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“At first, not very well,” she laughed, as if the memories were from so far in her past they no longer bothered her. “All these elves were sotall. That was what I noticed first. I was constantly looking up, constantly feeling so small. Life was so different here, too. There was a complex social structure, kingsand queens, palaces, and a bustling town. Back in Trim we didn’t even wear shoes in the summer months. My life had been so carefree, and suddenly it wasn’t. But none of that would’ve matter if Casper had been here when I was finally healed.”
Her hold on his arm tightened just as he went rigid. No longer able to look at the cove ahead of him, he looked down to her, lifting her chin up with a finger so he could see her while she spoke. “What do you mean? Are you telling me Casper brought you here thenleft?”
Any budding companionship between him and that elf died right there.
“Yeah, and he wouldn’t come back for a few years. To this day I don’t know why he left. Ineverknow why he leaves; I just know he does. I could’ve wallowed in despair and self-pity, but the hope that my parents were still alive out there drove me forward. That drive got me out of my bed every morning. Saving them one day gave me reason. So I trained, day in and day out. In fact, I met Casper’s siblings, Cauladra and Conall, while training. I didn’t know it at the time, but we’d become the best of friends.”
“They’re Casper’s family?” Antonio didn’t know that. “Do they know why Casper disappeared? Why he keeps disappearing?” He’d kill that bastard. He was sure of it.
“Yeah, and they had always been friendly to me. But I didn’t notice it. Maybe I didn’t want to accept it. Because accepting new friends into my life felt like accepting the old ones were gone. But this cove changed everything. I found it one day while walking along the coast. When I found it a sense of peace I had lost the day I lost my home washed over me. I felt at homehere, almost as at home as I had felt back in my village. I don’t know why. I can’t explain it. I just did. From that moment on I started accepting the good in my life – like Cauladra and Conall. Now it’s difficult to remember a time when we weren’t friends.”
He hated hearing how alone she had been. “I’m glad you had those two.” They looked friendly enough whenever he watched them training together. The way they treated and laughed with each other showed how much love they had for one another. They shared a bond similar to his and Lance’s.
Antonio hadn’t been there for Sophia, but he was glad they had been. He’d have to remember to thank them.
“Me too.” She pressed her lips to his arm, then looked up to him with twinkling eyes. “That’s why I love this place so much. That’s why this is my favorite place. It’s as beautiful as the cabin I grew up in, but in a new and different way. Realizing that helped me to see the good in my life and accept it.”
“Like how you accepted me.”
Despite how difficult this conversation must be for her, she managed to laugh. “Oh, please. That wasn’t hard. You may have met a few fey before, but I don’t think you’ve ever met one like me. One wholefttheir village. I, unlike those fey, haven’t seen my village in decades.”
Because she has no village to go back to, he thought, but didn’t dare say it. Instead, he ran the back of his hand along the side of her face. “I’m so proud of you, do you know that?”
She laughed, but the twinkle in her eyes remained. “You hardly know me. We only met a week ago.”
“You’re wrong. We might’ve only met a week ago, but I know you.”
He knew she grew into the incredible fey she was today, rising after tragedy, all on her own. No one built her up but herself. Though, a thought prodded the depths of his mind. The thought that maybe she hadn’t built herself up. Not in the way that mattered. Because her will to live centered around believing she could bring back all she once lost. That hope had been the driving force that carried her forward the last few decades.
But what if she one day learned everything she hoped to bring back was truly lost? He didn’t want to imagine, because without that hope of hers, what would his proud and determined fey become?
That thought, that seedling of fear sprouting from the depths of his mind, was quickly lost when he realized the moon had already begun shining down on them.
And his beast was nowhere to be found.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Sophia Brenning
He knows me, Sophia thought, his words etched in her mind.He knows me.
In only a week’s time, she already opened up to Antonio more than she had to anyone else, more so than even Casper. Not only that, but Antonio recognized both her strengths and weaknesses, never doubting her capabilities as Casper so often did.
He knows me.Like an echo, the thought repeated itself.
Yet there was so much more about her he had yet to learn.
Her heart wept with joy, thankful that their lives had crossed paths, their two fates entwining into one.
“There’s so much more you still don’t know.” And she couldn’t wait to tell him everything.
The side of his mouth curled into a sexy grin. “Well, it’s a good thing we have nothing but time.”
Her shoulders sank. She wanted to believe what he said. She really did. But how could she when they both remained bound by the rules of The Elaron Games? Only one of them could win.
Only one of them could survive.
Panic rising within, she blurted out, “But the games!”
