Betrayals of Spring (34 page)

“Meliantha, please come back to me,” I
whisper.

A week has gone by and nothing has changed.
We’re now here in the Summer Court where Meliantha is in a strange slumber that
she has yet to awaken from. She lies there motionless and detached while we
wait anxiously for her to come back. After she saved me I have been by her side
every minute of every day since then. Elvena will be here soon, along with
Calista and Ryder, to try and help us get her back. She’s going to perform the
dreamscape magic so we can enter into Meliantha’s mind. Elvena did the same
spell years ago to communicate with Calista when she was captured. By doing
this we’re hoping to communicate with Meliantha and somehow bring her back.

Her hand still feels the same as mine
when I pick it gently up from the bed. I hold her hand tight against my cheek
so I can breathe in her intoxicating scent of flowers and the pureness of a
spring rain. I squeeze my eyes shut to stop the tears that want to fall. Deep
in my heart I want to believe I’ll get her back. She did everything to save me
and now it is my time to do the same for her. Whatever it takes I will do it.

I kiss her tenderly on the hand and I
lay it back gently on the bed to rest beside her lifeless body. I run my
fingers through her lovely auburn red hair that’s fanned out across her golden
satin sheets. It shines like the setting of the sun and it feels like silk as
it glides across my skin. Her room is beautiful and not what I would have
expected. I imagined a room full of purple and flowers, but that’s not what it
is like in here at all. I guess I overdid it with the purple when I fixed her
room at the winter cottage. I laugh at myself thinking just how ridiculous it
must have looked to her. I’m sure we will have plenty of laughs about it when I
get her back. Oh, how I long to have her back and in my arms. I miss her smile,
her temper, and the way she would look at me with such fire and passion from
those amazing amethyst eyes.

A knock on the door grabs my attention
and I turn to see Ashur entering Meliantha’s bedroom. He and Finn had found me
just as I was carrying Meliantha through the portal. Apparently, she had chosen
to find me on her own after being separated from them. She blocked her mind
from Ashur so he couldn’t track her, but he tried anyway and that is how he and
Finn were able to find us. He told me about the altercation with the Tyvar, but
Meliantha never had the chance to explain how she was able to leave. He also
told me about venturing through the Redcap camp and hearing about the special
blood they had received from a beautiful princess. He and Finn were then able to
track her pretty quickly from there and to the portal where they found me
carrying her lifeless body in my arms.

We were going to travel back to the
Winter Court, but then decided that Meliantha would need the strength of her
court to bring her back; therefore, we brought her to her home in the Summer
Court. King Oberon and Queen Tatiana were still in the Winter Court at that
time so we sent word saying that Meliantha was home, and in dire need of help.
They immediately made it back along with the rest of the Summer fae.

Ever since I’ve been here, the Land of
the Fae’s calling has been amazingly strong. It’s been hard to resist the pull,
and I had been secretly hoping it would pull Meliantha out of her slumber. Lost
in thought, I forgot Ashur was even in the room until he takes a seat on the
other side of Melianatha’s bed. He takes her hand in his and caresses it
lovingly. If I knew he didn’t have feelings for Elissa, I would be furious
right now, but I know his bond with Meliantha makes him close to her in ways I
wouldn’t understand.

Ashur looks at me and shakes his head.

“Why did she have to be so stubborn?”
The sadness and guilt he feels can be felt all around him, and honestly, I feel
the same way, too. If it wasn’t for me, Meliantha wouldn’t be lying here in a
vegetative state. I know Ashur blames himself for not being there to help, but
I don’t think there is anything he could have done. Meliantha was determined to
save me no matter the consequences, and when she wakes I plan on expressing how
idiotic her plan was.

“There’s nothing you could have done,” I
answer him. He shrugs his shoulders with indifference and stares back at
Meliantha. I’ll never know what it feels like to have a guardian bond, but I
can feel how strong it is through Ashur’s emotions.

“I know,” he sighs. “She was so
determined to get you back and I know that if I tried to stop her she would’ve
tried harder to find you. So I did what any man would do that was left in
Meliantha’s mercy...I let her go. It seems she did fine on her own trying to
find you.”

I smile, but I know it doesn’t reach my
eyes. “Yes, she did, and when she wakes up she’ll hear an earful about it from
me too.”

I haven’t been able to think straight
since this happened to Meliantha. The ache in my chest is unbearable at times
and it makes my body feel like it is going to explode if I don’t get her back.
She needs my help and I feel useless just sitting here waiting.

“When is Elvena supposed to arrive?” I
ask impatiently.

“She should be arriving with Calista and
Ryder any moment now,” he responds sounding hopeful.

Almost time, my love.
I will bring
you back
, I think to myself wishing Meliantha could hear me. We sit in
silence for about half an hour when the door bursts open and in comes Elvena
being quickly followed by Calista, Ryder, and... Finn. Finn blames me for
Meliantha being trapped inside her body, and he’s made it known on numerous
occasions. If I knew Meliantha didn’t care for the bastard I would have already
killed him. Ashur has had to break us apart many times. I’ve told Finn on many
occasions that I fully blame myself and that I would gladly forfeit my life to
save hers if I could. I also made it apparent that he isn’t the only one
suffering and that he’s not the only one that loves her. He’s stayed away from
me for the remainder of the time I have spent here until now. He scowls at me
and I scowl back. I seriously hope he doesn’t plan on following Meliantha to
the Spring Court when it’s formed because I’ll surely have something to say
about that.

Elvena is the Prophetess and she also
happens to be half brownie and half elf. She walks over to us and sits on the
bed beside Meliantha. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her, but she’s a
petite, curly brown haired woman with fierceness in her amber colored eyes. A
frown mars her face as she looks intently down at Meliantha. We’re all afraid
to hear what she has to say about Meliantha’s situation.

 Elvena is one of the most powerful
beings in the world along with the prophetic Four women the dark sorcerer is
trying desperately to steal magic from. He’s managed to obtain Calista’s and
Meliantha’s power, and now he’ll be after the other two. One of those women
happens to be my sister, Sorcha, and the other, Ariella.

Closing her eyes, Elvena places her
hands on both sides of Meliantha’s head. She then begins speaking in the Old
Fae language and continues to do so while furrowing her eyebrows. I can’t stop
from shaking so I stand up and begin pacing alongside the bed. My heart feels
like it’s in my throat, and I can’t seem to breathe as I wait in anticipation.
Please don’t let there be bad news,
I pray. Elvena removes her hands and
then slowly slides off the bed. I take in a shaky breath while I wait for her
to begin speaking. She looks at us all and lets out a heavy sigh. “She is
lost,” was her weary reply.

I shake my head in confusion, “I don’t
understand. What do you mean she’s lost?”

She looks at me with sorrowful eyes and
explains, “When she tried to heal you she gave you everything in her soul. Her
determination to save you was so strong that she wore her body out until there
was nothing left.” She looks at the floor and then back up to me. Tears are
forming in her eyes and her lip begins to tremble. Elvena takes a deep breath
before continuing, “She thinks you are dead, Kalen. She never saw you open your
eyes so she…she thinks she failed to save you. Her heartbreak and devastation
has made her feel lost, and now she’s stuck neither here nor there, but in
another world all alone. She will wander around endlessly searching for answers
until we bring her back.”

“How can we bring her back from this?
Isn’t this a different situation than what Calista’s was,” Ashur interrupts.

Elvena wipes away her tears and replies,
“Yes it is, child, but the same magic I did with Merrick and Ryder when trying
to find Calista is still the same. Getting in her head is the easy part, but
finding her might be harder than you think. The longer she goes searching for
answers, the farther out she will be.”

“When can we start?” I ask, impatient to
get things moving. I don’t want to waste another moment. I look at Elvena and
Ashur because other than Elvena she will need both Ashur and me to channel the
magic through our bonds with Meliantha.

Ashur nods his head, “I’m ready,
Prophetess.”

We all three sit on the bed and hold
hands. I am not sure what to expect, but Elvena explains, “I’m going to start
by speaking some magical words in the Old Fae language, and I need you to focus
as hard as you can on the bond you have with Meliantha. You will then begin to
feel an extreme amount of pressure building up around your body, and
immediately thereafter you will be thrust into her mind. All three of us will
be reunited in her mind and in the place she is lost. We will figure out the
rest when we get there.” Ashur and I look at each other and nod our heads in
understanding. “Close your eyes and concentrate,” Elvena instructs.

I close my eyes and I envision the bond
I have with Meliantha. It isn’t complete yet, but I can still feel the
closeness I have to her soul. I grasp on to that feeling and I keep it close. I
can feel the pressure building around my body and it makes me feel like I am
about to explode. I begin to see nothing but a bright white light behind my
eyelids, and then...I’m there.

Elvena and Ashur are standing before me
and are just as mesmerized as I am of our surroundings. Everything here is
white. The grass is soft underneath my feet, but it’s white. The trees are
white, the flowers are white, and even the sun shining above is giving off a
white glow. The only color here is us and the clothes we are wearing. There’s
no sign of Meliantha and it looks as if this place goes on for miles and miles
past the horizon.

“Our best chances are to split up,”
Elvena says.

“How will we know when someone has found
her?” I ask curiously.

Elvena smiles and says, “Whoever finds
her and brings her over will automatically send the rest of us over too. That
part is easy, child.” She turns around slowly and furrows her brows, “So all we
need to do now is find her. I don’t know how long we have here so we best get
to looking.”

We each choose a path and begin heading
in our own directions. I chose mine because the moment I got here I could feel
a pull on my soul demanding me to follow. There are trees up ahead scattered
across a hill and they all look like they’re covered in snow, but then again
everything here looks covered in snow. The trees are still a good distance
away, but the magnetic force that’s pulling on my soul is getting stronger the
closer I get. It couldn’t be her, could it?

I pick up the pace and begin running as
fast as I can. If I don’t find Meliantha in time there’s no telling how long
she will stay lost before I find her. The trees are so close and I’m now at the
base of the hill looking up at them. It’s only a matter of seconds before I
reach them…one...two...three...I made it.

I crest over the top of the hill,
anticipation in each step, and my heart stops the moment I see the most
beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes is standing there before me. She’s
wearing a flowing white dress, but her back is turned to me and she’s staring
out at the white horizon in the distance.

“Meliantha?” I whisper.

Her back stiffens for a few seconds, but
then her shoulders begin to sag. I expected her to turn right around, but she
didn’t. Why isn’t she turning around? “Why aren’t you answering me?” I ask,
concerned.

“Because you’re not really here,” she
answers. “Every time I hear your voice I always search for you, but you’re
never here. I’ve been searching for days to find you, and I’m starting to
believe this is my punishment for killing you.” My heart aches at the sound of
her voice. She is a strong woman, but her voice sounds lost and defeated right
now. I can’t believe she’s been wandering in this world lost and alone,
confused, and thinking she didn’t save me. Oh, Meliantha.

“My love, you didn’t kill me,” I reply
lovingly. “You saved me, and I’m alive just as you are. Will you please turn
around and look at me, Meliantha. I’m here, and I have come to take you home.” I
look at her standing there all alone, and it makes me want to hold her and
never let go. I’m about to go to her, but I stop when she begins to turn
around. She takes a deep breath and turns around slowly. I can see tears
streaming down her face when she lifts her head. For the first time ever she
actually looks scared, but when she looks at me...everything changes.

She stares at me wide-eyed and makes no
move to come closer. My hands begin to tremble and my heart is beating
frantically with impatience as I long to touch her. I don’t want to rush her,
but I have to bring her back before the magic wears out.