The Changeling Soldier by Shona Husk Page B

and I hope you don’t either. Friends and family aren’t there for you to stand on in your climb.” While there was an edge of bitterness in his voice, there was less than Ella had expected.
    He hesitated as if waiting for Melody to say something. When she didn’t speak he picked Ella up and walked past his sister and up the stairs. She let herself lean against his chest and bask in his warmth. His heart beat fast against her ear and his muscles were tense around her. It was only once they were outside, and he’d helped her into his car, that Ella realized his cheeks were wet.
     

Chapter Ten
     
    He took a couple of breaths before getting into the car. Even though he’d known how it would play out, it was still like an unexpected piece of shrapnel catching him in the chest and making it hard to breathe.
    Melody had been quite happy to watch him die but had been shocked that he was leaving with Ella. He’d known that Melody was driven and willing to do anything to succeed, but this was a new low.
    He got into his car and shut the door harder than he needed to. Ella glanced at him but didn’t speak.
    “Where am I driving to?” he asked as he started the engine. His fingers were stinging from the iron burns.
    She smiled and while she still looked rather pale, like she’d fade away with her next breath, the light was back in her eyes. “I want to rest before going to Annwyn. I can’t go back like this. I’m too weak. Can you take me home?”
    She gave him an address in town. He pulled out of the driveway, glad to put Mel behind him. He never wanted to see her again.
    “How do we get to Annwyn?” He was sure it wasn’t on any map. Was there a secret wardrobe or a spell? He had no idea what he’d signed up for. He swallowed and glanced at Ella, the new guardian of his soul, when she took it. Every time he blinked he saw her in the snow, her hand on his chest. There was no pain. He had to have faith. He was doing what he was supposed to; he could almost feel the world starting to turn faster. That wasn’t right either, but there was tension and the waiting for release.
    He was familiar with it, the anxiety that built from sitting around base and not doing anything, like a thunderhead waiting to break and then when an attack came, it was almost a relief. He was waiting to get to Annwyn and leave this world behind. The only person who would miss him had already given him up for dead.
    “At the boundary of life and death, usually cemeteries there are other places though.”
    He frowned. “People don’t wander across?”
    “Very rarely, and they are usually changelings.”
    “I’ve never crossed.” He was sure he’d know it if he had, and as a kid he’d played in the local cemetery with the few kids who didn’t think he was a freak. There weren’t that many other places to play, and hanging around town had only earned suspicious glares from the shopkeepers.
    “You didn’t know what you were looking for and that isn’t your gift. Some changelings can walk across the worlds, to Annwyn and into the afterlife and back.”
    His fingers tapped the steering wheel then stopped when it made the burns hurt more, while waiting for the lights to change. “Will I be able to leave once I’m there?”
    “Yes, but without a soul you’ll be the equivalent of a banished fairy, only weaker. You’ll wither and die quickly. Are you having second thoughts?”
    He shook his head. “I like to know as much as I can before jumping in.” Except this time he’d already jumped because he trusted his visions. Would he have still jumped if he’d seen his own death?
    “You were brave.”
    “I did what I had to, to make sure everyone got what they needed.” Including him.
    “I didn’t need a soul, Isaac. But I wanted you.” She placed her hand on his thigh. The cool of her skin seeped through his trousers as her words sunk in. It was a little odd, already knowing where this relationship was going. He was going to fall