The Joy of Springtime\u00a0<\/p>\n
Clan\u00a0<\/p>\n
After Alessandro left, Abril sat down on the ground and leaned her back against the well. Blessing Alessandro\u2019s armor had left her exhausted, especially since she was already worn out before. She had been using her power to heal the wounded and was almost empty. She closed her eyes for a moment and must have dozed off because she then found herself in a clearing with her mother, who looked at her with a face full of concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSweetheart, how are you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, did I fall asleep?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sophia lovingly caressed Abril\u2019s face and replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you actually lost consciousness.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I overdid it by using so much magic.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSweetheart, you have great power, but you only have access to a part of it because you haven\u2019t broken the last seal yet. I think it\u2019s time you did.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril shook her head no.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, if I do, I\u2019ll lose you again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The surrounding scenery changed abruptly, from the beautiful clearing they were in to a battlefield full of shattered bodies, with scavenger birds eating the remains. Abril felt a tremor inside her,\u00a0<\/p>\n
especially as she recognized many of those corpses; some were soldiers she had previously healed using her magic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this the future?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just one of many possible futures, although they are all similar. There\u2019s only one that\u2019s different,\u00a0<\/p>\n
and that\u2019s the one where you break the last seal and win the war.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The scenery changed again, and they were in a beautiful garden full of white and pink flowers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, Abril still had the horrible scene of death she had seen a second before etched in her\u00a0<\/p>\n
eyes. Clenching her fists in frustration, she responded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sophia hugged her, and Abril felt a strange warmth, even though it was a dream, it felt real to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSweetheart, I know you don\u2019t want to lose me, but m not alive, my time ended long ago. Don\u2019t\u00a0<\/p>\n
lose sight of those who are. Protect them and let me go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sophia gently stroked Abril\u2019s head and said,\u00a0<\/p>\n
|||\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Joy of Springtime\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claim\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy little Abril, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever told you the meaning of your name. Would you like to know?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril wiped the tears that had started to soak her cheeks. She didn\u2019t understand why her mother\u00a0<\/p>\n
wanted to talk about the meaning of her name, but she was grateful for the change of topic. She\u00a0<\/p>\n
nodded, and Sophia continued speaking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means the joy of spring. From the moment I realized you were in my womb, that\u2019s what you\u00a0<\/p>\n
were to me, my light, my joy, and I eagerly awaited your arrival. When I held you in my arms, I realized I wasn\u2019t wrong; you truly were my Abril.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you telling me this now?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I want you to experience that too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sophia touched Abril\u2019s belly and said,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want you to have your own joy of spring, but as you already know, winter must end for spring to\u00a0<\/p>\n
begin. Your father is the cruel winter that kills everything; he must disappear to make way for\u00a0<\/p>\n
spring. Don\u2019t forget.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After her mother said that, Abril opened her eyes, and Lionel had his face very close to hers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you think you\u2019re doing sleeping in a place like this? It\u2019s winter; do you want to freeze to\u00a0<\/p>\n
death?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t actually sleeping, I fainted.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s no surprise that happened. You haven\u2019t stopped using your magic, you must be about to\u00a0<\/p>\n
empty yourself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lionel helped her up and said,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGet some rest; you need it if you don\u2019t want to collapse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril started to walk unsteadily toward the tent, and Lionel grabbed her by the arm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me help you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks, Lionel. I really appreciate it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril spent the day sleeping. When the horn sounded announcing the return of the troops, Abril forced herself to get up; she had to help the wounded and, above all, wanted to make sure Alessandro was okay.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There were more wounded that day than the day before, with mages and medics running back and forth attending to the injured. Abril searched for Alessandro with her eyes; he had just crossed the\u00a0<\/p>\n
barrier with Cassian, and to Abril\u2019s relief, he didn\u2019t seem to be injured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
< The Joy of Springtime\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claim\u00a0<\/p>\n
She focused on helping the most seriously injured, since only she could save them. When she finished treating the last seriously injured, she overheard two soldiers murmuring as they watched\u00a0<\/p>\n
several elf soldiers pass by.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow come their army doesn\u2019t have any casualties? That\u2019s terrifying.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, maybe they\u2019re not human either; they\u2019re absolute beasts on the battlefield.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those elf soldiers seemed to overhear them and turned their gazes towards them, inadvertently catching sight of Abril. Their eyes met for just a moment, but it was enough for them to realize she was like them, since no elf could hide the golden color of their eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They headed towards her, and Abril turned to escape.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian asked as he saw her rush by.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril hid behind Cassian. He was about to ask her what was wrong, but then he saw two elves pass by and understood what was happening; Abril was hiding from them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWere they chasing you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not quite sure, a moment ago we exchanged glances, and I think they noticed the color of my\u00a0<\/p>\n
eyes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor now, it\u2019s better if you don\u2019t wander around, so they won\u2019t keep looking for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlessandro really wants to see you. This morning he seemed nervous since you didn\u2019t return to the\u00a0<\/p>\n
tent yesterday.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were many wounded yesterday.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre there many today as well?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but not as many severely wounded, so I can take a break.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian began to walk, shielding Abril from the elves\u2018 view, which she appreciated. She didn\u2019t want to worry about them as they reached Alessandro\u2019s tent. She ran into his arms when she saw him,\u00a0<\/p>\n
and he returned the embrace.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad to see you\u2019re okay. You are, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, and all thanks to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, your blessing on my armor protected me. I\u2019m safe because of you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
|||\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
He Threw Away and Sold to the Devil 178 The Joy of Springtime\u00a0 Clan\u00a0 After Alessandro left, Abril sat down […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-his-regret-their-knees-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29947\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}