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I scoffed. “Of course. Again, I don’t understand.”
Merrick sighed. “Neither do I. When I tried asking Lailah about it, she just said we have to let you figure this out.”
The riddles were what I hated about the elder fae. Lailah knew what was going on, but of course, things weren’t that simple.
“I have no clue what she means. The Land of the Fae is safe now. The only Shadow fae that could do us harm is dead. What more is there to figure out?”
Merrick squeezed my hands. “I don’t know, but I know it’ll come to you.” He stood and sat down beside me. “There’s something I wanted to tell you. It happened yesterday before everything went down.”
Brows furrowed, I turned to him. “What?” He chewed his lip as if he was contemplating if he should tell me or not. “It’s okay, Merrick. Just tell me.”
He blew out a sigh and waved a hand about the room. “Kai was in here yesterday looking for you.”
I gasped. “How long did he stay?”
Merrick shrugged. “Not long. We exchanged a few words.”
My heart stopped. Did I just hear him right?
“How is that possible?”
He laughed. “I was wondering the same thing when it happened. Apparently, you two were connected more than you thought.”
And now there was nothing.
“Did you two fight?”
Merrick shook his head. “I just said a few things that needed to be said; it was civil. He wanted me to keep you away from him, that it was too dangerous. But, of course, he and I both knew you were going to do what you wanted. Nothing can stop you.”
“Then what happened?” I asked.
His smile faded. “I heard the war horns at the palace. Kai left after that. I’m assuming that’s when he found you injured and healed you.”
I wanted Kai to stop, but I knew he wouldn’t. It was complete and utter agony the entire time he healed me. I knew it would be the final straw in losing him to the darkness.
“How did Beck and Iston know to come after me?” I wondered.
Merrick stood and walked over to the window. “When I arrived at the castle, Lailah had told your parents that you were in trouble. She had a vision of you in a pool of blood and the Shadow fae around you. Your parents told Beck and he and Iston rounded up some Winter warriors and took off. There was a stone that had your essence in it, and they were able to find you by tracing that. The Shadow fae that cut your wrists had it on him.”
I remembered bleeding out and seeing the witch use the stone to absorb my blood. That was what Ridge used to lure Kai in, to make him heal me so it’d send him over the edge. It was all too much.
Hanging my head, I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of it all draining me.
“Is there anything I can do, Ella?”
“No,” I said, my voice sounding tired. I didn’t want to appear weak, but nothing was left in me now. “I think I just need some rest. It’s only been a day.”
I could hear Merrick’s footsteps as he walked over and stopped before me, kissing the top of my head. “Get some sleep. Maybe tomorrow you’ll feel up for training with the warriors? I know Marin misses having you out there.”
I laid down on the bed and slid underneath the sheets. “Maybe,” I answered, looking up at him. “Even if I don’t, I plan on seeing everyone in the morning. I’m not going to stay in here forever.”
Merrick smiled and tucked my sheets around me like he used to when I was a little girl. “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As soon as he disappeared, I closed my eyes, and it wasn’t long before I felt the pull of sleep dragging me under.
I was standing by the frozen lake at mine and Kai’s secret cabin in Wyoming, loving the feel of the snow on my bare feet. There was a lot more falling from the sky. It saddened me to know the cabin wasn’t there anymore in the mortal world. The second Kai died, it would’ve disappeared. Still, it was nice to see it again, even if it I was just dreaming.
I walked inside, and saw a fire had been lit in the fireplace and a chocolate cake on the small kitchen table. A laugh escaped my lips. Unfortunately, chocolate cake wasn’t going to heal my heart.
