Page 108 of An Enigma for the Lycan Crown Prince

“Thank you.” I turn to Geneva. “Please make sure she isn’t alone. If something happens – anything – please link me. Even if she wakes up. But I will try to be back before she does.”

thirty-four

The Child of Light II

*FLORA*

Ikeep my eyes tightly closed. Celeste helps me even out my breath, so that Elden thinks we are asleep. He has been with me for hours already, and I know he has work to do. I don’t want to be too selfish. Just a little bit. I was his first priority tonight, but now he needs to go and look after the pack. No matter what he says, no matter if he says he wants to quit, I know he doesn’t. One part, a big part of his heart and soul, belongs to me, the other part belongs to the pack.

It's who he is, and it’s part of what I love so much about him.

I almost believe my plan backfires when, finally, a nurse enters the room and Elden is forced to leave my side. He gently kissesmy forehead. “Sleep a bit, my love,” he whispers. “I will be back as soon as I can.”

My chest feels warm at his touch, but the moment he leaves, an icy cold hand wraps around my heart.

Grandma, what am I going to do without you? You were all I had left. It’s true, I have Elden, but my granny was my mom, my friend and my protector in one person. I only had her, my only family.

It’s like there is a hole in me now.

I hear the nurse leaving, and someone else enters the room. The scent is familiar, reminding me a bit of Grandma. New tears spring into my eyes while Geneva gently strokes my head. She doesn’t say anything, just like me, she pretends I am sleeping.

“Oh, Hazel,” Geneva mutters. “She was such a wonderful soul. She will illuminate the night sky for sure. Some souls just shine so brightly, and she is one of those.”

Her words make me feel sad yet also comfort me slightly. Geneva talks some more about Grandma, and with her calm voice and presence surrounding me, I find myself drifting off to sleep. Something nudges me softly, stirring me awake again, and I look directly into Celeste’s eyes. I am… I am in the dream world again. Without thinking any further, I wrap my arms around Celeste, burying my head in her fur and bursting into tears. I can cry here as much as I want without anyone judging me. When I am back in reality, I will need to be strong for the pack. The only person I can break down in front is Elden.

But here, I can cry as much as I want.

Grandma is never coming back. She is gone forever. Only yesterday, she baked cookies for me and showed me how to make a fancy holiday dish. Only yesterday, we laughed and gossiped, and I told her all about my day and about Elden. Grandma always listened to me. She never made me feel like I was talking too much or that I was weird. When everyonelaughed at me, when I was a child, she always told me that nothing about me was weird. That I am perfect the way I am. She never wanted me to change, yet supported any change I wanted to make myself. She accepted my mate with open arms, and she had my back whenever I stood up to someone. She taught me so much and, above all, she taught me she loved me unconditionally.

Now, she will never hug me again. I will never come home to the smell of her perfect apple pie. I will never hear her voice again and her soft laughter. Her scent will become less recognizable every day until one day it’ll be gone forever.

I know I have Elden, but it’s not the same. Grandma just left a void, she left her footprint on my soul, and it can’t be exchanged with anything else.

Both Celeste and I are so caught in our grief that we don’t notice another presence pushing closer, until I feel two arms wrapping the both of us into an embrace. Ersa’s skin is cooler than mine, but instead of freezing me her hug feels comforting.

“My dear child,” she whispers. “I am so sorry.”

“Now I am alone,” I mutter, my voice hoarse. I am sobbing, but have run out of all the tears I had. It’s just hiccups leaving my lips.

Ersa keeps rocking me in her arms, and it’s oddly comforting. “You are not alone, my dear.”

“I know I have Elden,” I mutter. “And our friends, but it… it’s not the same. I don’t want to be ungrateful, but Grandma was Grandma, and Elden is Elden. And I love them both, differently. Now one of them is gone, and there is nothing to fill the hole she left.”

“I know,” she says. “But I promise I will never leave you. I know I wasn’t able to be there for you the way I wanted to, I was forced to do this by the law of nature, but-” Her voice trails off. “My very own Child of Light,” she mutters.

Child of Light.

Wait a moment, Grandma said that too. “What does that mean?” I ask. “What is a Child of Light?”

“You are the Child of Light,” she says. “The only one.”

I pull back from her, looking into her eyes. What is she talking about? What was Grandma talking about? Something rings a bell but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Ersa has always felt so familiar to me. She has visited me in my dreams ever since I can remember. She always listened to my problems, and was always so happy to see me. It became natural to me to see her like that, and I stopped questioning it. And Grandma, Grandma wasn’t surprised either.

“They say you are the Goddess Selene’s daughter,” I say.

“I am,” she affirms.

“You are the Goddess of dew,” I add.