by Nissa Leder
When they both had crossed the barrier, the door shut and disappeared. Panic tightened in Scarlett’s chest. She’d made a vow to herself to never come back to Faerie, but she’d rather break a promise to herself than lose her sister.
They stood in the middle of the snow-covered forest. When Scarlett had entered with Cade, they’d been inside a castle. She wondered how the doors knew where to take them, but asking Kaelem would require talking to him, which she wasn’t in the mood to do.
Instead of keeping her warm, the lace sleeves of her dress actually made the cool temperature around her seem worse. The sooner they got to the Winter Castle, the better.
“Now where?” Scarlett snapped.
Kaelem grabbed both of her wrists and pulled her in front of him. His breath was warm in her face. “I’m sorry this isn’t where you want to be, but if you want me to release your sister, you’re going to need to be a better date.”
Scarlett’s jaw tightened. “I thought I had to help you get whatever it is that’s so important you’ve resorted to blackmail. There was no mention of being amiable.”
“You best keep our plan to yourself, or we’ll fail and your sister will spend the rest of her mortal life trapped.”
Scarlett glared.
Kaelem sighed. “If no one believes you are here because you want to be, it will raise suspicion. The more convincing we are as a couple, the better our chance at getting what I need.”
“Fine.”
Kaelem rested his hand on Scarlett’s back. His touch sent heat through her. She wanted to jerk away but resisted. They’d made a bargain. If Scarlett helped him, she’d get her sister back. They could go into hiding and move far away—anything to get her away from the fae world.
Ashleigh wouldn’t be happy, but Scarlett would make her understand. They were sisters, after all. They belonged together. She’d worry about the details after her sister was free.
Kaelem guided Scarlett through the trees. Snow coated the bare branches and trunks like powdered sugar. It also covered the ground, seeping into Scarlett’s shoes and causing her feet to grow numb from the chill. Thankfully, they didn’t go far before an opening appeared. Ahead, an enormous castle made entirely of ice stood. So much for it warming her up.
“It’s heated with magic,” Kaelem said.
“In my head again. Yay.”
“I told you, you need to learn to keep me out.”
“And how do I do that?”
“If it’s important enough, you’ll figure it out.”
God, he was irritating. She resisted the urge to slug him in the stomach. She’d never been a violent person, but the anger inside her threatening to explode made violence seem a good option.
Next to her, he smirked.
They approached a fence. From afar, it looked like it was made of silver. But up close, Scarlett realized it was also ice. Two guards dressed in white suits stood outside the gate.
“Hello, there,” Kaelem said. “We are here for the Solstice by order of your queen.” His tone was playful, not serious. “No ‘welcome’ or ‘so honored?’”
They remained silent, but the gates swung inward.
“Bye now,” Kaelem said as he and Scarlett continued toward the castle.
The closer they got to the castle, the bigger it grew. It was at least twice the size of the Summer Court castle. Scarlett wondered if there were more Winter than Summer fae? There was still so much of this world Scarlett didn’t know. Part of her didn’t want to know. The more she learned, the more threaded into the supernatural would she would become. But try as she might to resist her new reality, she knew deep down that there was no going back. If she were to survive, she’d need to understand how the fae world worked.
They followed a cobblestone path cleared of the snow that covered the rest of the grounds. Red rose bushes dusted with snow lined the walkway. Their thorns looked larger than any rose bush thorns Scarlett had ever seen before. Their proximity to each other would make it impossible to get through without getting scratched. Perhaps that was the purpose. Were they to keep unwanted visitors out or keep those inside the castle in?
When Scarlett and Kaelem arrived at the tall ice doors, they swung open. A woman in a white dress that shimmered in the light stood in front of them. Her platinum hair was so blonde it looked almost silver. Her nearly black irises stared at Scarlett with such intensity, she gulped.
“A personal welcome from the Ice Queen, herself.” Kaelem moved closer to Scarlett, wrapping his arm around her waist and tugging her close. “We’re honored.”
“Welcome to my court, King.” Her gaze traveled up and down Scarlett as a frown covered her mouth. “And who is she?”
This woman matched Kassandra’s wicked aura, and it seemed she just loved Scarlett already. Though Scarlett couldn’t read her emotion, her expression of distaste screamed envy.
“This is Scarlett,” Kaelem said. “My date.”
Satisfaction poured from Kaelem like honey.
A twinge of delight hit Scarlett. She liked knowing the Winter Queen envied her. And whatever it was she’d stolen from Kaelem, Scarlett would be glad to steal it back.
Chapter Eleven
Raith followed the connection to Scarlett and evanesced to the edge of the forest. Snow crunched beneath his feet as he moved to keep hidden behind a tree. He peeked around it and saw the Ice Castle standing tall in the distance. The Winter Court? Why was Scarlett there? Raith sensed her nearby, the bond tugging him toward her like a magnet to metal.
Familiar voices caught his attention. Raith remained behind the cover of the tree but kept listening.
“The Winter Queen is dangerous,” Poppy said. “We need to be careful.”
“I know,” Cade said. “We are here for the Solstice. There’s no reason for her to hurt me.”
“You’re more trusting than I am,” Poppy scoffed. “Would you be here if the Unseelie King and the girl weren’t?”
Scarlett was still with Kaelem. Why had he brought her back to Faerie? He promised to help her control her power, not parade her around at the Winter Solstice.
And Cade had already seen Scarlett. Did he know Raith was still alive?
Something tickled Raith’s leg. He shook it, hoping to lose whatever was crawling on him. When his foot landed on the ground, a twig crunched beneath his feet.
Shit.
He froze, praying no one heard. The conversation stopped. Raith held his breath, inhaling the forest around him to absorb as much power as he could. His abdomen wound pulsed.
“We’ll make our appearance, be good guests, and then go home,” Cade continued. “Do you have any concerns?”
Whew, it seemed no one had heard. Who was Cade talking to?
“I’m good,” another familiar voice replied.
Jaser.
He was with Cade and Poppy. How did that happen? Raith held in a chuckle, not wanting to push his chances by making any more noise. Jaser didn’t seem the type to follow a king around like a minion, but if he’d been ordered to do so, he had little choice but to obey.
When the voices faded, Raith followed close behind, careful not to step on any more twigs. He needed to find a way onto the castle grounds if he wanted to find Scarlett. A barrier spell kept any visiting fae from evanescing inside—a protection every fae castle had—and the gate was the only way in.
When he reached into the bond, there was no panic. She must not be in danger. He should turn around and continue his quest for information on his mother as he’d intended when he entered Faerie. Yet, Scarlett was so close, and she deserved an explanation from him.
Raith took a deep breath, devouring one last bit of magic from the forest around him. He put on a glamour to disguise his appearance. The last thing he needed was to be recognized as someone who was supposed to be dead. He hoped he had enough power in him to keep up the charade.
He used Cade’s entrance as a distraction to get closer. After Cade, Poppy, and Jaser were through and out of sight, Rai
th approached the two guards.
He couldn’t fight them. Not only was he injured, but they would be the strongest of the Winter Guard.
“I’m with the Summer King,” Raith said. “I was running behind, and he told me to catch up as soon as I could.”
Neither guard spoke. The gate remained closed.
Raith stepped closer to one of the guards. “He’ll be angry if I’m not there soon.”
Nothing.
Using his body to block the other guard’s view, Raith quickly reached his hand to the hand of the guard in front of him. He found the memory of Cade walking by and altered it. Now the guard remembered Cade saying to let his other guard in once he arrived. Magic dripped from Raith. With his mind magic, memories turned to power, but altering them drained it.
The gate swung open.
Raith wondered if the other guard would stop him, but he didn’t.
Had it been any other time of the year, the plan wouldn’t have worked. But guests from all over Faerie and the Seelie and Unseelie courts would be coming for the solstice. Raith was lucky. If he’d had to change the other guard’s memory, he might not have had enough magic left to hold his glamour.
Another group of Winter fae entered just behind him. He waited until they walked toward the castle to hide amongst them. Once inside, he slipped into an empty room to come up with a plan.
His magic ran low. At this rate, he only had a few more minutes of glamour.
Someone entered the room. “Are you lost?” It was a young man, dressed in a white uniform and holding a tray.
A perfect disguise and a source of more energy.
Raith approached the man and grabbed his wrist. The face of a woman filled his short-term memory. As he got ready to come there, he couldn’t wait to finish the stupid dinner and get back to her. He didn’t see why the queen made such a big deal about the Solstice.
Raith chuckled. If the Winter Queen knew of the server’s annoyance, well, it might be a while before he could see the woman he thought of.
He absorbed the magic from the memory.
“I’m meeting someone per request of the Queen,” Raith said. He hoped it sounded formal enough, yet not too formal. He wasn’t sure how Winter fae who worked for the queen spoke.
Raith could wipe his memory just to be safe. But that would take half the energy he’d just consumed. Viewing memories filled him. Erasing them, not so much.
“Very well.” The man left.
Raith drew from his magic reserve and glamoured his outfit to look the like the server’s. He changed the glamour of his face, too, so he wouldn’t recognize him, then hurried behind him.
Another servant held a tray like the man’s, filled with hors d’oeuvres.
“I’ve been instructed to take this in. You’re needed back in the kitchen.” Raith reached his hand out.
The servant held a look of confusion, but passed the tray to Raith.
Raith continued, hurrying to catch the previous young man. He reached him as he opened a door and entered a huge dining room. A long marble table ran down in the middle, with at least thirty people seated on each side. A silver runner was rolled across it, accentuating its silver swirl pattern.
The Ice Queen sat at the head of the table, a cold expression on her face. Her white wrought-iron chair had a higher back than the rest.
Scarlett was near. Raith could feel it. He searched the far side of the table, and, when he found her, his chest tightened.
As if she could feel his stare, she turned her head and looked right at him. She sat in between Kaelem and Cade. What was she doing so close to him? He’d left her for dead; he’d left them both for dead.
Cade spoke to a Winter fae next to him, oblivious of Raith’s presence.
It wasn’t as if Raith had expected their brotherly connection to mean much, but he thought Cade might notice something was different about Raith’s disguise as a server. But Cade remained ignorant of his presence which, honestly, was for the best.
There was no time to be sentimental. Raith had found Scarlett. She wasn’t hurt or in any danger. There was no need for him to stay any longer, and definitely no time for a reunion with his little brother.
Raith passed out the food on his tray, hoping no one there had the gift of seeing through glamours. He needed to blend in until he could leave the room without notice, then bolt.
Scarlett’s gaze followed him across the room.
She appeared even more fae than the last time he’d seen her. Her ears came to a full point now, and her skin had smoothed. The biggest change was in her eyes, which had always been a bright blue, but now, when the light hit them, held a tint of violet.
He shouldn’t have told Kaelem where she was. Raith should have left the Unseelie Court and went straight to Scarlett, offering to help her in any way he could. He’d been the one to choose her to be his second. If he’d just left her out of it, Cade could have kept her safe.
But would he have? If his mother had told him to end Scarlett, would Cade have listened?
Raith could have taken Scarlett back to the mortal realm himself before the battle, but he’d been too set on his plan to outsmart his brother. And what did he have to show for it? He’d fled the only court he’d ever known and now followed a wild goose chase for information on a mother who was long gone. There was no saving her, yet he couldn’t resist the desire to learn more about her.
Keeping up the glamour exhausted him. He needed to leave—soon. He wasn’t sure when he’d see Scarlett again, but, even though it wasn’t with him, at least she looked happy.
With his tray empty, he left the room, sending Scarlett a silent goodbye.
Chapter Twelve
Scarlett had known it was Raith from the moment he stepped into the room. The bond erupted when their eyes met. The glamour may have fooled everyone else, but Scarlett longed to go to Raith.
What was he doing there? It was dangerous. So dangerous. If Cade saw him… Scarlett didn’t want to even ponder what might happen.
The bond grew weaker. Raith must be leaving. No.
Scarlett couldn’t let him think she was there because she wanted to be. Servers were still passing out food and drinks. If she hurried, she could be back before the meal started.
“I need to find a ladies’ room,” Scarlett said. She wasn’t sure if it was normal to share that kind of information in the fae world. But in her mortal upbringing, it was the perfect excuse to leave.
Kaelem gave her a suspicious look. Shit. He might be listening to her thoughts.
He gave a small nod with a curved eyebrow.
Please. Raith is here and I don’t know why. I need to let him know I’m okay and that he needs to get far, far away.
Kaelem’s eyes gazed into hers as his eyebrow returned to its normal position. “It’s at the end of the hallway. Best hurry.”
Thank you.
Scarlett rushed out of the room, desperate to find Raith before he was gone and she’d lost her chance to explain why she was there.
Scarlett sped past the Winter servers carrying in plates of salad. She didn’t have much time. She couldn’t risk Cade getting curious why she was gone and come looking. He had no right to care, but she’d felt his eyes watching her in the dining room.
At the end of the hall, Raith’s glamoured self turned into a room. Scarlett walked as fast as she could without jogging and followed him inside.
When she saw him, he wasn’t in the glamour anymore. Instead, he stood in front of her in his normal form, shirtless, with a smile spread across his face.
“Scarlett.”
She closed the door behind her the mortal way and ran to him.
He opened his arms and pulled her into a hug. “How did you know?”
“The bond,” Scarlett said.
He grimaced. Scarlett looked to his abdomen. A bruise darkened his right side, surrounded by puncture wounds in the shape of a quarter moon.
“What happened?” Scarlett reached out to touch it but st
opped.
“Some asshole shifters got to me,” Raith said. “I’ll be okay.” He hesitated like there was more to the story, but instead said, “Why are you here?” He eyed her up and down.
Scarlett was about to tell him about her sister, but she didn’t. She could handle it on her own. If Raith stayed to help her, Cade would find him. He’d already tried to kill Raith once. Scarlett wouldn’t be the reason he had another chance.
“Kaelem is teaching me how to control my magic,” Scarlett said. “He had to come to the Solstice, so I agreed to come if he’d continue to help me.”
It wasn’t a lie. Now more than ever, Kaelem needed Scarlett strong. It would have to be a crash course since they were already there at the Winter Court, but that was even better. Then, once Scarlett had Ashleigh back, she’d know enough to get away from the Unseelie King.
“You agreed?”
Scarlett nodded. She stared at his wound again. If she’d have known she’d find him hurt, she’d have filled her magic. As it was, her magic ran low. She’d been using it up practicing.
“I need to get back.” Scarlett sighed. Leaving was the last thing she wanted to do. A part of her told her to leave with Raith and never turn back—a devil on her shoulder reminding her of all the times Ashleigh had hurt her. She doesn’t deserve you, it said. Without her, you’d be free.
No, it wasn’t true. Their relationship as sisters had its rocky moments, sure, but her sister was trapped inside a mirror because of Scarlett, and the only way to free her was to stay and help Kaelem.
Scarlett rose to her tiptoes and gently took Raith’s face between her hands. He leaned into her. She pressed her body into his, careful not to put any pressure on his injured side, and softly kissed him.
Scarlett inhaled the lust between them. Her hands explored, tracing the curves of his biceps, moving gently to his abs. A fervor took hold. With her fae emotions on high, desire rooted itself inside Scarlett, its branches twisting through her and filling her with hunger.
She didn’t want to stop. But she’d been gone too long already.
