Journey into the Realm: The Stolen Child (Journey into the Realm Series) (5 page)

***

Dressed in a clean nightgown, I entered Nathan’s room without knocking because I knew he wouldn’t care. I didn’t wake him up. I was going to, but seeing him sleep so peacefully tugged at my heart and I didn’t want to disturb him. Instead, I carefully slipped under the covers and settled in next to him, watching the rise and fall of his chest, trying to convince myself that I didn’t have to be so distant from him. That I could remove the barriers between us and still focus on what lay ahead.

“Would you like to talk about it?”

I inhaled sharply. “I thought you were sleeping.”

“I was, but I could feel your eyes on me and you smell like smoke,” he explained.

I swallowed dryly. “Fire fairy. In my bedroom.”

“Are you all right?”

We both lay on our backs, our eyes never reaching each other. I grappled in the dark until my hand found his. He squeezed my fingers tightly.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, feeling ashamed to hear my voice crack.

I heard Nathan sigh. “Maybe it’s too soon after…Are you sure you’re ready for this?” He was referring to our journey.

“I have to be,” I snapped. “I have no choice.” I pulled my hand away from his and crossed my arms over my chest. I was being unnecessarily cruel, but at that moment I didn’t care. How dare he question a crisis over which I had no control?

“I know. I’m sorry,” he whispered softly. “It was a stupid question.”

“Don’t apologize,” I muttered, blinking back tears. “I don’t deserve it.”

If my life were a movie, we would have reconciled then. He would have held me close while I poured my heart out to him, telling him how shattered I felt and how bleak the future seemed. How when every time I closed my eyes I saw Stellan’s ashes on the grass, Finn’s menacing gaze as I burned him with my hatred, Ellie’s fiery wings laced with betrayal. I would have apologized for being so unfair to him, and he would have kissed me until I stopped hurting.

But my life wasn’t a movie. So we both fell asleep without another word and morning came too quickly.

At dawn, with most elves in the palace still asleep in their beds or just beginning to stir, there wasn’t time to think, to doubt, or to consider what we were getting ourselves into. My friends and I ate a quick breakfast, finished packing what little we needed for our journey, and prepared to exit through the castle doors before we could change our minds.

I bid farewell to Kalani and Razi, the dragons who for twenty straight minutes begged me to let them come along until I finally convinced them that traveling with two enormous dragons throughout dangerous fairy territory wouldn’t give us a very low profile. But I left Zora sleeping peacefully in her room. Brielle promised to explain everything once we left.

On the way to meet my friends at the palace doors, I heard whispering around the corner. Peering slowly, I recognized Brielle and Elvina speaking in low, hushed tones, and my curiosity was pricked instantly.

Elvina, a Woodland fairy, was supposedly the reason the war began. Lady Cora, Brielle’s aunt – and my aunt as well, I had recently discovered – had stolen Elvina from the Element Fairy Realm when she was a baby because Lady Cora had valued her as her own child. Elvina’s father, an Element fairy, had ignored his daughter since her birth and her Woodland fairy mother’s death. So Lady Cora had taken it upon herself to ensure that Elvina was loved and cared for by bringing her to the Elf Realm. When Lady Cora had refused to give her up, the Element fairies declared war.

Now fully grown, Elvina was respected by the elves of Tarlore while Lady Cora was shunned. I didn’t blame Lady Cora for doing what she did out of love, but I understood why so many elves despised her.

And after what Brielle had said about Vortigern’s ulterior motive, I wondered if the war was even related to Lady Cora’s transgression, or just an excuse.

Lingering against the wall, I strained my ears to catch a bit of what Brielle and Elvina were saying. Most of what I heard was muffled, incoherent phrases. But I did catch one line from Brielle.

“…You know what you must do,” she said to Elvina.

I could only catch bits and pieces of Elvina’s response. “I…help…Ramsey…will be safe…will not let you…trust me…find Eder...stay out of sight until I see the Princess.”

I started at the mention of Eder’s name, but refrained from intruding just in case they would say more. Then Brielle and Elvina fell silent. I began to panic, wondering if they could detect my presence. Hurriedly, I turned around and ran swiftly in the opposite direction so they wouldn’t catch me eavesdropping.

Only a few minutes later, I found myself waiting with my friends just outside the palace doors, wondering when Brielle would make an appearance. We couldn’t leave until the Queen gave me her crown.

Hope flared in my chest as the doors opened, but my spirit fell as I noticed Jacqueline joining us instead of the Queen. I wondered why Brielle was stalling. This had been her idea, after all.

“Jacqueline,” I greeted with a smile as she approached.

“I’ve heard that you are a natural with a bow and arrow. I learned that your friend Tavis is as well. I’ve brought these for the both of you,” she expressed, handing me a bow and a bag of arrows and giving Tavis an identical set.

“Thank you,” Tavis said, grinning at the flawless set of weapons in his grasp.

“You’re welcome,” Jacqueline replied.

“Thank you so much, Jacqueline,” I said. I was extremely grateful – I had left my own bow and arrows at home.

“Keep that bow close to you,” she instructed. “You never know what’s out there. You never know when you may need to use it.”

“I will remember that,” I told her.

“Ah,” she said, turning at the cacophony of the clanging palace doors, “I see the Queen is here to bid you farewell. Good luck on your journey. Excuse me.” With a final nod, Jacqueline departed into the castle.

“So you’ve finally decided to show up,” I remarked sarcastically as Brielle positioned herself at my side.

She sent me a glare that would stop the heart of any elfen who hadn’t witnessed Brielle tipsy and giddy. I knew my Queen far too well to feel intimidated by her. “You know this isn’t easy for me – sending you away like you’re some servant fighting my battles for me.”

“That’s not what you’re doing. This is my battle just as much as it is yours,” I corrected. “I’m not going to guarantee that everything’s going to turn out for the best. But this is by far our strongest hope of ending the war. So I’m going to leave, and you are going to rule your Realm. And within those duties, there will be no room for guilt or regret.”

Brielle sighed, the corners of her pale lips twitching with amusement. “You sure know how to make a speech. Something I was never very good at myself….”

I laughed. “I’ve had to use my convincing skills many times in the past. Practice makes perfect, as they say in the Human Realm,” I remarked.

“Then maybe one day I’ll get used to the idea of being the Queen,” Brielle said wistfully.

“You will…,” I trailed off, realizing that we were both stalling now. “I should go.”

Brielle placed a hand on my elbow. “Wait. There are a few things I need to say before you leave. Do not drink anything or eat any food the fairies offer you. Remember, once fairies touch it, it contains their enchantments. And do not underestimate them. Fairies don’t feel as we do. They don’t care about death as much as we do. And all they do is to please themselves. If it means hurting any one of you, so be it. You must be careful. Unless they are from the rebellion,
do not trust them
.”

I nodded and tried to smile, although my sudden fear was nearly overwhelming. “You are a vault of knowledge,” I said lightly.

She laughed. It was the first real laugh that had escaped her lips since our school days in Aubrey. “I guess so. I’ve done my reading. I want you to be safe.” We hugged each other tightly and failed at keeping our eyes completely dry. Brielle pulled away and smiled through her tears. “When you get back, we are going to party,” she decided. “And this time there won’t be any interruptions. No sister to save, no Element fairies barging in. Just a good time.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” I said.

She winked and removed the emerald crown from atop her head. “Here,” she said, handing it to me. “You will need this to cross into the Mermaid Realm. It should return to me once you arrive. At least that’s what I’ve been told by my sources investigating King Vortigern’s plans.”

“Thanks,” I said, holding the crown gingerly in my hands.

“Oh, and one last thing.” She reached behind her neck and unclasped her necklace with every type of jewel imaginable embedded within it. She placed it in my hands. “This will help you cross in the Element Fairy Realm. Remember, you need four gems as an offering.”

“I can’t possibly take this, Brielle. You need this to access your ability. How will you manage without it?”

“There are other jewels in the palace. After Finn scorched the last one, I learned to deal with loss,” she joked.

I put the crown and the jeweled necklace into my shoulder bag. Brielle hugged each of my companions and then crushed me into her own embrace again. “Good luck,” she muttered, before stepping back and hurrying into the palace. Remaining with us for another second may have tempted her to change her mind about sending me away.

I turned to my friends. “Well, let’s get a move on,” I suggested, gesturing toward the bridge.

“Wait!” a voice called from the palace doors.

“Ugh, what now?” Tavis groaned.

“More goodbyes?” Aimee guessed.

“It’s Elvina,” Nathan said.

“What?” I asked, turning around.

“She’s running toward us,” Nathan added.

“Why?” I wondered.

“Maybe she wants to say goodbye,” Aimee suggested.

“I don’t know, she seems…happy,” Nathan observed.

I nodded slowly, wondering what this could be about, and went to meet her halfway.

“I am so glad that you haven’t left yet,” Elvina exclaimed. “I was worried that I wouldn’t make it in time.”

“Yeah, I was wondering why you hadn’t said goodbye,” I said. “I looked all over the palace for –”

“Oh, I’m not saying goodbye,” she interrupted with a bright smile. “I’m coming with you.”

“What?” I cried.

“I have no time to explain. Soon Lady Cora will find the note I’ve left her, and she will be storming out of the palace to stop me from leaving,” she explained hurriedly. “This is simply something I must do. Please, do not ask questions.”

Questioning glances came from my friends, but I was recalling the conversation I overheard between Brielle and Elvina. They were up to something, and while I couldn’t exactly admit to eavesdropping, I hoped that Elvina would explain her intentions once we began our journey. Until then, I had to trust her.

I sighed. “Okay then. The more the merrier, I guess.” I nodded, gathering myself into business mode. “Let’s make our circle underneath the bridge by the streams.”

As we climbed over the railing, I heard Tavis mutter something to Aimee. “Great. Now we have two fairies with us.”

Before I could yell at him, Tavis fell over the railing as if someone had pushed him, landing on his back on the grass. He cursed and cried out in pain. Aimee gasped in fright. Confused, I looked around and my suspicions were confirmed. No one had been near enough to Tavis to push him over, except Aimee. I knew the gentle elfen healer wasn’t the one responsible.

When my feet landed on the grass beside the stream, I looked over at Nathan and found him smirking and trying hard not to laugh.

I gaped. “Did you do that?”

He nodded, letting a few laughs escape his lips.

“How?”

“During our stay at the palace, I’ve been working with Kian, an ancient Spell Master who was friends with Queen Taryn. He’s helped me expand my abilities. Powers of the mind aren’t so difficult after practice,” he explained.

“I thought spell masters could only…well, do spells,” I said.

He grinned. “No, we certainly have other tricks.”

“Well then, that will come in handy in the future,” I said, looking back at Tavis, who was slowly rising from the ground.

“That’ll teach you to pick on fairies,” I called.

He smiled ruefully and shook his head. Aimee helped brush the grass off his clothes.

“Time to make the circle,” I said.

The duty fell on Aimee and Tavis because Elvina, Nathan, and I had to prepare ourselves for the breathing spell each of us would need to enter the Mermaid Realm. In order to breathe underwater we needed the aid of magic. Once the circle was complete, Nathan and I performed the spell on ourselves. Elvina did the same, but also expanded the spell to reach Aimee and Tavis. Elvina was more experienced with spells than Nathan and me, so she had offered to bear the extra burden. Spells took a lot of energy, and now Elvina would be responsible for three spells instead of one. I was impressed by her strength and felt grateful for her presence on our journey.

I placed Brielle’s crown and a shiny stone in the center of the circle. The stone was an offering to the mermaids, allowing us passageway into their Realm. We stood in a line before the stream. This was it. With just one step, our journey would begin.

“If anyone wants to back out, now would be the proper time,” I said.

No one answered. I nodded slowly and took one last look at the Elf Realm surrounding us, at the shining castle of Tarlore and all of its splendor. I prayed that I would one day look upon its beauty again.

One at a time, we stepped into the water.