Journey into the Realm: The Stolen Child (Journey into the Realm Series) Read Free Page A

explained.
    “I thought only fairies were supposed to be vague,” I remarked bitterly, shaking my head.
    “Elfen queens too,” she mocked. “And please tell no one of my correspondence with Joseph. Spies are everywhere. I can’t trust anyone else with this information, not even our closest friends.”
    What she meant was that I couldn’t tell Nathan. I swallowed dryly. A secret between us didn’t sound like a good idea. But this was the Queen’s request, so I had to obey.
    We watched each other silently. I finally remembered that Addison was in the room with us. I turned my head to see her still waiting by the door.
    “What do you think?” I asked my friend and former rescuer. “Is this journey too risky, or should I blindly follow Brielle’s advice?”
    Addison left her post at the door to sit down next to me on the couch. “The journey is too risky, but you knew that already.”
    I nodded slowly, unable to lie to her.
    She took my hands and squeezed them lightly. “And you didn’t have to ask for my opinion. You’ve already made your choice.”
    I sighed. She was right; I had.
    No matter how dangerous or completely absurd, I had to journey through the Realms to reach the High Queen. She was the only one who could stop Vortigern, and I was the only one who could possibly convince her to do it. And if the King did indeed have an ulterior motive, he needed to be stopped before he could succeed.
    “I’m in,” I said, acknowledging my choice.
    Suddenly Brielle looked nothing like a royal and everything like the wild elfen I had met what now seemed like a lifetime ago. She threw her arms around me and squeezed until I choked.
    When she finally let go, I had only one question: “Can Nathan come with me?”
    ***
    I returned to my room and found Nathan waiting where I left him. I felt my anxiety reach new heights as I sat on the bed next to him. He reached out as if to welcome me into his arms but refrained when I crossed my arms rather than accept his embrace. Ever since Stellan’s murder, I had experienced mood swings around Nathan. Sometimes I was eager to explore the uncharted territory that was our relationship, kissing him and practically gluing myself to his side. Other times I yearned for the days when we were only friends because those days were simpler. Stellan was still alive then. So was Queen Taryn. And I wasn’t half-fairy.
    With all that had transpired in such a short amount of time, I often wondered if it was selfish for me to have Nathan’s love. I also couldn’t allow myself to be distracted by him, and although I found myself giving in to temptation more than refusing it, I really did try to keep some distance. I needed time to move past my grief. And despite my love for him, my primary focus had to be ending the war. I knew our relationship was strong enough to endure. I just wasn’t sure if Nathan knew that. I wanted to assure him that it wasn’t his fault and ask him to be patient with me, but every time I opened my mouth to begin, words failed me.
    “So, what’s the plan?” Nathan asked slowly, tentatively. He knew my moods – though not the reason for them – and had already realized that I was in a fragile state. One wrong word and I could end up shutting him out. It was horrible, but it was the truth.
    “We leave early tomorrow morning,” I told him.
    He balked. “ We ? But I – how could I – what do you mean?”
    I gave him the shortest possible version of my meeting with Brielle, leaving out the part about Joseph and the rebellion as Brielle had requested. When I finished, I could tell that he didn’t know what to say. If I weren’t in one of my moods, he would probably have hugged or kissed me, glad that I wasn’t going on this journey alone, relieved that I was including him. But I wasn’t accepting physical contact, so he just sat and watched me until I couldn’t take his silence any longer.
    I bit my lip. “So, are you coming? I mean, you can’t follow me