Page 50 of His Impossible Elf Mate
Wildflowers with their satin petals tickled my fingers in the gentle breeze.
Perfection.
My dream stretched out, time passing without notice as I took in the details of this world my imagination had created. I knew it was coming from me, because I was clothed in my favorite soft pants Axel favored and I wore no shirt. My hair was unbraided, flowing like silk in the wind.
Another clue it was a dream was the absence of sound. There were no birds, no bugs, the air made no noise as it rushed over me. It was completely quiet, as if I was in a soundproof bubble, or like I’d been rendered deaf. Though when I muttered, “just a dream,” I heard the words both in my mind and in my ears.
For what felt like minutes, but it could have been hours, I lay there, watching the clouds pass over me. I made a game of it after a while, too lazy to sit up and explore.
The clouds took on shapes, which I told to the butterflies and bees that passed me by. I’d somehow thought them into existence. These weren’t the butterflies and bees of Abrocaelum or Sweetwater. These were creations of my imaginations. Fat, furry bees laden with pollen and massive, colorful butterflies who were eager to balance on my fingers.
If I thought about it hard enough, I was sure I could dream other things into this world.
Not Axel. I would never want an echo of the man who held my heart. Only the real thing would do and he was safe in Sweetwater, likely frantic as he watched over me.
As I dreamed, I was conscious of time passing in the back of my mind. I was sure my continued absence was worrying Axel. I snorted, sure I was downplaying my lover’s reaction. He was likely trying to tear the world apart to get me back to him.
The air turned cold, the sky darker, a likely side effect of my concern for Axel’s wellbeing leaching into the dreamstate I found myself in.
Night came, the moon high and full in the artificial sky.
“Hush, child. Your dearest is fine,” a pleasing feminine voice said.
I sat up, looking for the voice, yet unable to find her.
“He cannot hear you, my lady,” I replied, still scanning the area I found myself in.
There was a figure under a faraway tree. Could it have been her?
She tittered a laugh. “Oh, you are charming. Those words were for you.”
Her voice was pleasant and easy to listen to. I felt no threat from her. No, there was something more. Affection. Love. Care.
“How can they be?” I asked, honestly. “I know them to be a lie. Even now, here, so far away from my love, I can feel how hard he is panicking. We are connected.” I clasped a hand to my bare chest, feeling the tether to Axel there, next to my heart.
“That you are. Apologies for my white lie, then, sweet elf.” She was not offended, only amused.
“Thank you, though I knew you meant no harm, only to soothe me.” I felt compelled somehow, as if telling anything but the whole truth would cause irreparable damage not only to her, but to myself.
“I find you quite captivating, Teárlach Skanicudal, Crown Prince and heir to the elven throne of Abrocaelum.”
The figure became clearer, like the distance between us had halved. Though I could not see her clearly, I could see she was tall, probably taller than me. Dressed in a white flowing gown, she had pale as moonlight skin and silver hair as long as Teagan’s,brushing her knees. It flowed like water, completely unbound or braided. She wore night blooming Jasmine in her hair.
“Thank you, my lady. What, pray, should I call you?”
“I have many names. You may call me Luna.”
Luna, as in… the shifter goddess, The Luna? How was this possible?
I shot to my feet and sketched a low bow. “The Luna, you honor me with your presence here.”
“No, dear elf, the honor is mine. Only someone with true faith and pure love could find themselves here with me. You have proven to have both.”
“How? I am nothing but a soldier, my lady.”
“Are you?”
She was closer. Her eyes were dark, a void. There was no pupil, like the eyes of a demon, yet she was still the most beautiful thing I had seen aside from my Axel.
