Betrayals of Spring (19 page)

“Thank you so much for this, Finn. How
did you come across pumpkin bread here?” I ask curiously.

He shakes his head and laughs, “You
think the Winter fae would have this stuff here? No. I packed it, along with
the berries, when we loaded up to come here. I knew you would miss it if you
didn’t have it. Besides, I didn’t want you to go through withdrawals. You’ve
eaten your pumpkin bread every morning since I’ve been with you.”

The clenching in my stomach starts up
again because it’s another reminder of losing him.

“I’m going to miss you so much,” I say.
He was headed for the door but stops at the sound of my voice.

He looks at me over his shoulder and
gives me a tender smile. I can hear the sadness in his voice when he replies,
“And I you, Meliantha.”

He opens the door and quietly shuts it
back when he leaves. I need to eat and get ready for the day. I’m sure our
departure has been delayed because of the incident with Elissa. She is most
likely going to have a trial today to prove her innocence, and I know she will
need my support. Kalen said he’ll be here first thing in the morning and it is
now morning. I relax to enjoy my pumpkin bread and berries before looking
through my things to find something warm to wear. I have never had to wear
winter clothes, so it’ll be different having so much clothing on my body. There
is one thing I know for sure: I am not going to be freezing cold today.

I decide on the cream-colored snow
jacket and pants to match. I put on the outfit and I look in the mirror. I
groan at the figure looking back at me. I look like a snow cone with a cherry
on top.

“Your prince is coming, Meliantha,”
Ashur relays silently.

I guess this will have to do. Even
though I am upset about everything going on, I can’t stop the excitement
bubbling in my chest at the thought of being with Kalen. I search around
frantically for a pair of boots.

“I’m almost ready. I’ll be there in one
minute,” I hastily reply to Ashur.

I find my boots and slide them on. I run
to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. I take a brush to my bundle
of red hair and I can honestly say it doesn’t look too bad today. I put my
winter cap on, and before exiting my room, I strap my bow and arrows to my
back. Ashur is in the kitchen eating a bowl of fruit and he points at the
window. My heart jumps at the sight of Kalen walking toward the cottage, and I
can see Aki bounding down ahead of him.

“Where is Finn?”
I ask silently,
looking at Ashur.

“He didn’t want to be in here when
Prince Kalen came to call on you. I thought you might also like to know that we
will be here for probably an extra day since the incident with Elissa.”

I thought that would be the case. I knew
there was no way I was going to leave without her. As far as Finn is concerned,
I understand completely why he feels like that; however, it still makes me feel
guilty.

“How are you holding up?”

Ashur shrugs his shoulders and continues
to eat his fruit. He chews his food for a few seconds and then slams his fork
down making a loud clatter. He voices his concern out loud this time.

“I don’t know, Princess. Coming here has
been one huge disaster after another. The dark sorcerer is coming after you and
there is no way to keep you safe. I’m happy you and Prince Kalen could work
everything out, but it’s too dangerous for you to be here or anywhere for that
matter. I hate what happened to Elissa, and all I want is to get her back.”

I take his hand and look straight into
his bright green eyes.

“I know, and we will. She’ll be OK, I
promise. I’m not going to let anything else happen to her,” I vow.

“Thank you,” he replies softly.

The firm knocks on the door startle me
and I turn from Ashur to stare at the door. I check over my clothes to make
sure I look all right before grabbing the door handle. I take a deep breath and
open the door. Kalen is there in full warrior mode and so is Aki standing
dutifully beside him. His eyes go wide at the sight of me and he gazes over my
body with a huge grin on his face. I guess I look fine in these ridiculous
clothes, but at least I’ll be warm.

It seems as though Kalen has lost his
voice, but after a few seconds, it looks like he’s found it.

He holds out his hand and sounds excited
when he says, “I have a surprise for you.” My eyes light up and I know I have a
goofy grin on my face, but I don’t care. I instantly grab his hand and he pulls
me out the door. “Come on, let’s go,” he insists.

We begin walking away from the palace
and to the woods beyond. I am so used to forests of colors and greenery.
Looking at one that is covered in ice is just unusual, but in a good way. It is
very beautiful here, but I wouldn’t give up my plants for any of it. I can feel
the cold wind against my cheeks, and I’m thankful that I dressed warmly today.
Aki walks beside me rubbing against my legs, and I know that he’s happy to be
coming along to wherever we are going.

Kalen squeezes my hand and I look up at
him.

“Did you rest OK?” he asks curiously.
There’s a look on his face that I can’t decipher, but I can sense a hidden
meaning for his question. But what?

“I did rest well, thank you. I was
worried about Elissa, but I knew you would take care of her. I think I was
exhausted after everything that happened yesterday.”

He nods his head, “I did take care of
her, and I have so much to tell you, but first...”

I look at him with a smile and I raise
my eyebrows at him to prompt him to continue. When he doesn’t I decide to ask
him myself.

“What is it Kalen? What were you going
to say?” I can tell he wants to ask or say something, but he’s holding back.

He takes a deep breath and sighs. I
detect a hint of jealousy when he speaks, “I didn’t like you being alone with
Finn last night, OK. I wanted you with me and it killed me knowing that he was
here alone with you and I wasn’t. If it wasn’t for the tragedy with Elissa, I
was going to spend the whole evening alone with you in my cabin.”

I can only imagine what would have
happened if we had that alone time. The bond would most likely have been completed
and things would have been set right. I also can’t believe he was worried about
me being alone with Finn. In a way I’m flattered by his jealousy, but I am also
perturbed by his lack of faith in me. I can just picture him pacing and
wondering if Finn was having his way with me. I know he was worried, but he
needs to know that he can trust me.

“Kalen, you have nothing to worry about.
I was alone all night. Finn would never do anything like that anyway. He knows
and understands that our bond is what’s meant to be. He knew I would have to
fulfill my part of the prophecy and he was prepared for that. He’s not going to
cause any problems, trust me.”

He breathes a sigh of relief.

“Good, I didn’t want to have to kick his
ass.”

I roll my eyes and shake my head.

“Men,” I huff.

He finally laughs and pulls my arm
around his waist and secures his arm around my shoulders.

He looks at my bow and arrows and asks,
“So how good are you with your bow?”

“I never miss my target,” I boast while
lifting my chin.

“That’s amazing,” he admits. “Maybe you
could teach me how to aim straight. I could always use the help.”

“I would love to. Maybe you could help
me with my sword fighting skills.”

He nods his head, “It’s a deal.”

We have entered the forest, and Aki
bounds swiftly through the trees. We follow his tracks while heading farther
into the woods. I know it’s time to hear the verdict on Elissa, so I come right
out and inquire.

“Now tell me about Elissa.”

“She had a necklace on that was spelled
with dark magic. That’s how the dark sorcerer was able to enter her body.”

Oh no! Why didn’t I think of that
before? I stop Kalen abruptly and I look at him with a horrified expression.
This is my fault.

“Was it a necklace with a purple stone?”
I ask, hesitant. A sick feeling is tearing away at my stomach because I know
deep down the answer is going to be what I don’t want to hear.

“Yes, why?” He looks at me skeptically.

I pull away from his body and I turn my
back to him.

My shoulders sag when I confess, “I gave
her the necklace, Kalen.”

He pulls me around by the shoulders and
captures my face in between his hands.

“What? Where did you get it from?” he
exclaims.

I played right into the dark sorcerer’s
hands on this one. He knew I wouldn’t get rid of the necklace; therefore,
leaving another entryway for him to take over the people that I love. Damn it!
How could I be so stupid? I think back to that dreaded day when the dark
sorcerer laid out the beginnings of his twisted game. I didn’t know at the time
that I was the main player, and unfortunately I still am.

I look into Kalen’s eyes and sheepishly
admit, “That day, five years ago when I thought it was you visiting, he gave me
a necklace as a parting gift. I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of a gift from
you, so I gave it to Elissa. Everything that has happened is
my fault.”

“No! It’s not your fault!” he demands,
shaking my shoulders. “You had no idea it was the dark sorcerer that day. No
one is to blame.”

“Will Elissa be able to go free?” I ask,
hopeful.

“I have no doubt. Heylfred, our advisor,
is extremely powerful and once he gives his testimony, my court will have no
choice but to release her.”

He pulls me into his arms and I sag in
relief. This is the best news yet. Maybe I will be able to enjoy my time here
with Kalen after all. Whatever happens, I am not going to let the dark sorcerer
win this game.

“Thank you,” I whisper against his
chest.

He moves back and takes my hand.

“We are almost there.”

We walk for a few minutes longer and up
ahead I see a cave of huge boulders with a large opening for an entrance. I
recognize this place from searching through Aki’s mind. This is the pack’s den.
I’m so excited that I pick up the pace dragging Kalen along behind me. Aki is
standing at the entrance patiently waiting on us.

“You must know where we are going
judging by your enthusiasm,” Kalen jokes.

“Of course I know!” I exclaim. “Aki
showed me this place in his mind and I have been dying to see his family.”

Kalen laughs and picks up his pace to
match mine. Aki comes forward to bow his head in front of Kalen before circling
me and rubbing against my legs. I enter the cavern and walk a little ways into
the heart of it when I notice the mound of white wolves lying in a heap on the
ground. I stare at all of them excitedly while they sleep. The white wolf is a
majestic creature and to be able to see a whole pack of them is amazing.

I can see the little one cuddled with
her mother, but she opens her eyes at the sound of Aki entering the cavern.
Once she fully opens her eyes, she notices me at a first glance. She topples
over the other wolves as she races to reach me. I can’t stop the giggle from
escaping my throat as I watch her charge through the other wolves to get to me.
I bend down on my knees and I open my arms wide to catch her when she bounds.
She jumps into my arms and licks my face over and over until I beg her to stop.
By touching her, I already know everything about her from her name to what
she’s done today. It seems she has missed her father greatly.

“You are such a beautiful girl,
Accalia.” I rub behind her ears and she licks my hand. I set her down and she
runs straight for Aki.

I peer over at Kalen and he’s looking at
me with admiration in his eyes.

“They are amazing, Kalen. I can see why
you love them so much,” I whisper.

“I thought you would say that.” He gapes
lovingly at the wolves and then back to me. “They have truly been a family to
me. I don’t know what I would have done without them.”

I could hear the melancholy in his
voice, but he quickly perks up and takes my hand.

“There’s something else I want to show
you.” He tugs on my hand, and the light shining in his eyes sparks my curiosity
as we make our way through the cavern and tunnels. I wonder where we’re going.
The air gets colder the farther we go into the tunnels and the smell of fresh
earth and moss overtake my senses. I have to lower my head to walk through the
small tunnels, but it’s not long before it opens up to…

The gasp I let out echoes in the
enclosure, and I stand frozen in awe as I take in the immaculate scene. The
ceiling is high and there are white draperies hanging down from all sides,
flowing delicately down the cavern walls. Plush white carpets adorn the cavern
floors and an enormous bed takes up the center of the room.

“I have never brought anyone here,”
Kalen admits as he walks up behind me. “This is my special place, and I never
wanted to share it with anyone until now.” I’m flattered he never brought
anyone here, but I wonder what he’s up to bringing me here. Does he want to
complete the bond now?