I was woken in the middle of the night by Javi pulling on my hair. I want to protest, but when I see the gaze in Javi’s yellow eyes, I know that something is wrong. She also starts to pace nervously on the spot.
I propelled myself into a sitting position on my bed. I grab my coat from the rack and immediately shrug it on. “Is it Leo? Where is he?”
Now that I am awake, there’s something strange tonight. I am usually a late sleeper because I love reading books in the middle of the night. Around this time, the palace should already be dead quiet and empty. Somehow, for some strange reason, I can see a light emanating outside of my room and even outside of my window.
I get up and start to head for my balcony door when I hear my front door softly creaking open. I whirled around abruptly and nervously to check who had entered my room.
“Rose?” My sister enters my room with a stern expression. She places a finger over my lips in a sign that tells me to be quiet. I press my lips together and watch as she quickly ushers her wolf Custard inside, who is carrying an unconscious Leo on his back.
I rush towards them right after Rose closes the door behind her.
“What’s happening?” I turn to my sister after checking in on Leo. He’s still unconscious. My voice automatically carried in a whisper tone. “Why did you bring him here?”
“I can’t give you a very detailed explanation.” Rose answers, looking at the door worriedly. “Someone informed the Kingdom that the portal was used improperly to bring someone from the mortal realm.”
“Why does that sound like a problem?”
“Because it was a complaint directly addressed to Nathaniel.” Rose meets my gaze, and I can see her narrowing it like she is giving me a hint of what it means. As someone who has to study the laws and politics in this realm, I know exactly what she means. Rose looks away. “There’s nothing that he can do. Bringing someone from the human realm to this one usually requires writing a letter to Nate. Unfortunately, with our circumstances, that was not possible.”
This is all my fault. I brought Leo here without thinking.
“I’m sorry.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” My sister assures me. “Ace and I were going to write Nate a letter before you left, but we did not expect you to come back so quickly.” The fact that Rose doesn’t even sound the least bit angry at me is making me feel even more burdened. I feel her gentle hands lifting my chin to make me face her direction. She wears a motherly smile, the one that she usually uses for her children. “Stella, whether you are aware of things or not, know that Ace and I are always on your side. You don’t have to carry all your problems alone. We are here to protect you. And, even though my husband doesn’t voice it out, he cares for you.”
I nod. I don’t trust my voice not to shake when I answer her.
“That being said,” Rose’s voice starts to turn serious, and her brow starts to crease. “We need to get you and your friend to the enchanted forest tonight. There are guards outside who want to do a thorough search in the palace. Nate is with them, and he and Ace are trying to buy us some time by pretending to have a casual talk.” She sighs. “We both know that Ace is not the type of person to have a long conversation with anyone unless it relates to politics. The guards might know that something is up the longer that they converse.”
Yeah, that much I know of. The only person that Ace would gladly talk to comfortably are a small number of people, and my sister is at the top of his list.
“Rose, about the ones who made the report. I think—”
“It’s probably Chace? Yeah, we figured as much.” Rose seems angry when she mentions the crown prince’s name. “We’ll talk about it some other time. Right now, you take Custard and Javi with you to flee to the enchanted forest. Custard is able to maintain his form all the way there.” I did not even notice that my sister brought a red cloak with her that she places and clasps over me. “This will hide you on your travels so they can’t track you. But even with this, you have to be careful.”
I hugged her. I don’t even know why, but my body just moved all on its own. I’m scared, angry, and guilty.
“I’m sorry,” is all the words that I can mutter.
I feel my sister returning my embrace with a snort. “You’re sounding like we might never see each other again.” She says this humorously before pulling away from me. “We’ll see each other very soon. Right now, you should focus on saving the guy that you like, right?” She winks. “And just between the two of us, he is the only one that I slightly approve of—but not completely!” She burst out.
My previous embarrassment over her statement was quickly recovered through laughter. Leave it to my sister to make a joke out of a serious situation. Still, thinking about it, I think that she just revealed something to me that I have been trying to deny and bury.
Before, I revealed that I used to have a crush on Kellar, but it seems like that feeling isn't completely gone. Despite how many years it has been, he has always been at the back of my mind. It’s no wonder that I have been unconsciously looking for him for a long time and why I am desperate to save him.
Honestly, love can make people do stupid things.
“I’ll keep that in mind, sister.” I smile and then turn to the two spirit familiars in the room. “Custard, take care of him. Javi, do you mind giving me a ride?”
Javi lowers herself to the ground and allows me to ride on her back. We left through the balcony, with Custard following behind us.
The journey has been rather long, even with the two spirit familiars carrying us behind their backs. I guess that they are also slowing their paces because of Leo—the man can really sleep. I’m impressed.
Noises start to emerge from the trees. I have to hang on tightly to Javi when she moves to avoid an arrow directed at us. After dodging the attack, Javi makes a sharp turn and goes after the rogue hiding up the tree. She manages to knock the man down, but he wasn’t the last of our pursuers. Most of them are hiding behind trees and bushes. Custard could not defend, as he’s carrying Leo, so only Javi could attack.
Just when I thought that we had avoided the fairies, the rogues started to show up. Something is strange here.
Custard is a pretty good fighter, but I can’t say the same of Javi. She can fight, but she isn’t really built for fighting because she is more built for speed. If only Custard can fight, I suspect that he could take them out in one go.
The temperature suddenly begins to drop to a familiar freezing point.
“Javi, stop!” I command her just in time as the area around us begins to freeze, capturing the rogues in crystalline form and trapping them.
I’m sure dead as hell that I wasn’t the one who entrapped the rogue. The power of an ice fairy—there’s only one person that I know of who can wield it.
“Chace.” My eyes narrowed at the silhouette behind the forest.
“Don’t freak out.” Chace announces the moment he shows himself out of the forest. His hands are raised in the air in a surrendering manner. “Stella, I’m not here to fight. I am here to help.” When his gaze turns to Custard carrying Leo on his back, I swear I might’ve seen a hint of sadness in them. “He’s Kellar’s half soul, isn’t he?”
“How did you know about that?” I cannot hide the surprise in my voice when I asked about it.
“It’s pretty easy to figure out. Not to mention that the name he’s using is Kellar’s old alias.” He shrugs and gives me a serious look. “I’m here to help, Stella. To be more precise, I am here to help Kellar.” Chace doesn’t seem to be lying, nor does he sound like it. When he sees that I am still a little doubtful, he adds, “Why do you think that I have been staying in the mortal realm for so long? I was protecting him until I got the chance to tell you.”
Come to think of it, it did strike me as odd that Kellar is in the mortal realm. If he knew that, he would have harmed Leo already.
This might be a little presumptuous of me, but maybe Chace still cares about Kellar as a friend. After all, those two have been friends for longer than we have. Maybe he has a little bit of remorse for what happened to Kellar and is trying to correct himself. I should give him the benefit of the doubt, but just for this time since I pretty much have no other choice.
“Stella?” Chace averts his gaze and turns to another direction, where noises seem to be coming from. Javi and Custard notice it too. Rogue reinforcements are probably coming. Chace eyes me with concern. I wish I could give you more time, Stella, but I don't think we have the luxury of it.”
Of course, I know that. Since the beginning, time has always been my enemy.
“Alright.” I sigh defeatedly. It’s not like I can fight Chace in my current state. “You may come with us, but if you ever try to harm Kellar or Leo, don’t blame me if Javi and Custard attack you.”