Leif sighed and walked out hurt and worried about what was going to happen. He let the guards back in and left for the evening, finding himself in his own tent staring at the floor not knowing what to do about Elah. He couldn’t force her to admit she was wrong and felt helpless that he couldn't help her.
Once she became too exhausted to stay awake, she finally fell asleep and as suspected her sleep was hunted by the young dark fae she killed. She woke up several times screaming and in a pool sweat, her body shaking with fear. Morning couldn't come quick enough and when the guards came to collect her the sun was barely up.
Elah watched the sun come up as the rider pushed the horse faster and faster. She helped the horse out by feed it energy and as a result, they made it back to the castle by lunchtime. Even though she helped the horse, it was still exhausted and was taken to the stables by a young boy, who chatted to the horse as he walked off with it.
The rider took her to her room where Nissa was waiting. Elah’s clothes were dirty and blood stained, she hadn’t noticed, her mind too scattered to focus on her own cleanliness.
She watched the dirt and blood fall from her body as she showered, hoping the water would wash away all the guilt she held but only her body was cleaned, she still felt the blood on her clean hands. The blood of the lives she had taken. She was suppose to preserve life, not take it.
Not able to handle it any longer, Elah crumbled to the shower floor and wept like she had never before. She knew she should never have gone out onto that battle field but she did it to protect her brother, someone she may never see again.
She was okay with her own death, she didn't feel she deserved it anyway. She had taken more lives than she should have but it was the disappointment of her loved ones that hurt her the most and the pain they would have to endure because of her stupidity.
As she stood in the room in front of the cupboard, with nothing but water dripping from her bare body, she stared blankly at the clothes in front of her until Nissa started fussing over her. Nissa made sure she was wearing a formal white dress and her hair was neatly pulled into an up do but nothing could take the fear and pain from her eyes.
The rider who waited in the room quickly turned his back on her when he saw her come out of the bathroom, not sure what to do, he waited for Nissa to tell him it was okay to turn. It wasn’t until Nissa tapped him on the shoulder that the rider felt it safe to turn around.
Nissa brought them some food before the rider took Elah to a small room on the other side of the castle. The room was well decorated but Elah was too preoccupied to notice. There were no windows and she started nervously tapping her fingers on the arms of the chair. It felt like hours before a guard dressed in his formal uniform came for her.
He led her into a large white room with an enormous round table in the centre. He pulled out a chair for her and told her to remain standing until invited to sit. Elah watched the guard stand in a corner and looked around to see a guard in each corner. They straightened as the council members came in and sat down. The last to enter was the queen, the woman she had healed not too long ago.
A Healer's Destiny Page 19