As a child, I had been invited to a few woodland balls. Orion had always been kind to me. He probably sent for me because he knew my mother never would. Every time I attended a party, hundreds of fae in every size and shape took up every inch of the throne room. The space was decorated with hundreds of flowers in a riot of colors. The intoxicating scent of perfectly cut blooms filled my nostrils. The only thing that smelled better was the food. Gold tables stretched along walls filled with every fruit on the planet, along with the sweetest French pastries I had ever tasted. Marcus always insisted on coming with me on my trips. He said it was to protect me, but I knew better. He came for the food.
But this wasn’t the throne room I remembered.
This place—normally bustling with fae—was nearly empty. Orion was also different. He sat slumped, leaning on the arm of his golden chair. His eyes were focused on a window. A few pixies floated around the king, dancing and singing as if they were trying to amuse him. It wasn’t working. He was so deep in thought he never noticed them or our entrance. “King Orion, I need your help.”
Orion startled at the sound of my voice. The pixies blocked my view of him, flying around like they were protecting him. “Rowan, is that you?” He asked, voice strained.
I found a chair and sat Marcus in it. Even after I was relieved of his body weight, my shoulders continued to ache. “I am sorry to come unannounced, but as you can see, the situation is dire. Can you help my friend?” I glanced back at Marcus, swollen bruises and cuts had already surfaced on his face.
Orion rose from his seat. “Yes, of course.” He said something quietly to the pixies and they raced down another corridor. “Has he been poisoned?”
“No.” I grimaced, recalling the battle. “The damage you see is from two Gabriel Hounds fighting to the death.”
Four mortal sized faeries appeared rolling a metal gurney. They worked together to lift Marcus without moving him too much. Within minutes, they were wheeling him into their medical facility. The pressure in my shoulders released, knowing he was being cared for by the fae. Their knowledge of plants and herbs was uncanny.
Orion stepped down from his throne. As he headed my way, he said, “Your friend will be fine in a few hours. Hounds heal faster than any of the other types of elementals.”
I gazed at the vacant room. “Where are all your fae?”
He pressed his lips together. This close, I noticed the dark circles under his eyes. “They have left for the mortal world in search of their children. In the past week, many have gone missing.” His eyes lowered to the ground. “I acted foolishly. I never should have gone after Liana without solid proof.”
“Jarrod tricked us all. No one holds you accountable for what happened.” That wasn’t the total truth. Many within the fire court felt he was responsible, but he didn’t need me to say it. Besides, there was no need to play the blame game. We already had enough problems to deal with. I put my hand on his shoulder. “I certainly don’t.”
Orion let out a long breath. “I have heard these attacks are coming from fire elementals.”
I knew firsthand what he was talking about. There was only one way to stop all of this and bring the elements back in balance. “My adopted brother Valac is to blame. He has been recruiting fire elementals to his cause. He wants the throne for himself.”
Orion shot me a quizzical look. “He has no blood ties to your royal house.”
I shrugged. “True, but my house currently consists of only one member. I have an uncle in the mortal world, but he was stripped of his ties to my line long ago. That leaves only me. If I am killed, Valac will be first in line to replace me.”
Orion’s fists clenched at his sides. “I will not allow it!”
His anger gave me hope. “I’m glad to hear you say that. If I am going to defeat him, I will need as many allies as I can get.”
Orion straightened his back. “You have our allegiance.”
We spent the next several undisturbed hours discussing the attacks in the mortal world. His court had suffered excessive losses, but the woodland fae still had great numbers. Knowing that his fae were being killed by rogue members of my court made me worry. However, his alliance assured the woodland fae would not counter-attack against the fire elementals.
The very last thing I wanted was another war.
A small dwarf-like fae entered the room wearing a white medical coat with blood smeared across the front of it. My chest tightened, waiting for her to speak. “The patient is conscious. He is responding well to our treatments,” she said, bowing.
Knowing Marcus had survived made my stress level drop by a thousand degrees.
Orion smiled. “Excellent news.”
She tucked her hands into her coat pockets. “He is requesting to leave, Your Highness. He is quite insistent.”
Marcus must be out of his mind. After the beating he took, he needed rest. Where did he want to go? What could be so important that he would risk his health? I glanced at Orion. “I need to see how my friend is doing.”
“Of course.” He glanced at the small fae. “Take Rowan to the patient.”
She nodded and I followed her down the hallway. Unlike the rest of the castle, this area was plain. The ceilings, walls, and flooring were all white. My boots clicked against the rock surface as we walked swiftly. We came to stand in front of a glass door. When I looked through I saw Marcus inside. He had just slipped a white t-shirt over his shoulders.
I pushed the door open, getting his attention. “You scared the shit out of me, man. Are you all right?”
“I’m sore, but otherwise pretty good.” The corner of his mouth curled.
“Do you remember what happened?”
He sat down on the small bed. “The last thing I remember was clamping down on my father’s throat. Then I woke up here, surrounded by these little fae.” He said, pointing to two dwarfs in the corner of the room reading from a clipboard. “How I got here, I haven’t a clue.”
There was no easy way to say this, so I decided to just let it out. “Your father is dead, Marcus. You defeated him.” Hearing the words made him jolt as if he had been zapped by a stun gun. “I found you passed out next to him. For a minute, I thought you were dead.”
“I can’t believe he’s…dead.” Marcus shook his head. “I can’t believe…I killed him.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. “You can’t blame yourself. You tried to reason with him.”
Marcus was silent for several minutes. I didn’t say a word as he mulled it over. I had gone through the same thing when I killed my mother. Her death was necessary, but I still wished I wasn’t the one who had done it.
“How did I get here?” Marcus asked, breaking me from my thoughts.
“I threw you over my shoulder and carried you here.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You carried me here?”
I shrugged. “The pathway shortened the distance, but yeah, I carried you.”
“Wow, that’s impressive.” He said, acting as if he were totally surprised.
I punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Don’t sound so shocked. I’m a brick house.”
“You wish,” he said, laughing.
As Marcus slipped his boots back on, I asked, “Where are you in such a hurry to get to?”
He let out an exaggerated breath. “I’m sure Ariel has already heard what happened. I need to see her so she knows I’m okay.”
My eyes widened. “Were you planning on telling me before you left?”
“I thought about leaving you a note.” I grimaced, and he let out a chuckle. “Just kidding. I figured you were around here somewhere. I was going to look for you.”
If he was going to see Ariel, he would definitely run into Taron. Ariel had been taking care of him since he was rescued. “Would you mind checking in on Taron? I’d like to know how he’s doing.”
“No problem.”
After Marcus left, the lack of sleep and overuse of my power had finally caught up to me. My lids were h
eavy, making it hard to keep my eyes open. I laid down on the nearest bed, sinking into the softness of the vanilla scented pillows. I could rest here until tomorrow, and then meet Kalin on the beach at sundown. As I closed my eyes, I imagined her in that sexy sundress with the ocean breeze wafting through her red curls. My lips tingled remembering the raspberry taste of her kisses. With all this craziness going on, she was the one thing that made sense. The only person who could make me forget about everything for a little while.
Kalin was the one I wanted. The only one I needed. I shook my head. What was wrong with me? It was too soon to be thinking about this stuff, right? It had only been a few weeks. And what did I know about real feelings, anyway? Had it not been for Marcus, I would never even know what it felt like to care for someone. Love was never part of my life. My mother thought love was a weakness—a totally worthless emotion compared to power and control.
But that still didn’t explain how I was feeling. Why everything seemed better when Kalin was around. Why my fingers ached to touch her. Why her pain shattered me to the core. I put my hands over my face. Or, maybe the lack of sleep was making me delusional. With a smirk, I gave in to the darkness that was overwhelming me and fell asleep.
Chapter Ten
Kalin
Being betrothed totally sucked. Having powers I couldn’t control sucked. Not being able to help my ailing father sucked. Pretty much everything about my life right now sucked on an epic level of suckage. I forced a smile as I stood beneath the stone archway next to the council members, pretending to be excited to meet Sebastian. The same way I pretended not to notice my decisions were being made for me. Like everything in my life wasn’t out of control and falling to pieces right in front of me.
The mountain wind caught hold of the bottom trim of my yellow full-length gown. I pushed it back down with my gloved hands. The council insisted that our first meeting was to be a formal affair, so I had to dress like I was going to a prom. Ariel, of course, tried to make the best of it. She thought a princess makeover might improve my mood. Unfortunately, all of her efforts— combined with the way-too-tight bodice on this gown—just added to my overall disdain.
After speaking with Dad, we decided it was best for him to keep Mom away from all of this. At the moment, I had to go along with the engagement. I was hoping I could gain my akasha powers and never have to tell her about this whole disaster. Although I understood Dad’s motives, I was still pissed that he never told me about the betrothal. There should have been a discussion between us. Lots and lots of them until he saw my side and then changed his mind. An overwhelming sense of despair lingered in the pit of my stomach. If I couldn’t ignite my akasha powers, would I really have to follow through with this and marry a stranger?
I mean, who was Sebastian? I knew he came from an old, very influential lineage. Members of his family had served on the council during the last several centuries. Others in his family had been knights. Like all other elementals, he had spent his childhood in the mortal world. But his parents rarely allowed him to interact with other elemental children. Ariel had seen him only once when they were barely teenagers. Apparently, he had known about me all his life. Jaya said he has been preparing for our union, whatever that meant. I didn’t want to know. The whole thing creeped me out.
Whispers pulled me out of my thoughts. I peered over my shoulder and gasped. A crowd lurked behind me. Apparently, this meeting was a big event around the castle. The more I thought about it, pressure built in my shoulders. The presence of so many elementals reminded me of why I was here. They needed strong leadership to feel safe in this newly unbalanced world. Something Dad usually provided, but now it was up to me. I had to be strong for them. If I intended to be their queen, I had to do what was necessary.
Cheers exploded from the crowd when a small group appeared from within the nearby forest. Jaya came toward us, surrounded by four armored knights. The air court symbol had been embedded into the chest of their breastplates. Behind them was a wagon full of luggage pulled by two white horses. I poked my head to the side to see if Sebastian was walking behind the carriage, but I saw no one else. There had to be something I was missing. If he wasn’t with the group, where was he? I waited for Jaya and the others, trying to appear like I knew exactly what was going on.
I really had no clue.
When Jaya reached our group, she bowed. “Princess Kalin, I would like to introduce my son, Sebastian.”
A knight took a few steps forward until he was right in front of me, then he bent on one knee. His hands gripped the sides of his helmet, removing the metal hat with one tug. My stomach lurched. Oh God, was he going to propose in front of everyone? No, we were already engaged, so there was no need. Engaged. The word made my throat tighten and I couldn’t breathe. Suddenly, I was gasping for air. Very little oxygen was passing through to my lungs. Light headed, I started to wave my hand in front of me to create a little wind.
I teetered from one side to the other, feeling like I was about to pass out. I could feel it coming on in waves. As my hips weaved, a hand pressed against my lower back. It was Sebastian. He had his arms around me, preventing me from moving.
“Easy now,” he said, his voice so calming it was almost hypnotic. “Try to relax.”
Once I had collected myself, I became fully aware of all the eyes on me. I released myself from Sebastian’s grip. “I’m fine, really. It’s the dress. I can hardly breathe.”
Our eyes met and I took him in for the very first time. He had all the normal traits of the air elementals: white-blonde hair, lavender eyes, and killer cheekbones. But there was something more to him. He appeared regal somehow. Beautiful and polished in a way I would never be. He looked straight out-of-the-box ready for royalty. No assembly required.
Sebastian smiled, displaying perfectly lined teeth. “I know what you mean. I had to come here in this metal suit. I can’t imagine having to fight in this thing.”
“You’re not a knight?” I asked, already knowing his response. He was too pretty to ever pick up a sword. It was like I was meeting my very own life-like Ken doll.
“No, they wanted to bring me here in disguise.” He held out his arm for me to accept, which I did. Then we headed toward the castle. “The random attacks from the fire court have mother worried that they might target me.”
“Why would you be a target?” It was a ridiculous question to ask when I already had the answer. He was in danger because everyone knew he was my betrothed. Well, everyone but me. “Stupid question. Sorry.”
His expression turned serious. “Nothing you say is stupid. Please ask any question you like.”
“The obvious one is why would you agree to marry someone you just met?” I cringed. Why was I always so blunt?
If he was bothered by my candid question, he didn’t show it. “I never thought of it as a choice. I was selected to be your partner while still in infancy. Once I understood what that meant, I whole-heartedly accepted the honor.”
The honor? Being chosen by a king did sound pretty awesome, but his entire life was decided for him. Didn’t that matter? “Yeah, but haven’t you ever met anyone you wanted to date?” I refused to believe someone this good looking spent their teenage years alone.
The tips of his ears turned pink. Was he embarrassed? Maybe the question was too personal. We were still strangers at this point. “There were relationships here and there, but nothing too serious. Everyone I dated knew about our plans. It wasn’t a secret.”
My body shuttered. If our betrothal wasn’t a secret, did Rowan know about it? If it turned out that he knew and didn’t tell me, I would be a little hurt. Wait! Was he betrothed too? In all the time we spent together, he never once mentioned someone else. Maybe he didn’t like her, or even more likely, maybe he didn’t care. Nevertheless, I planned to ask him the next time we meet.
Lost in my own thoughts, I hadn’t even noticed that Sebastian led us inside the castle. The heels of my shoes clicked as we strolled down the main foye
r of the castle. Sebastian stopped every once in a while to admire a painting on the wall. Of course, he recognized each one. I imagined he visited the castle throughout his childhood. My hand was still tucked inside his arm. His bicep was impressive for someone who had probably been waited on since birth. I doubted that his muscles came from hard labor. He looked like someone who might be on a water polo team. Or, perhaps he fenced in his free time. I had no idea what high-ranking elementals did in the mortal world.
I tugged on his arm so he would stop walking. I stared up at him. He had to be at least half a foot taller than me. “You must be uncomfortable in all of that,” I said, pointing to the heavy metal armor. “Would you like to get changed into something more comfortable?”
“That sounds wonderful.”
I turned around, nodding at the guards trailing us. It was impossible to get a moment alone anymore. The only exception being when I snuck away to meet Rowan. “My knights will escort you to your room. Get settled and meet me back here in an hour.”
He took my hand, placing it inches from his lips. “Till then, Your Highness.” He kissed the exact spot where I would wear a wedding ring. I wasn’t sure if it was on purpose, but it felt like a subtle message.
I watched him walk away and then headed to my room to get out of this dress. On the way I thought about Sebastian. As far as fiancés go, he wasn’t a horrible choice. He certainly wasn’t unattractive. The guy could have been a model in the mortal world. Beyond the physical, he was very kind and chivalrous in an old school way. I couldn’t say I had ever met anyone like him. As far as I could tell, Sebastian only had one problem:
He wasn’t Rowan.
Fragile Reign (Mortal Enchantment Book 2) Page 7
