The Goddess's Chosen

Chapter Five

Xavier

The air around me shifted from cold to hot, then cold again. Magic caressed around my body like a snake and my skin sizzled with prickling energy. It felt like I was going down an enclosed water slide, but instead of emerging into a nice pool of water—I fell into open air and landed in a thick mountain of snow.

Taking a moment to get my bearings, I hurried out of the way as my father came falling after me. He wasn't as graceful as I was and ended up landing flat on his back. An audible oof escaped him as the air was knocked out of his lungs. He sat up slowly with a groan and shook the snow from his hair before giving me a wry smile.

"Let's hope we never have to do that again, and please don't tell your mother."

My smile widened. We're home! Not much had changed. Pinewood forests stretched for miles around us and snow covered almost every inch of land. A clear sparkling fresh-water lake was to our right and I could hear the rushing of the Fivra River to my left. The clean air was so refreshing after the smog that was the earthly plane.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and relaxed as the sounds of Brithari surrounded me. The birds sang as the sun peeked over the horizon and deer scampered through the snow. The Eldris trees surrounding us filled my nose with the familiar scent of nutty pine sap. I couldn't believe we were finally home.

I felt a tear slip from my eye and I looked to my father, who was also taking it all in. If only I could shift and go for a run through the old training grounds or hunt down a Fenry—the thought of the deer-like creature had my mouth watering.

A groan broke through my moment of happiness. Bring me back to the reality that I had a mate, and we had to explain to the entire tribe what happened. My face fell, and I heard my father sigh.

"Let's get home." He said and started walking towards the path that led to our village—Ume Lenora.

"Where are we going to put her?" I glanced down at her sleeping form. My arms ached from carrying her for so long. Her body felt much better now that we were in Brithari. Whatever magic Willow had cast on her must have vanished the moment she died. It was probably what hid her Elven form from the rest of the world while also protecting her from the vastly unfamiliar environment of earth.

"There should still be a couple of guesthouses. I doubt our tribe has grown much in the years we were gone."

As we passed by the emerald waters, the sight of Lake Elysia brought tears to my eyes. Memories of swimming in its clean water and diving off the docks in my younger years with my best friend Hayden swam through my mind. The sky above ablaze with pinks and teals as the sun ever so slowly rose into the sky. The mosaic of colors reflected off the rippling water, and fish swam just below the icy surface.

Brithari was a wonder to behold. Unlike the rest of the world, it snowed for seven months of the year. The other five months were warm but not blistering hot. During those months, we would grow crops and build houses for the ever-growing tribe.