It had been less than two weeks since I had last seen him, at the Midsommar celebration when he’d given me a cryptic goodbye before absconding with Eliana into the night.
He looked just as good as I remembered, not that I should be surprised, and not that it even mattered. He was tall and slender, so he cut a slight profile, but his dark bedroom eyes made him captivating. That and the ease with which he carried himself, so that each movement felt casually impressive, like watching a prima ballerina doing mundane tasks.
His wavy hair hung loose above his shoulders, thick and untamed. His cavalier smile faltered, and that’s when I realized how long I had been standing there, holding a peach and staring at him.
“Who are you?” I asked, wanting to hear him say his name himself.
“Jem-Kruk.”
I shook my head, confused, disbelieving. “From the fairy tales?”
“What?” His face twisted up in confusion.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, then I looked around, scanning the market for anyone else. “Is Eliana here?”
“No, she’s with her sister.” He paused a moment before adding, “She’s safe.”
“Can I see her?” I turned to him. “Where is she? What’s wrong with her? Why are you here?”
“You have a lot of questions, and that is entirely understandable in your position,” Jem-Kruk said. “Why don’t we go somewhere and talk?”
“Why?” I stepped back from him. “How do I know it’s safe to go with you?”
He held up his hands, his palms out toward me. Several brassy, jeweled rings adorned his fingers, and a thick scar ran across the beige skin of his right palm.
“We’ll go someplace out in the open,” Jem said. “I know of a quiet place nearby, and I’ll answer as many questions as I can.”
“Okay,” I relented.
I tightly gripped the strap of my hobo bag and I followed him down Wapiti Way, and we headed southeast. When we passed the woolly elk barn, I realized he was leading me on the same path the elk took when they were herded through the city to and from their various pastures.
That was where Jem-Kruk was taking me, beyond the cramped, provincial city center to the outskirts. We were still within the walls, but there was more room to breathe. A small orchard grew alongside the wooden fence that surrounded the pasture, and the Forsa River cut through the lush grass. The trees were all Sommar plums, and their big pink blossoms were in full bloom.
The giant woollies were lazily grazing, some of them lying in the shade of a tall oak tree, younger calves frolicking around them. Jem leaned against the fence, and I made sure there was distance between us when I leaned on the fence.
“You really don’t trust me?” he asked, looking at the space I had created.
“I don’t know you,” I said evenly. “And I don’t know if you’re good to my friend or not. All I know is that you’re here and she isn’t.”
He exhaled and nodded. “Fair enough.”
“I want to talk to Eliana. I want to hear from her that she’s okay.”
“Where she’s at right now…” He frowned and stared at the elk. “It’s not possible right now.”
“Why not?”
“She’s too sick,” he insisted. “Not now.”
“Why are you here?” I asked.
“I heard that you were worried.”
“How could you possibly know that? And why would you even care?”
“Two questions with one answer—we have a friend in common.”
“You mean someone other than Eliana?” I asked. “Who?”
“I’ll tell you, but I fear you won’t like my answer,” he said with a weary laugh.
“But these aren’t hard questions,” I argued. “The name of our mutual friend? Where Eliana is? What you’re doing here and who you are?”
As I’d been talking, my voice had gotten louder, and the elk stopped grazing to look at us. A breeze came up, causing a few Sommar plum blossoms to fall around us, scenting the air sweetly.
“Illaria told me that you were concerned, but who told her that, I honestly have no idea,” Jem-Kruk said.
“You’re right. I don’t like the answer,” I grumbled.
“I told you my name, and why I’m here.” He squinted into the bright afternoon sunlight, his long lashes hiding his eyes. “It’s hard to tell a story backwards, is all.”
“Then tell it from the beginning,” I said simply.
“Eliana and Illaria’s parents are old family friends, and I’ve known the twins since they were born,” he began. “Both girls were high-strung, as you may have discerned, but they were fine and happy. Or at least it seemed that way. Until their mother fell ill and passed away.
“Eliana took it the hardest,” he went on. “We live far away in a very isolated kingdom. Some have called us extraordinarily private, and that kind of environment led to Eliana and Illaria becoming quite sheltered.
“I can’t tell you what’s wrong with Eliana because I unfortunately don’t know,” he admitted with a heavy sigh. “There is an erratic paranoia about her, and she ran off. Illaria, our friend Sumi, and I went looking for her, and we eventually found her here.”
“How did you know to look for her here?” I asked.
He seemed to hesitate before answering. “That’s more complicated, but the simplest explanation I can give is that Sumi is very skilled at finding what she’s looking for, and Eliana had said some things that led us to believe she’d head to this area.”
“I met Sumi,” I said, thinking back to the trio of brief interactions I’d had with her. The very first time, she’d helped me find Eliana, but she’d deliberately chosen to stay back. “She had a chance to grab Eliana, but she let her go with me. Why?”
“It’s as you said—Sumi would’ve needed to grab her.” He gestured in the air. “We didn’t want to kidnap her or make it any more traumatic. Sumi was trying to give her space and only check on her, but Eliana got scared and called her a dragon before taking off. Sumi thought it’d be best to let her go with friends she felt safe with, and we could come up with a better plan.
“The cloaking that happens here messes with Sumi’s abilities, and she struggled to find Eliana again, despite the close proximity,” he elaborated. “We figured that Eliana wouldn’t want to miss the Midsommar, and we were hoping for a more … happy reunion.”
“Why can’t I see her?” I asked again.
“She’s with her family, and visitors aren’t allowed,” he explained. “It’s not up to me, so there isn’t a point in you begging or bartering.”
I chewed the inside of my cheek and considered his explanation. The pieces seemed to fit, but the whole thing would be a lot easier to swallow if there were someone else to back up his story, especially someone like Eliana.
The split-rail fence was dry and rough under my skin, and I twisted my hand around it.
“I think I would feel more at ease if I understood what you’re doing here now,” I said finally.
“You were Eliana’s friend, and you cared for her when she needed it,” he said. “Truth be told, she doesn’t remember you now. She hopefully will again someday, but not today. But I know that she wouldn’t want you to worry.”
“That’s really why you came back?” I asked, and he nodded. “Where do you come from?”
He gave me a sly smile, his dark eyes sparkling in the warm sun. “All I can tell you is that it is far, far away.”
“Why did you tell me to come find you?” I asked, remembering the note I had found in my things after Eliana had gone.
If you ever want to say hello—to me or to Eliana—come find us.
X Jem-Kruk
“That was you who left the note?” I asked. I’d believed that he had, but I wanted confirmation, and I got it when he winced and ran his hand through his tangles of hair. “Why would you leave that note if you knew I’d never be allowed into your kingdom?”
His eyes were downcast, so his thick lashes hovered above his rosy, high cheekbones. “I made a dumb choice on the fly, but Illaria immediately told me how ridiculous I was being. I’m sorry about that.”
“What is your kingdom called?” I asked.
“I grew up in a place called Adlrivellir. Lots of mountains, cool summers, and long winters. It’s different from here, to be sure, but it’s not as dissimilar as you may think.”
“Are you a troll?” I asked. “Like me?”
“We call ourselves something else, but I believe we are the same.”
“What are you called?”
“We are álfar,” he said.
“But what about the books?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “How come you’re the star of children’s books?”
He shook his head. “I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about.”
“Is Jem-Kruk a popular name where you come from?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I don’t know about popular, but I am certainly not the only Jem.”
“Maybe whoever wrote the book is from your hometown,” I realized.
“What?”
I shook my head. “Never mind.”
“Are you finished with all your questions?”
“Hardly,” I said, and I laughed. “But I suppose I can give it a rest for now. Are you going to stay in Merellä for a while?”
“A few days.”
“Okay. But there is one more thing I want to know. When you first talked to me at the market, that was to find out if Eliana was safe?”
“No, I didn’t realize you knew her then.”
I looked at him more closely, my brow furrowed in confusion. “Why did you talk to me, then?”
He laughed. “Because I thought you looked like somebody I’d want to know better. So I got to know you better, and it turns out I was right.”