“And it still is,” I informed her. “Kai struggles with it every day. I know it’ll eventually warp his mind completely, but I’m hoping to save him.”
Linette’s gaze narrowed curiously. “Why would you do that?” Her hazel eyes pierced into mine. “Do you care for him?”
“I do,” I confessed. “I love him and he loves me. That’s why I want to do everything I can to help him. He chose me over the Shadow fae. So, I know he’s trying to do the right thing.”
Linette gasped and clutched her chest. “I don’t know what to say. This makes me so happy.”
“Is there anything you want me to tell him?”
“Yes,” she exclaimed, grabbing my hands. “Please tell him I love him and think of him every single day.” Tears fell down her cheeks. “And tell him how proud I am. I knew there was always good in him.”
I squeezed her hands. “I’ll let him know.”
After letting her go, I stepped away and summoned my magic. “I still want to know things about him. I’ll be back soon. Right now, he’s probably wondering where I am.”
Linette waved. “Take care of him, Ella. And don’t give up on him.”
I shouted the words “I won’t” just as the magic took me out of the Hereafter and back to the mortal world, back to Kai. I appeared in our secret cabin to see Kai waiting by the window. He turned around and looked at me, the tension in his body easing.
“I’m not going to lie, it terrifies the fuck out of me when you go to the Hereafter.”
“Why?” I asked.
He walked over to me and slid his arms around my waist. “Because I can’t feel you. It’s like you’re gone.”
“It’s because I’m in a whole other dimension,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.
He kissed me, his lips lingering on mine. “What took you so long?”
The jittery nerves in my stomach came back. “I went to see someone.”
“Who?” he asked.
Staring into his eyes, I lifted my hands to his cheeks. “Your mother.”
He froze and I could see the uncertainty on his face. “What did she say? Does she hate me?”
“No,” I replied quickly, still holding him within my grasp. “She wanted me to tell you that she loves you and is proud. She always knew there was good in you.”
Kai closed his eyes and rested his forehead on mine. “Did she look happy?”
I kissed him and he opened his eyes. “Yes,” I told him. “She has herself a nice winter wonderland. The woman is Winter, just like us.”
Kai let out a sad sigh. “When you go back to the Hereafter, do you mind giving her a message for me?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
His lips pulled back in a smile. “Tell her I love her too and that I miss her. I’d give anything to see her again.”
“I will,” I promised. “She’ll be happy to hear it.”
Chapter23
Ella
It’s been a while since I’ve had a vision, and I had a feeling this one was going to be one I didn’t want to see. Everywhere around me was nothing but a black void, but then clips of the visions I’d had before started playing out. It all jumbled together in fast forward.
I saw Kai in the shadows, watching as I sat with his mother. The image changed and I was standing on the veranda, watching mine and Kai’s altercation when we had our daggers at each other’s throats. Quickly, it switched to my bedroom. I watched as Kai approached my bed, his eyes blazing with lust and revenge. It’s the night he snuck into my room without my knowledge. He could’ve killed me, but he didn’t. To know that death was so close, and I didn’t even realize it terrified me. I was sound asleep.