The Summer King Bundle: 3 Stories by Jennifer L. Armentrout

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  “Oh, there’s a whole lot of points for why we need to talk about this.” Making a sound under his breath, he stepped forward and then halted. “Can I help you?”

  “No.” I moved again, gasping. I slumped back, my heart pounding from the exertion of sitting up and failing.

  Caden crossed his arms. “Do you not want me to help because you don’t want to be touched or because you’re angry with me.”

  Both, but mostly the angry part at this point. I was being ridiculous. To eat, I needed to sit up. And I needed to eat because I was hungry, and I needed to get my strength back. “Fine. Whatever. You can help me.”

  “You sure?”

  I shot him a dark look that promised murder.

  He smiled at me, and it was a real one. The kind that softened the beauty of his face and brought fire to his amber eyes.

  My breath caught.

  I hated myself.

  Caden chuckled under his breath, but then he moved toward me. I braced myself, but when Caden carefully slid an arm under my shoulders, I didn’t freak, so bonus points there. He lifted me up, helping me lean against the fluffed pillows.

  “Thank you,” I muttered, about as gracious as a spoiled child.

  “You’re very welcome.”

  Caden backed off, retrieving the food. “Luce wanted you to start with something light.” He placed it down, and with its little, sturdy legs, the tray was the perfect height. “It’s chicken soup with rice mixed in, and Luce said if you tolerate this well, we can move onto something more substantial.”

  Staring down at the bowl, I realized there was cutlery. God, when was the last time I’d even used silverware? I could almost see the stewed beef staining the tips of my fingers. I started to reach for the spoon but stopped when I became aware of my arm shaking. Tremors coursed throughout my entire body.

  I stared at the bowl, unable to move for several moments. The fear was irrational. I knew I could eat with no problem, but the emotion was so potent it choked me.

  Heat crawled up my neck, and I looked over at Caden, expecting to see him watching me, expression haunted.

  He wasn’t.

  Caden wasn’t watching me at all. Instead, he was over at the small table, pouring a glass of the berry water.

  Sweet relief swept through me. He wasn’t anywhere near me, and while I suspected that he’d done that on purpose, I didn’t care. The tremors lessened, and when I finally picked up the spoon, it wasn’t like I’d forgotten it.

  A little of the broth spilled as I lifted the utensil, but at the first taste, I closed my eyes. It didn’t hurt, and it was so good.

  I ate.

  Caden stayed back, silent as he turned on the TV. I had no idea what he was watching because he had the volume turned down low, but he appeared engrossed in it.

  At least that was what I thought until I placed the spoon in the empty bowl, and he turned immediately. “Thirsty?”

  Belly warm and full, I nodded.

  Walking over to me, Caden set the drink on the nightstand, within my reach. “I’m going to grab the tray,” he announced, doing just that. Placing it on the table, he then returned to sit in the chair that was next to the bed.

  I stared at him for several moments and then picked up my glass, taking a sip. “So…” I drew the word out.

  “Yes?”

  “Are you just going to sit there?”

  “Yes.”

  I looked at him. “Why?”

  Caden leaned back, hooking one leg over the other. He looked completely at ease. “Because I want to.”

  “What if I don’t want you here?”

  “Then I’ll leave.”

  I stared at him pointedly.

  A grin appeared. “But you don’t want that.”

  I started to ask why he thought that, but it was true. Only because I didn’t want to be alone. I’d spent enough time in that crypt by myself.

  That’s what I told myself.

  But also, I was…afraid to go to sleep. Part of it was the nightmares I was sure would find me, but a lot of it had to do with my mother. Things were always the hardest for her in the mornings, especially when she had her spells where she had no idea where she was, or when she believed she was still trapped with those fae.

  What if that happened to me?

  Shoving those fears aside wasn’t exactly easy. “Aren’t you tired?” I asked, wanting to distract myself.

  He shook his head. “I feel more awake than I have in centuries.”

  “Well…” I placed the glass back on the nightstand. “You were under a dark spell for a lot of it, so…”

  “True.” Humor danced in his eyes, which was something I’d never thought to see when time under the Queen’s spell was referenced. “Is there anything I can get you?”

  I thought about that. “A comb? I think there’s one in the bathroom.”

  Caden rose, retrieving the comb. Instead of handing it over, he did what he’d done with the glass, placing it on the nightstand.

  Murmuring my thanks, I picked it up, but the moment I attempted to lift my arm to my head, I knew it wasn’t going to work.

  I sighed. “Who would’ve thought that broken ribs would be such a pain.”

  “Anyone who has had broken ribs,” he replied.

  “Have you?”

  “More times than I can count.”

  “Really?” Disbelief filled me as I thought about what Tink had said and also…something that Aric had said about Caden, giving the impression that the King had been a bit of a playboy in his day. Actually, Tink had said the same thing once.

  “Would you like me to help?” Caden asked, and my gaze shot to his. “I’m actually quite accomplished at combing the knots out of ornery females.”

  “I have so many questions, starting with how in the world you have that experience.”

  A faint, wistful smile appeared. “Fabian and I had a younger sister.”

  “Oh.” Had being the keyword. “I…I didn’t know that.” I dragged my thumb along the teeth of the comb. “Maybe I’ll just cut it all off and start over.”

  “Let me help you instead?” he offered. “It won’t take very long at all, and then I’ll leave you be.”

  I looked at the comb and then at him. “You promise?”

  “Promise,” he murmured.

  I had a feeling he was lying, but there was no way I could comb the knots out, and waiting until Ivy returned was just going to make them worse. A little embarrassed and a whole lot unsure, I handed over the comb.

  He took it so quickly that I didn’t even see him move. “I’m going to move behind you, but I’m going to hold you up so it doesn’t jar your ribs.”

  I nodded, and then Caden did just as he said, somehow rearranging me and the pillows so that he was behind me, one long leg hanging off the bed, and I…I was sitting between his thighs, leaning onto one of the pillows, holding it close to my chest.

  This was so inappropriate.

  But I didn’t say anything as Caden began to separate my hair into three sections. He didn’t note the tremors that had picked back up in my body.

  “My sister was the baby of the family,” he said, beginning to work at the knots in the center section. “She was born two hundred years after Fabian and I were.”

  Goodness.

  It was easy to forget how old Caden and his brother were.

  “Scorcha was…she was the kindest and most beautiful soul,” he said, gently tugging at the rat’s nest that was my hair. “Far better than Fabian or I could’ve ever hoped to be, except when it came to getting the knots out of her hair. You see, she had long, thick hair, and was constantly running about after Fabian and me. It was a constant battle between our mother and her to get her to sit still long enough, but she always did it for me. No matter what.”

  I hugged the pillow. “Sounds like she wanted your attention.”

  “She did. She wanted both Fabian’s and my attention, but we’d just gone through puberty, and well, we were co
ncerned with other things,” he said. “Funny how you think you’ll learn from the knowledge that time can be fleeting, even for our kind, and come to realize that as fickle as time is, it also makes you forget.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that. “What happened to her?”

  He was quiet, and a part of me wished I hadn’t asked. “We do not suffer from many illnesses, but there are a few that are similar to cancer or…heart failure. Some of the older fae believe that these sicknesses are curses, while others believe there are genetic reasons. Either way, Scorcha came down with what was called The Long Sleep. It’s a…wasting disease. Appetite and stamina are lost, and eventually, one slips into a sleep they don’t wake from. She was only ten years old, very young, even by human standards.”

  “That is so young. I’m sorry.”

  “Thank you.” Finished with the center section, Caden moved on to the right. “You asked how I got broken ribs. I was a Prince, but I was always a warrior first. Before the big war, there were skirmishes, and I often found myself embroiled in a tavern fight—or five.”

  “That I can easily see.”

  “What? The tavern fighting?”

  My lips twitched. “Well, yeah, but also the warrior part. I didn’t think you just lay around all day and….” Something prodded at my memories, but I couldn’t reach it. My eyes had drifted shut. There was something incredibly relaxing about having your hair brushed.

  “I could be lazy and indulgent, but I always did my duty,” he said after a few moments. “My parents used to think that was one of my admirable traits. However, I have come to realize that it’s a flaw.”

  “How so?”

  “Duty should never supersede what is right,” he said. “No matter the cost.”

  Before, I would’ve argued that duty always came first. It was everything to those raised in the Order, but that was before learning what Ivy was, before meeting the Summer fae and learning that not all of them were evil creatures hellbent on destruction. That was before meeting and…and falling for Caden.

  Now I knew that duty often dictated things that were not right. Duty was too black and white, with little to no gray area.

  Caden fell quiet as he worked at my hair, moving on to the left side. Not only was this incredibly soothing, it was also…kind and so sweet. And if I believed him, believed what he’d said about why he was here, then why was he—?

  I cut those thoughts off. There was no reason for me to go down that road. A knot lodged in my throat anyway.

  His hand stilled. “What are you thinking, sunshine?”

  “Don’t call me that.” My voice rasped.

  “Why wouldn’t I?” The comb started moving again.

  Why? I almost laughed, except nothing about this was funny, and considering that he was pledged to another, the nickname was cruel in a way.

  “You shouldn’t be doing this,” I whispered, blinking back tears.

  “There is nothing wrong with what I’m doing. You need help, and I am here, where I am supposed to be.”

  “But—”

  “Let me help you. That is all,” he coaxed. “Then you can rest. Later, if you’re feeling up to it, you and I can talk.”

  I turned my head to the side. “There’s nothing to talk about. I already told you that.”

  “And I already told you that there is a lot.”

  “Then talk to me now.”

  His chuckle somehow rumbled through me, stirring parts of me I’d rather ignore. “Now is not the time, Brighton. Not for a conversation like this.”

  No matter how much I insisted, he wouldn’t tell me what he thought we needed to discuss, deflecting each question by changing the subject. He talked about the tavern brawls, which always surrounded some sort of perceived insult, and then he told me about the little-girl games his sister would make him and Fabian play. It all seemed so…human. I imagined if I had older brothers, I would’ve forced them to play with dolls and eat pretend food. I would’ve chased after them just like Scorcha had with Fabian and Caden.

  When Caden finished with my hair, I could actually run my fingers through it, and like I had suspected, he didn’t leave. After helping me lay back down, he got me one of those pain pills and refilled my glass. Then he pulled up his chair as close to the bed as he could get it and told me more stories about him and his brother like he had before. And when my eyelids got too heavy to keep open, his voice softened. I fell asleep knowing that he would remain and that he’d be there when I woke up.

  And I wasn’t afraid.

  Chapter 18

  When I woke the following morning, I remembered.

  In my sleep, I had shifted to my side, and I was surprised to find that it didn’t cause my ribs to hurt all that much. Opening my eyes, I found Caden asleep in the chair beside the bed, just like I had the last time I woke up. He was closer than before, the chair right next to where I slept, and not only were his legs propped up on the bed, but his left hand…his fingers were threaded through mine.

  We were holding hands.

  If I’d done that in my sleep or if Caden had, who knew? But it was as sweet as him brushing my hair the night before, and just as wrong.

  In the moment, none of that seemed to matter.

  I didn’t know why or how, but I remembered bits of what Aric had told me about Caden—about the mortuus and about Siobhan…and about the Summer Kiss.

  Important bits.

  I remembered why Aric had dressed me in that gown, and that he had planned to use me to force Caden to open the gateway, something that, at the time, hadn’t screamed how much of a big deal it truly was.

  Because Caden was the King. He could open those gates, releasing the Queen and God only knew what else. That was something I doubted Ivy and Ren were aware of, and I also knew it would unsettle them and the Order.

  I stared at our joined hands. I also knew that if the Order ever became aware of what Caden could do, they’d put a hit out on him. I knew it to my very core. They wouldn’t care that he wasn’t evil and hated the Queen more than anyone else. He’d be viewed as too much of a risk.

  And being a member of the Order, even if one undervalued, it was my duty to inform Miles of what I knew. If I didn’t, and they were ever to discover that I knew the truth, they wouldn’t just remove me from the Order, there’d probably also be a hit placed on me.

  Hell, if they learned I’d had relations of the forbidden kind with Caden, they’d probably boot me right out of the Order. The fact that Ivy still remained a member even though it was known that she was a halfling wasn’t something that all Order members supported. She had Ren’s support, and she was also a hell of a fighter. The Order needed her.

  They didn’t need me.

  I thought about what Caden had said the night before about duty and how following it wasn’t always the right thing to do.

  Reporting what I knew about Caden was my duty, and to the Order, it was the right thing to do. But it wasn’t. They wouldn’t care what had been done to him or how he’d been forced to do the Queen’s bidding. They already didn’t like or trust him, and Caden…well, despite what had happened between us, he was good.

  He didn’t deserve to be hunted down.

  Caden stirred, his lashes lifting. Eyes the color of amber jewels met mine and then drifted to where our hands remained clasped. The corners of his full lips tipped up.

  “You’re awake,” he murmured, voice thick with sleep.

  “He said I was your mortuus,” I blurted out.

  I’d never seen someone wake up as quickly as Caden did. He slipped his hand free from mine as he pulled his legs off the bed. All traces of languid sleepiness vanished. “What?”

  “Aric told me that I was your mortuus,” I repeated, sitting up and finding that I could do it without too much pain, which reminded me of something else I now remembered. “He told me you gave me the Summer Kiss, and that was how I was still alive after everything he did. It’s probably why I’m healing so quickly now.”
/>   Caden swallowed, saying nothing.

  “He told me that I wouldn’t age like a normal human, that…I was only mostly human now,” I said, shifting so I wasn’t leaning too far to the side. “Is it true? Is that how you healed me? With the Summer Kiss?”

  “It is.”

  Even though I already knew it, it was still a shock to the system. Possibly because I’d totally forgotten about all of it. “Were you ever going to tell me? I mean, eventually, I would’ve figured out that something was up. Or what if I was injured and went to the doctor? They’d see—”

  “They would have no way of knowing. Your blood work would not show anything abnormal. They do not have the technology to test for that,” he explained. I gaped at him. “Aric didn’t explain it to you completely. The Summer Kiss healed you, yes, but I had no way of knowing that it would have long-term effects on you. It doesn’t always, and I wouldn’t have known until you were injured again or—”

  “When I stopped aging?” I suggested because I was helpful like that.

  “You will age, Brighton, just at a much slower rate.”

  “How much slower? Like I’ll have to leave before people start asking questions?”

  “Yes,” he answered bluntly.

  I opened my mouth and then closed it.

  “You won’t live forever. Neither will I. But from what I know,”—he exhaled heavily—“for every fifty years, it will be a year for you. Give or take a few.”

  “Oh, my God.”

  Caden sat back. “I didn’t tell you because if Aric hadn’t done this, I wouldn’t have wanted you to worry unnecessarily. But once I knew for sure, I would’ve told you.”

  Nodding dumbly, I admitted to myself that I believed him, but it was still a lot to process. Everything was a lot. Silence fell between us as I gathered my thoughts. There was more we needed to talk about, and right now wasn’t the time for me to freak out.

  Apparently, I’d have a lot of time for that later.

  “He told me about Siobhan and what…what he did to her,” I continued, heart thumping. “And how that started the Great War. It was why he put me—”