The Prince's Gift

Chapter 13.

Adriana's POV

I heard Zane's muffled voice from behind me and my body instinctively rolled over in search of him. "Hmm?" I moaned sleepily as my eyes slowly fluttered open.

He had been standing by the bed on the phone. He set the phone down and crawled into bed, his body leaning over mine as my hair splayed out across the pillow beneath me. He stroked my cheek with the pad of his thumb and pulled my lips to meet his tenderly. "I didn't mean to wake you."

I smiled up at him and held his hand in mine against my cheek as I leaned into it. "I don't mind if you wake me up like this."

He chuckled and brushed a stray hair away from my face. "You're beautiful Adriana."

"Ana."

His eyebrows rose and I realized suddenly that I'd said that out loud.

"I've never heard anyone call you that before? Not even my mother while you were growing up." His voice was soft, but I could tell he was unsure of why I'd spit that name out from nowhere.

"I just...like the way it sounded." I forced my words to come out smoother and I tried to control my heart as it threatened to beat faster in nervousness. I wasn't ready yet to tell him about my dream. Not until I had seen all of it, or knew what it meant for me.

He sighed and smiled, leaning in to kiss me once more. "Ana." He whispered. "I like it too."

We dressed and he gave me a quick kiss goodbye before turning to meet the council for another meeting. They were beginning to deal with the search for any new rogue yearlings, and I was to stay within his suites unless I was with a guard. He left a phone and Fallon's number for me if I needed to move about the castle before leaving.

Anthony brought in my food and I ate, enjoying the silence after the drama of the last couple of days. I grabbed a book from the large selection in his living area and curled up on the balcony outside, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my skin as the autumn chill began to creep into the air. I was several chapters in when I heard a whisper from somewhere below me, so soft I thought it was just the wind. I looked around and was about to dismiss it when it sounded again, louder, coming from the tree-line. I looked around but saw no one else outside or just inside of the grounds. I placed my book down and went inside, grabbing the phone and running out in search of the source. I quietly made my way through the castle and out into the gardens before stopping, listening again.

I heard the whisper once more, this time speaking a name. My name.

"Ana."

My heart jolted at the now familiar name, knowing where it could be coming from. I followed the whisper as it slowly lead me into the trees, trailing deeper into the forest around the castle. Adrenaline began to surge through me as I came into a clearing, marked only by a large boulder in the middle, nearly taller than me. I felt the sudden urge to touch it, like it was calling to me. As I came nearer, the whispering began to circle around me, growing louder and louder until I was standing right in front of it, my hand hovering only inches from the rock.

Suddenly, a deafening silence replaced the loud whisper and my ears began to ring loudly. My head was spinning and I finally gave in, gently placing my hand down on to the rock. As quickly as I'd touched it, the world beneath me gave out and I felt my body falling. I let out a loud cry as I landed hard onto the rocky ground below. I looked up and saw the ceiling was in tact. I'd fallen, but there was no sign from where. I looked around, trying to see past the pain radiating through my body from the hard contact with the ground beneath me.

I could see that I was sitting in a cave, my hand feeling the smooth rocks beneath me. The cavern was small, but to my left I could see a light blue glow. I followed the light and the cave opened up to a larger cavern that took my breath away in its natural beauty. It was filled with tree saplings, and a crystal clear pool sat in the middle of the cavern, fed by a small waterfall cascading over an old tree placed inside of it as it opened up into the grounds above. The entire cavern was lit by an electric blue glow, given off by tiny glowing blue creatures hidden in the holes of the rocks of the ceiling. It was incredible. The entire room seemed to have an energy all its own. Like it was wrapped in its own magic.