Betrayals of Spring

1. Meliantha

1

MELIANTHA

“A letter has arrived for you from the Winter Court, Your Highness,” Naida says as she bows. My heart about jumps out of my chest at the mention of the Winter Court. I look at her smiling face and then down to her outstretched hand holding out the letter.

Naida is my servant, and although I do not need one, she chose to serve willingly. She is also a wood nymph that loves nature, just like me. Her brown hair is pulled back in a bun, and her eyes remind me of the deep green color of grass. Naida helps me in the gardens along with my sprites now that Calista has become Queen of the Fall Court and can no longer join me. I enjoy her company just as much as I do with my best friend, Elissa.

I hastily reach for the letter. The envelope is smooth and thick. My fingers twitch with the need to tear it open to see if the letter is from him. Could it be from Kalen?

I look up at Naida, and she has a huge smile on her face.

“Thank you, Naida, for bringing this to me. Do you mind if I open it in private?” I ask sweetly and pout my lips. Naida and I share numerous secrets, but this one I would like to keep to myself for now.

Her delicate laugh makes me smile.

“Of course, Your Highness,” she replies. Naida bows her head and leaves the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

I am excited but nervous to know the contents of the letter. I turn the envelope over, and there sealed in wax, is the Winter Court crest symbol. I gently slide my finger under the paper to break the seal, and it breaks with an audible snap. Closing my eyes, I lift the flap. I take in a calm breath as I reach in to grab the letter inside. It’s folded over once, so the anticipation of seeing the words will be short-lived. I peek in from the bottom of the paper, and my breath ceases as I see his name. What if he is professing his love to me in this letter? We had a great time at Calista and Ryder’s wedding. We enjoyed numerous hours of talking about his wolves and my animals. His joking manner caught my attention from the very beginning, and I have been waiting impatiently for the chance to see him again.

I groan in annoyance at myself. I need to stop stalling and read the letter. I feel like a lovesick adolescent pining over a boy. I am twenty years old and have had many crushes on the warriors over the years, but what I feel for Kalen surpasses all of those ridiculous crushes. I open the envelope slowly, and I’m disappointed to see only a few words on the paper. I guess I thought there would be more.

Dearest Meliantha,

Please meet me out by the gardens. I’ll be waiting. Yours Truly, Kalen.

I can’t believe he’s here! I jump up and down with joy and dance across my room in excitement. I had asked Calista what the connection to Ryder felt like, and she had described it to me. I couldn’t believe it, but it is exactly how I feel about Kalen. Could he be the one I am supposed to be with?

Calista and Ryder had their vision when they touched hands, so maybe that is what I have to do with Kalen. I rush to my closet, almost tripping along the way, and I pull out the purple tank top that matches my amethyst-colored eyes. I grab a pair of khaki shorts and a pair of sandals.

Satisfied with the way I look, I head straight for the gardens. The gardens are a short distance away, and it only takes me a few minutes to get there. When I arrive, I can see a tall frame and black, shoulder-length hair, and I know it is him. He must hear me coming because he begins to turn around slowly. My heart stops along with my feet, because I’m mesmerized by the sight of him. He’s breathtaking with his muscular body encased in his warrior uniform. It hugs the planes of his body, and I can see the extent of his muscles. His breastplate is silver, and it covers his entire chest and back. The Winter Court symbol is engraved on the chest. He’s also wearing black leather vambraces to protect his forearms and the usual black leather pants and tunic underneath the armor.

I begin to walk toward him since my feet seem to be cooperating now, but I notice that something seems different about him. He walks toward me to close the distance, but he stops a couple of feet away. My fingers ache to touch him to see if the vision will appear.

His lips turn up in a smile.

“Good morning, Meliantha. Thank you for meeting me.”

I fidget from nervousness, and my voice squeaks when I say, “Good morning to you, Kalen. I was going to head out this way anyway to tend to my gardening, so it was no problem at all. What brings you to the Summer Court?” I ask.

He pulls out a small silver box from his pocket and extends his arm out slowly to hand it to me.

“I brought you this,” he replies coolly.

His eyes lock with mine when I reach for the box. I’m scared to touch his skin, but I’m also excited to see if he’s the one. He has to be the one; I just know it. I close the distance to grab the box, and then our fingers touch. I feel the coldness of his Winter skin, but then…nothing. I release the breath I didn’t realize I had been holding to look down at the silver box resting in my hands. I don’t want him to see the tears that are beginning to form in my eyes. I open the box to see a beautiful amethyst-colored jewel encased in a silver setting with a silver chain. It’s very lovely, but it begins to blur as the tears build in my eyes. I can’t believe I was wrong about him being the one. My heart shatters, and it’s taking every ounce of my being to keep it together.

My voice quivers when I ask, “Why did you bring me this?”

I instinctively look up to meet his eyes when I notice him stepping forward. Kalen is tall and towers over me about five inches.

He laughs and shrugs his shoulders.

“I brought it as a gift for you. I thought things were going to change, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. I guess I was wrong.”

My mouth hangs open, and I stare dumbstruck at his audacity. I can’t believe he would be so flippant. He acts as if it’s not a big deal and that he doesn’t care. I should have known from the beginning that he wouldn’t take this seriously. I’ve heard stories of the flirtatious Prince Kalen, but I believed it was different with me. I thought he was going to be different.

I should’ve known the prince of heartbreak wouldn’t settle down with me and be the one the prophecy had foretold would be mine. I thrust the necklace out to him.

“Take it back! I don’t want it! I thought you were different… that you actually cared,” I scream.

Kalen rushes over and pulls me into his arms. I stand motionless as he leans down to place his cold, Winter lips onto my forehead. The searing pain of his frozen kiss has branded me a fool. I want him gone and out of my life.

He lets me go but holds me by the shoulders.

“I did care, my sweet princess, but I can see now that it was a wasted effort. Besides, you’re a little too timid for my tastes. I’m sorry it has to be this way, but it’s a good thing we found out now before things were taken further.” He reaches down and touches the necklace in my hand. “Keep the necklace. It’s the least I can do for the heartache I have caused. You need to forget about me, Meliantha.”

I look into his piercing blue eyes, but I see nothing. He smiles again, but instead of seeing his playful smile, I see one of mischief and deceit. Even though I’m dying inside, it takes everything I have to muster up the strength to say what needs to be said.

“I want you to leave… now! I will forget you and think nothing more of you from this day forward. I can guarantee you that. Leave!” I yell.

He bows.

“It’s been a pleasure, Princess, but I will do as you wish. Again, I’m sorry.”

He gives me one final glance and walks away, never looking back. The sounds of his footsteps are silent as he leaves. I can no longer breathe from the anger taking over my body. Why did I fall for him? Why can’t I be strong like Calista? The heartache feels like a poison slowly travelling through my body and killing everything in its wake. Why does it have to hurt so much? I take one last deep breath and the world seems to stop as I let out the loudest, guttural scream imaginable.

I know the whole Summer Court can hear me, but I don’t care. The scream lasts for what feels like an eternity. When my lungs are spent, I collapse to the ground out of breath and heartbroken. A broken heart is something I never want to feel again, and from this moment on, I vow to keep my heart safe.