Page 100 of Journey to the Elderoak
Ava blinked through her blurry vision as she kept on. She wasn’t going to let those scenes come to pass. Refused. No more lives of her loved ones would end at the hands of Deidamia and Andras. She wouldn’t balk at fighting them. Not when she knew what they’d planned. When she got out of here—and shewouldget out of here—she would learn how to use her magic and would banish Deidamia.
And kill anyone in her way.
She stumbled along the path, dizziness overwhelming her. The poison and blood loss were becoming dangerous, and she was running out of time. The further she went, the more the Elderoak pulled her. The tug she had been feeling all these months called to her.
It was close.
There. The trees opened around her, revealing the Elderoak. It was exactly as she saw it in her dreams. Massive. The trunk nearly twenty feet wide and two hundred feet tall, its canopy smothered the other trees. A golden light shone around it and vines hung from its boughs, pink and purple flowers blooming among the green.
She was barely twenty feet away when she collapsed, vision fading.
“No,” she wheezed.
Victory was within reach; she was so close. Her shoulder throbbed and her leg was numb. She reached with her left arm and dragged her way to the tree, crying through the pounding in her head. She crept closer, nails digging into the dirt as she willed herself further.
Almost there.
With one last pull, she collapsed, fingers brushing a root peeking from the dirt. She shivered as the poison overcame her.
Breathing one last breath, her body stilled, her heart stopped, and then there was nothing.
30
Casimir paced on the shore. It was taking far too long. It had been hours. What if she was stuck in there forever? He ran a hand over his face as he glanced at the forest every few seconds, willing her to appear. He would wait a bit longer before going in after her. It didn’t matter if he died. All that mattered was her. He had to get her to safety, away from this horrible journey.
His life had been turned upside down the day they found her in the woods. This terrified, sassy, irritating woman had changed him. The woman who yelled at him within days of meeting. Who was full of anxieties and fear, yet capable of tenacity and strength when she let go. He never would have imagined the woman who had glared at him the moment he stepped out of his tent was his soulbond. The one he was meant to be with for eternity.
And now she was alone, facing who knows what kind of horrors, and he wanted to tear the whole forest down to get to her.
After another half hour, he readied himself. He couldn’t wait another minute and raised his arms, preparing to cross thelake. But he paused as something moved on the opposite shore. Flowers. Tiny pink and purple blossoms burst open and spread across the soil.
Then…her. A hint of strawberry blonde hair as she emerged from the shadows.
“Ava,” he whispered.
He collapsed to his knees with relief as he watched her across the lake. She was slightly taller and obviously stronger, more powerful, with the pointed fae ears. As she walked, a path of flowers bloomed in front of her, as if the earth was worshiping her very feet.
But she wasn’t walking. She was limping, as if she barely had any strength. Cloth was wrapped around her thigh, hand, and shoulder and her clothing was torn and bloody. So much blood.
Panicking, he prepared to make a bridge for her to cross, but he didn’t have to. Her own formed without her even trying. Bright green vines bursting with colorful flowers wove across each other in front of her as she continued limping toward him.
The flowers she created. He’d never seen anything like it. A delicate rainbow of colors. Bright yellows and purples and blues. Verdant green vines covered with leaves. Powerful and beautiful, like his princess.
His Miraêl Li’ra.
The warmth of tears streamed down his face as she approached ever so slowly.
“Cas,” she breathed, then collapsed.
He caught her and looked her over, checking her injuries. “What happened? Where are you hurt?”
“I’m okay,” she said. “It’s already starting to heal.”
He unwrapped the cloth on her leg, revealing punctures pink with fresh skin. He peeled off the fabric on her shoulder and hand to find the same thing and sighed with relief.
“I’m sore,” she said. “But I’m okay. I think the tree healed me.” She cupped his face, and he pulled her into an embrace.
“You did it.” He smiled through his tears.
