No more rush, no more worry. We had all the time in the world.
Chapter 49
(Gemma)
She was a mean little thing,
I pulled a face.
And I didn t expect her to be so & so &
Short?
Laylen finished for me and then laughed.
What did you think? That faeries had to be tall or something?
He nudged my shoulder.
I stuck out my tongue.
No, but I expected the Empress of the Faerie realm to be tall.
I ducked underneath a branch as we made our way back.
And what were those little creatures? One of them tried to bite me.
Those were sprites.
Aislin shoved through a screen of vines.
They re mean!
Did you know you ll turn into one if they bite you,
he said and I couldn t tell if he was joking.
I still can t believe Aleesa didn t want to come back.
I hopped over a tree trunk that extended across the path.
I m not,
Laylen said.
She was always a little off. She ll fit right in.
I heard the pitter-patter of tiny footsteps and glanced back just in time to see a sprite, with its wings out, running at an impressive speed for such tiny legs. It leapt for my ankle and I drop kicked it like a soccer ball. It flew through the air and landed far back in the trees with a thud.
Wow, she s mean,
Aislin kidded.
Well, I don t want to turn into one of them,
I said.
Laylen laughed, shaking his head.
You do realize I was kidding about that.
I pulled a face and sped up, leaving the two of them behind, anxious to get back to the castle. As I broke through the faerie realm and stepped out onto the land that fronted the Keeper s castle, my heart leapt with excitement.
When I d decided to go with them, I didn t realize what I was getting myself into. And it turned out to be a waste of a trip anyway.
I headed inside, glad to be back to the normal world. Even though we weren t connected by the electricity anymore, I still could sense where he was and I walked straight to the back room.
He was with Sophia, who wasn t all that bad, once the evil had left her. Still, though, I struggled sometimes to be around her because it reminded me of the past.
The two of them were huddled over a book, in front of the fireplace, talking about something.
His eyes found mine and he smiled in a way that made my skin warm with my own heat.
I ll be right back,
Sophia said and then she saw me she smiled.
You guys made it back okay?
Yeah, Aislin and Laylen are coming.
I nodded at the window.
Good. I m glad you re okay.