Page 19 of Crown of Ellova: Vol 1

“I’m surprised he doesn’t have the Ellovian forces with him.”

“Who knows? I’m only an hour or two late. That was probably the next course of action.”

Tavien dismounts, relief lighting his handsome features. “Is everything all right?” His riding boots barely touch the forest floor before he draws Nueena to him.

He has his dark brown hair twisted into locs with a lighter brown fading at the tips, all pulled together with a leather band. Two front pieces hang down and touch his golden-brown cheeks near his deep frown.

Around his neck is thick woven leather, a small jagged amethyst hanging from it. A twin to the one Nueena wears. At their nearness, both Zemra stones glow a soft purple. The physical symbol of their soulbonded matehood holds a small part of each other’s magic. Through the connection they share with the crystals, they can sense each other’s emotions and needs.

The Zemra magic connects them by mind, magic, and soul.

I love that Nueena and Tavien have found such a rare and precious gift in each other.

“My love, you shouldn’t have worried so much. Everything is fine. See? We are both well,” she says, smushed into his chest.

“What happened?” he asks in his deep, smooth voice. “Sunshine, I felt your fear.” Tavien’s nightshirt peeks out under his traveling cloak as he pulls back to assess us. His concerned gaze softens and turns to me.

A stab of guilt joins my current state of assorted raw emotions for making them both worry. “Sorry, Tav, that was my fault. I got caught up in the mortal realm and wasn’t able to return as swiftly as I would have liked.”

He takes my hand and pulls me into their embrace. “Are you all right?” he asks curiously. “It did not feel like you were.”

I nod. “I am now. It was a rough night. Nu can fill you in later.”

We all break apart. He looks past us to the Divide and the darkness encroaching into the fae realm. “It’s still spreading into the forest? Something must be done about that damn crown.”

They exchange a worried look.

“We have much to tell your parents,” Tavien says. “Let’s get you both back home, shall we?”

Nueena sighs. “They will not be happy with us.”

The three of us mount our horses and head northeast.

“Besides the ball, what coronation planning is left?” I ask.

“I need to meet with Camarra and her representatives from the Court of Green before the coronation.”

Confused, I ask, “Before all the other court Guardians?” The last coronation happened hundreds of years before I was born, but when Nyvenah, Nueena’s mother, described her own coronation, all the court Guardians arrived together in a procession to start the week-long celebration leading up to the crowning day.

Nueena nods. “It’s an urgent matter. There were whispers that something is wrong with the Green Court’s growing lands, of soil not yielding as much as in previous years, but neither the court leaders nor Camarra had mentioned anything. As Seed Keeper and court Guardian, she would be the one to report back to my parents. My mother sent her a letter inquiring, and she claimed they wished to wait a turn of the season before declaring anything to us.”

“Do you believe them?”

Nueena is quiet again before speaking, choosing her words carefully. “They may be speaking the truth, but they also could have been afraid my mother would step in and try to take control. It would not be the first time a court Guardian has kept something from the High Court for fear we may try to intervene. They know their fields best. They have been growing crops and feeding every fae for millennia. They will have my complete trust when I become Realm Keeper until they prove otherwise. I will hear Camarra out before placing any judgment on her. She is just protecting her court.”

I’m almost afraid to ask; a bitter truth lies between us, like death waiting patiently for confirmation of our fears. “The crops have been failing for years in the Iron Realm. The mortals are able to feed themselves less and less each year. Beggars’ Row is on the brink of starvation and now ours may be on the cusp as well. It must be because of the crown.”

Her shoulders tighten. “I have reason to believe they are connected. The forest should be protecting us from the crown’s unending thirst for magic. If the crown is draining life or energydirectly from the land in Adreania, it may have pulled all that it could and will now siphon from Ellova.”

“How long will the wards last?”

She studies the trees that we pass. “I can sense something is wrong. The forest’s magic is slowly fading, which means the protection it offers will go with it. Realm Keeper Zarella used so much of her own magic in the wards, it may not be possible to replicate it if the magic fails.”

“You are Zarella’s descendant. You may possess the magic needed to restore the forest’s protection.” I try to sound hopeful. If anyone can, I know it’s her.

She looks up at the dark sky and whispers, “I hope so. If only I had the stolen fae crown. It contains so much of the magic we need.”

We ride for a while, following the dried riverbed towards Ellova, each step taking me further from Leon. My chest tightens when his face flashes in my mind. Nueena is silent and repeatedly glances over at me with the concern normally found on new mothers with their dewlings. When we finally reach a parting in the forest, I slide off Onyx and hand Nueena his reins to take him to the royal stables for some sugar cubes and their endless supply of hay.

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