Summer Princess (Dark Fae Book 1)

by Sloane Murphy

  Copyright © 2020 by Sloane Murphy

  All rights reserved.

  The right of Sloane Murphy to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  All characters in this publication are fictional and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental

  Editor – Denise Krekling of Serious Moonlight Editing.

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Guide to the Isles of Rivinea, home of the Fae

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Quick Note From The Author

  Ways to Stay Connected

  More by Sloane Murphy

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  WORKS FROM THE AUTHOR

  Dedication

  To those who have learned to forgive the ones that have wronged you.

  To those who have been betrayed and learnt to love again.

  This is for you.

  Guide to the Isles of Rivinea, home of the Fae

  Ringa – north of the Isle Eressea - Winter Court:

  Ruled by King & Queen Vasara

  Prince Cade Vasara – heir to the throne and Commander of the Winter Armies

  Prince Rowan Vasara

  Avaenora – south of the Isle Eressea - Summer Court:

  Ruled by King & Queen Daarke

  Prince Erion Daarke - heir to the throne and Lieutenant of the Winter Armies

  Prince Edimere Daarke (twin)

  Princess Emelia Daarke (twin)

  Sintera – small isle to the west of Eressea – Autumn Court

  Ruled by King Levoya & Queen

  Princess Araya

  Talia Natsu and Arabella Verano – cousins to Araya and taken in by the royals after their parents were killed in the war

  Timerrya – small isle to east of Eressea – Spring Court

  Ruled by King & Queen

  Princess Centra Samhradh

  Princess Yasmina Samhradh

  Hunters – half Demon, half Fae creatures bound to serve and protect the Fae

  Elves – sworn enemies of the Fae, live to the east of Isles of Rivina, in the lands of Shani

  Prologue

  Emilia

  Age 9

  “Emmyyyyyy. Come out and play! Cade and Rowan are waiting. I don’t want to kick their butts if they’re mean to you because we’re late,” Edi whines from my doorway. I finish pulling my hair into a ponytail and sigh.

  “It’s not my fault Mother makes me wear stupid dresses all the time, and I had to get changed. Come on, let’s go before she sees me.” My mother is not a fan of little girls in jeans or ponytails, but she doesn’t seem to care that I hate dresses. They’re stupid, and I can’t play in them. Though little girls aren’t meant to play and hang out with boys either, even if they are her brothers. I roll my eyes at the thought.

  Linking my arm with Edi, I let him rush us out the back way of the palace, and I see Cade and Rowan across the greenery towards the edge of the trees. Edi rushes me towards them, and Erion jogs past us, laughing.

  “Come on, slowpokes,” Cade calls as Erion reaches them, but we’re still nowhere close.

  “You can run ahead, Edi. They don’t look like they’re feeling patient today.”

  “Emmy, no way. They’ll just have to freaking wait.”

  “Edi, you cursed!”

  “So what? People curse all the time at home.” He shrugs but keeps us going, and I start to run to get there faster. I don’t really like running, I always seem to fall, but I know Edi won’t let me. We run until we catch up to the others. Cade and Erion are the same age and have been best friends for as long as I can remember. They think we’re too young for them to hang out with us properly; just because they’re thirteen, they think they’re so much better than us. Rowan is still a year younger than Edi and I, but I don’t see their point. They’re already walking off towards the waterfalls, so we follow behind with Rowan.

  “Your mother cut your hair again?” I ask him quietly. His dark hair isn’t like his brother’s or father’s, and while his mother’s hair isn’t the white-silver of Cade’s or King Earon’s, it’s nowhere near as dark as Rowan’s. It seems to get cut short every time his father gets angry.

  “Yeah, Father got some bad news and lost it. He dragged me from the dinner table to my room by my hair, so Mother said it would be best to cut it. I was just starting to like it that long too.”

  “Well, I think it suits you short.” I smile at him, wanting to make him feel better.

  “Your father is a dick.” Edi snorts.

  “Edi! Stop with the cursing!” I exclaim. He laughs at me but gives me a side hug as we start to climb the incline up the mountains to the top of the waterfalls. Almost no one goes up here, most people just swim in the lake below, but because of who we are, we learnt last summer that it’s easier for us to just go to the top to play. Rowan walks in front of me on the narrow path, while Edi stays behind me to make sure I don’t fall behind or fall off or something equally as stupid.

  We reach the top, and Cade and Erion are already messing around in the water, the hot summer sun scorching down on us all. I wipe the sweat beading on my forehead from the walk up, and Rowan and Edi both run off and join Cade and Erion in the water. They act like typical stupid boys and splash and shout, so I lay down near the edge of the waterfall and roll up the legs of my jeans. My pale complexion never changes, no matter how much time I spend in the sun, but I love the feeling of the sun on my skin. I close my eyes and listen to the sound of the water, which is almost loud enough to drown out the boys.

  We stay out until the sun sets, and Erion creates a fire for us to all sit around. Our parents won’t care that we’re still out, they never do. I wish I had the same control over my fire as Erion and Edi; it never does what I want it to do. Father says I just need to focus more, that I’m too soft, not strong enough to wield it the way it needs. I need to learn to respect my powers, and then they will respect me and my wishes. I have no idea what he means, but that’s all he ever says to me, so it’s no surprise I can’t use it properly yet. My teachers don’t help either. With basic academics, strategies, politics of our worlds, and histories I do great, but the physical stuff, defense, awakening your powers—that stuff I suck at.

  “Girls can’t fight in wars, don’t be stupid,” Rowan says to Erion, who was talking about a girl in his class who kicked everyone’s ass but his.

  “Rowan, you’re too young to understand. This girl is a badass. Like she’d be a perfect queen,” Erion says with a dreamy look on his face.

  “Oooooh, Erion has a crush!” Edi laughs while Cade just sits quietly, looking into the fire. Erion and Rowan start wrestling, and I just laugh and shake my head. Cade and Edi start shouting them on, each cheering for their best friend rather than the
ir brother. I stay sitting as they get closer to the edge, and I’m so busy worrying about them, I don’t notice the noise behind me until I can feel them.

  I hear the low growl and turn, my back to the boys and come face-to-face with five wolves and freeze. I know the worst thing I can do it run, but it’s all I want to do.

  “Help,” I say, trying to shout, but all that comes out is a whisper. I crawl back slowly as the wolves close in on me.

  “Emmy!” Edi shouts, but I don’t dare take my eyes off of the wolves before me. I feel the fire before I see it, the heat intense as it rushes past me from behind, heading directly towards the leader of the pack. It hits its intended target, and two wolves immediately break off towards the new threat, while the remaining two stay focused on me. The leader of the pack is on fire as it runs towards the water. I hear growls and cries of the wolves as the guys try to reach me. One of the wolves lunges towards me, but before it can bite me, something knocks me to the ground, and I hear Edi cry out. I roll over to see Edi standing where I was just sitting, and the lunging wolf clamps down on his shoulder, while Cade uses his ice to send the other wolf running. Erion appears and uses his fire to scare the wolf into releasing Edi, and the pack flees back into the forest in the mountains.

  “Holy fucking shit that hurts,” Edi wheezes as blood streams down his top. I launch myself at him and wrap my arms around him.

  “Thank you for saving me, Edi. I thought I was toast.” I gasp, and he winces. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “I’m fine, Emmy. I can feel it starting to heal already. I just feel a little woozy.”

  “You saved me,” I whisper.

  “I will always save you, Emmy. You’re my twin,” he says with a small smile.

  “We should head back home,” Erion says as he helps Edi up.

  “You sure you’re okay, Emmy?” Cade asks me as Erion leads Edi back down the mountain path.

  “I am because of you and Edi. Thank you,” I say, barely able to meet his eyes. My shame at not being able to save myself, for being too weak mixes with the tingles of my crush for him and I feel myself blush. I hate that I’m not like everyone else, that I’m not strong like them. That I’m not powerful enough. My grandfather used to tell me I was going to be a useless fae before he died, and I hate that he seems to have been right.

  Emilia

  Age 19

  “Hey, Rowan, keep up; otherwise, we’re going to be late!” Cade calls out behind us, as his little brother carries all of our things up the stupid hill to the Winter Palace. I feel a little sorry for him, but he’d never let me help him even if I offered.

  “Why are we rushing anyway? I hate these things they’re so barbaric,” I complain, not for the first time. The King of the Winter Court, Earon Vasara, Cade and Rowan’s father, is hosting the monthly party that the Summer Court and Winter Court each take a turn in hosting for the four royal courts. It’s nothing but a brutal showing of power, and it’s disgusting, even if it is supposedly tamer now than during the war times. It seems to keep the peace during the cease-fire, while our two courts try to agree on terms of how to work together instead of killing each other—and our aligned courts—because everyone wants what isn’t theirs.

  “Barbaric is the way of the Fae, sis. It’s just in our nature. You never know; if you joined in, you might like it.” Erion, my eldest brother, smiles at me. I know he’s trying to goad me, he’s as bad as most of the Fae up there, but he’s my big brother, and he’d defend me in the worst of situations, even if he didn’t fully understand my disdain at the nature of our people.

  “Father agrees with me.” I stick my tongue out at him. “You notice how he barely takes part? He’s only here because he has to be. It might be the one night a month when we let our darkest sides out to play, but not all of us have the darkness in us.”

  “I’m going to have to disagree, Em.” I turn to Edimere, my twin. It’s a weird reflection when I look at him, but the similarities are uncanny. But the surface is where our similarities end; I’ve never understood it, the darkness inside him, but he’s always been the cruellest of us all. It’s as if the darkness torments his very soul. “There’s nothing better than the rush that comes from fighting for your life. It’s like you’re someone else. Or the feeling of power at holding someone else’s life in your hands. It’s a heady experience knowing that you get to decide if someone lives or dies, watching them grasp at anything to stay alive, and watching that light die, knowing you did it. That feeling is indescribable. Father relishes in it; I’ve heard stories of his dalliances during the war times. He pretends not to like it for you; he holds back because he’s afraid of what would happen if he let his beast out to play now that we’re at peace.”

  I shiver at his words and notice the matching disturbed looks on Cade’s and Erion’s faces. Edimere is the other half of me, and I know he’d never intentionally hurt me—hell, he’d die for me, but he is definitely the darkest of us all, and he lives to see the darkness in others. He is of the Summer Court. We’re meant to be cruel and brutal but not so sadistic. The fact that Cade looks disturbed, and he is of the Winter Court—who are known for being sadistic, unfeeling, and cold shows just how bad it’s gotten. I worry about him, especially at events like this, but there is nothing I can say or do to change it.

  Rowan catches us at the top of the stairs, panting and sweating as he drops the bags and cases to the ground. “I am so glad I get to skip this thing tonight. It is the only bonus of being the youngest. I’m heading down to the square to party with a certain beautiful Summer villager, shh.” He winks at me, and I can’t help but laugh at him, despite the fact that dalliances between courts are forbidden, let alone a royal with a commoner. Rowan is more Summer than Winter. He’s cheeky and carefree, mischievous and devilish, and the rumors that the king isn’t his father are just something we all ignore.

  The creak of the door interrupts us, and I see Queen Lanora half smiling at us all congregated on the front step. “You are all late; the guests are going to arrive any minute. Get in here.” We scurry in, and I leave the boys to sort themselves and grab my case containing the dress my mother picked for me this morning. Cade takes the case from my hand and smiles down at me.

  “You don’t have to do that, you know.” I try to take it back, but it’s no use, so I just follow him down the halls.

  “I know, but I want to help, so I’m helping.” He smirks before continuing to lead me away from the entrance hall. He stops and looks over to make sure I’m still behind him, a smirk on his face as he opens the door for me and waves me into my room. “After you, m’lady.” I burst out laughing and shake my head.

  “What the fuck,” I say through my laughter, and he chuckles back at me, light mirth isn’t usually his way. His father is a cold and unfeeling man, and he’s molded Cade in his image. Except for when he’s with us, then it’s as if he’s a different person. His warmth and lightness fill me, and I try to stomp down on the giddiness I feel.

  “It felt appropriate.” His face darkens a little, and he takes a step closer to me, his eyes burning into mine as he brushes a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Stick close to me tonight. Edimere seems like he’s getting worse, and I know how much you hate these things. He won’t be able to shield you from it as he has in the past. I fear his darkness is starting to overwhelm him.” My breath hitches at his touch. Cade Vasara has been the starring role in most of my dreams since I was a teenager, but he’s Erion’s best friend and the Prince of the Winter Court, heir to the throne, so essentially, off-limits, what with me being the Princess of the Summer Court. I lose myself in the depths of his pale blue eyes, which are covered slightly by his shoulder-length white, silver hair.

  “You don’t need to do that.” The rasp of my voice gives me away, and I pull back. His eyes take in every inch of me, searing me with their heat before he snakes his arm around my waist and holds me in place. His breath on my skin gets warmer as he leans closer to me. I feel my eyes star
t close, but force them open, not wanting to miss a second of our time together.

  “Yo, Cade! Come on, man, we’ve got places to be.” Erion’s voice rings out down the hall. Cade steps back from me like I burnt him and runs his hand through his hair.

  “Shit,” he hisses.

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m coming. Chill your shit,” he yells to Erion, his voice more stable than a second ago. He turns to me, and I can’t quite figure out the look he gives me, if it’s longing or regret. “I’ll see you in a few minutes, Em. Don’t keep us waiting.”

  And in the same breath, he disappears from my sight.

  What was that?

  I try not to dwell as I throw open the case on the floor and turn to drop onto the bed when I come face-to-face with Ellia, one of the ladies’ maids in the Winter Palace. She waves me into the bathroom where she has drawn a bath, before insisting on helping me dress for tonight. I barely pay attention as she sweeps my long dark tresses into an updo and applies my makeup. I step into the black dress she holds for me. Combined with the heavy dark makeup and my dark hair, my pale skin almost glows in the dying light streaming through the windows. She kneels before me, fussing as I slide on the stilettos she’s placed down for me just as a knock on the door sounds.

  “Emilia, are you decent?” I look up and see Erion at the door.

  “Hey, big brother, you clean up nice.” I look at the black-on-black tux he’s wearing, and like me, it makes him glow with his dark hair.

  “You don’t exactly look like we dragged you hiking through the forest today,” he says with a small grimace. “I don’t think I like it.” I pat his chest and laugh as I walk past him out of the room.

  “Shall we get going? The sooner we do, the sooner it’s over.”

  “Maybe you should let loose Em? What’s really the worst that could happen?”