Freya picked up a small burger and grabbed some cheese fries. “I love vendor food,” she sighed.
“I love when you sigh.” Henry smirked. “It reminds me of when we were in bed and…”
She cut him off before he could say anything else. Glaring at him, she smacked his arm. “Shut up.”
He laughed loudly, drawing attention from fae passing by. People used magic freely and openly, playing air ball with air magic and earth ball with earth magic. Both games were similar, it used a different type of magic to move the ball. No one was allowed to touch it and were only allowed to use magic to move the ball from one goal to another.
It was hilarious and entertaining to watch.
Fae fell over themselves as they ran into magic and people over and over again. Jacob and Henry watched her watching the game, their expressions of lust and love written all over their faces with deep, longing gazes.
They devoured their food and sat back against the tree to finish watching the game. Freya couldn’t help but remember the time with them in the shower and felt a blush creeping up the side of her cheeks. Their hands lay on her legs now and she squirmed at the thought of what they could do to her.
“Do you want to go back?” Henry cooed.
Obviously enjoying her squirming, he gripped her leg tightly then rubbed his fingers in slow, circular motions. She felt the heat rising between her legs and swatted him away.
“We are in public!” she screeched in the loudest whisper he’d ever heard.
He laughed and moved his hand away. “As you wish, my princess.”
She rolled her eyes at him and noticed it was getting late. “Let’s head back.” She was eager to spend time with her sister even though they didn’t have long.
They traveled through the town, stopping when distracted by magic shows or fae in wild costumes. They came upon the castle and were awed at the drastic changes.
Fae no longer bustled about decorating because it was done. There were lights and decorations everywhere, giving the entire courtyard a summery and earthly glow. Freya stepped inside the gates and slowly made her way to the door. Before she got to the steps, Silvia came running over. She’d changed from her shorts and was wearing a pink dress with flowers adorning the top. Flowers flowed from behind her neck to her waist, barely covering her breasts.
“Finally! You were gone all day!” she exclaimed.
“You told me to go!” Freya yelled back. They hugged and Silvia took her hand.
“Come. I have a surprise for you.”
The weaved in and out of fae who were getting the party started and made their way near the stage. Freya couldn’t believe her eyes and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw them.
“Lena? Vivian?” she whispered. She gaped at Silvia and asked if they were real.
“Yes. They are. We wanted to surprise you.”
She couldn’t contain her excitement and dashed across the yard and into her sisters’ arms. They hugged and laughed, and Freya even teared up. She hadn’t seen all her sisters in one place in at least fifteen years and her heart was heavy with gratitude.
“Wait, this is so dangerous!” She whipped around and stared at Silvia. “What about Rulissa?”
“We have my guards. And some of theirs. We’ll be okay. She’d be stupid to attack tonight.” She waved her hand in the air like she was swatting all thoughts of Rulissa away, but Freya felt a weight in her stomach that wouldn’t stop rearing up. She felt they were truly in danger.
15
The crowd laughed and danced around them. Freya couldn’t take her eyes off her baby sisters and forgot to introduce them to her mates. Jacob and Henry cleared their throats and looked at her sheepishly, clearly wanting the attention and recognition they deserved.
“Oh! Lena, Vivian, these are my mates, Henry and Jacob.”
Lena grinned like a Cheshire cat and slowly shook their hands. “It’s so nice to meet you both.”
Vivian gave a small wave. She was the shyest of the sisters and easily got embarrassed. Vivian was tall and lanky with small breasts, a tiny waist, and long brown hair. Lena was short and spicy with jet black hair and eyes as dark as night. She was a spitfire who didn’t care what anyone else thought and often spoke her mind. The sisters were all so different, but so alike. Their laughs were similar, and they all shared the same button nose. Each of them would lay their lives down for the others and their love and loyalty ran deeply.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Henry chuckled. He placed his hand on Freya’s waist and pulled her closer.
Jacob was full of all the food they’d tried and desperately wanted to sit and rest. He found a nearby chair and plopped down with a sigh. Vivian glanced between the three of them and smirked to herself.
Lena saddled up to Henry and linked his arm with hers. “Let’s walk. See what Sylvia is up to.”
Freya instantly felt butterflies in her stomach and nerves took her over. “Are you sure you want to go? She seems busy.”
Lena giggled. “I won’t hurt him. I promise. I want to get to know him.”
Freya nodded and backed off, even though she wasn’t sure this was a good idea. Lena was sneaky and often liked to cause trouble. What could she be up to?
Freya sat beside Jacob and patted the seat on the other side for Vivian to sit. They watched the movement around them in awe. Fae moved tables, the earth, and trays of food all around them. Freya thought she should help but knew Sylvia would refuse her assistance. The festivities would soon begin, and people were arriving.
Freya felt a tingle in her chest then it tightened into something more. She scanned the area, unsure of what was happening, but she had a good idea. Was this another mate mark? It felt differently than it had with Jacob and Henry. Henry’s mark came on so suddenly there wasn’t time to feel anything beforehand and Jacob’s was a pull to him. This was more like an itch of annoyance.
She took in her surroundings and wondered who it was. How would she ever find another mate in a crowd so large?
“What is it?” Vivian asked at the same time Jacob asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I sense … something.”
Henry rushed over and stood in front of her. “I feel your distress.”
“I think I have another mate here,” she said. “I feel this itch in my chest.”
Jacob and Henry examined the area and then stared at each other. How could they help her find the mate? They both looked helplessly at Freya as she rubbed the mate mark over and over.
She would have to touch this person to secure the mate mark. She stood and started roaming around the courtyard with Jacob, Henry, and Vivian on her tail. Lena soon joined and the group of them created a buzz of excitement.
“What are the princesses doing?” one commoner hissed.
“Maybe she dropped something,” another speculated.
She followed the feeling as it became more intense. It grew and grew as she wandered the courtyard and increased when she neared the knights standing around the entrance of the castle.
“What is going on?” Silvia asked. She came up beside the group, glancing around curiously. “Why wasn’t I invited?”
“I think I have another mate here,” Freya hissed. “I feel something in my chest.”
“Here? Like from Summer Court?”
She nodded. “It’s stronger, near the knights.”
“Let’s go talk to them,” Silvia grinned. She bounced up and down and pulled Freya after her. The group stayed where they were and watched intensely.
“This is Carlos,” Silvia said and directed him to remove his glove. Freya gently reached out, asking if she could touch him, and proceeded to grab his hand when he consented. Nothing happened, so they moved to the next knight.
“This is Anna,” Silvia said. Freya followed the same steps and had the same result. She went through three more knights before they landed on Finn.
She felt the itch intensify and her breathing grew heavy. She knew it was Finn before she tou
ched him, but she reached out and took his hand on approval.
The mark burned and heat slammed into both of them. Finn gasped and struggled to pull away, but Freya held on. The mark etched into her skin and she knew a matching mark showed on his under his armor. When it was done, she released him and gasped.
He jerked the helmet off his head and growled, “What just happened?” He removed his armor and stared down at the mark on his chest.
“We’re mates,” Freya said simply.
“What?” Anger rolled off of him in waves. He slammed his helmet to the ground and got in Freya’s face. “What did you do to me?”
“It wasn’t me. It was fate,” she countered.
The crowd had stopped talking and were watching the show. Finn continued to grow angrier, his face reddening as he stepped closer to Freya. Henry sensed potential danger and stepped to her side, ready to defend her.
Finn stared her down, his breath growing hot and his face scrunching in angst. He finally grabbed his helmet from the ground and walked away.
Freya watched him leave and wondered what the hell happened. Henry took her hand and pulled her from the crowd and into the castle. Jacob followed closely behind. Her sisters sensed this was a personal moment and left Freya with her mates.
“What did I do?” Freya sighed.
“You didn’t do anything. He will come around,” Jacob said. “I wasn’t so sure at first either, remember?”
“Before we go home tomorrow?” she asked.
“He’ll have to,” Henry said. “A mate bond can’t be broken unless someone dies. He will have to come back to Winter Court with us.” He took her hand again and rubbed circles across her palm. “Let’s go back to the party. We can find him later.”
She nodded and they headed back outside.
“Are you okay?” Vivian asked as soon as they stepped outside.
Freya nodded but she wasn’t so sure it was true. She couldn’t help but think of Finn and how distressed he looked. And angry. She wasn’t happy about mating either, but no reason to get so angry about it.
Vivian grabbed her hand and pulled her to the front row of seats. “Come on, the show will start soon.”
Henry and Jacob sat to her left while her sisters lined up on the right. She was in the middle of them and felt so loved in the moment that her heart swelled, and she couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face. She had good people in her life. If Finn didn’t want to be her mate, it was fine. He could live in the castle and do his own thing.
Darkness fell around them and yells and whoops rang out through the air. The six of them watched as fae lined up on the stage, each one a fire fae. They danced and spread their fire in ways Freya couldn’t even imagine. The show was bright and exciting with fire magic swirling in the air, heating the area as sparks of magic flew in all directions.
Jacob took her hand in his and squeezed it in reassurance. She felt safer knowing she had Jacob and Henry by her side. Finn would have to come back to Winter with them, they wouldn’t be able to be apart without losing massive amounts of power, and she dreaded their next interaction.
To the right side of the stage, there was movement in the shadows. Freya’s group didn’t notice because they were so focused on the show, but she saw the movement. They continued to laugh and grin as fae from each element came on stage to give their own performance. None of them seemed to see what she did. None of them sensed what was lurking in those shadows.
16
Screams rang out around the stage as it shook and collapsed beneath the performers. Freya gripped Jacob’s hand and grabbed Vivian’s as she watched in horror. The fae fell into the earth, each of them lost to the world within seconds.
Laughter echoed throughout the trees. The ground shook beneath them and Silvia fought to control the area they were in. All around them, Earth fae fought to keep the ground together. Fought to protect the fae around them.
“What is happening?” Jacob yelled. He was new to Earth magic and didn’t think he could control anything with an attack like this.
Henry stood with fire in his palm, ready to fight anyone who came near them. Freya and her sisters all locked hands and an ethereal glow surrounded them. Their magic combined and danced among them in bright lights of blue, red, purple, and green. Over the screaming and fighting, they heard a familiar laugh.
“Rulissa,” Lena growled.
Freya should have known. The grips they had on each other tightened and they stood in unity. Rulissa appeared from the shadows, her flaming red hair flaring around her head as fire coated her like an aura. She had a maniacal appearance about her. Her eyes were wild and bulging and her skin glistened under the fire. She would have been pretty if not for the fact she was a raging bitch.
“Leave these people alone,” Freya demanded. As the oldest, she felt it was her duty to stand up for her sisters.
“Never,” she hissed like a snake. She continued to walk closer to them, taking tiny steps inch by inch. She grinned like a loon and the look in her eyes was enough to make anyone nervous.
Finn appeared from the castle and rushed to Freya’s side. He stood on the other side of Henry, taking in the carnage around him and turned red in anger. She knew he’d heard the fighting, probably felt the danger through their connection. She also knew he didn’t like it, but the pull was too strong. He was a member of this frollick whether he wanted to be or not.
“You can’t defeat me. Or you would have already,” Rulissa taunted them. She inched closer with each word. “You will never defeat me. You’re all too weak.”
Jacob brushed against Henry and a spark of yellow magic flared between them. Henry cocked his head, then let his fire dissolve and took Jacob’s free hand. The yellow link between Henry, Jacob, and Freya glowed brightly. Finn took notice and reluctantly took Henry’s other hand.
The four of them shone brightly in the night and felt the surge of power rush through them. Freya released her hand from Vivian’s and held her palm toward Rulissa. Power shot from her hand and into Rulissa, knocking her back a few feet.
Rulissa gasped and struggled to get her bearings. She swayed on her feet and the fire surrounding her dimmed. She glared at Freya, then stared at the connected hands. “You’ve mated!”
Freya had never felt this much power. It flowed like a river and she struggled to hold onto it. Jacob swayed beside her as it rushed into his body and filled him completely. She was surprised to find Finn at the end, but knew in the end, the mate mark would win out over his childish attitude toward their fate.
“I’ve mated.” Freya shot more power into Rulissa, knocking her onto the ground. She allowed the power to flow and strengthen as it weakened Rulissa.
With a cry, Rulissa blocked her power stream with fire and stood up, panting. “This isn’t the end.” She disappeared with a whoosh and the four of them released hands.
Freya fell back into the seat behind her and fought to catch her breath. Using so much power had drained her energy and she wasn’t sure she could stand any longer. Her men circled and caressed her. All but Finn. He was slowly edging back into the shadows and disappeared into the castle before Freya could look up.
“I need to rest,” she whispered.
Henry took charge and swept her into his arms. He carried her into the castle and up the stairs, laying her on the bed to rest. He sat vigilant beside the bed as she slept all night and recharged her energy.
Jacob longed to be with Freya, but he stayed with her sisters, eager to figure out what the hell had happened. They explained who Rulissa was, though he knew from their previous encounter, and told him why she’d picked tonight.
“She sensed us all here together. She knew she could sneak up on us during a full moon. She used to be a part of Summer Court, so she knows about our celebrations. These aren’t new, they’re tradition from when my mother ran this Court,” Silvia explained. “She apparently hadn’t sensed Freya had mated though.” She paused and gazed at him intently. “That was
crazy. What did it feel like?”
“I’ve never felt anything like it,” he admitted. “Granted, I’m new to all of this. And I mean new. I can barely control my magic. That’s why I didn’t help with the earthquake.”
Vivian patted his arm and smiled. “It’s okay. We know.”
“But the power … it consumed me. It was me. I don’t think I had any control during that time.”
“Freya must be exhausted,” Lena said. “She was so pale.”
Around them, fae mourned the loss of the performers while others cleaned the area. Silvia sighed in relief when she saw the castle was safe and the protections she’d placed upon it had held. The earthquake did nothing to it. But she’d lost people tonight and Freya knew it wasn’t something she would easily forget.
“She will pay. We will defeat her,” Silvia promised.
Vivian and Lena nodded. Jacob took in his surroundings and rubbed his chest.
“I can’t imagine how they must feel. They’d come to a celebration and lost loved ones. How is it fair?” He asked. “I’ll help in any way I can. She deserves what is coming to her,” he vowed.
He told the sisters goodnight and he hurried in the castle. At the end of the steps, Finn stood and twisted his hands. He inspected Jacob and started to speak but stopped himself. Jacob noticed the furrowed brows and angry gleam in his eyes.
“You going up?” Jacob asked.
Finn shook his head.
“All right. You don’t have to be pissed at her, and you shouldn’t be. She didn’t ask for the mate mark any more than you did.” He walked up the stairs and away from Finn, leaving him to ponder his words.
17
Finn left the castle in a hurry and rushed to his family home. He was supposed to be on duty. He should have been there protecting the princesses during the attack. He should have sensed the danger before it arrived, but instead he’d been inside the castle fuming over his newfound mate mark. His skin burned and ached where it lay, and he fought back the urge to rub his palm against it.
Winter's Frollick Page 8
