dropped the two balls of ice on the dusty lane, swung around, and strode away.
I stood chewing on the inside of my cheek for a long time, thinking. I couldn’t make my legs move. Going to market for baked goods suddenly felt inconsequential. My mind swelled with a sense of duty. I’d never considered that I could make a difference. Save lives. Save an entire town and possibly more. In the process, Ronin and I could win over Zelie’s parents. It would make all our lives a lot more pleasant if Mr. and Mrs. Omarel gave Ronin and me their blessings. How could they deny us after we helped them remove the threat from Elkcan once and for all? With three elementals, maybe we could wrap this thing up before summer.
But only if Zelie was okay with it. If she shed one tear, I wasn’t leaving her side. There was no one whose well-being meant more to me than my future mate’s. Sky, if she wanted to get married this afternoon, I’d do it.
I could tell her parents’ support of our relationship meant a great deal to her. She’d agonized over how to tell them our happy news. Mrs. Omarel had given us an opening to bridge that gap. That reason alone would have been motivation enough. Saving lives was the icing on the sweetberry cake.
Unfortunately, there were no portal access points in Elkcan. There would be no quick travel back and forth to spend time with our beloved. It wasn’t a destination that interested faeries. We’d be stuck there until it was over. All the more reason to freeze the ogres out as soon as possible.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Zelie
Early morning sun glistened in dewdrops across the meadow. Two horses stood saddled outside the Elmrays’ cottage with full packs secured behind the leather seats.
Reed and Ronin were grinning, looking handsome in their tunics and leather wrist cuffs. They stood outside the shadow of the cottage, sunlight making their hair shine onyx.
I stood in the cluster of Elmrays and Keasandorals circling the twins. We’d all come out to see the twins off, including Aerith, Jhaeros, Fraya, Alok, Amelia, and Titus.
Melarue fussed over the boys. She’d added items to their packs and made suggestions on everything from the boots they wore to the weapons they should bring along.
“In battle, never rely on your magic alone,” she’d advised as Ryo and Lyklor presented their sons with swords. The weapons were now secured at their hips, tips aimed at the ground.
Melarue looked Ronin up and down. Her chin pointed down as she zeroed in on his boots. “Your laces aren’t tight enough. Let me fix that.”
“Ma!” Ronin took a step back. “I’ve got it,” he said, gentling his tone as he bent and retied the laces.
“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Melarue said for the tenth time. “If Sana’s so desperate for warriors, she should have come to me first.”
“Mom, we want to,” Reed said.
Melody did a cartwheel that ended in a high kick in front of her brothers. “You are going to kick ogre ass!”
“Yep,” Reed said, puffing out his chest.
I stood smiling, throwing in a merry chuckle every now and then, giving the performance of a lifetime. Watching the twins prepare to leave was ripping my heart in half—no, thirds. They weren’t even leaving me with half a heart.
They’d buzzed with excitement from the moment they began discussing the expedition. I’d recognized their need to venture out and discover that place of independence. I’d gone through that experience when I moved out of my parents’ hut into my cottage. Reed and Ronin deserved a taste of their own freedom before they tied themselves down. They were still young. I loved them too much to ask them to move directly from one household to another—from their mother to their mate without any liberty in between.
I was angry at my mom, though. She’d trekked back to Pinemist, manipulated Reed directly outside my cottage, then left without a word to me. I’d never considered my mom a coward until that moment. It had taken a pitload of willpower to maintain a neutral expression while Reed relayed my mother’s goal of eradicating the ogres by the end of summer.
I knew all about the never-ending fight in Elkcan. The town was built at the bottom of a rocky mountain known for its numerous caves. The mountain was prime ogre territory. I’d once asked my mother why the citizens of Elkcan didn’t relocate to someplace less hazardous. Oh,