Page 15 of Slippers and Thorns
He certainly felt jealousy, but was that the same thing?
Did he still love her?
Didshestill love him?
Michael watched his wife out of the corner of his eye. She was resolutely ignoring him.
CHAPTER 7
Ella
E
lla stared sightlessly at the fog-obscured hills in the distance. She didn’t know the area, so she had no idea how much farther they had to ride to reach the castle. Part of her was tempted to drop back and join Charlie and the other guards since Axel was next to Katy. After her rebuff, Michael had stopped trying to talk to her, so they now rode in stony silence. On her side, at least; Michael seemed like his might be closer to dejected.
Was that what she wanted? Wasn’t the whole point of today’s journey to help find something that would bridge the gap between them and return the romance of two years ago?
She allowed herself a quick glance at him; the corners of his mouth dipped down, and his eyes weren’t much higher than Chief’s ears. Had he really been that disappointed by her response?
Hardening her heart, Ella turned away again. She didn’t care that Michael had been making an effort. Up until last week, he had frequently been absent, and his attitude towards her had grown more distant, but he had still been polite and kind.
Since their arrival in Ralnor, though, he had been nothing but cold in his dismissal of her or cruel in his fascination with Lady Ilse. So now her heart, which had already been lonely and starved for affection, also bore the welts of the last week.
It made her hesitant to open up to him, regardless of how much of an effort he made.
Behind her, Axel laughed at something Katy said. His joking return sally brought forth an answering peal of amusement.
Ella missed the days when that would have been her and Michael.
The early days of their relationship had been like that. Every shared look had melted her heart; every touch of his hand had sent fire through her skin. It had seemed as if their souls had molded into a single unit, and when she looked into his eyes, she knew she would never be alone or unwanted again.
Ha!
If possible, she felt more alone and unwanted now than she had as an overworked servant in her stepmother’s household. Life had a twisted sense of humor.
If there had not once been a road through the forest to the castle, whatever path was used instead would have been reabsorbed into the woods long ago. As it was, overhanging branches and brush encroached upon the road-that-once-was, and shorter weeds and grass had reclaimed the ground. The travelers were forced to ride single-file to avoid snags, and even in the middle of the path, a rider occasionally had to duck to avoid getting a face-full of leaves.
An almost eerie silence descended as they drew closer to their destination. There was an occasional rustle in the undergrowth or chirp from a bird, but nowhere near what there ought to have been.
“I thought you said the hunting was good in these woods,” Michael commented casually.
Axel, who was in the lead, looked around with an unsettled expression on his face. “It used to be.”
“And I thought you said the castle wasn’t haunted,” Michael added.
Axel frowned back at him. “It isn’t.”
“Are you sure?”
“Why don’t you wait until we get there, and then make your judgments,” Axel snapped back, his brown eyes flashing. “You haven’t even seen it yet.”
Ella dodged a branch as she listened to them bicker. The scarcity of animal noises was a little unsettling, but she didn’t think it was enough to warrant actual concern. Based on his responses, though, Axel obviously felt differently – she wasn’t sure she had ever heard that tone from him, with Michael or with anyone else. He was definitely bothered by the change in the forest. Michael, too – he was acting like nothing was wrong, but his shoulders were stiffer than normal, even stiffer than when she had been riding next to him and stubbornly ignoring him.
An undefinable something filled the air. It felt thicker, somehow, and charged, as if it were filled with the energy generated by shuffling across a thick carpet in stockings. As she felt the loose hair next to her face begin to lift in answer, she suddenly thought that perhaps she understood why the princes were nervous.
Ella shifted uncomfortably in her saddle. It wasn’t just the strange feeling in the air; she suddenly felt an inexplicable need to turn around and go back.
“I knew it,” Katy said softly behind her. “Iknewmagic was involved.”
