Leonie tried to sleep all night. She really did. But in the silence of the house, everything sounded deafening. It was as if the only thing she couldn't hear was the moon sliding across the sky.
She had plenty of time to think.
No matter how she strained her mind, no more memories surfaced about her supposed death. She still couldn't fully believe what Dorian had told her.
But she felt it. Not just because of her altered sight and hearing.
She felt that something had changed. It was as if she were more present in the world.
But what did that mean? What had she become? Who had she become?
As soon as the sun rose, she stepped out of her room—and immediately recoiled.
Dorian was leaning against the wall opposite her door, arms folded across his chest, and he looked her over thoroughly. Leonie would have gladly crawled straight back under her blanket.
Once Dorian was sure every part of her was still intact, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He had stayed up all night as well, Leonie's pale, peaceful face rising again and again before his inner eye in the darkness.
Every time he remembered the moment he had thought she was gone, he had fought the urge to tear open her door just to check she was still breathing.
By the end of those long hours, he had come to a conclusion. There was no going back now.
The girl ruled his thoughts so completely that it would be easier to just give in and try to make peace with her, in the hope that her distrust would gradually fade.
He felt incredibly selfish, but things would be easier for both of them if Leonie grew fond of him. That's how it had to be.
After all, she was descended from elves who had long been thought extinct. She might be their only chance to save their people, and there was nothing emotional about that at all.
Pure logic. That was what he told himself. That was why he couldn't let her go.
"Rough night?" he asked with a half-smile.
Leonie only nodded. She had no idea how she was supposed to behave around him.
"You must be hungry. Come on, or the others won't leave you anything."
By the time Leonie had gathered her wits, Dorian had already disappeared at the end of the corridor, so she hurried after him.
When she stepped into the dining room, the others were already seated around the table, eating. For a heartbeat the whole group seemed to freeze as the memory of the night washed over them, but Aeson, who detested tension, spoke up at once.
"Our forest elf has arrived!" he announced with a grin.
The whole table relaxed and burst into lively chatter, and Leonie was deeply grateful that they were trying to act as if everything were normal. It hadn't occurred to her that Dorian had already told them not to treat her like the greatest miracle in the world.
"Now can I ask how you did it?" Nir lit up immediately, not bothering to let her sit first. "It was unbelievable, the way the trees blocked our path! Even Xav couldn't get through, and he's the strongest of us!"
"You're not trying to butter him up again because you want something, are you?" Marcus snorted, and Xavier turned to him with a raised brow.
"Do you want to test which of us is stronger?" he asked, leaning closer with a wicked grin.
"Let's see!" Aeson chimed in at once.
"Calm down, my friends. We have a lady present. Try not to behave like barbarians," Filarion interrupted with a weary sigh, straightening the cup in front of him.
Leonie's head swung back and forth between them, and she realized she was still standing. Dorian watched her with faint amusement and lifted a hand.
An empty chair scraped across the floor and slid to the table between him and Marcus.
"Sit," he said with a little nod.
Leonie walked over on uncertain legs and nudged the chair closer to Marcus. Dorian noticed. So did Marcus.
"I'm glad you survived," Marcus smiled at her, piling food on her plate and pushing it toward her. "Should I chew this for you too?" he teased.
Leonie flushed crimson and shook her head quickly.
"Of course not! Last time you didn't—"
"Why would Marcus chew your food?" Nir cut in, aghast.
"He didn't!" Leonie protested. "I just didn't want to believe he wouldn't poison me…"
"Why would he poison you?" Nir frowned. "You're one of us. You're an elf!"
"Forest elf?" Leonie asked, glancing at Aeson. He was the one who had used the term.
"Yes," he nodded, lifting his brows. "I'm guessing you have no idea what that means."
"I'm not sure we know either," Dorian said warningly, before his friends could blurt out something that would send her into a panic.
The girl had been through enough lately; she deserved a few days of peace. Dorian wanted to use that time to prepare their journey home. The long trip would give them plenty of opportunity to discuss everything. For now, he wanted Leonie to be able to breathe.
"What do you mean, you don't know?" she frowned.
"Forest elves live in complete symbiosis with nature. They understand plants and can manipulate them with magic," Filarion explained in his usual calm voice. "Dorian told me you used to feel as if the flora were speaking to you. That's more or less what it is. When you need it, they answer you in the form of an insight or instinct.
"Most elements work like that. Nir has a similar bond with animals, Marcus with the wind, Xav with the earth, Aeson with fire, and I with water."
Leonie tried to replay her life in her mind, and suddenly the soldier flashed before her eyes.
"That man… that soldier. I killed him, didn't I?" Her face went pale. She had taken a life and hadn't even known.
"Yes, you did an excellent job," Aeson grinned.
Leonie stared at him in horror. How could he say such a thing?
"You'll learn to control it with time," he added, and snapped his fingers.
The little basket in the middle of the table burst into flames.
"Hey! I was going to eat that," Nir yelped.
Aeson snapped his fingers again and the fire went out.
"I didn't mean to kill him…" Leonie swallowed. She was completely confused. She had never killed anyone, though she had often wished she could. That soldier had been cruel—did she really have to feel guilty?
"Of course we know you didn't do it on purpose. But even if you had, we wouldn't judge you for it," Marcus said with a shrug. "I don't know if you noticed, but we decorated the forest with corpses. It wouldn't be very fair of us to condemn you."
"That doesn't… make me feel any better," Leonie's shoulders drooped. She turned back to Dorian. "What did you mean when you said you don't know what all this means?"
"You could always ask the forest elves," she said suddenly, and hope flared up in her chest. Maybe someone among Dorian's people knew how she had ended up in human hands. Maybe they had known her mother or father.
"Maybe I have relatives. People who know something about me," she said, getting carried away in an instant. Her longing to belong somewhere, to be attached to someone, ran so deep she didn't even notice the pitying looks being exchanged around the table.
"Leonie," a flicker of sorrow crossed Dorian's eyes. "That's not possible…"
Of course, she didn't let him finish.
"Why not? You're the king's son! You can do whatever you want!" Her voice climbed higher and higher.
"Why don't you ask them? Order them to tell you the truth! Or was it only fun to force the truth out of me?"
She leaned forward, anger finally boiling over. Somewhere behind them, a sound like a thick branch scraping along glass echoed across the window.
"Leonie—" Dorian tried to cut in.
"No! I don't want to listen to your lies anymore!" She jumped up from her chair and stormed out through the front door, leaving stunned silence in her wake.