by L. P. Dover
She takes her cold hand and gently grabs mine to place it on her forearm. Even though I am wearing gloves I can still feel the coldness of her skin.
“I meant it when I said you looked lovely in your dress. I did not just say it to aggravate your mother.”
“Thank you, Your Highness,” I murmur apprecia-tively.
“You are very welcome,” she responds thoughtfully. We walk over to a quiet corner and she continues to speak. “I’m sorry, dear, about what’s been happening and what you went through. We had an emergency meeting today and Queen Calista filled us in on everything.”
I drop my eyes from her warm gaze and I grit my teeth. I don’t think I will ever get over the anger I feel at what the dark sorcerer has done. I take a calming breath before responding.
“Yes, it has been a tragic misfortune,” I confess.
“Well, I believe you will be in capable hands here. Kalen will no doubt do everything in his power to keep you safe.” A twinkle sparkles in her eye when she says, “I believe you have bewitched him, Meliantha. He offered to be your personal bodyguard for the rest of your visit here.”
I stare transfixed and stunned at the queen for what felt like an eternity. A small laugh escapes her lips breaking me out of my stupor. My heart feels like it’s going to pound out of my chest, so I take a few deep breaths. Why did I suddenly get this light-headed feeling?
The queen gives me a sly smile and I notice a hint of curiosity in her voice when she asks, “Have you not spoken to Kalen yet?”
I take in a quick shallow breath.
“No, Your Highness, we have not spoken yet.”
Her smile turns into a huge grin and then her eyes move away from mine to focus on something or someone behind me.
“I believe now is your chance, dear.”
My eyes go wide and I quickly turn around. The moment I do I am met with the hypnotic blue-eyed prince that has inhabited my dreams for the past five years. So that is the reason why I was beginning to feel light-headed. He must have been standing behind me and my body had been responding to his presence. The smile Kalen gives me is the same smile I fell in love with years ago. I hold back my gasp when I see the light purple rose pinned to the lapel of his coat. It’s the same color as my eyes. I haven’t seen any of the other Winter fae wearing flowers on their coats. I wonder if he did it for me. He looks down at my hand and the corners of his mouth slowly turn down into a slight frown. He meets my eyes again and in his deep, sensual voice he greets me softly.
“Good evening, Meliantha.”
He reaches down and hesitates before clutching my hand to bring it to his lips for a gentle kiss. He kisses my gloved hand and keeps his steely gaze on me the entire time. Oh, I wish I could feel his lips on my bare skin. His black hair falls forward as he leans down and I ache to touch the soft tendrils as they tickle my wrist. My pulse jumps with his touch and I know he can hear the loud drumming of my heart. The fiery blast of our connection is smoldering in my veins making my body feel heated and on fire. I wish I could feel the coolness of his skin on my body, cooling me down from this internal inferno. From the smoldering look in his eyes, I can tell he’s just as entranced by our connection as I am. We have never actually touched bare skin to bare skin, and now that I’m wearing gloves his touch will not bring about the vision. He appears disappointed about my gloved hands, and honestly so am I.
I thought five years ago it was him I touched in the gardens. I remember my heart deflating when the vision didn’t come. It’s hard to believe I found out just a few short hours ago that it was all a lie, and that the dark sorcerer did that to me so I would feel betrayed by the one man I loved. Through hell or the Hereafter, I will spend the rest of my life making the dark sorcerer pay for what he has done.
“Good evening to you as well, Kalen,” I say while bowing my head ever so slightly.
He’s still holding my hand in the gentlest of touches when he asks in a low voice, “Will you do me the honor of dancing with me, Princess?”
I can’t stop the smile from forming on my lips.
“I would love to,” I reply breathlessly.
He walks me to the dance floor and keeps a respectable distance between our bodies when he pulls me in for the dance. I regret my decision for wearing gloves because it would feel amazing to touch his skin. His skin has the perfect complexion, as do all fae, but there’s something about his creamy smooth skin that makes me want to touch every square inch of it. I groan in silence. I wish I could smack myself in the head to keep the thoughts from plaguing my mind. It feels like every single lustful thought that I had of Kalen years ago is resurfacing. I’d kept the thoughts locked away in my brain, but now I can’t stop imagining all the things we could do together. I never thought I could go from hating someone with a vengeful passion to having feelings for them in a matter of a day. The feelings were always there from the very beginning. My heart is screaming at me to take my walls down, but my mind keeps telling me to stay guarded. How am I supposed to know what to do when my heart tells me one thing and my mind tells me another?
I look around the dance floor and I see my parents talking to King Madoc. My mother likes King Madoc and enjoys talking to him. It’s the Queen she cannot stand. Ariella is off making the rounds through the ballroom and speaking to everyone she can. She is a very charismatic woman, and I know one day she will make a great leader. It appears I wasn’t the only one who has changed over the years.
My eyes land on my brother, Drake, next. He seems to be mesmerized by something across the room. I follow his gaze to a dark-haired Winter beauty who happens to be on the dance floor with another man. I recognize the lovely fae and I know her as being Sorcha, Winter Court Princess, and also Kalen’s sister. Interesting. I wonder if there will be another love in the making.
I notice Calista and Ryder dancing closely together and the love that shows in their eyes could make even the saintly souls jealous. They look magical as they stare at each other longingly in the eyes, and even though I envy her, I have never been happier for them.
I turn my attention back to Kalen and I am instantly hypnotized by the swirling pools of endless blue in his eyes.
I feel lost in their depths when his deep voice whispers in my ear, “We need to talk, Meliantha. There are so many things we need to catch up on.” He intently searches my face, like he’s trying to memorize every square inch. He almost looks scared, like he’s afraid to let me go.
I smile warmly at him and reply, “We do have a lot to talk about, and I want to start with saying how sorry…”
“There you are, lover.”
Gritting my teeth, I politely look over to see who the interrupter is. What I find is a beautiful brown-haired Winter Fae looking up at Kalen with adoring eyes. I somehow find her expression at him forced, but then she turns to look at me with absolute contempt and I know for a fact this one is genuine. I narrow my eyes at her and return the look. Kalen notices the hostile exchange and gives the other faerie a lethal stare.
“Breena, what are you doing?” he hisses.
She bats her eyes and her voice takes on a faux innocent tone when she pleads, “When you left in such a hurry earlier I couldn’t give you your engagement gift. I think right now would be the perfect time to announce it.” She says the last part while looking straight at me. My heart stops beating and I know my face has gone pale. Did she just say the word ‘engagement’?
I quickly let go of Kalen’s hand and step back. He gives the Winter bitch a scowl and turns his gentle blue eyes to me. Could my night get any worse? The moment I think things are looking up is the moment it all falls apart. I refuse to cry, and I refuse to show how angry I am. If the Winter wretch wants to see me upset, then that is the last thing she’s going to get. I can tell by the smug look on her face that she’s doing it on purpose; however, it still doesn’t change the fact that Kalen is engaged.
I look at them both, mainly at Kalen, and I ignore his pleading look.
In a flat tone I say, “Congra
tulations.” I turn my gaze to Breena and I politely point out, “If you will excuse me, I need some fresh air. For some reason the air in here just turned rancid.”
Breena’s smug expression turned into one of shock, then outright hate. I would love to call her every foul name I can think of and use her as a practice partner for my brutal training, but that wouldn’t look good for my court. I really do need some fresh air so I turn around slowly and start to walk out of the stuffy ballroom. If I could, I would be running as fast as my body would allow me toward the nearest exit, but that would give away my true feelings on how upset I really am.
Kalen quickly calls out, “Meliantha, wait! You have to let me explain!”
At this point we have drawn everyone’s attention, so I keep a steady pace as I head out of the ballroom and cleverly sneak past the Winter Court warriors stationed on the back veranda. I don’t need them following me everywhere I go even if Kalen did order them to.
Ashur never returned to the ballroom, so I assume he is still out searching for Elissa. I hope everything is all right. He still has my bow and arrows and I can’t help but feel lost without them. Next time, no matter what the occasion is or what I am wearing, I will keep my bow and arrows with me at all times. The snow is rapidly beginning to fall and the flakes melt the instant they hit my warm skin. I refuse to walk back inside the palace, so I head down the path to the cottage. I can see the fountain up ahead, sitting frozen and lonely in the midst of the cabins and the cottage. The fountain would look absolutely breathtaking with running water spraying out of the spouts and flowers decorating the outer edge.
I sweep a mound of snow off the ledge of the fountain, and I take a seat. I wrap my arms around myself hoping to bring in some warmth. I do know of one way to send warmth through my body. I bend down on my knees and I cringe as the cold snow soaks into the fabric of my dress. I don’t plan on going back to the ball so ruining my dress now is of no consequence. I lay my hands on the cold, snowy ground and I close my eyes. I concentrate on the very core of my magic, summoning it to do my will. The power of the magic warms me with its gentle caress and it spreads all around the fountain and deep into the land. I breathe a sigh of relief. I haven’t felt this good in a really long time. The first thing I’m going to do when I go home is spend plenty of time in my gardens. The rush of using magic is intoxicating.
As the power begins to fade, I start to feel something cold and wet nuzzling my hand, and I open my eyes quickly to find a huge white wolf lying down on his belly in front of me. This must be one of Kalen’s wolves! I remember talking to him about them at Calista’s Guardian Ceremony and how much I would love to meet them. Having a magical ability pertaining to animals always draws them close to me and I love spending time with them.
Communicating with them also comes with my ability. They may not speak words, but I hear them all the same through images. With a simple touch, they can tell me everything. I reach over with both hands and I cup the wolf’s face to bring it level with mine. His fur is soft and feels like the fluffy fabric of cotton. His eyes glow a bright green making the snow on the ground give off a faint emerald glow. He is one magnificent creature.
“Why hello there, boy. What, may I ask, is your name?”
Still holding onto him, I close my eyes to concentrate on his thoughts. It starts off jumbled and not clear, but then the thoughts come together in a slow procession.
“Ah, so your name is Aki, right?” He huffs and licks my hand. I laugh and rub my face against his. He smells like the freshness of a winter snow and his fur is icy cold when I rub my cheek against it. He sends images cascad-ing through my mind and what I see is absolutely amazing. I can see his mate and his pup frolicking in the snow, and I can see an image of the pack resting together in their den. The image is breathtaking — I can see the whole pack together. I wish I could see them now.
“You have a beautiful pack, Aki.” He huffs again, pushing me to look further so I delve deeper into his thoughts. The next images are of Kalen. He looks forlorn and lost in all of them and it breaks my heart to see him so defeated.
“Was he this distraught over the past five years?” I ask the wolf.
He nods his head up and down with a painful set to his glowing green eyes. I shake my head.
“I don’t understand, why has he chosen to marry someone else then?” As soon as I ask, I can see the scene play out in my mind just as Aki had witnessed it. Kalen is training with the warriors when one of them mentions they heard one of the princesses of the Summer Court was dating one of their warriors.
Kalen approaches the warrior immediately and demands to know which princess. When he finds out it is me, his face turns crimson with anger, and he throws his sword half way across the training grounds and storms off. I never knew he had been living in pain and loss just as I have.
“Oh, Aki, it was all a misunderstanding. I had no idea he was that upset over the situation. We were tricked by the dark sorcerer and have been living in lies for the past five years.”
Aki abruptly stands up and guards me with his body, instantly on full alert. I snap to attention, but then calmly breathe a sigh of relief when I see who approaches. The thought of Aki protecting me is endearing, but it’s only Finn approaching, and I know he means me no harm. He’s carrying my cloak with him, and I can’t stop the excitement of knowing I will be warm in a matter of seconds.
“He’s a friend, Aki. You don’t have to protect me from him.” I rub behind his ear one good time and then I walk toward Finn with anticipation in each step. I really want my cloak. He opens it for me and the soft, velvety material slides over my cold body and begins to warm me instantly.
“The flowers are beautiful, Meliantha. I always loved what you could do with a garden.”
“Thank you, Finn. I haven’t used my magic in a long time and it felt good to use it.” I wrap the cloak tightly around my body while looking at my creation around the fountain. It’s a shame the flowers won’t last long once I leave.
Finn comes closer to me and takes my hands. I can feel the sadness in him rolling off in waves, and I hesitate a few seconds before lifting my face. I know what he’s about to say and it hurts my heart to feel this pain coming from him. I look into his watery gaze and my eyes burn with the unshed tears that are beginning to surface.
His voice is sad when he asks, “Is this the end for us, Princess?”
My heart lurches at his words and I know there is no way I can stop the tears from flowing. I pull him closer and I rest my head against his chest. I haven’t cried in a really long time, but knowing that I’m going to lose and hurt him is too overwhelming to hold the feelings inside.
I can’t bring myself to look at his face, so I sob against his chest.
“Finn, I don’t want to lose you, but my heart is with him.”
He blows out a loud breath, “I know, Mel. I’ve always known you would find your heart. It still doesn’t make it any easier. I have enjoyed every minute with you, and I want to know that you felt the same way with me.”
Tears stain my cheeks, but I look up at Finn anyway.
“Of course I have enjoyed every minute with you. You were my lover and best friend, Finn. I will always hold a special place for you in my heart.” I reach up to cup his face and I lay a gentle kiss across his lips. I taste the saltiness of his tears and it just makes me cry even more. I hold him tight, and for however long, I do not know. I break apart from him at the sound of someone clearing their throat. I look over to see that Kalen is staring at us with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. Aki leaves my side to run over to his alpha.
Kalen looks at us, but keeps his gaze on mine when he speaks, “I really need to talk to you, Meliantha.”
He looks over at Finn and in a firm voice he commands, “Alone.”
I give Finn an apologetic look and he nods his head.
“I’ll see you back at the cottage,” he says softly. I wonder how the sleeping arrangements will be now. I a
ssume he’ll find another room to sleep in. He takes my hand and squeezes it before walking over to Kalen. Please don’t let them fight, I say to myself.
I’m a few feet away, so I can’t hear the words that come out of Finn’s mouth. All I know is they are not friendly words by the way he glares at Kalen. Kalen smirks and says something back. Finn stares fiercely at him for a few extra seconds and then turns away to walk toward the cabin. He never looks back.
When Finn was out of earshot, Kalen walks toward me with impatient steps.
“Meliantha, you never gave me time to explain. You have to know what’s going on,” he says quickly.
“Oh, the part where you’re getting married to a raging bitch? Yeah, I think I know what’s going on,” I storm back.
His shoulders sag in defeat and he shakes his head.
“No, you don’t. I told my parents during the meeting that I wanted to call off the engagement. With everything that’s been happening I haven’t had time to tell Breena. I told her as soon as you walked away.” He takes a couple steps closer to where we’re only a foot apart. I can tell he’s contemplating his next words.
Hesitant, he takes in a deep breath and asks, “Do you love him?”
I look toward the cottage where Finn has just entered and Kalen follows my gaze. I sneak a side-long glance at him and his jaw is rigid and clenching. I guess it’s about time to put him out of his misery. He looks back at me, jealousy clear across his face, and I reach up with my glove-covered hand to place it against his cheek.
“He’s special to me, Kalen, but I had never been in love with him. There is only one man I can say that has taken that place in my heart.”
The anger slowly leaves him and now the man staring at me is the loving and playful Kalen I fell in love with years ago. I reach my other hand up to where I’m holding his face between my hands. I pull him closer and whisper across his lips.
“You, Kalen, are the only man that I will always and forever be in love with.”
In a rush of passion, he closes the distance and merges his soft lips with mine. The second our lips touch, the world falls away and we are thrust into the vision we have longed to see.
