Chapter 24
Elah stirred as the morning sun shone through the light curtains. She looked around the empty room and realised yesterday was real and not some crazy dream. As she pushed the covers off she realised how hungry she was and she didn’t know how to get something to eat, not that she wanted to ask any of the dark fae.
After a warm shower she sat on the bed and wished Nissa was around to leave a bowl of fruit and just to have a familiar face around. Even River would have visited her. She sighed and wondered what Leif was doing, would she get to gaze into his beautiful eyes ever again? She had to get out, even if it was to see the familiar faces of the ones she loved again.
It wasn't long before Asriel burst through the door. "I'm sorry I didn't forget about you" he puffed.
Elah could see the stress on his face as he stood in the doorway catching his breath. "What's wrong?" she asked softly, hoping he was going to let her go.
"Let's get something to eat, you must be starving" he said, watching her get up.
Elah's stomach growled as they walked in the dinning room to see a variety of fruits on the table. She didn't hesitate to eat and ate her fill silently, not noticing Asriel had barely eaten a thing. Although at the point she didn't care what he did, she was hungry and wanted nothing more than to never see him or his people again.
"So are you going to tell me what's wrong?" she asked, looking at his stressed faced.
"I'll show you" he said, getting up.
She followed him out the door and up several flights of stairs. They came out into a balcony that over looked the city. They stood at the edge of the balcony and looked at the beautiful city. It wasn’t long before two flashes of light flew through the sky and exploded in the city.
Elah stumbled back in shock. “What was that?” she asked worried.
“That’s the light fae attacking Izarra” he said grimly.
Elah’s heart sank and she wondered if anyone was hurt down there. “I have to get down there” she suddenly said.
“Elah, no” he said, looking concerned at her.
“I don't think it would be a good idea for you to be involved in another battle” he sighed.
“How did you know about that?” she asked, looking at him shocked.
“I was there” he said plainly. “Why do you think we gave up so easily?”
Elah looked at him in disbelief, why would he give up because of her? She looked down at the city and knew there had to be people down there suffering.
“I can help the injured, it's my fault this is happening” she said, worried that her message to Leif caused this.
“It’s not your fault, don’t ever blame yourself for what others do. We all have choices and this was not yours”
“That doesn’t matter, your people are suffering down there and I can help” she said, starting to feel frantic and more responsible.
“I’m glad you want to help my people but I’m not risking your life. I will talk to Leif and see if we can work something out”
“No, take me down there now” she yelled.
“No” he yelled back and walked away, leaving her standing on the balcony.
She put her hand over her mouth and looked around. She had no idea how to even get to the city and feared if she tried she would be stopped like she had in the garden. So she ran after Asriel catching him at the bottom of the stairs.
“Please just take me, I promise if it gets too dangerous I’ll leave” she pleaded. “Those people need me.”
“It's already too dangerous” he said sternly.
“Come on, just let me help. It doesn’t matter who they are or where they come from, they need help and I can help them.”
Asriel sighed and looked at her pleading face. “All right, I’ll take you to the make shift hospital that will be receiving the injured” he said, giving in with a heavy sigh.
She smiled at him and followed him through the castle and out into a large tent on the mountain side of the castle. As she walked in she could see the injured laying on cots, some moaning in pain and others past out due to the overwhelming pain they felt. The air was heavily metallic with the smell of blood. She took a step forward ready to start and was stopped by Asriel’s hand grabbing her arm.
“This is Neron, he will keep you safe” Asriel said, as a guard stepped forward. “It’s important you stay here.”
She nodded and turned to her first patient. She worked quickly and found herself working deeper within in the tent as her day wore on. There was so much pain and confusion in the tent and many were asking why they were being attacked so viciously. Elah felt horrible that she was most likely the cause and the fact that they kept hearing the crash of whatever was being thrown at the city, didn’t help.
The children Elah healed broke her heart the most, they had so much life still ahead and yet it could have ended so quickly. She tried not to think about the children who were either still out there or worse. She tried to push her thoughts aside but found it difficult when healing young children.
It was just after midday when Neron pulled Elah away for something to eat. She knew she needed the energy but she couldn't stop the ache in her heart. There were just so many to heal and none of them deserved what was happening to them, which broke her heart.
Elah had to work so hard not to cry, there was a flame in her throat that no amount of water would extinguish. All she could was stare at the food in front of her and had barely eaten a thing by the time Neron took her back to the tent.
After hours, the tent didn’t seem less full and Elah continued to push herself. The nurses and doctors started directing the worse patients to Elah, which decreased her load but not the weight on her heart.
As the day wore on, she started to feel better for helping and the numbers eventually started to decrease and by the end of the day the tent was empty. Everyone in the tent decided to rest on the grass outside, as the kitchen staff served them food. Elah didn’t fell welcome so she asked Neron to take her to her room. She hadn’t talked to anyone all day but knew they were all busy.
As they started walking away, a doctor called them over and Neron smiled and pulled Elah with him to the doctor. The doctor invited them to sit with them and Neron was more then happy to sit and convinced Elah to at least eat before heading up to her room.
Hours after the sun had set, Elah was still sitting on the grass with her new found friends. She enjoyed talking to others who worked to heal others, even if it was not in the same capacity. They shared their experiences and talked about their future dreams. Elah felt comfortable with them and answered any of their questions and amazed them with her knowledge of medicinal remedies, thanks to her mother.
The group suddenly went quite as Asriel approached and Elah turned to see him walking across the grass toward them. She looked around the group as all eyes looked to her. Asriel stopped behind Elah and bent down to her ear. “I’m glad to see you have made some friends” he whispered in her ear.
She smiled and turned to look up at him. “I’m glad to see you're okay” she said softly.
Elah noticed the group watching her and decided it was time to go. “Thank you for your kindness” Elah said getting up. “I think I need to lay down.”
Asriel silently took Elah to her room and closed the door after following her in. He slumped in an armchair and waited for Elah to clean up. She came out of the bathroom wearing another white dress. He smiled at her as she sat on the bed, making her feel awkward.
“Has the attack stopped?” Elah asked, hoping it was all over.
“For now. We negotiated a cease fire” he said, dropping his head back on the head rest of the chair. “They want you back but if you go back they will hide you by locking you away.”
“I can’t live like this” she sighed, putting her head in her hands. “My life is not my own.”
“I’m so sorry, I never intended to cause you any trouble” he said, still staring at the ceiling.
&
nbsp; “Give me a horse and I will go deep into the forest. No more lives need to be lost because of me” she said, feeling that was her best chance of living a free life.
“I can’t do that”
“You must”
“No, I can’t”
“What about your people, they shouldn’t suffer because of me”
“We are not defenceless”
“What do you mean?”
“If we were defenceless, the light fae would have taken our lands long ago. I will keep you and my people safe” he said, lifting his head to look straight at her.
“Don’t be a fool, we both know I have to get as far from here as I can, to keep your people safe” she said, looking into his eyes.
“Don’t you think I already thought of this before I sent for you? I anticipated they would want to negotiate before they bombed us. My father is making sure no one else gets hurt” he stated, watching her nervously bite her bottom lip.
“You have no intention of letting me go do you?” she asked, upset that she was never going to find her freedom.
“I can’t let you go”
“Why?”
“Because I just can’t, Elah. I can’t let you go”
Elah looked away, fighting back tears. She liked the idea of wondering in the forest on her own. While she would be on the run, she would be free to roam where she wanted and mostly live how she wanted. Well that’s how she imagined it.
“Is anyone going to ask me what I want?” she said, struggling not to let him see her cry and appear weak.
“Your not strong enough to make it on your own” he said bluntly.
“I’d be safer out there and happier” she retorted.
His jaw stiffened and he looked at her hard. He felt the urge to protect her and was not about to let her go off into the wild, he knew the dangers that lurked out there. “Don’t be silly, you will be safer here, where I can protect you.”
“I don’t need or want your protection” she growled, rolling her watery eyes.
He stood and looked at her, angry she was not seeing his point of view. “It’s not up for debate Elah, your staying.”
Frustrated, she started to breath heavily and grasped her hands together. “You can’t make me stay, you are not my king or my father” she yelled. “Your people won’t except me once they find out I’m light fae and the course of all this destruction.”
“Your wrong, they will never know, your eyes are purple which means you don’t conform to either by appearance” he said smugly.
“What?” she said confused.
“Oh Elah, blue and green are the eyes of the light fae and brown and orange are the eyes of the dark fae, other than that there is no real difference between us. Besides once we marry, my people will have to except you” he said standing over her.
Elah thought about this for a minute, she had not realised the difference. She had never even thought about it. She then started to think about what he said about marriage and realised her birthday was coming up. “You were waiting until just before my birthday” she whispered mostly to herself, then looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. “I will tell them who I am.”
He reached over and put his hand on her shoulder. Elah stared up at him and frowned, not wanting his touch. Realising the truth in what she had just said, she pushed his hand away and quickly jumped off the bed.
As she tried to move away from him, he took a step closer and stood toe to toe with her, looking down at her intimidatingly. She looked up scared of what his expectations and started backing up but he kept following her until she backed into the wall.
“Why me, what makes me so special?” she asked, looking at his chest. “You can have anyone you want.”
He looked down at her and placed both hands on her shoulders. “Besides your gift. You are not only beautiful and untamed but you also come from a long line of special fae on your mothers side of the family” he explained, watching her try and move away from him. “As you already know, your grandmother is a very powerful seer, her mother could control the four base elements, all of them had purple eyes just like you and River.”
“Leave me alone” she hissed, flicking one of his hands away but he quickly replaced it and held on tighter.
“I've never stopped wanting you” he sighed. “And I'm sorry if I've hurt you but I just want you to look at me the way you use to.”
“Asriel, I’ve moved on, I don't want to be with you” she told him as softly as she could. “I think it's time for you to move on too.”
“Elah, I've tried being nice but you just don't get it” he growled. “You will be staying here, you will marry me and you will grow to love me again.”
“Let me go” she cried, trying everything she could to get way. She then looked up at him and smiled through the tears she couldn't stop before gathering up some air and concentrating it in her hands.
Elah then placed her hands millimetres away from his chest and took a deep breath before she pushed the air against him causing him to fly across the room, hitting the side of the bed hard.
She saw her chance and ran for the open window. She then pulled the curtains away before glancing back to see the shock on his face. Not wanting to waste anymore time she opened her wings and jumped out the window.
She flew towards the mountains as she didn’t know how far up the barrier in the garden went but still feared she would run into one. She was now very grateful for all the trips to the island with Leif, as she was able to fly faster and higher than she would have without Leif’s help.
She looked down to see the tree line with wide eyes and a quickened breath. As she got closer, she held her breath and pushed herself faster. She only released her breath once she had cleared the tree line, without hitting the barrier.
She looked back to see a golden light following her, “Asriel” she breathed as her heart started to race faster than it had already been. Elah pushed herself harder and faster up the mountain, not wanting to be captured again.
Once she reached the peak of the mountain, she looked back to see he was gaining on her but before she could turn her head, she bumped into something. With her heart slamming against her chest, she squealed and turned to see a dark figure floating in front of her.
“Turn your wings off” she heard a familiar voice said.
“What? Don’t be crazy, he’s gaining on me, I don’t have time for this” she uttered frantically.
“Put them away” the voice commanded and Elah obeyed, without even realizing she had.
A pair of strong arms wrapped around her as she started to fall. She squinted in the dark moonless night as they descended into the trees, trying to see who had her now.
“Leif?” she questioned, trying to get a closer look at his face.
“Yes” he answered.
She breathed a sigh of relief and wrapped her arms around him. “I can’t believe it's you” she whispered. “You came for me.”
“Of course I did” he said before kissing her on the head.
She went to say something else but he put his finger on her lips, stopping her. She looked up to see a bright golden light slowly moving over the forest.
Burying her face into his chest, Leif held onto her tighter, making her feel safer. He was warm and she could smell his familiar scent, a scent she loved and missed. In fact she had missed everything about him, even though she wasn’t gone long but she didn’t know when she would see him again and was so glad to finally be with him again.
“Are you okay?” Leif asked, running his hands down her arms.
“Yes” she said and started sending her healing energy through his body, searching for injuries or just anything that didn't belong.
He quickly pushed her back. “Stop, you can’t, he will find us” he said, looking around.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to...” was all she got out before he pressed his lips against hers, effectively stopping her from making a sound.
He pulled
back and leaned his forehead against hers. “We have to get out of here” he said, taking her hand in his. “Can you take the light out of your wings?”
“No”
“I’ll have to show you once it's safe”
She went to start walking when she felt his arms around her and was suddenly lifted off the ground and back into his arms. She gasped in surprise but wrapped her arms around him. “You know I can walk” she whispered.
“Walking is too dangerous and loud when you can’t see” he said, lifting off the ground. “Besides at least this way I’ll know you are safe.”
She smiled and rested her head against his chest, knowing she was safe.
As they flew through he forest, Elah began to wonder how they were not bumping into every tree, not that she wasn’t thankful. “How do you know where to go?” she finally asked.
“Don’t worry, the trees are telling me where to go” he explained.
“You amaze me?” she said, moving up to kiss him on the cheek.
Elah felt terrible, not being about to help Leif as they flew for hours. She had tried her hardest to remain quiet and it frustrated her to not give him some of her energy but she knew they had to quietly get away from Asriel or she would find herself back in his white room.
The sun was starting to make its way up over the horizon, when Leif finally stopped. Elah immediately started to heal his sore muscles, knowing it was light enough for the glow in her hands not to draw attention to them. As she stood back he grabbed around her waist and pulled her against his body.
“Are you okay?” she whispered in his ear.
“I am now” he replied, squeezing her tighter and kissing her on the forehead.
As he let her go, the new days light showed how tired Leif was. He looked like he had not slept in days and Elah worried about him. She began to look around for food, as she knew he had most likely not eaten in a while either but she didn’t recognise any of the plants.
“Where are we?” she asked confused.
“This is the land of the Elves. We will be safe here” he said, running his finger down her cheek.
“Why didn’t we go home?” she asked more confused.
“Because they expect us to go that way” he explained.
“I guess that makes sense” she said, putting her head on his chest.
He rubbed her back and pulled her closer. “Lets go and see the Elves” he said, pulling back and taking her hand in his.
As they walked Elah looked around at all the different flora and fauna. She also noticed Leif’s need to keep moving. It was as if he couldn't stop because if he did, he wouldn't be able to start again. He needed somewhere to rest his weary head and Elah hoped it wouldn't take too much longer to arrive at their next destination.
It was mid morning by the time they reached the Elvish city. It was a beautiful city and Elah couldn’t keep up with all the sights as they walked through. Leif seemed to know where he was going and Elah had to work to keep up.
As they walked through an archway covered in thick leafy vines in a courtyard, Elah’s jaw dropped. The space was filled with beautiful flowers and plants, with stone benches and a dark wooden door, beautifully carved with forest scenes. It reminded Elah of River, which worried her since he too had purple eyes and could be in danger.
“River could be in danger” she said, breaking the silence.
“What do you mean?” he asked, looking into her worried eyes.
“Asriel, said all the people of interest in my family had purple eyes, my grandmother and great grandmother, he said they had powerful gifts. River has purple eyes”
“I’ll send word to my father, he will look after him” Leif said, calming her. “Besides, River is strong and can defend himself quite well. I don't think I know anyone stronger than him.”
He kissed her on the forehead and knocked on the door. It didn’t take long before the door opened to reveal an older woman standing before them with a smile on her soft face.
“Leif, come in. You must be hungry” she said, stepping aside to let them in.
They walked into a large, homely kitchen, with a beautiful wooden table in the middle of the room. Leif sat Elah down at the table and sat next to her. “This is Demeka” Leif said, introducing her to Elah.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Demeka” Elah said politely.
“Demeka, this is Elah” Leif said, putting his arm around her. “She is the one I was telling you about.”
Elah looked surprised at him. “Don’t worry, everything he said was good. I’m glad to finally meet the one that has finally stolen his heart” Demeka said, placing some warm herb bread on the table in front of them.
Leif didn’t hesitate to take some bread and put some in Elah’s hand as he began to eat. The bread tasted amazing and Elah found herself reaching for more. Leif smiled at her and kissed her on the cheek.
“I have made up a bed for you but you are going to have to share, I don't have much room. Can I trust you two to be good?” Demeka asked, eyeing the two off.
“Don’t worry, I’m too tired to even try, besides I respect her too much” Leif said, looking at Elah adoringly.
"It's okay, I'm sure we can work it out" Elah said softly.
"Okay, so it will be your usual room" Demeka said, cleaning up.
Elah immediately got up and started helping. By the time they finished cleaning up, Leif looked like he was ready to pass out. "Come on you, let's get you to bed" Elah said, helping him up.
The room was small but comfortable. Leif grabbed a pillow and hugged it. "What are you doing?" she asked, frowning at him.
"I can sleep on the floor" he said, hugging the pillow tightly.
"No. Get into that bed, I'll take the floor" Elah commanded, taking a pillow herself.
He looked at her and raised his eyebrows before dropping his pillow to the floor. He took one more glance at her before laying down. Elah sighed and copied him on the other side of the bed.
She turned over and looked under the bed to see Leif quietly laughing. She raised her eyebrows at him and got comfortable.
“What a waste of a comfortable bed" he finally said.
"Well, get into it" she responded.
"You get into it"
"No, you"
"Alright, I'll get in if you get in. I promise not to touch you"
"Fine"
They both eyed each other off as they slowly stood and lay on their own side of the bed. He drew a line down the middle of the bed with his hand and said, “That’s your side and this is mine.”
“Yes, well you’d better stick to your side” Elah said, reaching over and gently pushing him on the shoulder.
“Oh, is that right” Leif said, pushing her back. “I missed you so much.”
She stopped and looked into his eyes, he looked so genuine and she just wanted to see him happy. She then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He looked into her eyes and smiled.
“You should get some sleep” he said sleepily.
She put her head on the pillow and smiled at him. He looked like he was going to pass out, he was exhausted and it showed. They stared at each other until sleep finally took them into dreamland.
Elah woke up to find Leif missing. She sat up and looked around, he wasn’t on the floor or anywhere to be seen. She quickly got up and went into the kitchen to find Demeka preparing some food.
“Are you hungry?” Demeka asked sweetly.
“Where’s Leif?” Elah asked, looking worried.
“He has gone to speak to my son, he’ll be back soon” Demeka said, putting a plate of food in front of Elah.
Elah started to pick at the food, taking small bites but she was still worried and she couldn't concentrate on anything but her concern for Leif. She watched as Demeka started creating small sugar flowers, for a freshly baked cake cooling behind her. Elah marvelled at Demeka’s talent, especially since it took her attention away from her w
orries over Leif.
Leif walked in to find Demeka teaching Elah how to make sugar flowers. Elah dropped everything when she saw Leif come through the door and raced over to hug him. As he held her, he kissed her on the head.
“Elah, I’ve talked to the Elvish king and he tells me there have been some anomalies” he said, looking into her eyes.
“What do you mean?” Elah asked confused.
“One of prince Asriel’s gift’s is the ability to control time. We need to get ready and go” he explained.
Elah’s jaw dropped as she became worried. “If he can control time, where can we go?” she asked, concerned she wasn't going to suddenly find herself back in Izarra.
“We are going to visit the wizards” he answered, letting her go. "But before we go I need you to tell me what happened, like were there any barriers, did they put anything on you, that type of stuff."
"What like this" Elah said, bitterly pointing to her ankle.
"Let's not go into that right now, please" Leif said. looking at her seriously.
She told him about the barrier near the tree line in the garden and what it did to her. He frowned and felt anger start to build, he hated the thought of Elah going through that much pain, especially when he was the one who had taken her from the safety of the castle. He pulled her against his body and held her for a minute to calm his own anger.
"We can’t go to Treriton, they will expect us to go that way" he said, pulling back and looking her over. "You can't wear that."
"What, why?" she asked, looking at the white dress she was wearing.
"That's a traditional dark fae dress, besides we will be riding and that's not suitable" he said, frowning at the dress.
"Okay but I didn't bring anything"
"I'll get you one" Demeka said, rushing off.
"I'm sorry, I just can't stand the thought of you being taken like that. It's frustrating to not have been able to stop it" Leif said sadly.
"All that matters is you came for me" Elah said, running her hand down his arm and taking his hand in hers.
It wasn't long before Demeka came back and let them know she had left an outfit in the room they had slept in. Elah thanked her and went to get changed, leaving the dress she was wearing neatly folded on one of the tables.
"Wow" Leif gasped, as Elah came out in a brown dress, which was thigh length in the front and ankle length in the back, with matching brown long pants. "That's much better."
Elah giggled at his response and pulled some ridding boots on. He looked better than when they had arrived but he still looked like he could use some more rest. She knew he was probably not going to be able to completely relax until they got home.
They thanked Demeka and headed out to the stables were a young boy waited with a horse. Leif jumped on the horse with ease and pulled Elah up to sit behind him. She wrapped her arms around him and they took off into the open woodland to the west of the Elvish city.
"Are you okay back there?" Leif asked, reaching around and placing his hand on her knee.
"Yes, are you?" she asked, giving him a squeeze.
He removed his hand and stared to push the horse harder. Elah could feel the horse working as she sent bursts of energy through it. It thanked her for the help and told her about some of the anomalies occurring throughout the lands. It also told her that the anomalies were becoming more powerful, this frightened her but she tried to remain calm.
Elah relayed what the horse told her to Leif and she could tell he was worried. She was worried about what could happen if they got caught in an anomaly. She knew Asriel would not like the fact that Leif had found her and didn't want to begin to think about what Asriel would do to Leif.
The sun was setting when they arrived at a stone cottage, nestled in a beautiful little clearing. Leif took care of the horse and led Elah inside. It was a beautiful cottage, with all the comforts anyone could want. There were different rooms sectioned off with differing purposes.
Leif nearly jumped out of his skin when Elah squealed with delight, as they entered the kitchen. "Violet" she said, jumping up and down.
Violet dropped what she was doing and raced over to give Elah a friendly hug. "Well, I take it you two know each other" Leif stated, sitting down at the table.
The two girls finished greeting each other and joined Leif. "Have you been informed of the situation?" Leif asked Violet.
"Yes, there is only one solution" Violet began. "Asriel's gift can only work in the realm he is in. So we need to send you to another realm."
"Okay" Elah breathed, looking worried.
"Don't worry, Leif and I will go with you" Violet said, watching Leif comfort Elah. "I have a place in the human realm."
"When do we leave?" Leif asked.
"As soon as you are ready" Violet replied. "We need to act quickly though, Asriel is covering more distance."
"We are ready" Leif said, getting up.
Violet got up and led them into a hidden room below the house. The room was surrounded by stone and in the centre of the room was a large round stone that looked like it was some how made of fire, air, earth and water. The elements swirled around faster as Violet approached, she then did something with her hands and it began to swirl inwardly.
Violet waved them over. "Don’t be afraid, just walk into the portal and I’ll see you on the other side” Violet instructed, mostly for Elah.
Leif held out his and Elah reluctantly took it. He smiled at her and led her to the portal. As he stepped in, she felt a tug and had no choice but to follow. As she went in, she felt her whole body in cased in energy, it was like hundreds of flora healers were pushing energy through her body, at least that was her only way of describing it.
She came out to find they were standing by a lake surrounded by trees. It only took seconds before Violet was standing next to them and the vortex they came through disappeared.
“Well that wasn’t so bad” Violet said, looking at Elah.
“I guess” Elah said softly, still feeling the buzz of the energy coursing through her body.
“Well, we better get a move on” Violet said, setting off. “I have a friend that lives near by, so we need to go there first.”
Leif and Elah followed Violet through the trees and came out near a grassy field with a large shed and house. Violet went straight to the shed and opened a large door at the front.
They walked in to see three cars and some motorbikes sitting side by side. Violet walked up to a black car and opened the door and pulled the front seat forward.
“Who’s going to ride in the back?” Violet asked, stepping back to leave enough room for one of them to get in.
“Oh, what…” was all Elah got out before Violet interrupted her.
“It’s a car, it's like riding in a carriage” Violet explained.
Elah hesitated before climbing in the back of the car, at least in the back she could hide the fear she was feeling. Violet reached in and did up the belt, explaining that she had to wear it for safety reasons and that they didn't want to be pulled over by the local authorities. Leif jumped in the front seat but also needed assistance to put his belt on, causing Violet to laugh at them both. Once Violet got in and set herself up, she started the car, it hummed like a thousand humming birds, causing them both to jump.
Elah hung on for dear life as the car made its way down the driveway and out onto the open road. “We have a bit of a drive, so make yourself comfortable but don’t take your belt off” Violet told them, watching the road.
“Are you okay back there?” Leif asked, turning to look at Elah, who looked surprised by the new experience.
Elah nodded and as she started to get more comfortable, she curled up and fell asleep assisted by the calming hum of the car. It didn’t take long before Leif was also asleep, leaving Violet with her thoughts.
A Healer's Destiny Page 25
