Mellissa

The castle is shaking. I wrap my little girl up in a blanket and hand her to Ivan. “Take her to safety.”

He holds her to his chest. “What about you? I am your guardian. I shouldn’t leave you.”

“She is what is important now. If something happens to me, I need to know she is safe. I know you will protect her.”

“I would give my life for her.”

I stroke his cheek. “I know.” There’s a loud boom, and the castle shakes again. “Take care of our daughter. She will be the world’s new beginning.”

I press my lips to Ivan’s. I don’t want to let them go, but I must. “Go,” I say.

He nods, pulls up his hood and runs out the back with our baby. Marissa will be safe with her father while I stand and fight, putting an end to Kadon once and for all.

“Oh my God,” I yelled, sitting up.

I winced as pain shot through my body and fell back on my bed. My head was pounding. My body ached all over, and I was covered in bandages. I looked around my room. Someone had tidied it. The sun was shining in through my bedroom window. How had I gotten there? The last thing I remembered was Kadon. My heart leapt. Kadon was defeated, and I had somehow managed to survive the battle. I stood up and grimaced, sitting straight back down on my bed. Maybe standing wasn’t the best idea at the moment. I picked up the Heart Crystal from my bedside table. If I turned it back to staff form, I could use it as a walking stick. My chest tightened. Where was the Moon Crystal? I had it in my other hand when I collapsed. Why wasn’t it here? I patted my bed down in search of it.

“What on earth are you doing?” asked Victoria.

I looked up to see her standing in the doorway. “I was just—”

“Get back in bed right now,” she snapped, marching over to me. “I’m glad you are finally awake, but you are such an idiot. I was so worried. You’re reckless.”

She made me lie back down and tucked me into bed. I felt like a child being told off by their mother. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you, but what do you mean ‘finally?’ Have I missed a whole day again?”

“Something like that,” she said, “except it was more like two days.”

“What?” I exclaimed. Missing one day was bad enough. I must’ve been hurt pretty badly. Two days had already passed, and I still felt like I had been hit by a truck.

“You really had everyone worried.”

“I really am sorry. Trust me, it wasn’t part of my plan to get injured like that. It’s good to see you’re all right. What about Harkura? And how did I get back home?” I asked. I couldn’t remember much after the battle. My memory of the events was in fragments, and they were all jumbled up.

“The fire nymph is fine. He is camping out in that silly little tent of his in your back garden. The weirdo refuses to sleep in the house. We got back here because of Greg. He appeared out of nowhere and pretty much saved the day. Well, I guess I can finally go home now that I know you’re not dead. I will let the others know you’re awake.”

“You mean you haven’t been home?” I asked.

“Of course not. What sort of guardian would I be if I left while you were still unconscious? Oh, and I hope you don’t mind, but I tidied your room and reorganised your wardrobe.”

She smiled at me as she swayed out of my room. She was gone just as quickly as she had appeared. I was touched by how concerned she’d been about me. She had stayed here until she knew I was all right. Our relationship had changed drastically. She was still harsh and insulted me nonstop, but I had come to realise that was just how she showed affection.

Victoria had been gone only a couple of minutes when there a knock on my door. In walked Greg. I sat up. I hadn’t realised he’d actually come back with us. He said my wounds needed checking. I jokingly complained about his healing abilities not being up to scratch and that I shouldn’t need so many bandages. He didn’t find this funny. He then went on to tell me how reckless I was and how I had worried everyone. He sat at the end of my bed with his grumpy face on. I found myself apologising again.

“I really didn’t mean to make anyone worry about me,” I said.

“Mellissa, you almost died. This isn’t a joke. I told you not to go on your own. If I hadn’t been there to heal you, you wouldn’t be here right now,” Greg said, frustration in his tone. He obviously didn’t think I was taking what happened seriously.

“I know, but I defeated Kadon, didn’t I? Maybe I should’ve brought more back up, or at the very least, had you with me from the start, but there wasn’t time. Is my life really more important than the rest of the world?”

“It’s important to me!”

“And I said I’m sorry, but I can’t change what happened. I understand that you’re annoyed with me. If it was the other way around, I would be furious with you. I would have never let you leave without me.”

“I don’t have the luxury of being able to sense your location and teleport to follow you.”

“Well, I—I don’t have a comeback.” I put my hand on my head. My skin was really warm.

Greg leant forward and also put his hand on my head. I think he was checking my temperature. He slouched back and sighed. “You have a fever. I can get you something for that.”

He got up to leave, but I grabbed his hand. “Wait. Did you know that Ivan, Freya’s guardian, was the father of her daughter?”

He sat back down. “What? All the books state she had a daughter but never mention the father. Freya never married. How do you know this?”

“Another dream. Also, Freya and Kadon dated as teenagers.”

“That’s why he hated you so much. Not just because Freya defeated him, but because you are the result of her falling for another man.”

“So, what? He started a war because he got dumped?”

Greg shook his head. “It probably didn’t help, but Kadon was still an egotistical, entitled racist.” He rubbed his nose as he tried not to smile. “You know, this means the Streets are distant relatives of yours.”

“They are?”

Greg nodded. “Mrs. Street told me their ancestry goes back to Ivan’s sister, Isabelle.”

“Huh, so Matt and Victoria are like distant cousins of mine?”

Greg wagged his finger in my face. “Don’t think this interesting revelation gets you off the hook for being reckless.”

I groaned. He saw right through me. I’d hoped it would work as a distraction, and he would forget he was mad at me. Although, a part of me had just missed talking to him about this sort of stuff. “Fine, this is your chance to have a go at me. Just get it all out so we can move on.”

“I don’t want to have a go at you. I just wish your plan hadn’t involved almost dying.”

“You do realise that most of the time I don’t actually know what I am doing. I will admit, I was lucky you turned up when you did. How exactly did you get there, anyway?”

He shuffled farther onto the bed and sat beside me. “After you left against my advice, the rest of us followed the plan I suggested. Den and I led the fast-flying fairies and all the changelings with strong bird transformations to the ruins of Freya’s castle. We found the leprechaun army there but were surprised to find you and Kadon were not. Battle commenced, and we started capturing leprechauns. It’s amazing what brilliant warriors the Fay are. When they grow to their full size, their strength rivals that of the leprechauns. Then, the veil suddenly came down, and there you were, fighting with Kadon on the other side. We witnessed everything from that point. Once I saw you go down, I knew I had to help you. I managed to cross before you resealed the veil.”

I took his hand. “Thanks for saving me.”

“It was the least I could do. You sort of saved the world first.”

My heart was pounding, and my hands were clammy. I stared at his lips, remembering what it was like to kiss him. He leant forward. I quickly turned away. “What’s going to happen to the leprechauns now that Kadon’s gone? And what about the Moon Crystal? Where is it?”

“Safely locked away in a council vault,” Greg replied. “There is going to be a council meeting to decide on what to do with both the Moon Crystal and the leprechauns.”

“Shouldn’t we just give the Moon Crystal back to the mermaids?”

“Hey, don’t steal my ideas. That is what I was going to suggest. Also, the correct term is merfolk or merpeople, and the mermen don’t like being referred to as mermaids.”

I laughed. “Sorry for my mistake. Merfolk it is.”

“I think you should be the one to hand it over. After all, you are the one that retrieved it.”

“It would be totally wicked to meet a mermaid—I mean, merperson. You know what I mean.”

Greg stood up. “Well, you should get plenty of rest. The meeting is tomorrow morning, and you are a senior member after all.”

Greg left me to rest. If I was attending a meeting with the council, I would need all my strength to deal with them. I didn’t understand why or how I was suddenly a senior member of the council. It wasn’t really a job I wanted. Being around the council still made me uneasy.

In the morning, Greg came in to change my bandages and get me up for the council meeting. “Why is this meeting so early in the morning?” I asked.

“Stop being lazy. Council meetings are all a part of being queen.”

“I’m technically not queen of anything. I haven’t officially accepted the role, and no formal ceremony has taken place.”

He raised his eyebrow. “Those are all just technicalities.” He left me to get dressed by myself.

I still couldn’t get my head around the idea of me becoming a queen. It just seemed so unreal. I had gone from an ordinary girl to a queen almost overnight. I also didn’t understand why my attendance at this meeting was so important. Surely there were older, more knowledgeable members on the council than me. Wouldn’t their views on the current situation be more valid? However, I did want to know what decisions would be made. I also wanted to make sure the Moon Crystal ended up in the right hands. Maybe being on the council wasn’t all bad.

I got myself washed and dressed, then went to find Greg. He was, of course, ready and waiting on me to leave. Harkura was also waiting with him. I asked if Victoria was coming. Harkura told me that she’d entrusted him with protecting me while she was at school. That’s when I remembered it was a school day. I had lost track of the days after everything that had happened with Kadon. I wasn’t sure how many days of school I’d missed. I was not looking forward to playing catch-up when I went back.

I couldn’t worry about that now though. I had a council meeting to attend. I took hold of both their hands and teleported to the council building. It was amazing how quickly they’d rebuilt the place. Having magic on your side made jobs like this relatively simple. There were three new council members, I assumed to replace the ones that had been lost during the battle. Harkura was made to wait outside in the hall during the meeting.

The meeting went on for hours. We made a decision on what to do with the Moon Crystal pretty quickly. It was agreed that I would hand it over to the current king of the merfolk. However, it was not so easy to decide what to do with the leprechauns. Many ideas were put forward, but no one could agree.

There was a suggestion to use the leprechauns as slaves, but that idea wasn’t as bad as the councilman who wanted to kill all the leprechauns that had been captured. I knew the leprechauns had done bad things, but how could they talk about killing them so casually? They had attempted to kill me on more than one occasion, but I still didn’t think genocide was a good idea. How would killing all of them or using them for slave labour be any different than what Kadon had planned for the humans? The problem was that the leprechauns hadn’t had a proper leader for thousands of years. They were the only magical species living on the land that didn’t have a representative on the council. When Kadon came back, they were ripe for the picking.

I suggested we help the leprechauns recreate their villages and help them form their own hierarchy of power, then give their elected leader a place on the council. They would have to live by the rules of the land, like everyone else, and those that didn’t want to live in peace would stay imprisoned. My idea was rejected by many, mainly the ones who wanted to kill all the leprechauns. They were hungry for blood. The leprechauns had caused a lot of damage, and many lives had been lost.

“How does killing or enslaving all the remaining leprechauns make us any better than Kadon? What you are suggesting sounds just like the plans Kadon had,” I argued.

“Says the girl that killed Kadon herself. How is you killing Kadon any different than what we want to do?” asked Sir Lee, one of the new senior council members.

“It is very different. Kadon died during battle. In addition, I had planned on capturing him, not killing him. I didn’t know that separating him and the Moon Crystal would kill him. What you are suggesting is killing people while caged.”

“They are not people; they are monsters. They murdered my father in cold blood. From my understanding, you were there.”

My heart sank, and I felt sick as I remembered what happened that night. Kadon had killed three senior council members right in front of my face, and I had been powerless to stop him.

“My father died that day as well, Lee,” said Greg, “but we can’t let our decision today be based on our emotions. It was Kadon that killed the senior members of the council, not the leprechauns we have captured. They should be tried for their crimes by the rules of this land like anyone else. The leprechauns have been shunned for years. They have been treated like lesser beings. When Kadon came along and offered them revenge on the queen and the council, they jumped at it. We have to learn from our mistakes. If we go around killing them, it will just leave room for another crazy leader to move in and lead them astray.”

“I agree with Gregory and Queen Mellissa.” Lady Gabrielle stood up. She had been silent for a while, and everyone turned to look at her. “The leprechauns should be tried for their crimes and sentenced appropriately. We should then aid them in growing their society and educate them. If we give them some freedom to rule themselves, as well as a chance to be represented here on the council, they won’t feel so separated from our society. Then, maybe they won’t be so easily led down the dark path by a deranged dictator.”

Once Lady Gabrielle spoke up, many council members started to come around. She had a lot of sway on the council. Not everyone was happy with the decision, but by the end of the meeting, we had the majority vote to put the leprechauns on trial. Once they’d paid for their crimes, they would be assisted in rebuilding their society. I was relieved when the meeting was over. We had been in that room for hours, and I was happy to stretch my legs.

Before heading home, I went out to the courtyard to visit the Tree of Time. I walked up to it and placed my hand on the tree trunk. It looked the same as when I’d last seen it. I could sense the great amount of magic coming from it. I activated the Heart Crystal. My powers had grown so much in the last couple of weeks. Maybe I could free Matt. I looked at the crystal glowing round my neck and asked for its assistance. I didn’t get the response I had hoped for. The seal was created by the Heart Crystal and the tree. I couldn’t break the spell. I sighed with a heavy heart and leant against the tree. I had managed to defeat Kadon—the most powerful leprechaun in history—and save the world, but I couldn’t set my best friend free.

“I am so sorry, Matt. I promise you, I will figure something out. I will not leave you stuck in this tree.” He might’ve been trapped in the tree, but I believed he could hear me. So, I sat and spoke to Matt, filling him in on everything that had happened. Even though I didn’t get a reply, it was nice to talk to him. It helped me believe he wasn’t completely lost. He was still alive, and there was still hope to free him.

“There you are,” Greg said walking across the courtyard with Harkura.

“Your Majesty, I have been looking all over for you,” Harkura said. “Have you been talking to the tree?”

“I haven’t been talking to the tree. I’ve been talking to Matt,” I answered.

“Matt—he was your guardian before me?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yes, he was, and now he’s trapped because of me, and I can’t figure out how to break the seal.”

“Mellissa, we will figure something out. It will just take time,” Greg said. He held his hand out to me. “Come on. Let’s head back, and we can do some research.”

I took his hand, and he pulled me up. Holding hands with Greg and Harkura, I teleported home.

The next few days flew by. I went back to school. Everyone was going on about the strange weather pattern that had turned the sky black and the weird mirage that appeared by Stonehenge. It had been all over the news. Whenever I heard someone talking about it, I couldn’t help but smile. If only they knew what really happened. I was handed loads of homework so I could catch up on what I had missed. It was pretty lonely without Matt. Victoria had come up with a story about him getting an apprenticeship, meaning he had to leave school. I couldn’t help wondering why I had put off being queen for this. I just told myself I had to finish what I’d started, and I would be done come summer. I had so much work that I didn’t have any time to do more research into breaking the seal on the tree. Greg offered to help me, but I told him I had to do it myself. Otherwise, I wouldn’t learn anything. Come the weekend, I was glad to be going back to the magic world.

We had arranged to meet the Sea King, Radius, and some of his subjects at the edge of the ocean. I couldn’t teleport us there, as I didn’t know the area, so we had to go by carriage. The trains were finally running again, but there wasn’t a line that went all the way to the beach. There was still snow on the ground but not as deep as before. It was suggested that the snow had been so uncommonly bad here because of Kadon’s awakening and his use of the Moon Crystal, which kind of made sense. If the balance was offset, it would affect the weather.

Lady Gabrielle had a member of her staff dress me, since what I usually wore wasn’t good enough to meet with the Sea King. I had met all of them in leggings and a jumper, so why not him? They put me in a pale green dress. It fit snugly on top, and the skirt flowed loosely down to my knees. To match the dress, I wore thick, dark green tights and some fancy snow boots. My hair was braided up and around my head, with flowers weaved into it. To finish the outfit off, I wore the dark green cloak lined with faux fur.

Lady Gabrielle turned me to look in a full-length mirror. “As queen, you need to get used to looking the part.” All this fancy clothing didn’t feel right. Lady Gabrielle placed a silver tiara on my head and smiled behind me. “Now, you are ready.”

I nodded. She was right; this was something I was going to have to get used to. She walked me out to where the others were waiting. There were two carriages to take us to the coast. I got in one with my guardians and Greg. The other carriage was already occupied by Sir Lee and his people. He had insisted someone other than Greg oversee me on this important trip. What he really meant was that he wanted to make sure I didn’t screw up. He didn’t seem to like me for some reason. I wasn’t going to let him bother me. If I let him get in my head, then I would mess up. It was a simple task really. As long as I stayed calm, everything would be fine.

We arrived at a beautiful, sandy beach. As I stepped out of the carriage, I was hit by the salty sea air. The wind blew my hood off. We were greeted by two women in brightly coloured summer dresses. They were barefoot, with pretty jewels around their ankles and stunning headdresses held together by seashells. It was way too cold for how they were dressed, but they didn’t seem affected by it. They led us down the beach toward a marquee decorated with seashells and flower petals. I tugged at my dress and cloak. I had no idea what to do with my hands. Greg took my hand and gave me a gentle smile. I needed to stop fidgeting.

There were two more women and three men. They were also dressed in bright colours and flowing dresses. The men were dressed very similarly to the women. The only difference was that their top halves were uncovered. One of the men wore gold jewellery and had a beautiful jewel-encrusted crown upon his head. He definitely looked royal, but there wasn’t a fish tail in sight. He couldn’t be the Sea King, could he?

“Hey, is that King Radius?” I whispered to Greg.

“I believe so,” he replied.

“But he has legs. I thought mermen had fish tails.”

“It’s a simple spell to allow them to walk on land, but if they stay too long, their skin will dry up.”

I pouted. It appeared I wasn’t going to get to see the merfolk in fish form like I’d wanted to. They looked like normal people dressed for a day at the beach, who used seashells as fashion accessories. The king was around average height and very muscular with greying dark brown hair. The tall woman with fabulously long, bright red hair appeared to be his wife. Once we reached the marquee, they all bowed to me.

The king stepped forward. “It is an honour to have the elf queen herself come to meet us.” He bowed, taking my hand and kissing it.

I felt my cheeks heating. Luckily, Greg had coached me on what to do. I greeted them just as we’d practiced the night before. The king introduced his people to me. I had been right about the identity of his wife. I was surprised that the others were their children, because firstly, even with the king’s greying hair, he did not seem old enough to have children their age. Secondly, they didn’t look related in any way. They were all different builds and had different facial features, hair colour and eyes. They were all stunning in their own way but had no common traits in their appearances. Then again, I looked nothing like my dad.

I went through all the official ceremonial stuff the council had insisted on. Then, I finally handed over the Moon Crystal. As King Radius took hold of the Moon Crystal, it shone brighter than I had seen it before. It was as if the crystal knew it was where it was supposed to be.

“You need to bind to it,” I said, “and then the Moon Crystal will find you two guardians, just as the Heart Crystal did for me.”

He did as I said, then two bright lights came out of the crystal and shot off into the ocean. Two new guardians would soon be drawn to the king. We then said our formal goodbyes, and the king thanked me for everything. I was arguing with myself on whether to ask him or not, and then decided there was no harm.

“King Radius, I know this may sound odd to you, but is it all right if I wait here while you and your family go back to the ocean? The thing is, I really want to see your beautiful tails.” I felt like a little kid.

He gave me a wide, toothy smile. “Of course you can. Growing up in the human world, you have probably never seen real-life merfolk. You have done so much for us all. You stopped this world from falling into chaos, and at such a young age. It is the least we could do for you.”

“Thank you so much.” I almost squealed with excitement. He’d said yes and didn’t seem to think I was rude or some crazy freak with a tail fetish.

The royal mer-family waved goodbye and headed off to the ocean. Sir Lee narrowed his eyes at me and curled his top lip. I turned my back on him.

I grabbed Greg’s arm and shook him. “I’m going to see them in mermaid form.” I ran to the water’s edge. Victoria followed closely. She was almost as excited as me.

“The correct term is merfolk,” Greg shouted after me.

I gave him a dismissive wave over my shoulder. I looked out at the ocean. Where were they? Farther out in the ocean, they jumped up out of the water and flipped their tails in the air. Their multi- coloured scales glistened in the sunlight. It was like something out of the movies. I had the biggest smile on my face. Victoria gasped behind me. They splashed back into the water, waving before swimming off. We all waved back at them. They were truly the most beautiful creatures I had ever seen. I skipped back to the carriage, the happiest I had been in a while.

When we got back to the council building, we had to go through all the formalities of filling out paperwork, stating that our trip had been a success. It seemed a bit much to me, but I had to abide by the rules. Once I was finished, I went to find the others so we could go home. They were all in the courtyard by the Tree of Time. Of course Greg had finished before me. It was nice to see Victoria talking to the tree like I had. It made me feel less crazy.

I laughed at Greg. He had been given the official robes worn by council members. “You know, those robes look ridiculous on you.”

“You realise that they have had some made for you as well,” he said.

“Well, I think we should get going before they get a chance to give them to me. Are we all ready?” I asked. Harkura and Victoria both nodded. I put my arm out, and they both grabbed hold of me. I looked over at Greg. “Aren’t you coming as well?”

“I can’t,” Greg said.

The smile fell from my face. That hadn’t been the answer I was expecting. “Why not?”

Victoria grabbed Harkura, stating that she’d forgotten something and needed his help, practically dragging him away.

“Because my life is here. Now that my father is gone, I have to take on his responsibilities. I have to make arrangements for his funeral, and then there will be an official ceremony, making me an elder. I will then have to oversee Novosvillas, just like my father did.”

He wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t know. I knew he’d had a ton of responsibility thrust upon him, just as I had. I just hadn’t expected him to take on the role so quickly.

“I know. I just don’t know what I’m going to do without you.”

“You don’t need me anymore. Your powers and knowledge have grown more quickly than anyone could have imagined.”

My chest tightened. I twiddled with my fingers. “I know. It’s just—I don’t—I have grown accustomed to having you around.”

“It’s not like we aren’t going to see each other again.” He took my hands. “There is something we should maybe talk about though.”

My face heated, and I just knew I was turning red. We did not need to talk about that. I knew I had overstepped, and Victoria, who I knew was hiding somewhere, did not need to know I had kissed him and that he was now making sure I knew he wasn’t interested. My hands were clammy. I pulled them out of his and wiped them on my thighs. “There’s nothing to talk about. I know it was a mistake. We are better as friends. Just friends.”

“Err, yeah. That’s it.” He turned away from me.

“I guess this is it, then,” I said. “You know, till the next council meeting.”

“It doesn’t have to be like that. We are still friends, right?”

“Right.”

“Oh, and one more thing.” He handed me a map. I unfolded it. The map was of the human world. He had circled an area in Lincolnshire. He pointed at it. “That is where I discovered the elf village. I’m sure they would love to meet you, and they may have some answers for you.”

I hugged him. “Thank you.” I felt empty inside. Hugs are a good way to hide your face. I wasn’t sure I could keep the sadness from showing on mine. It wasn’t like this was the end. It was just another change, one I would get used to.

Victoria casually strolled back with Harkura behind her, acting like she had finished whatever she’d needed help with. I shook my head at her. I knew she had been just out of sight, listening to everything.

“You guys ready?” I asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Goodbye, Sir Gregory.” Harkura bowed to Greg and then came over and took my arm opposite Victoria.

“See ya, Flopsey.” Victoria waved at him as she took hold of my other arm.

I stared at him as I teleported home.

That evening, after Victoria had gone home and Harkura was back in his tent, I decided it was time to talk to my dad about my plans. After dinner, when he was sat in the living room, I told him we needed to talk and that I had something to tell him. He instantly panicked and started jumping to conclusions.

“Oh no, this can’t be happening. Don’t say it. You’re pregnant, aren’t you? I knew I should have never let that boy stay in this house. It is all my fault, and now you’re not going to go to university and get a degree. Where is that boy? I notice he isn’t here tonight.” He spiralled into catastrophe mode. I could clearly see where I got my overthinking and worrying from.

“What? No!” I yelled over him. “Why would you think that of all things? Jeez, Dad, let me talk instead of jumping to crazy conclusions. It’s not like that at all. Just no.”

“Oh, good. What do you want to tell me then?” he asked, calming down.

“I wanted to talk to you about my future. As you know, I am the heir of the elf throne.” I paused to check that he was following. He nodded. “Once I finish school, I was thinking about deferring my acceptance to university and going to live in the magical world for a bit to see what’s there for me. I’ve always felt like I didn’t quite fit in here, and maybe this is why. Maybe I belong there. I owe it to myself to take a year to find out.”

I didn’t know how he was going to respond. He had always wanted me to go to university and get a degree. He’d always wanted me to be a doctor. Even though I had chosen an English literature course, he was still so happy I had been offered a place everywhere I’d applied. It felt like I was letting him down, but this was something I felt really strongly about.

“I understand. I know I have always made a big deal about you getting a degree, but that was before I knew that your big brain and beauty weren’t the only things you got from your mother. Take a year off. Go discover the world of magic. If it isn’t for you, come back and go to uni, but if it’s truly where you belong, forget about uni and become a magical queen. I have only ever wanted the best for you.”

My dad was being really understanding. I had been worried about nothing. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Where is Greg? You two haven’t had another fight, have you?”

“No, he had to go back home. He will be taking his dad’s place as a changeling elder, so he can’t be hanging around the human world anymore.”

“I feel bad for him, but he seemed to be handling it well when I last saw him. What is a changeling elder exactly?”

I tried to remember what Greg had told me. I put up three fingers. “I believe there are exactly three changeling elders, and they oversee the three major changeling cities. They are also members of the council.”

My dad put his hand on his chin. “He is like changeling royalty? I guess he’s not so bad after all—still hasn’t got anything on being elf queen though.”

“It’s not that impressive being queen.”

“If Greg has had to go back home, does that mean the two of you have broken up, or are you trying for a long-distance relationship?”

“What? Where are these crazy ideas coming from, Dad? Greg is not my boyfriend and never has been. We are just friends.”

“All right, but you can’t tell me there was nothing there. Did you not see how that boy cared for you?”

“Dad, I have no idea what you are talking about. Greg’s a healer. He cares for everyone.”

“You really don’t see it, do you?” he asked. I shook my head at him. My dad hugged me and patted my head. “Please, don’t ever change.”

“I have no plans to, Dad.”

Greg had been nothing but a good friend to me and didn’t treat me like anything more. Maybe my dad had got his wires crossed the same way I had, thinking there was something more between me and Greg. I shook my head and left him to watch television.

“You ready?” Harkura asked.

I nodded. “They are elves like me. I need to do this.”

We were on the edge of a field. Harkura had travelled with me to the place on the map Greg had circled. Once we were close enough, we would set off some sort of alarm and be attacked. According to Greg, it would be plant magic—something I could easily handle.

“Let’s do this.” I walked across the field.

We had been walking for about half an hour when an alarm went off. The grass sprung up and surrounded us.

“Stop,” I commanded. Pushing my arms out, the grass went limp.

Three men ran toward us. “Who are you?” asked the older of the three. He narrowed his eyes on me. “You are an elf.”

“Yes, I am Mellissa Hail, keeper of the Heart Crystal and heir to the elf throne.”

They all dropped to their knees. The older man took my hand. “Welcome home, My Queen.”