by Nissa Leder
The Summer Queen? It made sense—Scarlett was in a castle after all. But to meet some inhuman queen took Scarlett’s breath.
Kassandra was lovely, with flawless peach skin. Her sea-green eyes were stunning, but cold. A shudder tingled Scarlett’s spine.
Kassandra approached. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. “Why yes, she is potent.”
Potent? What did that mean? Kassandra ran the back of her fingers across Scarlett’s cheeks, sending a shiver down her arms. Normal people didn’t touch other people like they were pets, and right now Scarlett felt more like a dog than a person. Peony was a human and she was a servant. Something told Scarlett that humans weren’t on the top of the food chain in Faerie.
“Such lovely skin.” Kassandra twined her fingers through a strand of Scarlett’s hair that had escaped from the bun. “And what dark hair.”
Scarlett clenched her jaw, her teeth grazing the tip of her tongue. The tang of iron grazed her taste buds.
When Kassandra moved back to the chaise, Cade returned to Scarlett’s side.
“She will be quite well for you, son.”
Cade nodded and guided Scarlett back out of the room.
Whatever just happened, she needed to be careful.
Chapter Eight
Scarlett had met a fae queen and she wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or petrified. The way Kassandra had spoken of Scarlett like she wasn’t even there sent a queasiness to Scarlett’s stomach. And she’d pet her.
Anytime fear or dread surfaced in Scarlett’s mind, it slipped away before she could think too much into it.
“I told you my mother would approve,” Cade said as he sat on the bed that would now be Scarlett’s.
“What did she have to approve of?” Scarlett asked.
Cade gestured for her to sit next to him, and so she did. He rested his hand on her knee. He flicked his other hand and the door swung shut. “My mother is protective of me. You don’t need to worry.”
Before Scarlett could reply, Cade’s hands moved to her face. He gripped her cheeks gently and pulled her mouth to his.
Scarlett pulled away. “This place seems…” She wasn’t sure what to say without making things worse. “Different. Maybe you should take me home.”
Cade sighed. “I didn’t want to do this, but…”
The pain in Scarlett’s chest hit her like a horse’s hoof to her heart. Visions of her mother lying on the ground, the color drained from her face played through Scarlett’s mind. The metallic smell of blood filling the room. The fight they had when Scarlett snuck into the house past curfew the weekend before her mom died. The disappointment in her mom’s eyes.
Scarlett grasped her stomach as she tried not to puke. She thought it hurt before, but that was nothing. It was too much at once. Her head spun.
“Make it stop,” Scarlett screamed. The memories loosened their grip. She looked into Cade’s eyes and saw no remorse. He touched her lips with his finger. Her brain grew numb.
“You’ll like it here. Promise. Just give it time.” Cade’s hand grazed Scarlett’s thigh.
His lips met hers. A tingle spread through her face. Whatever had just upset her seemed light years away. Scarlett reached around Cade’s back and pulled herself closer to him. The desire to be close to him overwhelmed her. She’d craved the touch of someone before, but never like this. This wasn’t normal. Or human. It was something else. Something dangerous.
Scarlett was Cade’s for the taking.
When your mom hears voices, you grow up fast, or that was the case for Scarlett. Maybe if she’d had a dad there to help it would have been different. But it was just Scarlett, Ashleigh, and their mom.
Scarlett learned to pack her own lunches for school at six years old, asked her friends’ moms for rides to and from softball practice after school, and even taught herself to drive.
And, maybe because she took care of herself all too often, she craved attention from guys. Or maybe she just liked how they seemed drawn to her—her bright eyes and flirty grin.
She’d tease them as they ogled her. For once in her life, she was in control of something. They would go only as far as she felt comfortable—never all the way. She wasn’t a prude, her virginity not on some pedestal, but whenever she got close to crossing the line, she pulled back. None of the guys actually knew her. They thought she was pretty, sure, but until she dated Teddy, none of her boyfriends actually cared much about her.
She always had the control, until one night when a guy decided her consent wasn’t important. She was trapped underneath him in his beat-up Chevy truck when someone pulled him off her and told her to leave.
She listened, running four blocks back to Natalie’s, indebted to a stranger.
But now, under Cade’s influence, her virtue was the last thing on her mind.
Chapter Nine
Cade left Scarlett’s room with a smirk on his face. Magic buzzed though him. Scarlett’s pain was feast enough, but the lust she radiated filled him even more. He had to use it wisely, though. For his own desires, he wanted to devour her fully, but her hunger for him would last longer if they took things slowly. Kisses would have to do for now.
It was time for Cade’s first official training session. He’d been preparing over the last couple of months by himself, but once the battle was declared, each competitor was assigned a mentor to train him.
Cade entered the training tower and went into the battle room where his father had met him and Raith. A girl dressed in a brown fighting suit, with a long blonde ponytail that fell to the middle of her back, looked out the window and onto the courtyard. The open window allowed a breeze to sweep through the room.
“You’re late,” she said as she turned to him. Her silver eyes glared at him.
“You’re a girl,” Cade said. He was expecting some burly, fae warrior to be waiting for him, not some scrawny blonde girl.
“A woman, to be correct.” She approached him. “Got a problem with it?”
She was a pretty girl, at least. She might not be so bad, he thought, until she slugged him in the stomach.
Cade bucked over as he held his gut.
“I am the top graduate from last year’s battle class, and I don’t appreciate you ogling me.”
Cade straightened up. “Fine.”
“I’m Poppy,” she said. “And I know you’re Cade. Nice to meet you. Blah, blah.”
No one had ever been so direct toward him. He wasn’t sure if he was offended or impressed.
“Pick a weapon,” Poppy said.
Cade browsed the weapon wall. He grabbed a sword. He loved the feeling of the weight in his hands.
“Typical.” Poppy grabbed an iron staff. “The sword is a classic, and, when used right, powerful. Now, let’s face each other and practice.”
Cade swung the sword at Poppy’s throat. Maybe that would shut her up. Her staff met the sword and pushed it back toward Cade. As he veered it back at Poppy, she twirled her staff above her head and around Cade’s body, and then hit the back of his knees, knocking him to the ground.
“It’s also heavy and clunky, and, if you don’t control it properly, a liability.”
This Poppy was going to drive him crazy before he even made it to the battle. She reached her hand out to help him up, but he ignored it and pushed himself from the ground.
“You can be as mad as you want, but don’t think your brother’s trainer isn’t teaching him all of this, too.”
“Since when do they allow girls into Battle School?”
“Since the General had a daughter.”
The General’s daughter? Cade’s father had made his best friend the general when he became king. He was infamous for killing the Winter King and earning the Summer Court victory in the recent war. Cade didn’t know he’d had any children.
“Let’s try again,” Cade said.
The second time, he lasted on his feet for a few minutes before Poppy knocked him down. She was too damn quick. How did someone so small have so much st
rength?
“Better already,” she said.
Cade bit his tongue.
The longer they practiced, the dryer Cade’s mouth became.
Poppy had barely worked up a sweat. After an hour of Cade getting knocked down over and over, she declared practice over.
“Hang in there, prince. You’ll get there.”
Losing was bad enough, but getting his ass kicked by a girl made it worse. What if the kingdom found out he couldn’t even overpower a puny blonde? How would they trust him to rule the kingdom?
As Cade left training, a scroll tied with red ribbon appeared in front of him. He opened the note. Come see me was scribbled in cursive, signed by the queen. He wasn’t sure where she’d be at this time of day, but he headed to the parlor. Kassandra sat at the pearl colored, grand piano.
“Music has never been my calling,” she said as she twisted around on the bench. “My sister stole all that talent in the family.”
“My trainer is a girl,” Cade said. Surely his mother would be able to fix it.
Kassandra laughed. “Of course, Cade. I am the one who assigned her.”
“You assigned a girl to prepare me for the battle?”
Kassandra rose from the bench and waltzed to the couch placed underneath the room’s large window. “I’ll pretend to ignore the disgust in your voice. Don’t forget your mother is also a girl.”
“You’re a wonderful woman, mother.” Cade bowed to her. “I just assumed that someone with more experience would be better suited to train me.”
“Poppy was in the top of her graduating class. She isn’t as big as the other warriors, but she’s smart. How else could she take down men twice her size?” Kassandra crossed her legs and placed her hands on her knee. “Your father is ill. He’s hung on such a very long time, but I don’t know that he will last much past the battle. I believe he wants you to be his successor, so he’s holding on until you can win.”
Cade doubted it. Father had always had a soft spot for Raith. As a child, Cade was sure that his father favored Raith over himself. It wouldn’t surprise Cade if his father died the day before the battle blessing, the official commencement of the Right of Heir, so Raith would be king forever and Cade would have no chance to challenge him for the crown. Unless Raith was killed, in which case, the crown would pass to Cade, with or without their father’s blessing.
Kassandra continued. “Things will be changing soon, my son. And Poppy will be a huge ally to our cause, so play nice.”
Cade didn’t know they had a cause. And what type of change was she talking about? “Change?”
“Don’t worry about that, yet. You just focus on winning the battle.” Kassandra patted the empty spot next to her. “Come sit.”
It was unusual for his mother to be talkative. Cade joined her on the couch. Kassandra dismissed the guards and asked them to shut the door.
“How is Scarlett doing here?” Kassandra spoke quietly.
“Fine.” Why all the secrecy? Scarlett was just a human. Her emotion was delicious—sure—but she was nothing that out of the ordinary.
“And you’re still gaining your fae energy?”
Cade hadn’t tried to produce it lately, but when he focused, a teal orb grew in his hands, filling his palms. It was twice the size as the last time he’d generated it.
Kassandra grinned. “Wonderful. The more power you bring to the battle, the better. We have waited a long time for this. Keep focused, and don’t let the girl go home.”
Cade didn’t plan on it, but he wasn’t sure why his mother cared so much. “I can always find a human to bring here. There are plenty who want to escape their world.”
“There’s something different about Scarlett. I don’t know what it is, yet, but if she fills your magic supply like you say she does, then she’s to stay.”
“Yes, mother.” Cade said.
Kassandra cradled Cade’s face in between her soft hands. “You must win this battle Cade. No matter what it takes. The Summer Court cannot go to your brother.”
Cade nodded. Kassandra dismissed him.
When he went back to his room, Scarlett wasn’t there.
Raith had spent the day in his room in the castle. He folded the note in his hands as small it would go. It was a reminder of his scheduled battle practice. The soldier just couldn’t take a hint. What about Raith leaving last time did he not understand?
As much as Raith didn’t like the idea of someone else telling him what to do, he hated the idea of his little brother beating him in battle even more. While Raith might be able to waltz into the battle untrained and humiliate Cade, he also might show up unprepared and get his ass handed to him. He knew Cade well enough to know that Cade would attend all of his training sessions, extra even. His little brother was anything but unpredictable, a golden boy to his core.
With a groan, Raith headed to his training session. In the tower, Jaser swung a staff around the training room.
“Look who decided to bless me with his presence,” Jaser said as he hung the staff on the wall. He approached Raith, who lingered in the doorway.
Jaser towered over Raith a few inches and had a sturdy build. He looked young, but Raith couldn’t deny the fierceness he carried.
Well, he was already there. Might as well give Jaser a chance.
“What amazing things can you teach me?” Raith stared at Jaser, noticing a scar sliced across his right hand.
Jaser pulled his sleeve down to hide it.
Raith thought of his own scar, just above his left eyebrow—not as easy to conceal.
“Lesson one: never underestimate. Anyone. Ever.” Jaser searched the weapon wall until he found a small dagger in between a bow and staff. “Or any weapon.” He flung the dagger into a chest on the other side of the room, its tip piercing the wood. “Death comes from precision, not size.”
Jaser explained all the weapons to Raith, their uses and downfalls, the best time to use each. At first, Raith pretended to listen. Then he found himself enthralled by Jaser’s words. Raith hadn’t expected to care about the history of each weapon, but he was fascinated. He’d learned about Summer Court history as a child, but his teacher’s lessons were dry and boring. Passion radiated from Jaser as he spoke. Raith tried to act nonchalant, but Jaser smirked.
“Summer defeated Winter with this blade here.” Jaser grabbed a bronze-headed spear from the wall.
“It’s not even made with summer magic,” Raith said.
Jaser twirled the spear through the air. “Nope. The General got mad and chucked it over the Winter front line and it shot right through the Winter King. He didn’t even see it coming.”
“Ouch.”
No wonder Winter wasn’t too fond of the Summer.
“That’ll teach a King to be in the middle of the battle. I don’t know what he was thinking.”
“So, they just surrendered?”
“His daughter was only fourteen. She wasn’t ready to be a Queen,” Jaser said. “Summer would have won anyway. It was only a matter of time.”
“Moral of the story: always watch for spears,” Raith said. “Got it.
“That’ll do for today,” Jaser said as he hung the spear up. “Tomorrow we’ll start to practice.”
“How’d you get stuck as my trainer?” Raith asked. Jaser was far too knowledgeable and talented to be behind the scenes as a teacher. Usually retired soldiers taught, not young, healthy ones.
Jaser shrugged. “Captains don’t like to lose.” He smirked. “Plus, the way I see it, training you is more important than standing guard at a post that never gets attacked.”
Raith wondered what the story behind Jaser and the captain was. Sometime he’d have to ask about it. Jaser seemed likable, and Raith didn’t like a lot of people. He wasn’t ready to let his guard down yet, but he was surprised to admit he may have been wrong. Jaser didn’t seem like someone to get latched under Kassandra’s fingers. Maybe Raith could trust him—only time would tell. If he wanted to win the battle, he mi
ght have to.
For now, Raith wanted to go back to his tree to relax.
“See you tomorrow then.”
Maybe training wouldn’t be so bad after all.
After training, Raith headed through the castle entryway to his tree.
“I just need to go outside,” he heard a female voice say. A young woman pleaded with one of the guards at the front entrance. “It isn’t a big deal.”
A guard stood on each side of the tall iron doors of the castle. One guard kept his position, the other turned to speak with the girl.
Raith admired her from the back. She was tall for a girl, with curves in all the right places. With her hair pulled up, her long neck was exposed.
“No human is to leave without a fae. Queen’s orders,” the guard replied.
The girl sighed and turned her head. Raith recognized her immediately—the human girl Cade had found. He must have convinced her to come to Faerie somehow. Not surprising—Raith had felt her pain when he spied on them through the window. If Cade offered to take it from her, it was no wonder she came with him.
“There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you,” Raith said. She would have no idea who Raith was, but he hoped she’d catch on and play along.
Her sky blue eyes widened when she saw Raith, but she was smart enough to act like she knew him. “I was trying to tell these guards that it’s okay for me to go outside. You don’t mind, do you, dear?” She grinned and hurried to Raith.
He locked his arm with hers. When their skin touched, a flicker of a memory flashed in Raith’s mind. She stood atop a hill, staring down onto a graveyard. Fear filled the memory, and guilt.
It had been a long time since a memory had attacked him like that. Since he’d learned to control his gift, he only looked into minds when he wanted to. Why was this girl different?
“We’d like to take a stroll through the courtyard,” Raith said to the guard, who stepped aside.
Cade must not have told the guards about the girl, yet. Otherwise they’d have known she was here with him, not Raith.
