Eternal Promise (Between Worlds Book 3) (5 page)

“That is disturbing.” Sheridan sat back and stroked his chin. “How can we help?”

“I’m not sure. Just be aware. Something tells me they didn’t just go to the human realm to play.”

“You have our word.” Sheridan turned his attention to me. “Oleander, there are a few who didn’t think you should be here today.”

How was I supposed to respond to that? “Why not?”

“A couple of reasons. One, you have much to learn. Two, you haven’t shown a real interest in returning to our world. There are some that are concerned that you won’t be able to lead, make good decisions, and so on. We had hoped you’d come home and accept your fate; however, it seems that not only have you chosen to stay in the human realm another year, but two faeries are leaving on a daily basis because of that choice.”

I was dumbfounded for a minute. I wanted to rip into him for talking to me like that, but that would just prove I was immature. “I understand your concerns, Sheridan. It was a hard decision for me to make and ultimately I chose to stay there to fulfill obligations I had. My involvement with the human world does not interfere with my role here. I will learn what I need to. I will be who I’m supposed to be. I ask that you give me a chance.” I impressed myself with that speech.

“An Aurorian has great power, knowledge, and strength. You will be needed here often. Are you prepared for that?” he asked.

Did I have a choice? “I am.”

“Perhaps your first task should be to help the forest that was damaged in the fires last month.” Sheridan held my gaze.

“I don’t understand.” I leaned forward.

“We protect and heal nature, so when we learn of some things that go on, it is our duty to stop them or repair the damage,” Sheridan explained.

I nodded, although I was still unsure of what I was supposed to do.

“Maybe Azura can show you the way.” Brigid turned to the rest of the table. “Back to what I was saying in the beginning. There’s something brewing and we’re going to need to be together on our defense. Let’s meet again in ten suns.”

All the elder faeries rose and exited, leaving Kallan and me. “Well, that was something,” I said.

“You okay?”

“Confused. What is it they want me to do?”

“Basically heal the earth.”

“How do I do that?”

A smile spread across Kallan’s face. “We’ll show you.”

“When?”

He looked at me apprehensively. “Now.”

“Now? I have to go home.”

“It hasn’t been that long since you left. You have time to do this.”

I sighed and thought about the time difference. I was going to be tired for school tomorrow. “Fine. Let’s go.”

“I think your mother might want to go with you.”

“Oh. Okay. Does that mean I won’t see you for a while?”

“If you consider a few hours a while, then yeah.”

“Bummer.”

“I’ll get all my work done so I can see you as soon as you’re done.” He stood up, took my hands, and pulled me out of the chair and close to him. He placed his hands on my waist and touched his lips to mine. As our lips moved together, his hands traveled up my back to my wings. He ran his fingers along them, causing ripples to shoot through my body. It felt so good when he touched my wings. They fluttered furiously. I had no control over them. They had a mind of their own. The intensity of the kiss grew stronger until Kallan finally pulled away, leaving us both gasping for air.

I ran just one finger up one of his soft wings and headed toward the door. I paused and blew him a kiss. He looked completely dumbfounded and I loved it. I liked shocking him.

Azura was waiting outside. “I hear we have a little journey to make.”

“Yes. Is that okay?”

“Of course! I would love to teach you about your heritage.” She looked back toward the house. “Is Kallan joining us?”

“No. He has some work to do.”

“Very well. Let’s go.” She led the way down a path. The sweet smell of the pastel flowers tickled my nose. Faery fruit sprouted on lush green bushes. Butterflies fluttered by me and animals poked their heads out of the bushes and tall grass.

“Is it okay if I talk about the meeting? It’s not secret or anything, is it?” I asked unsure.

“No. You’re fine.”

I told her what was talked about. “What do you think it means by something is coming?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. I think I’ll visit Lorella and ask her what she sees in the future.” Azura turned her head toward the right. “We’re almost there.”

Chapter Six

T
here was a distinct burnt smell in the air that made my nose crinkle. The land below my feet was no longer soft and green. It turned darker and darker until it was black and barren. I sucked in a deep breath as my eyes scanned the horizon. There was nothing but charred remains. A great sadness filled me—almost to the point of tears.

I shrank to my knees and put my hands on the ground. So many things had died here. This was not a place of happiness. Sorrow and gloom overwhelmed me and I took some deep breaths to steady my body.

“You can feel it, can’t you?” Azura asked in a voice slightly above a whisper.

“Yes,” I whispered. My chest was heavy. “What…what is it?”

“You’re a faery. Nature is a part of you. You feel its pain. And you can heal the hurt.” Azura’s voice was low and full of love.

“How?” I looked up into her eyes.

She squatted down next to me and put her hands on top of mine. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, so I did the same. “Dig your fingers in and feel the earth.”

I pressed my fingers hard into the ground. The pain seemed to creep up through my hands into my arms. I wanted to pull them back and run far from here to somewhere green and sweet smelling, but I couldn’t…this place needed me.

“Push back with happiness, with love, with good.”

I wasn’t really sure how to do that.

“Just feel it, daughter. Breathe deep and feel the goodness flow out of your body into the ground.”

I took another deep breath and felt a warmness leave my heart and push down my arms into my hands until my fingers tingled. I thought of the good things in nature. Beautiful flowers, tall trees, green grass, fruit-filled plants.

“Rylie, look.”

I opened my eyes and saw new grass all around my hands. A smile tugged on my lips. The green spread outward farther and farther.

“Keep going.”

Before long I couldn’t see any more black. Everything was a beautiful bright green. There were small flowers starting to sprout up and I was pretty sure saplings were growing too.

“Very good,” Azura said and stood up.

After another minute watching life grow, I stood up too. “This is amazing!”

“This is what you’re meant to do. Part of it anyway.” She took my hands. “Healing the earth is one of the things faeries are needed for. You created life just by believing and feeling.”

I looked into her eyes and saw the love she had for me. I knew she loved me, but at this very second, I felt it strongly. “I’m sorry I’ve been so distant. You’ve been so patient with me and I appreciate it.”

“You’re my daughter and I love you. I gave you away to protect you and I’d do it again, but I missed you every single moment. I’m just so glad for the time I get with you. My heart swells when I see you like this, so beautiful, so natural, and I can’t wait to see the wonderful things in store for you.”

I wrapped my arms around her as a tear slid down my cheek. The words “I love you” slipped out softly, but I knew she heard me because she squeezed tighter. It was the first time I had ever felt like saying those words. The first time I really meant them. She didn’t replace my human mother. I would always love her. I felt special that I had two moms now.

“Faeries seem to call their relatives by different names than humans do—”

“They stem from the Irish language.”

“What would a faery call her mother?”

“Mamaí.”

I repeated that a few times in my head, but I didn’t say it out loud. “Are we done here?”

“Yes. The area will continue to grow now.” She put her hand on my back and led me back the way we came.

“Do faeries go to the human realm to heal the earth?” I asked curiously.

“Yes, faeries hold many jobs.”

Kallan appeared next to me. “Hi. How did it go?”

I looked around, wondering how he snuck up on us so quietly.

“She did wonderfully,” Azura answered proudly.

I flushed. “It was amazing.”

“I figured you’d like it. Ready to go?”

I nodded. “Yes.” Turning to Azura, I said, “I’ll see you this weekend.”

“I look forward to it.”

“Thank you for today.”

She smiled. “Thanks isn’t necessary.”

I slipped my hand into Kallan’s and together we walked off. “So you did your first piece of faery work.”

“I loved it. Healing the earth like that…was awesome. I could get used to it.”

Kallan dramatically clutched his heart. “I’m shocked. You? You liked it?”

I slugged him on the shoulder. “I know. I never thought I’d enjoy being in this realm, doing what I was supposed to do, but you were all right. I do. I guess I really was born for it. Did you get everything you needed to do finished?”

“Yes.”

“Anything interesting?”

“Just trying to figure out what’s going on with the missing fey.”

“Yeah, what’s that about?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I sent Olwydd and Glyn to gather information.” His hand played with mine. “Enough of that. Are you okay? I know you had an intense evening.”

“I hope I can prove myself to the council.”

“You will.”

“I felt…stupid and unprepared. It was like they wanted me to fail. Sheridan made me so mad, yet I knew he was right. I don’t know enough of the faery world to make good decisions.”

“Maybe it’s the other way around.”

“What does that mean?”

“Maybe your experience as a human will help you to lead.”

“Hmmm.” I hadn’t thought of that.

“Watch this!” Kallan climbed onto a low branch of a tree and pulled me up. “Sit here.”

I sat on the thick branch that was a few feet off the ground. Kallan walked over to the trunk of the tree and put one hand on the trunk and the other on the branch. Suddenly the branch started growing upwards. I wobbled and gripped tighter before I lost my balance. Kallan had made the limb grow high in the air. He stood up, balanced himself on the branch, and walked back to me.

He extended his hand. I grabbed it and he pulled me up. He had one arm around me and held the next highest branch with the other to keep us steady.

“This is quite something.”

“You just have to be one with nature.”

We stood there silently gazing into the horizon at the sunset, which filled the sky with deep reds and oranges. Once the big ball of fire had slipped below where we could see, Kallan grabbed hold of a vine and with his arm still around me, he swung us to the ground.

“I can see how you wouldn’t get bored here,” I commented.

Kallan smiled. “There’s always something to do and fun to have.”

“Even for the leaders.”

“Absolutely.”

Not long after we left the tree, my house came into view. “How long have I been gone?” I asked.

“Four hours.”

“Long enough for them to care.” I sighed. “Will you come in with me?”

“You want me to?”

I could hear the shock in his voice. “Yeah.”

“Then I definitely will come inside.”

I smiled and squeezed his hand as we climbed the stairs of the back deck. I opened the door and found my parents at the table. Mom looked up and smiled. Dad didn’t look happy at all. He looked from me to Kallan. I hated seeing the disappointment in his eyes. I hung my head. “I’m sorry—”

“We had a deal, Rylie,” Dad stated. “School comes first. Faery stuff on weekends.”

“It was the first day, Dad. There wasn’t any homework or studying…and…I was needed there.”

“You are still our daughter. You need to abide by the rules.” He raised his voice. Mom put her hand on his, but he sent her a look and she backed off. “You can’t just run off whenever something comes up and leave us wondering when or if you’ll be back.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” I said again.

“You’re grounded.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Grounded for a week.”

“Dad…I can’t. I have to be there this weekend.”

“Cancel your plans. You’re grounded.”

I couldn’t be grounded. I had to be at the party I suggested having. The council would never take me seriously if I weren’t there. I closed my eyes and let out a heavy sigh. I knew what I had to do and it didn’t make me happy.

I sat at the table with my parents and focused. “Mom, Dad, I need you to forget that I left a note, forget I wasn’t here today. Instead, remember when you got home, you found me here looking over school papers. We talked. We ate dinner. Kallan came to see me.”

My parents’ expressions were blank. I wasn’t sure if it had worked. I bit on my lip while chastising myself for using Kallan’s mind control.

Dad’s face relaxed and he looked up at Kallan and back at me. “Don’t be long, Rylie. It’s already late.”

“I won’t.” I stood up and dragged Kallan to the back deck. I let go of his hand and paced back and forth. “I can’t believe I just did that. What did I do? What was I thinking? That’s so wrong.”

Kallan grabbed my shoulders. “Rylie, it’s fine. Take a deep breath. You didn’t do anything that would hurt anyone. That’s what’s important.”

“I know. It just…doesn’t feel right.”

“Sometimes we have to do things we don’t like doing for the greater good.”

I rolled my eyes, even though I agreed.

I stood at the railing of the deck looking out into the forest behind the house. Kallan came up behind me and ran his hands up and down my wings. A tingling sensation went through my body and made me forget about what happened with my parents.

I could feel his breath on my neck and then he whispered in my ear, “I love you.”

I closed my eyes and smiled. Slowly, I turned to him and pressed my face into his chest. I could hear his heart beating. After a minute, I looked up into his eyes and said, “I love you too.”

His lips were on mine in a heartbeat. I loved the way he kissed me…slow and gentle at first, and then fast and passionate. He lifted me up onto the deck railing. My hands were in his hair pulling him closer. After a few minutes, he pulled back and lifted me up into his arms.

“There’s no place I’d rather be than in your arms like this.” I didn’t ever want him to let me go.