“Oh.” I paused, trying to muster up excitement for cows. If I was going to join this family, this was going to be my life. Especially if Seamus was going to inherit the ranch. His wife would be second in command and take over, if anything happened to him. “Why do you have two different types? Doesn’t that take a lot more effort?”
He nodded, smiling a little as if he was grateful I carried on the conversation. “Yes, it does. We also have to make sure our bulls are kept in the right pastures. But we sell at two different markets, and one cattle sells better at one market while the other cattle sells better at the other.”
I nodded. “I see.”
He cleared his throat and looked at his boots. “Um, that’s actually where I saw you. At the last spring market. I saw you buy some Fae. Then you walked them to the tree line and released them. I’ve never seen anyone do that before. Your compassion was amazing.” He glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes. “You’re a lot prettier up close too,” he blurted, ears turning red.
I bit my lips, looking down, trying not to shift under his praise. “Oh, I’m not really all that amazing. I just…try to do the best I can.” I mean, if I was that amazing, would Helios have picked a different girl?
He nodded. “I feel like that too. My pa is the one who made the ranch like this.” He stopped and looked out at the cows. “Single-handedly doubled the size and gave us a good life. Soon, that’s going to be my job. It’s intimidating.” He gave a short laugh and shoved a hand through his hair. “Ah, sorry about that, I’m just… rambling. I don’t know what to say, but I want to talk to you.”
I smiled and watched as the cows lazily milled around. “I know what you mean. About the responsibility. I want the best for my family too. I want to make them proud.” But I also wanted to follow the feelings in my heart. It seemed like that couldn’t happen. So, I really should try and talk to Seamus more. I looked up at him. “Do you want to show me more?”
Seamus nodded and cleared his throat. “Ah, yes. Right here, actually.” He turned around and motioned.
I turned and looked at a log home, a little smaller than my parents’. Although it wasn’t new, the mortar between the logs had been freshly scrubbed white. There were windows on each side of the door, with planter boxes hanging below them, but for the most part, it was a rectangular block, like every other human house. There was nothing open or airy about it.
“It’s my house now,” Seamus said with pride. “It was my grandpa’s, but now it’s mine. Though it’s empty right now. My sisters always complained when they had to move into someone else’s space, so I figured I’d keep it empty so my future, er, bride could make it how she wanted it.”
I stared at it, biting my lips. So, this is where I’d live. With Seamus. Did I really want this?
Seamus started walking around the side of the house. “But this is what I wanted to show you.” He stopped at the corner and pointed down.
A plot of land had been freshly tilled and fenced off right next to his house, the new wood bright against the old logs of the house. Given how compact the ground was around it, it was clear it had taken a lot of effort to prepare the ground.
“Why is this here?” I crouched down and moved the soil with my fingers.
Seamus pushed his blond curls out of his eyes. “Your pa told me that your garden is very important to you. So, I made this for you. It’s yours to do whatever you want with.”
All I could do was stare at the soil. I was touched, really, I was. I’d seen some cousins who had gotten married, where their new husband thought of them as nothing but a womb to have their child. But Seamus had really put some thought and consideration in for me. Even though I wasn’t ready, he was willing to try and make it work.
Seamus took a deep breath. “Maira, I know we don’t know each other very well. But I just want you to know that, upon the honor of the Deaglan name, I will never force you into anything.” He swallowed, his ears turning red as he motioned to the house. “There are two rooms. One is for me, the other is for you with a lock on the inside. You can bolt the door every night if you wish, it won’t matter. I will never step into that room until you ask me to. Even if it takes years.” He paused and frowned. “But I hope it doesn’t take that long for you to grow to like me. My Ma and Pa had a great marriage. Respect and affection and all.” He looked me in the eyes. “I was hoping that we could build a wonderful life together, just like them.”
I thought about my parents and life back at the farm. My family’s small house was filled with love and laughter. And it all started with my parents’ arranged marriage. When Mama was sixteen and Papa was twenty-one.
So young. Mama was younger than I was, but I felt like I wasn’t old enough to get married yet. But they had made it work. I couldn’t imagine Papa without Mama, they just wouldn’t seem complete. They were the perfect team. They raised eight children and improved the farm, while catering to the needs of their daughter and seven sons. That was something they built as they grew to love each other.
Can any two people manage that? Could I build a life like that with Seamus? And my family’s farm would prosper from the arrangement. They would be able to buy cows for less money and always have someone to sell their potatoes and wheat to. Then they could use the extra money to improve other areas of the farm.
Yet, when I closed my eyes and thought about the hand I wanted to hold for the rest of my life, it wasn’t Seamus’s.
I could see Helios and me, hand in hand, on the hill over Lasair. I could see his smile, as warm as sun beams and feel his strong hand in mine. I could hear the sound of children laughing as they played around us, Fae wings flashing in the sun.
I looked down at the garden Seamus dug just for me, my hand covering my bracelet. He made it sound so wonderful. He seemed wonderful and had the best intentions. I’d have a house, a big garden I could do what I wanted with, financial security, and the knowledge that my husband was a good man.
But there was no room for Helios in that picture. The thought ripped my heart in half.
Helios might be ready to give up on me, but I wasn’t ready to give up on him.
Chapter 7
Shouts and loud noises woke me from my sound sleep the next morning. The sun was barely lighting the sky through my window, but the sounds of anger and despair filled the air. Confused, I quickly dressed, slid the bracelet onto my wrist, and hurried outside.
Most of my family stood on the edge of our farmland, pointing at the ground, waving their arms and yelling at each other.
“It’s mid-summer! Nothing like this has ever happened before.”
“It wasn’t that cold last night!”
“What do we do now?”
I stopped outside the group, panting a little. “What’s going on?”
Everyone quieted and stared at me, some in fear, some in accusation.
Papa turned from Uncle Albus and pointed at the field. “How is this even possible?”
The rich brown color of the dirt was faded, as if it had been white washed. My brows pulled together as I walked through the group and stopped at the edge. I crouched down and gasped.
The ground was frozen. Every field. With a perfectly straight line that cut off where our fields ended and the wild ground started. It was impossible for something like this to happen naturally. It had to be by Fae. A Frost Fae.
Since I met Helios, no Fae has ever attacked my farm. And this was an attack. I could almost feel the malicious bite of the frost pulsing from the field. It reminded me of the look in Queen Aysla’s eyes when she looked at me. Was it a warning to me?
“By the time the ground thaws, if it ever does, the seeds will be ruined. It’s all gone.” Papa’s voice was rough with anger. “Our whole crop is gone.”
My family muttered in agreement.
And it was my fault. No one else had provoked a Frost Fae.
My hands fisted as anger boiled in my blood. They can do what they want with me, but no Fae was allowed to hurt my fa
mily. And this would hurt the farm badly, whether it be lack of food come winter time, or the cost to buy seeds from another farm and re-sow all the fields.
I jumped to my feet and ran to the barn, ignoring anything my family said. Quickly, I saddled one of the horses and pulled myself up. Papa was just getting to the entrance of the barn with Uncle Albus behind him as I was riding out.
“Give me some time,” I said over my shoulder as they jumped out of the way.
Without waiting for their response, I kicked the gelding into a gallop and rode out over the fields to the forest—it was the fastest way to Helios. The fields might have been freshly sowed just days ago, but the Fae magic made it hard as rock and the horse’s hooves didn’t sink into the dirt in the slightest. Warning or not, someone had to fix this. My family shouldn’t have to suffer for my mistakes. Especially when I hadn’t done anything wrong.
I slowed the gelding to a walk once we got into the trees. He tossed his head and snorted, wanting to run more, but these trails weren’t human made and they twisted and curved around trees and rocks. There were too many lifted roots and low hanging branches, it wasn’t safe to run a horse in this forest. Usually the peacefully sounds and smells of the forest calmed my nerves, but it didn’t work today.
Without warning, the gelding suddenly reared in the air.
I yelled, thrown off balance and slid off the backside of the horse, the bumps of the saddle causing me to the land on my side. All the air was pushed from my lungs, leaving me gasping. I glanced up and moved my hand just in time to escape the horse’s falling hooves. They slammed back onto the ground just inches from my face.
The gelding let out a nervous snort and took off, back towards home.
What was that about? Shaken and barely able to breathe, I pushed up to a sit. A shadow split from the north side of a tree. As it neared me, it resolved into a shape, more menacing than any shadow. A Frost Fae. I recognized him as the one who stood to Aysla’s right side when we met. Just looking at him rekindled my anger.
I pushed up to standing and faced him, hair full of leaves and clothes rumpled from the fall. “Are you the one who froze my family’s fields?” I demanded.
He obviously didn’t like my tone. His eyes narrowed in an icy glare. He seemed so out of place in the middle of a summery forest, with his white and blue colors against the greens and browns. His very presence seemed to sap the color from the bright leaves and fade the rich brown of the earth, as if he caused a winter reaction to the plants just by standing next to them. Was it always like that, or just because he was angry?
“To think my glorious queen would be rivaled by a small human like you.” His voice was deep and cold as his pale eyes. “I will not allow you to harm the Frost Nation.”
A chill went down my spine as goosebumps erupted over my skin, but I wasn’t going to back down. Not when my family was in danger. “I don’t want to harm anyone. Please thaw your frost over my farm.” My words were polite, but my tone was hard and strong. There wasn’t a hint of question at all. I probably should have asked nicer, but it was hard to soften my tone right then.
He sneered and pointed his palm at me—just like the Sun Fae do when they are shooting fire from their hands. Snow shot from his hand at me, glittering like diamonds in the sun.
I screamed and threw my hands up reflexively at the sudden attack. Between my arms, I could see the snow getting closer, freezing the ground on its way. Just before it hit me, my skin started to glow. The sun charm on my bracelet lit up like the real thing, pulsing and flashing in a brilliant aurora. The snow vanished like it had never happened.
Open mouthed, I stared at the golden glow emitting from my skin. The same glow I once saw from the Sun Fae’s Nectar. Was that some of the magic in my blood? Or was it from Helios? As suddenly as the glowing started, it stopped, but the sun on my wrist kept glowing.
The Frost Fae tsked, drawing my attention. He was still trying to scowl, but fear crept into his face as he stared at the charm on my wrist.
I swallowed hard and lifted my chin. I don’t know how long the protection would last, if the glowing on my skin was from Helios’s magic or if it was mine, but I’d take advantage of it as long as I could. “Remove the frost on my farm,” I repeated and took a step forward, keeping my bracelet in his view.
Doubt crept into his face. His foot shifted back an inch.
A fireball shot from the air and landed right in front of the Frost Fae, throwing him off balance in his attempt to not get hit.
I gasped and looked up, heart leaping at the chance to see Helios again.
But no—Aine landed in front of me with her older brother, a Fae I knew from sight, but had never spoken to. I didn’t know if he had combat experience, but his hands were flaming like Helios’s did when he was ready to fight.
Aine pointed at the Frost Fae. “This human is under the protection of the Sun Fae Nation. Treaty or not, there will be retaliations if she is injured.”
I blinked, shocked to hear such a commanding voice from my normally gentle friend.
The Frost Fae glared harder, the focus of his frigid eyes flicking from the two Sun Fae then back to me. With an angry scoff, he turned and flew into the forest.
The light faded from the sun on my bracelet. Now that the threat was over, I couldn’t seem to stop the shivers that wracked my body. My arms folded around my body, as if still trying to stave off the chill the Frost Fae gave even though he was gone.
Aine gave a relieved sigh as she turned back to me. “Whew. That was scary. I’m sure he could have taken us all.” She looked at me closely. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, still shocked that she was here.
Her brother, barely taller than me, turned as well, but he spoke to his sister. “I’m not a guard for nothing, Aine.”
“Yes, Lugh, but he guards a queen. That makes him one of the best in the Frost Nation.” She put her hands on her hips.
All I could do is stare at them. “Thank you,” I said, numbly. “What are you doing here? I thought you didn’t like to leave Lasair.” Then again, the only Sun Fae I’d seen outside of their city were Helios and Luzzu.
“Ah.” Aine nodded to the side. “I saw that Frost Fae sneak out of Lasair after King Helios left. I thought it was odd because a royal bodyguard shouldn’t leave their post, so I followed him here. My brother was feeling brotherly and followed me.”
Lugh raised his eyebrows. “With reason. What would you have done if he actually attacked you, Aine? Frost is dangerous to a—”
“Frost!” I gasped. I never got the Frost Fae to thaw the frozen ground. What was I going to do now? “Aine!”
She stared at me.
I grabbed her arms, careful not to be too rough even though my heart was pounding in my ears. “What do I do? That Frost Fae froze my family’s whole crop. We’ll starve.” I was talking so fast, I didn’t know if she understood me. “What do I do to fix it? How can I fix it?”
She blinked a couple times, taking the time to understand what I said. She took a slow breath. “You can’t.”
Chapter 8
My eyes widened and I stepped back, letting go of her arms. My hands clasped together in front of my chest and pressed against my aching heart. Was there no way to thaw the frost on the fields? Was that soil going to stay frozen forever? We’d have to replace all of it, somehow, some way. If that was even possible. Hundreds of years of careful planning to keep the soil perfect for the farm to thrive, gone in one night because I dared to talk with a Fae.
Aine watched me, compassion pulling her brows together. She turned to her brother. “But we can. If we work fast.”
I looked up with wide, hopeful eyes. They could?
His mouth twisted in disapproval as he stared at his sister. Then he looked at me. Slowly his expression softened, and he sighed. “Are you really suggesting what I think you are?” he demanded to Aine.
“Please,” I whispered and reached out to Lugh, but I didn’t dare touch him without pe
rmission. “I’ll do anything, pay you back, somehow.”
He snorted and shook his head, shoving a hand through his bright red hair. “There is nothing you have that I could want.” He sighed. “But you are the Fae Eyes and my sister’s … friend.”
“Right.” Aine clapped her hands together and bumped his ribs with her elbow. “Plus, you followed me even after I told you to go back. So now you have to follow through.” She turned to me. “Make sure everyone is off the fields.” She paused, lifting a finger to her cheek as if remembering. “And tell them not to shoot us, please.”
Lugh laughed. “That goes without saying.”
“Yes! Thank you!” I yelled in excitement, heart ready to burst with joy. This wasn’t what I thought would happen, but as long as my family was safe, it didn’t matter. “I’ll go tell them!” I waved and turned. “Thank you!” I yelled again over my shoulder as I lifted up my skirt and ran as fast as I could, ignoring the paths and cutting straight through the forest.
By the time I breached the tree line, I was panting from the rough terrain. Papa and over a dozen of my family members were running towards me, already halfway across the field.
“Go back!” I yelled, waving my arms. “Get off the dirt!”
It was odd yelling the words I’d heard thousands of times from Papa back at him.
They didn’t listen, just kept running.
When we finally met, I bent over, huffing. “We need to—”
“Maira!” Papa grabbed my shoulders, cutting me off. “The horse came back spooked. Are you—?”
“Papa! Listen to me!” I yelled.
He froze, his face slack with shock. That was the first time I’ve ever yelled at him like that.
I took a breath to keep from apologizing. “Everyone.” I looked into the faces of my family. “We have to get off the dirt. Now. Or my friends won’t be able to fix this.”
They looked at each other, unsure.
Papa nodded slowly. “Let’s go.” He took my hand and we all ran back to the homestead.
Fae Frost Page 5
