elf Realm, but at least the environment had done little to remind me of that fateful day. Now, traces of Stellan’s death and the greatest battle of my life thus far lingered and taunted me everywhere I looked.

I had not the slightest idea how I would rid myself of these images.

Eder, in true tour guide fashion, used this time to drone on and on about anything native to the Element Fairy Realm, from colorful creatures to the nuts on the trees. The amount of detail he included was agonizing in its excessiveness. I wanted to whack him in the head with a palm branch, but I was too disturbed by images of Ellie to venture near one.

“The two most notable birds of the Element Fairy Realm are griffins and phoenixes,” Eder said, furthering his boring tutorial. “The griffin has the body of a lion, and the wings and head of an eagle; its hind legs are those of a lion, and its forelegs are those of an eagle, with talons.”

“What’s their significance?” Aimee wondered, the only one polite enough to continually inquire about Eder’s lecture on native species. By his expression, Rafik seemed curious, but he never spoke, whereas Tavis looked so bored I feared he would blow something up in order to stay awake. Then there was Nathan, who had stopped speaking civilly to Eder when we started traveling.

Princess Glissarie was another story. Neither bored nor angry, her silence was a complete mystery to me. Like me, she had furled her wings because the thick jungle was a recipe for a wing disaster, and preferred walking. She stayed a few steps behind the rest of the group, clutching her secretive book tightly against her chest, her warm eyes pondering something I couldn’t place.

“Griffins are protectors, whether it’s for their nests, their mates, their young, or their masters.”

“Masters?” Aimee wondered.

“Well, sometimes an elf or fairy will capture a griffin and try to tame it. Griffins can’t exactly be trained as pets, but they are fiercely loyal to those who hold them. Like a guard. Sometimes a griffin can be tamed this way, but other times it will rip its captor’s face off with its talons. It’s a risk only the most determined will take,” Eder explained.

Aimee nodded, clearly fascinated or just a really solid actress. “So are the griffins working with the Element fairies?”

“Some of them,” Eder said. “Others are with the rebellion. It all depends on the type of master each has, if any.”

“What about phoenixes?” Aimee prodded.

“Phoenixes are thought to be, at least in the Magical Realms, the leaders of all birds. Another name for a phoenix is the Firebird. These birds are usually gold and scarlet in color. Legend says they live for up to one thousand years and can be killed only if they are burned. Then, at any given time in the future, they will rise from the ashes as young phoenixes again.”

“Very interesting. You know, I took a class on magical creatures in ability school, but because of the war, beings native to your Realm were excluded,” Aimee explained. She now traveled next to Eder. The two looked like best friends the way they inclined their heads toward one another as they spoke. I wondered if Tavis was jealous. I wondered if I was wrong to be jealous myself. “Now I realize what everyone’s missing out on. The creatures of your Realm seem so vibrant and extraordinary.”

Eder nodded. “Yes, but when it comes to the Element Fairy Realm, what is most beautiful is usually what is most dangerous.”

“Like Element fairies,” I blurted.

The earth fairy looked back at me and smiled sadly. “Yes, like Element fairies.”

I turned away from the penetrating heat of his gaze.

***

As night fell, Eder found a small clearing to rest for the night. We didn’t have any camping supplies, so we gathered palms and an assortment of other jungle leaves Eder assured us were safe to make beds. Princess Glissarie, showing us yet again that she wasn’t afraid to take charge, gathered some wood and used a spell to start a fire. She kept far away from the flames, however, protecting her precious book. She had barely spoken since we started traveling through the Element Fairy Realm, and I was curious to know why. So while the others were roasting a few wild birds over the fire – courtesy of Tavis’s and Rafik’s bow hunting skills – I collected a few handfuls of nuts and sat down next to her under a flowering tree.

I held out a handful as an offering. “I know Woodland fairies don’t eat meat and Eder said these were safe, so I thought I’d bring some over to you.”

She smiled warmly. “That is very considerate and kind of you, Ramsey. Thank you.”

I dropped the handful into her open palms and went to work opening my own. Cracking nuts wasn’t easy without any proper tools. I ended up knocking them against a rock, which usually made only half the nut usable and the other half pounded to dust. Still, I had so many that eventually I found myself full.

When I noticed the Princess had finished her meal, I decided it was the proper time to begin a conversation. “I’ve noticed how quiet you’ve been all day,” I commented, wiping nutshells off my clothes. “Any particular reason why?”

Glissarie sighed and looked down at the leather book resting on her lap. “I suppose I have been feeling rather guilty. Not for leaving Ellamara, but for taking the book. I am meant to inherit it when I become queen, but not beforehand. I stole from my own mother. The realization can make one quite silent.”

“Do you mind if I ask what the book is?”

Her eyes sparkled. “I will tell you because of your lineage, but you must tell no one else, understand?”

I nodded. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Good, because Joseph made me promise to keep its contents a secret from Eder,” Glissarie explained.

“Why?” I wondered.

“The book contains secrets only royalty should read firsthand.” She placed her hands on the cover of the book. “You see, when Queen Titania first made the Fairy Realms, she fashioned four magical books, one for each Realm, meant to guide fairy monarchs throughout their rule.”

“So they are…instructions?”

She shook her head. “Not quite. No book is the same, mind you. Each tome meets the needs of its Realm. The rulers are meant to read their book and then teach their subjects what they believe is necessary for the general population to learn. It’s up to them to choose. For example, the Flower fairy book contains the magical properties of every tree, plant, and flower in existence. And it explains how Flower fairies are able to access this magic themselves. The Element fairy book categorizes every motion required to produce water, fire, earth, or air. There are too many positions, offensive and defensive, for one to memorize. It also provides the best time of day for each type of Element fairy to use their magic. Water fairies, for instance, are strongest at night when the moon is high. The Golden Fairy book…well, no one knows for sure what that volume contains except for the Golden fairies.” She frowned. “Such a secretive race.”

“So what does your book contain?” I asked.

“Spells in the Ancient language,” she whispered. “Incantations – some more than a page long. These are not practical spells learned from teachers or peers. The spells in this book are potent and limitless. Only a true master of magic can handle the consequences that come with performing an invocation from this book.”

“The spells my mother left me are pretty powerful. I mean, I’ve killed with them,” I confessed.

“I use the word
potent
to explain the life-changing side effects these spells bring, not because they are deadly. When recited, the consequences are always serious no matter the intent.”

I nodded. “All right, so why does Joseph, an Element fairy, desire your mother’s book?”

Glissarie traced the edge of the book’s cover affectionately. “He believes he can use it to restore balance to the Realms and undo everything King Vortigern has done.”

“How?”

She looked me directly in the eye. “By finding a way to reverse the spell my mother used to begin the war.”

I felt like every ounce of air had departed from my lungs. “Excuse me?”

“I was worried that no one had told you the truth,” Glissarie said, her gaze never wavering. “Ramsey, do you not remember that the war supposedly started over a stolen fairy child? Why then, would Elvina choose to hide away in the Woodland Fairy Realm rather than stand strong against the Element fae with the elves she loves?”

“Well, because Eder told her she needed to take your place,” I said.

“You knew the Woodland fairy well. At any time, did she ever seem easily influenced?” Glissarie questioned.

“No,” I said, wondering where she was going with this. “She was always strong and when it came to secrets, she kept them well.”

“Then why did she bend so easily to Eder’s will? Why did she abandon the Elf Realm?”

I blinked. “I don’t know. She must have trusted Eder.”

“No. Trust would never have been enough. She left the Elf Realm because she knew her presence meant nothing.”

“What do you mean, it meant nothing? The war started because Lady Cora brought her to the Elf Realm. Elvina’s father, an Element fairy, wanted her back. When the Elf King refused, King Vortigern started the war.”

Glissarie narrowed her gaze. “Does that explanation not seem foolish to you?”

I shrugged. “Well, I guess it does, but who I am to question what happened before I was born? I don’t know the circumstances surrounding the relationship between the Element Fairy Realm and the Elf Realm. Maybe there had been issues before, and Elvina was the last straw.”

“That would make everything rather simple, would it not? Unfortunately, nothing magical is ever simple,” Glissarie revealed.

“I don’t understand,” I expressed.

“Of course you do not. Elves never do. Neither do the Element fae, for that matter. You are all too caught up in the fighting to realize the truth, which is exactly what King Vortigern had intended when he first approached Queen Ella.”

“Tell me everything, Glissarie,” I said, knowing that if I didn’t understand the true story behind the war, I would never see its end.

“I have never seen inside the mind of King Vortigern, so I only know what took place in my Realm. What prompted him to make his decisions I will never know,” Glissarie explained. “More than thirty years ago, King Vortigern came to Ellamara to meet with Queen Ella. In my fifth decade and next in line to the throne, I was permitted to sit in during this conference.”

I tried not to gawk upon hearing Elvina’s true age. As an immortal fairy, she didn’t look any older than me.

“King Vortigern was wary of me, I am sure,” Glissarie continued, “but my mother refused to dismiss me. Anyway, the King confided that he was tired of the Golden fairies claiming sovereignty over the Realms without actually interacting with creatures other than themselves. He wanted change. He wanted to rule over more Realms than just his own.”

I heard the crackle of the fire in the distance and a few laughs from my friends. I hoped they would keep their distance until Glissarie explained everything to me. Now that she had begun her tale, I couldn’t imagine her stopping before reaching the end.

“He offered my mother a partnership of sorts. If she agreed to help him make war, he would rule jointly with her when all was said and done. My mother saw right through his empty promise, as she has seen through all of his promises to date. She knew he would find a way out of his word somehow. But she also knew resisting would bring war to the Woodland Fairy Realm. In the end, she chose her Realm over the safety of the other magical races. She agreed to his proposal and brought forth the ancient spell book.”

I realized how tightly my hands were clenched. With every word, Glissarie’s tale became more frightening. Vortigern’s plans extended much farther than I had ever believed possible. The war hadn’t created his thirst for power. His thirst for power had created the war.

“Vortigern required something reasonable enough to start a war and simple enough to make the warring parties eventually forget
why
they were fighting, only that they were bound to continue. He brought one of his generals to Queen Ella and explained his idea. The Queen would have to recite a memory incantation in the Ancient language to fashion an ordeal to start the war.”

“No,” I protested. “That can’t be. What happened with Elvina…it was all fixed?”

Glissarie nodded. “I am afraid so. Your aunt, Lady Cora, was tricked into visiting Ellamara, where she was gagged and tied to a tree with Vortigern’s general. Then Queen Ella gave them memories. She made them believe that the general had fallen in love with a Woodland fairy who had died giving birth to his child. She also made them believe that the Woodland fairy and Lady Cora had been close friends. Locating the child was quite simple, for a recent Woodland fairy mother had decided she had no interest in taking care of her baby. She had no trouble giving her child to Queen Ella. The Queen placed the child in Lady Cora’s care for exactly one year and then introduced new memories to the general. She made him believe that he had found love with an Element fairy and wished to take Elvina to the Element Fairy Realm to live with his new mate. Using a spell, the Queen then convinced Lady Cora to steal the child and bring her to the Elf Realm. And thus began the war.”

I was stunned. “So everything that happened…Lady Cora raising the child…the father’s grief...his new mate…taking Elvina to the Elf Realm…that was all a hoax to initiate a war?”

Glissarie nodded. “Yes. The only one who was not influenced other than Vortigern was the Elf King. He accepted the consequences of war because he could not bear to hurt his daughter. He was so moved by Lady Cora’s love for the child that he was unable to send Elvina away. He was proof that too many emotions make you weak as a ruler.”

“You mean her
fake
love for the child,” I said numbly. “All those years Elvina lived with a guardian who had never intended to raise her. Elvina’s entire life was built on manufactured truths.” I blinked hard. “I’m sorry, Glissarie, but your mother’s behavior was worse than the Elf King’s. I would rather allow my emotions to rule me than ruin the lives of innocent creatures with my magic.”

Glissarie’s mouth was set in a hard line upon hearing my words. “The past cannot be changed. At least I am making up for my mother’s mistakes by bringing the spell book to Joseph. And now you finally know the truth behind the war.”

I sighed. “I’m assuming the war wouldn’t have ended if the Elf King or Queen Taryn had given up Elvina, because it was never really about her.”

“You are correct. If that had happened, Vortigern would have found a way to justify continuing the war.”

I frowned. “Why start with the elves? Why not make war upon the Flower fairies or the mermaids?”

“Believe it or not, Vortigern feels most threatened by the elves. He wanted to destroy his greatest opposition first and then move on to easier conquests.”

“Why does he feel most threatened by the elves?” I asked.

“The elves are the most human of all magical creatures,” Glissarie reminded me. “When fairies lived in the Human Realm, humans were the greatest danger. Their maltreatment of magical creatures forced Queen Titania to create the six Realms. Do you understand the connection?”

I nodded. “Vortigern fears humanity and what it could do. Now I know why he fears me, why he wants me. I am the most human elf of them all.”

“You are the greatest danger to him, Ramsey. Especially with your added Golden fairy blood. You are a threat in more ways than one. You have the emotions of a human, the wisdom of an elf, and the power of a fairy. He will do whatever he can to destroy you.”

I shivered. I had already known that. Vortigern wouldn’t rest until I was stopped, so I would have to stop him first. “Now I understand why my mother recruited you. You were there when it all began.”

Glissarie smiled. “Yes, imagine my amazement when Princess Tania visited me in Ellamara. To this day I have no idea how your mother found out about me. Golden fairies seem to know everything.”

“You seem to have a problem with them,” I observed.

Glissarie shook her head. “No, I am jealous, is all. I feel as though I am not meant to be a Woodland fairy. I admire the unwavering strength and solidarity of the Golden fairies. Woodland fae are so flighty and careless. I want to make a difference. I do not want to be one of the mindless many whose only interest is dancing.”

“Sounds like you want to be a human, not a fairy,” I commented.

Glissarie’s eyes widened in astonishment. “You think so?”

“I lived in the Human Realm for nearly fifteen years. The common factor among humans is that we all want to make something of ourselves.”

“You said
we
not
they
,” Glissarie noticed. “Do you still consider yourself one of them?”

I released a long breath. “In some ways,” I admitted. “It’s hard not to after living as one for so long. Besides, my birth parents sent me to the Human Realm to gain a different perspective. A
human
perspective. It would be senseless of me to ignore that.”