JOURNEY INTO THE REALM: The Spell Master (Journey into the Realm Series) (6 page)

I smiled after reading
Elf Girl
, the nickname he had come up with for me – because I was still sort of a human girl trapped in an elfen’s body. I tucked the letter into the pocket of my dress. Wiping stray tears from my eyes, I looked up at Aaliyah and Zora.

“He sends his love.” I paused for a moment. “Can I write back to him?”

“Of course, Ramsey. I can send it for you when you are finished if you would like,” Aaliyah offered.

“Thanks,” I said. “That’d be great.” I sighed and looked toward the door.

“We understand if you need some time alone,” Zora said, squeezing my hand.

I couldn’t help but notice the sadness in her eyes as well. She and Stellan had been close until I appeared. Now she could barely speak his name without bitterness in her tone. But if this were true, and if she disliked him so, why did she look so sad? Was it because I was sad? Or was it because deep inside she wished that letter had been addressed to her? I didn’t know for sure, but thinking about it puzzled me
.

“I’ll be home by dinner,” I said, deciding to forget the thought.

They both nodded, and I walked out of the house without another word.

Reading Stellan’s letter only reminded me of how much I missed him, bringing back the ache I felt because he wasn’t here with me. After such a rocky start to our relationship, living without him now only provided further strain. I knew two years was nothing compared to immortality, but Stellan wasn’t exactly on vacation. He was fighting in a war and could possibly be killed. School acted as a distraction, but I couldn’t avoid Stellan’s absence at home, especially since Aaliyah was his mother.

Therefore, I decided to go to the only place I knew would make me feel better: Aaron’s jewelry shop.

Zora loved jewelry much more than I did, but my visits to Aaron’s shop were much more frequent. I didn’t go for the jewelry, though. I went for the company. Aaron was one of my best friends. He was a good listener and gave great advice when I needed it. I knew if anyone could cheer me up and help improve my mood, he was the elf to do it.

The day was gorgeous and the sun was high in the sky. There was no hint anywhere that autumn was on its way. Elves waved to me as I walked, and I put on my happy face and waved back.

I tried not to think about Stellan as I walked, but it wasn’t easy. Nothing held my attention long enough. I passed my favorite bookstore,
Songbird’s,
and then the restaurant where Stellan used to work. That wasn’t helpful either. Relieved when the jewelry shop came into view, I quickened my pace and entered the store. I was happy to find no one shopping for jewelry. I didn’t want to run into anyone but Aaron.

Aaron stood behind the counter reading a book. His pale hair was almost long enough in the front to completely cover his light green, almost-white eyes. I crept slowly up to him, put my hand on his book, and pushed it down away from his face.

“Hey, I was – Ramsey! Sorry, I had no idea it was you,” he said sheepishly.

“No worries, Aaron. Good book?” I asked, leaning on the counter.

“Keeps me occupied on a slow day.”

“Aw, sorry it’s so slow today,” I said, admiring a few necklaces resting in the glass case attached to the counter.

“That’s all right. Sundays are never very busy. How was school? Zora stopped by earlier and said it was your first day.”

“I don’t really want to talk about my day,” I said, rubbing my eyes.

“Oh.” He frowned.

“That’s the reason I came. I needed someone to cheer me up,” I said.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, peering at me with a mixture of curiosity and sympathy. “I can’t help if I don’t know.”

“I got a letter from Stellan today. He basically described how horrible his life is right now.” I put my head down on the counter and sighed with frustration.

Aaron put his hand on my shoulder. “That does make for a bad day, doesn’t it?”

“You have no idea,” I agreed. “And the worst part is that my day was great until then. Now I feel bad about it because Stellan’s life is terrible, while I’m enjoying life for once. Why can’t we all just be happy at the same time?”

I knew I was whining, but I didn’t really care. When my emotions grew this out of whack, there was no controlling or ignoring them.

“Ramsey, you can’t be unhappy just because of Stellan. You deserve to have joy in your life. You have finally come home to the Elf Realm and your sister is safe. You have a
right
to be happy,” he reminded me.

“I know that! But it doesn’t make me feel any better. I like being happy. I
want
to be happy, but after reading Stellan’s letter…all I feel is guilt.”

”What do you want me to do?” he asked.

“Talk to me, Aaron. I’m dying for you to take my mind off this,” I pleaded.

“I’ve got just the thing,” he blurted suddenly. “The other day you mentioned how concerned you were about your limited knowledge of dragons.”

I nodded. “I’m so worried that I’m going to be a terrible caretaker. I mean, I know Zora says she knows about dragons, but she’s never actually come in contact with one.”

“Right,” Aaron agreed. “Well, yesterday, on my lunch break, I went to Aubrey to meet a friend of mine, Rayanne. She works in a shop dedicated to dragons. When I mentioned your dilemma, she said she would drop off a book I can lend you that should help.”

I smiled. “That’s so great, Aaron. Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome,” he said. “Rayanne reminds me of you. She’s quite colorful, just the type to catch your attention.”

“I can’t respond to such a statement until I figure out whether or not it is considered a compliment,” I admitted, narrowing my eyes.

“Stop overanalyzing my words,” he said sternly, although there was a humorous edge to his tone, the type an older brother would have for a sister. “You know I could never insult you.”

I was about to reply to his heartwarming comment when the door swung open, wind gushing through the entryway and cascading into me, ruffling my hair.

The one elf who could seemingly make all words disappear from my lips stepped inside.

“Nathan,” I said, a little breathless as I smoothed down my fly-aways. “What a surprise.”

Aaron raised an eyebrow, and I felt my cheeks grow red hot.

“Walk with me?” he asked, his gaze tempting, eyes glorious even from where I was standing at the checkout counter.

Aaron sent me a look of suspicion, and I knew I had to say no. I mean, I had just received a letter from Stellan and spent the last five minutes telling Aaron how much I missed him. I couldn’t possibly run out of his store, arm in arm with some random elf.

Only, he wasn’t just some random elf to me. He hadn’t been since that day outside Aaron’s store when our eyes first met.

So I said, “Yeah.” Without even looking back at Aaron, I muttered a goodbye and joined Nathan at the door.

We walked out – not arm in arm – but together nonetheless.

***

I didn’t ask Nathan what made him stop by the jewelry store. I didn’t even ask where we were going. Some strange change had occurred within me, like I was in Dream World, and it didn’t matter if I broke all the rules because I would be waking up in a few minutes anyway.

“I’ve done a little research on you,” he said, as we walked the dirt roads of Birchwood.

“What kind of research?” I asked, puzzled by his statement but intrigued that he thought of me even when we weren’t together, like I thought of him.

“I asked around, and it appears that you have dealt with a great deal of stress, more than you let on earlier in school.”

I sighed. “Yeah, and I’m still dealing with it now.”

“Exactly,” he mused, his smile cunning and enticing, “which is why we are going to have some fun.”

“I know how to have fun,” I protested, acknowledging the real meaning behind his words.

“Hey, I believe you,” he said, holding up his hands in a way that told me he didn’t. “But I think my kind of fun will suit you a bit more.”

“Well,” I said, knowing I wasn’t going to win an argument against his sarcasm and cocky attitude, “what’s your idea of fun?”

“Come with me,” he said, taking my hand and waking every sense in my body like a splash of cold water against my skin.

For a moment, we stood there, our eyes locked where his fingers lay intertwined with mine. My insides burned and melted. Neither of us made a move to separate our hands.

“Right,” he said, finally pulling his hand away, and I knew the tormented look in his beautiful eyes wasn’t just my imagination. “Follow me.”

We ended up walking right into Stellan’s restaurant, the one shaped like a gigantic egg. This place was not only where Stellan used to work, but also where we had our first date.

Crap.

I hadn’t even been paying attention.

“Hungry?” Nathan asked. Then he must have noticed the horrified expression on my face because his casual appearance quickly changed to concern. “What’s wrong?”

I pulled myself together – I had to. I wasn’t about to start bawling my eyes out just because the only restaurant in Birchwood City happened to be the one Stellan worked at before he went off to war. Nathan was being nice, too nice for his own good, maybe, but nice. And I liked nice.

I shook my head. “No, nothing’s wrong. I still can’t believe how weird this place looks. That’s all.”

He laughed. “The oval-shaped décor sometimes makes me dizzy.”

I stifled a giggle as the hostess came by to lead us to our table. I followed her, realizing for the first time that I was about to have dinner with the elf who had the most gorgeous eyes in the Realm. After our multiple run-ins and my mixed feelings, I was finally sitting down with him and sharing a normal experience…if you could call my strange feelings normal. I felt both giddy and guilty – not a perfect combination.

The hostess handed us menus, then left us to ponder course options. About halfway through the list of meals, Nathan gently took my menu away.

“What?” I asked, wondering what he was up to and if it had anything to do with that sly look on his face.

“I have an idea, and I think we should test it out.”

“Does it involve anything illegal?” I wondered, raising my eyebrows.

He feigned a look of mock disbelief. “Ramsey, I would never put you in harm’s way.” Suddenly his expression grew more serious than I would have liked at the moment – for practical reasons of course, because noticing his apparent desire to protect me was turning the damsel-in-distress part of me into jelly. He must have detected the faraway look in my eyes because he cleared his throat and shook his head. “No. This is just fun.”

I sighed. I probably should have gone home right then and there. I probably should have realized that I was liking this elf too much.

Predictably, I stayed in my seat.

“Okay, I’m in,” I said. “What’s the plan?”

I noticed the waiter approaching our table.

“Just follow my lead, okay?”

I nodded, both apprehensive and excited for where this was going.

“Are you ready to place your orders?” the waiter asked in a polite manner.

Nathan leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “I don’t know. I’m having trouble deciding what to order. Maybe if I describe to you the mood I’m currently in, you could help,” he suggested.

“All right,” the waiter replied with a questioning look on his face, like he was silently wondering what Nathan’s angle was, “go ahead.”

Nathan sighed. “You see, all day I’ve been having this weird craving to be around oval-shaped objects. I don’t understand it really, but I can’t seem to stop myself.”

The waiter looked at him blankly, and I struggled not to burst out in laughter.

“And it’s only grown worse in this place. Maybe it’s just the atmosphere,” he said, gesturing to the oval-dotted carpet and oval-shaped tables. “So what I need from you…is a list of your oval-shaped meal options.” He flashed a wicked grin in my direction before returning his attention to the waiter.

His lips in a tight line, the elf muttered, “I do not believe I understand what you’re asking.”

“Sure you do! Ramsey, help him out a bit,” Nathan encouraged.

Without even thinking, I said, “What about eggs? Do you have those here? They can be oval-shaped.”

“Of course they have eggs,” Nathan said, nodding a little too exuberantly for it to be natural. “This place is, in fact, shaped like a giant egg!”

“That’s right,” I remarked, bringing my hands together to showcase my elation. “Waiter, please bring us two plates of eggs. I’m afraid if my friend here doesn’t satisfy his cravings, he can go a little mad.” Leaning toward the waiter, I lowered my voice and added, “Even more mad than he is right now. And trust me, you don’t want to see that kind of display.”

The waiter gave me a long look, then nodded slowly. “Of course.” He turned to walk away, his fists clenched.

Before he got very far, Nathan added one last sentiment.

“Be warned,” he told the waiter, “if any of those eggs are square, we’ll send them back!”

I couldn’t control myself any longer. I erupted into giggles, unable to stop. Nathan joined in, and together we were a chorus of obnoxious laughter.

“That was amazing,” I said, when I was able to speak again. “I’ve never done anything so…ridiculous. It was
fun
.” I couldn’t remember the last time I had let my responsibilities slip. Since I had left the Human Realm, thoughts of danger were always lurking in my mind. The harmless prank Nathan and I had just played made all those terrible thoughts go away. It was the sort of release I needed, and it reminded me of the dance we shared before I even knew his name.

Nathan winked. “I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship.”

And it was. We dined on oval-shaped eggs, tipped the waiter extra for being such a good sport, and then Nathan walked me home. It was the perfect evening…and much more eventful, I realized, than my first date with Stellan.

I definitely wasn’t implying that Nathan and I had just been on our first date. Not at all. No way. No how. Definitely not.