“Mel, you all right?” asked Matt.
I looked up to see him in the doorway. “I’m fine.”
“I was only joking about you being small, and I think Victoria was as well.”
“I didn’t realise Victoria knew how to tell a joke.”
Matt walked over to me. “I know. It’s surprising when she acts like a normal person. Are you sure you’re all right? You’ve hardly said a word since we arrived.”
“I don’t know. I guess I’m just nervous about everything. What if I mess up and this leprechaun king gets free? The world will be in danger, and it will be all my fault.”
“It would not be your fault, and you don’t need to worry about all that because you’ve got this.” He pointed at the Heart Crystal around my neck.
“How can you be so sure?” I asked.
“If you could sense the power inside you the way the rest of us can, you would also be a believer.” Matt put his arm round my shoulders, giving me a squeeze.
“What if my power isn’t enough?” I said, leaning on him.
“You worry too much. You won’t be doing this alone. I will be with you, and my sister and Greg will be too. We sure are a weird little group—two warlocks, a changeling, and a human elf. Is that all that’s bothering you?”
I turned away from him. “Of course, that’s all.”
“No more weird dreams about a battle?”
“Why would that be worrying me? They’re just dreams.” I wished I hadn’t told him about that dream. If I had known what I know now, I probably would’ve kept it to myself. The dreams had gotten clearer, they weren’t as disjointed as before. They were all about Freya but in them I was Freya. It was like her life was happening to me in a dream. What was worse was that they had changed. They were now a group of repeating dreams that showed just how unlike Freya I was and just how dangerous Kadon had been. Freya was strong and confident, whereas I was anxious and constantly overthinking everything.
“You have had more dreams then. Before, when you told me about that dream, I didn’t know about your magic. I think you have been dreaming about Freya and Kadon’s final battle.”
“I think you’re right.”
“You do?”
I nodded. “After meeting Greg, the dreams became clearer. They have also changed.”
“Changed how?”
“It’s like I’m seeing different parts of Freya’s life. Some of the dreams repeat. Mainly the more violent ones. Is this normal?”
Matt leant against the worktop, rubbing his chin. “Not really. I did some research into seers, and well, you’re not one.”
I grabbed his arm. “You did research on your own?”
He shrugged me off. “Hey, don’t sound so surprised. My mum has a small library, and I borrowed a book or two. From what I read, seers are extremely rare and only see the future, not the past. As your dreams are all about Freya, maybe it has more to do with the Heart Crystal.”
I bit my thumbnail. “What if my dreams are telling me that I can’t do this?”
“Or maybe they are just preparing you for what you have to do.”
I looked up at the ceiling. A part of me wanted to keep this all secret, but another part thought that was a bad idea. “Should we tell the others? Like you said, we are a team, and Greg knows a lot more about the history of the Heart than us.”
“No. You especially can’t tell Greg.”
“Why not? I know you don’t like him, but what if he can help?”
Matt looked at his feet. “It’s not that I don’t like him. I mean, he’s not my favourite person, but that’s not why you shouldn’t tell him. Greg comes from a very different world than us.”
“I thought you were all from the other side of the veil?”
“We are, but just like on this side, there are different social classes. He belongs to a very elite few. The name Ainsworth means something in the magic world. Has he told you who his father is?”
“He said he was some knight and a member of the council, but people vote for the council members, don’t they?”
“Um, no. The council is made up of leaders from the different nations. How the different leaders are chosen varies. The warlocks vote for their president, but the changelings basically have a monarchy.”
“But he said his dad was a knight, not a king.”
“Lord Steffen Ainsworth Elder Knight.” Matt rolled his eyes. “It’s just a fancy title the changelings came up with. They think it makes them sound wise, but our friend in there is basically a prince. I just don’t want you revealing too much to him or getting attached and ending up hurt.”
I bumped shoulders with him. “I’m a big girl, Matt. I can take care of myself. Anyway, I know I’m just a project to him, something to show off his skill and prove himself to his father. I know there are limits to any friendship I have with Greg. We can just use him for his brain.”
Matt ruffled his hair. “I can’t help worrying about you. You’re like a younger sister to me, and as your big brother, I must look out for you. Greg’s father may try and use any knowledge he has of us for his own purposes. Even Greg doesn’t know that yet.”
“You do realise I’m older than you, but I take your point. The politics on the other side are so confusing.”
“Tell me about it. Life on this side is so much simpler. Anyway, I thought you came out here for snacks.” Matt spun on his heel and opened a cupboard.
“Subtle change of subject,” I said.
Matt flashed a grin over his shoulder. I sighed, opening another cupboard. We went back to the living room with crisps and drinks. As they carried on, planning around me, I couldn’t help thinking about what Matt had said. Greg was basically a prince. I had blindly jumped into a friendship with Greg. For all I knew, he only put up with me because it was his duty. If Matt was right, Greg’s duty to his people would always come first. Could I ever really trust him the way I trusted Matt and Victoria?
“You don’t have to do this!” I shout. “It’s not too late to turn back.”
All eyes are on me. I’m at the gate to my kingdom, my guardians on either side of me. An army of leprechauns surrounds us, Kadon in the lead. I can’t make out his features, but I know it’s him. I know what is expected of me—a display of power. But if we could just talk things out… War is not what I wanted. The leprechauns outnumber the elves, and currently, there are only three of us standing in their way.
Kadon stepped forward. “As long as you insist on stealing our human servants, we won’t back down.”
“How can you be so heartless? Humans are not property. I steal nothing from you. What I do is rescue slaves.”
“You are a fool, Freya. Your compassion makes you weak.” Kadon clicks his fingers. “Storm the gates. Take back what is ours.”
His soldiers march forward. With a flick of my arm, I release a ray of light, and they stop in their tracks. Kadon snarls. A dark aura surrounds him. He charges forward, throwing me to the ground. I signal to Ivan and Tasha to stand down. I stand and face Kadon.
“This is your last chance to leave.”
“Your father you are not,” he says. “Time has ended on the rule of the elves.”
I hold my hand out to the side and summon my staff. “Then you leave me no choice.”
Kadon cackles. “I’m not afraid of you, Freya.”
I lift my staff above my head, releasing a pulse that sends Kadon flying. “Maybe you should be.”
The sun shone through a crack in my curtains. I rolled over, covering my head with my pillow. Today was the day. I would be meeting the magic council and attempting to reseal Kadon. My stomach churned. I had dreamt of Freya and her guardians facing down Kadon and his army of leprechauns. It had been three against an army. The fact that they had survived that encounter showed just how powerful Freya was. There was no way I could do something like that. I let out a long sigh. All I had to do was reinforce Freya’s original spell. I could do this.
Groaning, I rolled ov
er again. I didn’t want to get up. All I wanted was to stay tucked up in bed, to forget about magic, heirs, and leprechaun prisoners. How had this become my life? If someone had told me a couple of months ago that this was how I would be spending the first few days of my holiday, I would have laughed. Something bounced on the end of my bed.
“Rise and shine, my lady,” came Greg’s voice. “We have a busy day ahead of us.”
I threw my pillow at the annoying rabbit on the end of my bed. “Don’t call me that.”
“You need to get used to it, my lady, as it’s the done thing where we are going.”
“I don’t care what the done thing is.” I dragged myself out of bed. “Now, get out while I shower.”
“As you wish, my lady.”
I threw another pillow at him as he hopped away.
Once dressed, I went down for breakfast but couldn’t bring myself to eat. My stomach kept doing somersaults, making me feel queasy. I eventually gave up on food and decided to just get on with things. With my rucksack on my back, I grabbed Greg and stuffed him into my satchel. He protested, but it was the only way to sneak him past my dad. If I didn’t hide him, my dad would want to know why I was taking the rabbit out with me. Just as I was about to leave, my dad offered to give me a lift. It would have been odd to say no. Greg would just have to suffer the constraints of my bag a bit longer.
I got in the car with Greg safely hidden away, and my dad dropped us off at Victoria and Matt’s house. He spoke to their parents, and then we said our goodbyes. As I watched him drive off, there was a tightness in my chest. I hadn’t been able to look him in the eye all morning. I didn’t like hiding the truth from him, but this wasn’t exactly an easy subject to bring up. Even if he didn’t completely freak out, I didn’t think he would like the idea of me going to do this on my own. I would eventually tell him everything, but that was a conversation for another day. I let Greg out of my bag, and he transformed back into his human form.
“I really hate when you carry me around in that thing. I’m not your pet.” He shook out his arms and legs like I’d squished him. “You know, I could have just flown out the window and met you here.”
He had a point, but I wasn’t going to let him know that. “Quit moaning. It’s not like I’m going to be sneaking you in and out of the house anymore after this.” With that, I realised that Greg would not be coming back with us once this was over, and that I might actually miss his complaining.
“Are we ready to go?” Matt asked, throwing a big camp bag over his shoulder. I was surprised to find that he had packed more than his sister. Victoria had only packed a small backpack and had already been waiting for us when we arrived.
Mrs. Street made a fuss over us, giving everyone a hug and her children big, sloppy kisses. Mr. Street wasn’t as dramatic. Both his kids got a hug, and he patted me on the back.
“Are we all ready to go?” I asked when Mrs. Street released Matt and Victoria from a big bear hug. They all nodded. “Then everyone hold on to me and don’t let go. I have no idea what will happen if you do.” I held my arms out, and everyone grabbed hold of me. In the shine of a bright light, I teleported us all to the wood. Then, one by one, we went through the tear in the veil to the magic forest.
Mellissa
I gasped as my foot disappeared under a layer of snow. I lifted my foot and shook the snow off it. Stepping forward, I smiled as my foot disappeared into the snow again. Greg had warned us it had been snowing here, but I hadn’t expected such a drastic difference in the weather from where we just were. I pulled my hat down over my ears and wrapped my arms around myself as I shivered. The sun was shining high in the sky, but it was still freezing. I turned on the spot. The forest looked truly magical. The last time I was here, it had been after dark. Everything was brighter, and the shadow that had loomed over the forest was now nonexistent.
“How is there so much snow here?” I asked. “It isn’t even slightly icy back home.”
“It’s just like back home, where the different regions of the country have different weather,” Victoria explained. “This place and our village may seem to only be separated by the veil, but we are still in a completely different place. Who’s to say that if the veil came down, this place would even be next to where we live? Magic is funny like that.”
I had never thought of it like that. I’d always assumed this forest and our village were next to each other, not that crossing the veil was the same as hopping on a plane to another country.
“Where is this riverboat?” Matt asked sarcastically.
Greg pointed up the river. “We will be boarding at the water nymph village up there.”
Matt did a little dance. “Oh yeah. Water nymphs are blue and mighty fine.”
“You do realise that water nymphs are genderless creatures,” Victoria said.
Matt’s eyebrows squished together, and he tilted his head. “I thought water nymphs were all female.”
“Technically, water nymphs have the potential to become either gender,” Greg said, correcting them both. “Once water nymphs pair off, they decide as a couple which one of them will take on the male role and female role for reproductive purposes, but other than that, gender doesn’t really matter to them.”
“They can pick their gender?” I asked.
Greg nodded. “Gender is pretty fluid for many of the magic folk that originate from the ocean.”
We walked toward the water nymph village. I covered my eyes as the ice covering the river reflected a stray beam of light my way. “The water is iced over. How is the boat going to get through?” I asked.
“Don’t worry. The water nymphs will have it sorted,” Greg replied.
I trudged behind him, kicking up snow as I went. The snow was so deep it almost reached my knees. My new winter boots were pointless as they didn’t come far enough up my leg. The snow was filling up my boots and slowly soaking my leggings. This walk seemed a lot longer than I remembered, and I seemed to be the only one having a problem. Greg walked through the snow like it was a clear summer’s day. Victoria was gliding across, leaving no footprints behind, and Matt was leaving puddles of water.
I turned to walk behind Matt when something in the trees caught my eye. Something fluttered between the branches. I ran over to the tree to get a closer look. Whatever creature I’d seen had disappeared into a tiny house hidden in the branches. I looked around the trees. All of them had these houses in them. Each house was made out of wood that matched the trees. They had cute little doors and windows, and roofs made from straw. What or whoever lived there must be tiny.
“Greg!” I shouted. “What are those?” I pointed at the tiny houses in the trees.
Greg walked over and looked where I was pointing. “I thought you would know. You have loads of storybooks about them. However, your books are not very accurate.”
I looked at him, confused. I had a lot of storybooks about magic from when I was little. I’d loved the idea as a little girl. Finding out I was part elf would have been a dream come true for the younger version of me.
Greg could see that I wasn’t getting what he said. “They are houses of the Fay. They light the way of those lost in the forest. More commonly known as fairies.”
I grabbed his arm and squeaked. “They are fairy houses! The lights I saw in the trees before were the fairies in their homes? Why didn’t you tell me?” I felt like a little kid. I don’t really know why I was so surprised—I was travelling with two warlocks and a changeling—but I loved fairies as a child. I still had a habit of drawing pictures of fairies on all my textbooks. It was possible all the magical creatures I had dreamt of as a child were real.
Greg shrugged. “You never asked.”
How could he say that? There was so much to discover in this world. I had no idea what questions to ask.
Matt strolled over. “You know, fairies aren’t always that small. They can change their size at will. Sort of like how he changes into animals.” Matt linked arms with me and pulle
d me away, narrowing his eyes at Greg. I felt like I was missing something.
As we continued walking, Matt told me all about fairies and what they really looked like. He was loving the fact that there was something he knew more about than me. Usually, it was me helping him with schoolwork. I was the smarter one out of the two of us—on paper, at least. I was more academically inclined than Matt, but there were things Matt was good at that I wasn’t. Our differences, as well as our similarities, were what made us such good friends.
The stone bridge came into view. Just beyond it was a boat. It was a lot bigger than I had imagined. It was a long, grey and white barge. There was a mast for a sail, but it was currently tied up.
“You call that ‘just a riverboat?’” Matt scoffed.
“That’s what it is,” Greg replied, ploughing forward.
When we reached the boat, we found a group of people gathered around it. One person stood out in particular. One, because of his height, and two, because he was the only one that wasn’t blue. He had short brown hair and was dressed like he was ready for work at the office instead of standing by a frozen river. He was engrossed in conversation with an older man.
“Samson?” exclaimed Greg.
The brown-haired boy turned around, a smile spreading across his face. “Greg, you’re finally here.” He embraced Greg, who appeared to be in shock. “You look well, though still in need of a haircut.”
Greg swatted Samson’s hand away as he flicked his fringe. “Samson, what are you doing here? I wasn’t told you would be escorting us.”
“It was rather last minute, but I managed to persuade your father to let me come meet you. Aren’t you going to introduce me?”
“Yes, of course. Everyone, this is my cousin Samson.” Greg ushered me forward. “Samson, this is Mellissa Hail, keeper of the Heart and heir to the elf throne, and her guardians, Mathew and Victoria Street.”
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