Page 67 of Slippers and Thorns
He felt like he’d made progress with Ella ever since he stopped coming on so strong and started simply spending time around her. Instead of running, she was actually letting him hold her. Only a breath separated him from finally feeling her lips on his again.
If he was courting her, he would be thrilled with the current state of their relationship.
But he wasn’t courting her; they were already married!
The previous evening, he thought he had finally broken through the limit she’d set up when she reached up and kissed him on the cheek. After arranging their departure – that the weather ended up preventing – he’d returned to their room anticipating a much warmer welcome than he’d had since shortly after their last trip to Ralnor. Instead, she’d shut him out again.
What had he done this time? And how could he fix it?
Finding the tapping insufficient to the turmoil in his brain, Michael set the book aside and launched himself out of the chair to pace in front of the fireplace again. Women. They were impossible.
With that thought, his mind shifted to its old refrain:If only Helena had lived.Intellectually, he knew she wasn’t perfect – no one was – but he was certain her imperfections did not include the utter frustration he was experiencing from—
Find me,a voice whispered in his mind.
He slowed. He wasn’t quite sure where Ella was at the moment, but he could go looking for her. She might not appreciate seeing him, though, since she had run away from him earlier.
Find me.
This time, it was louder, a melodious alto voice. Not like Ella’s, he thought as he shifted uneasily.
Find me!
It was a beautiful voice, though. It was…familiar, somehow. His head slowly turned in the direction from which it seemed to be coming.
Come find me,it said softly in an alluring tone.
Where are you?he asked.
Follow my voice.
Michael’s feet moved on their own. He was only dimly aware of his surroundings as he exited the library and began walking down the hall. Soon, he vaguely realized that he was approaching the thorn-covered tower. But when he reached out towards the door handle, the vines fell away, clearing the way for him.
On the other side of the door was a sitting room with a spiral staircase that led to the next level of the tower. Barely registering the sitting room, he turned in the direction from which the voice called, placed a foot on the first stair, and began to climb.
Time had no meaning as he mechanically moved under the influence of the voice. Step after step, he climbed the stairs with no recognition of the number of floors. He could feel the voice getting closer.
Find me, it crooned.I’m waiting.
Finally, he reached another door. As he stretched out his hand, the sound of pounding feet impacted on his eardrums, but it was muffled, as if he was underwater.
Upon entering the room, his attention was drawn to a canopied bed to one side. Lying on top of the covers was a young woman clad in a regal purple dress. Her wavy chestnut hair was arranged neatly on the pillow under her head; her hands rested at her sides. Although her eyes were closed as if in sleep, he felt certain that if they were open, they would be green.
Come to me. Come closer.
He did as the voice commanded. Kneeling beside the bed, he picked up one of her hands. From the corner of his eye, he saw a blonde-haired figure in a blue dress stumble into the doorframe, and he faintly heard a voice other than the one in his head, but all of his focus was on the figure in front of him.
“Helena?” he breathed.
CHAPTER 30
Ella
T
he moment she saw the open door, bare of thorny vines, as she passed the tower, Ella knew where Mike had gone.
She raced up the stairs, gasping for breath by the time she reached the top of the second level, but she kept going. Who knew where the strange compulsion was leading him, or to what? How much time had passed since he started up the stairs? Would she make it in time?
