Pandimora jerked her head back, opening her eyes when the memory finished playing. But was it the true memory of what had occurred or had the part of her that could harbor human illness created its own story as Lukais had suggested?
Panic wound through her. Lukais had allowed the crystal to show her the family she had forgotten. Had she been thrust from Aisywel to protect the realm or had she really seen something he wanted to remain hidden?
Pandimora left the healing spring, warm air circulating around her as she stepped carefully upon the springy moss underfoot. She lifted her arms and clothing materialized upon her body. She drew in several deep breaths, thankful to be vibrantly whole again. The pain was gone and her skin glowed with health once more. Her mind and body continued the healing as she slowly began to feel back to her normal self.
Knowing what she must do, Pandimora materialized a portal, light blue in this healing sanctuary with silver and white edges. She looked deep into the portal, seeing her home Aisywel just on the other side. All she had to do was step inside, but she lingered a moment, for once in her life afraid as she stared into the world that had birthed and nurtured her all her many years. Happy years, yes, but many times a sense of being different had been a part of her. All this time she'd thought her parents gone from their lives due to natural causes. But now, it appeared something terrible may have happened.
She needed to get her sister to safety. She stepped through the portal and into Aisywel, but her feet met only air and she immediately began to fall into a vast nothingness.
Pandimora screamed, managed to grasp the portal edges. Breathing hard, she looked down at the emptiness below. With immense effort, using her hands and then her elbows for support, she pulled herself back up into the portal and lay across the threshold, feeling a stiff breeze pulsing from below, pulling at her feet and legs. It swirled all around her, as if trying to suck her down into the emptiness.
She pulled herself back into the sanctuary and the portal dissolved on its own. She lay with her cheek against the moss, fighting back the tears. It was true, then. For her, there was no Aisywel. It did not exist for a faerie exiled. She was truly lost to her own kind.