Journey into the Realm: The Stolen Child (Journey into the Realm Series) by Markelle Grabo Read Free Book Online

hear my voice crack.
    I heard Nathan sigh. “Maybe it’s too soon after…Are you sure you’re ready for this?” He was referring to our journey.
    “I have to be,” I snapped. “I have no choice.” I pulled my hand away from his and crossed my arms over my chest. I was being unnecessarily cruel, but at that moment I didn’t care. How dare he question a crisis over which I had no control?
    “I know. I’m sorry,” he whispered softly. “It was a stupid question.”
    “Don’t apologize,” I muttered, blinking back tears. “I don’t deserve it.”
    If my life were a movie, we would have reconciled then. He would have held me close while I poured my heart out to him, telling him how shattered I felt and how bleak the future seemed. How when every time I closed my eyes I saw Stellan’s ashes on the grass, Finn’s menacing gaze as I burned him with my hatred, Ellie’s fiery wings laced with betrayal. I would have apologized for being so unfair to him, and he would have kissed me until I stopped hurting.
    But my life wasn’t a movie. So we both fell asleep without another word and morning came too quickly.

~5~
The Beginning
    At dawn, with most elves in the palace still asleep in their beds or just beginning to stir, there wasn’t time to think, to doubt, or to consider what we were getting ourselves into. My friends and I ate a quick breakfast, finished packing what little we needed for our journey, and prepared to exit through the castle doors before we could change our minds.
    I bid farewell to Kalani and Razi, the dragons who for twenty straight minutes begged me to let them come along until I finally convinced them that traveling with two enormous dragons throughout dangerous fairy territory wouldn’t give us a very low profile. But I left Zora sleeping peacefully in her room. Brielle promised to explain everything once we left.
    On the way to meet my friends at the palace doors, I heard whispering around the corner. Peering slowly, I recognized Brielle and Elvina speaking in low, hushed tones, and my curiosity was pricked instantly.
    Elvina, a Woodland fairy, was supposedly the reason the war began. Lady Cora, Brielle’s aunt – and my aunt as well, I had recently discovered – had stolen Elvina from the Element Fairy Realm when she was a baby because Lady Cora had valued her as her own child. Elvina’s father, an Element fairy, had ignored his daughter since her birth and her Woodland fairy mother’s death. So Lady Cora had taken it upon herself to ensure that Elvina was loved and cared for by bringing her to the Elf Realm. When Lady Cora had refused to give her up, the Element fairies declared war.
    Now fully grown, Elvina was respected by the elves of Tarlore while Lady Cora was shunned. I didn’t blame Lady Cora for doing what she did out of love, but I understood why so many elves despised her.
    And after what Brielle had said about Vortigern’s ulterior motive, I wondered if the war was even related to Lady Cora’s transgression, or just an excuse.
    Lingering against the wall, I strained my ears to catch a bit of what Brielle and Elvina were saying. Most of what I heard was muffled, incoherent phrases. But I did catch one line from Brielle.
    “…You know what you must do,” she said to Elvina.
    I could only catch bits and pieces of Elvina’s response. “I…help…Ramsey…will be safe…will not let you…trust me…find Eder...stay out of sight until I see the Princess.”
    I started at the mention of Eder’s name, but refrained from intruding just in case they would say more. Then Brielle and Elvina fell silent. I began to panic, wondering if they could detect my presence. Hurriedly, I turned around and ran swiftly in the opposite direction so they wouldn’t catch me eavesdropping.
    Only a few minutes later, I found myself waiting with my friends just outside the palace doors, wondering when Brielle would make an appearance. We couldn’t leave until the Queen gave me her