AllFreeNovel
Share Us
ONE WEEK LATER
“Are you going to see Ella tonight?” my mother asked.
I bent down to grab a handful of her winter jasmine. “I am,” I said, handing her the flowers. “It’s the only way I can see her. She’s still not able to enter the Hereafter.”
It’s been a week and we were still denied the ability to see each other. Visiting her in her dreams was the only way.
“How is she doing with everything? Has her life gone back to normal?”
I stood and brushed the snow off my pants. “As much as can be expected. She started training with her Winter warriors again.”
My mother’s eyes lit up. “That’s something I wish I could see. Back when I lived in the Winter Court, there were no female warriors.”
“Maybe one day you can,” I said, looking around at the snowy forest. “That’s if we ever get the chance to leave.”
It turned out that I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t go to the Land of the Fae. My mother had lost the ability as well. I still didn’t understand why we were being separated from Ella.
The only one of Ella’s close friends that could go back and forth was Merrick. However, he was blocked from seeing me. I couldn’t go to him, and he couldn’t come to me.
The wind whipped around us, and I turned around to see Lailah appear. She smiled at my mother but then focused on me.
“Do you have a few minutes? I’d like to speak with you.”
I peered over at my mother, and she backed up toward her cottage door. “I’ll be inside.”
She walked in and I faced Lailah. “What can I do for you?”
Lailah beckoned me closer. “Come. Let’s take a walk.”
I joined her and we walked down the path and into the forest in silence. “Ella has been doing well,” she said. “I thought you’d like to know that.”
There was something in her tone, almost as if she was testing me. Stopping midstep, I turned to her.
“Thank you for telling me. I’m glad she’s on the mend.”
Lailah lifted her brows. “Is that it?”
I stared right back at her. “If you have something to say, say it. What’s going on?”
She let out a small laugh. “You are a smart man, Kai. Very smart, actually.” There was a knowing look on her face as she smiled at me. “I’ve been wondering why Ella’s been so happy this week. Believe me, it’s been great seeing her involved with her people again, but I have a feeling nothing is as it seems.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I should’ve known you two would find your way back together. You’ve been visiting her in her dreams, haven’t you?”
“What if I have?” I challenged.
Lailah’s expression grew weary. “I’m not the one keeping you two apart, Kai. It’s the land testing you. What you’re doing is only making things more difficult.”
“But why? What does the land need to know? I gave up my life to keep Ella and everyone else in the Land of the Fae safe. The Frost Court will have their queen.”
Lailah pursed her lips. “Will it? Is Ella ready for that?”
I had no doubt in my mind. “She was born ready. Being queen is in her blood.”
“What about continuing her line? You know she can’t do that with you, not with you here. There will come a time when the Frost Court needs a king. That’s going to be hard when she’s still in love with you.”
I knew what she was insinuating, and it was something I’d tried desperately not to think about. Ella was alive and I was dead. I couldn’t give her the life she deserved. All I could give her were dreams.
