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turn to take a different path, she felt a presence. Circling around, she saw no one. With her guard on high alert, her eyes scanned the trees. Ella felt a tingle crawl down the back of her spine as crows overhead squawked above her and took flight. Their wings swooshed as they cut into the cold dry air. Ella cautiously slid the stones back into the bag and removed her dagger.
    Holding tightly to the hilt, she kept watch as she made her way back up the path. As Ella began her ascent, the surrounding area began to lighten, as if the sun was on the verge of breaking the horizon. Whatever the light source was, it was coming from directly behind her.
    Ella slowly turned and stared into a reflection of light, coming from the trunk of the tree. Bright ripples waved outward like a pebble skidding across still water. The portal to the mortal world had opened. Ella took a step back. She had no inclination to cross into the mortal world, and she had done nothing to open the doorway.
    Ella took another step back when a voice called to her.
    “ Ella !”
    The voice sounded strained and high-pitched. Ella expected to see someone reaching out to her from within the vortex as if she were in a dream.
    The voice called to her again. The urgency and desperation behind it drew Ella closer to the light. Ella intensely gazed into the light leading to the mortal realm. Why would someone be calling her from the human world? She had never even met a human before. None of this made sense. The voice calling her was the voice of a man that sounded oddly familiar, as though she recalled it from a dream. Her curiosity was maddening. 
    Overwhelmed with a surge of emotion, conflict grew in her heart and mind about what she should do. It was forbidden for her to cross into the mortal world, and she was expected to reach Greylyn within three days and return with the babe, but her heart was desperately being drawn toward the portal. If he was real, she had to find him. She had to know who he was.
    Ella knew that if she got caught, there were worse punishments than death. If she were to do this, there would be no turning back. Not only would this put her own life in danger but possibly her kinfolk as well. Chewing on her bottom lip, Ella nervously stepped forward. She knew there would be dangers, and not only the dangers Baudi referred to, but she was willing to accept the consequences. She had spent her entire life listening to her head; this time, she was following her heart.
    Ella’s mind was made up. She would cross into the mortal world. If she did not find out why someone was calling her, she would return shortly after. It would be like she never left. 
    Closing her eyes, she took a step forward, crossed through the ring of light, and approached the tree. With shaky hands, she pressed her palms against the bark of the tree into the reflecting light. Ella felt her hands sink into the rough bark. The trunk of the tree became as blurry as if she were looking through water. Ella took a hesitant step forward through the blurry opening and stepped out onto a heap of white snow. The doorway led her to a wintery forest; much like her own.
    Ella turned to look back, but the doorway had vanished. The only thing that remained was a dying tree, withering away from the cold winter. The bark was badly peeling, and the branches curled, showing no signs of strength. It looked more like a willow than a mighty oak.
    In the pit of her stomach, worry burrowed itself a deep hole. What if the portal could not be reopened from this side? What if she was stuck here? And why hadn’t she thought of this before? Anxiously, she pressed her hands on the trunk of the tree. The cold, hard trunk was as firm as stone. What have I done?  
    The cold wintery wind sent goose bumps up her arms. Hugging her white fur covering, she wrapped herself up tightly within its warmth. Through the canopy of trees the moon offered just enough light to see. Surrounded by a thick forest, there was