Summer Prince

by Juliana Haygert

  My eyes went directly to the bed, but it was empty and the covers untouched. I frowned. Where was she? Light streamed from my left and I turned to it. The balcony doors were wide open, letting in the bright moonlight … and there she was.

  My breath caught as I admired the vision before me.

  Layla leaned her elbows over the stone railing, her chin on one of her hands, her head tilted toward the sky. She wore a white nightgown that reached her ankles, though the semi-translucent cloth left little to imagination. My muscles contracted and a rush of desire hit me like a whip. I kept telling myself I would give her time, but all I wanted right now was to have her under me again.

  I approached her slowly, but even then, she jumped and gasped when she saw me. “What are you doing here?”

  “Just came to check on you.” I walked to her and halted when I reached the railing. I placed my hands on the rough stone and looked out at the Sun City glinting under the moonlight.

  “Your city is beautiful,” Layla said. “Your entire kingdom is.”

  I nodded. “It really is.” I could stare at my city, at my kingdom, all day long. I could dive into its political and military and civilian problems with fervor and not come up for air for days—I knew that. I knew I was a dedicated prince. I just never thought I would suddenly be a king.

  “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

  I shifted my gaze to Layla and found her staring intently at me. I let out a long breath and told her. “I confess I’m worried about being king.”

  Her delicate brows curled down. “Why?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know … I never really considered it. In my mind, my mother was always the queen, and I was always her second.” I ran a finger on the rough surface of the railing. “The responsibility of caring for our kingdom was always hers. I was just there for support.”

  One corner of Layla’s lips turned up. “You have to remember that you’re the one who knows this kingdom the best. And your mother isn’t going to abandon you, especially in the beginning. She’ll take your role, supporting you.” She reached out and placed a hand on my chest. I stilled. “You have a good heart, Varian. Follow that and you’ll be a great king. The greatest of them all.”

  Almost in slow motion, I placed my hand over hers, pressing it against my chest, as if I could melt it in until it was holding my heart. She couldn’t do that literally, but she still had it in her hands. She just didn’t know it yet.

  The small smile left her lips and her eyes rounded, the gleam in them flickering under the light of the moon. “You’re beautiful,” I whispered suddenly.

  She didn’t move. She didn’t blink. Layla kept staring at me, but I could see the rise and fall of her chest speeding up. I wanted to reach out to her and feel her heartbeat too.

  “Varian, I—“

  Instinct took hold of me, and I erased the distance between us. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her to me, making her words fade away. She stilled. “No, please, don’t pull away from me.” I leaned down until my forehead was touching hers. “Just … stay where you are and let me come to you.”

  She let out a slow, measured breath. I thought she would pull away. Instead, she brought her other hand up and rested over my shoulder. “I’m trying to pull away, but it’s much harder than I thought it would be,” she admitted, her voice low.

  “Why? Why are you trying to pull away?”

  She shook her head and glanced up at my eyes. Our foreheads weren’t touching anymore, but at least she remained in my arms. “I’m not the one you deserve.”

  I frowned. “That’s not true …” The words fell from my lips as a tiny point of light flickered in the distance. I straightened and looked over Layla’s head to the desert in the distance, past the Sun City's sidewalls. “What is that?”

  Layla spun in my arms and followed my gaze.

  The light flickered again. Then another. And another. Slowly, a dozen faint lights appeared on the dark horizon. Then another dozen.

  “Can you make out what it is?” Layla asked.

  I shook my head. “Fae vision is good, but not that good.”

  “I can remedy that. Here.” She placed two fingertips on my temple. A small rush of magic burst in my mind, and my vision enhanced in an instant. I now could see not only in the dark, but in the distance.

  And what I saw made my heart sink and my stomach clench with dread.

  I sucked in a sharp breath. “It’s … it’s impossible.”

  “What is it?” she asked, her voice trembling with worry.

  “It’s ogres. We’re under attack.”

  28

  Layla

  When Varian and I first saw the lights in the desert, we thought the ogres were trying to keep hidden while approaching the city.

  But we were wrong. The tallest ones climbed over the outer wall with ease, while the strongest used their brute force to bring parts of the wall down.

  By the time Varian called General Behar and the army to defend his city, put on his armor, and stood at the top of the inner wall, the Sun City was ablaze with fire, screaming fae, and blood.

  Even in the darkness of the night, the moonlight was enough to illuminate the horrors spreading in front of us.

  While Varian changed into his armor, I had changed into some leather pants, a tunic, and a vest, something more practical for a battle.

  For war.

  A few feet from me, Varian barked orders at his generals and soldiers—evacuate the city, help the fae, kill the ogres. Several times, he started marching toward the gates, ready to join the fight, but his sensible mother, who had joined us in a full set of beautiful golden armor, had reasoned with him. He couldn’t join the battle until things were more under control, or he would be lost too.

  Every time the conversation steered that way, I pressed a hand to my stomach. I couldn’t bear the thought of Varian in the middle of this carnage. Despite knowing Varian was a great warrior, I also knew this battle was mostly lost, at least for now. There were too many ogres, more than I had ever seen in one spot, and they were fighting dirty, violent, bloody.

  At some point during the battle, Varian sent an elite group of warriors out to the city, tasked with the mission of controlling the fire spreading through the houses. All of them had extraordinary magical abilities and Varian was sure they could snuff out the fire in no time.

  The battle was long and arduous, but finally, when the sun peeked in the horizon, bathing the sand in a golden ocean, it seemed the ogres had either been all killed or subdued.

  Or so we thought.

  Varian was ready to call victory when a second wave of ogres invaded the city … and a woman led the attack.

  The breath fled from my lungs. “Sanna,” I whispered in disbelief.

  “What?” Varian came to my side and looked out. “It can’t be …” He turned to his mother. “Isn't she dead?”

  “I-I thought so,” the queen stammered, clearly shocked. “If she escaped death, then she’s even stronger than we first thought.”

  Varian had mentioned she had died, but I'd known it couldn’t be. It wouldn’t be easy to kill my former mentor.

  Sanna and the ogres stopped in the middle of the main road leading to the castle. Using her powers, she projected her voice so it was heard from afar. “Surprise!” She let out a loud cackle.

  “I heard you were dead,” I said, knowing very well that she could hear us.

  “Right. About that,” she started, sounding amused. “I know a losing battle when I see one. I escaped before it was too late.”

  “So you faked your death.” As I had imagined.

  “Well, that was convenient for me.”

  “So you could hide and plan how to make a comeback.”

  “Smart girl,” she said, her voice purring. “I wonder who taught you those tricks.”

  I clenched my fists. She didn’t teach me much more than to hate her. “What are you doing here?”

  “What do you thi
nk? I’m here to visit an old friend.” She snorted. “I had plans of stealing back the Spring Court, but when I heard you were back with the summer prince, hm, I couldn’t resist.”

  “I’ll give you one warning,” I said, sounding a lot braver than I really was. “Turn around now. Leave and never show your face here again, or it’ll be your end.”

  She didn’t answer with words. Instead, she laughed so hard, she bent over and after a few seconds, she was out of breath.

  With my magic, I raised an invisible shield in front of the inner wall, meant to keep the sounds away.

  “I don’t know why I just said that,” I confessed to Varian. It wasn’t like I could take Sanna head on.

  “It’s okay,” he reassured me, briefly touching my hand. “I would have said the same thing.”

  “I agree, but how will we fight her? How will we defeat her?” the queen asked, more worried by the minute.

  “We have numbers,” Varian said, his voice fierce. “We’ll overwhelm her, until she’s too weak to continue.”

  It was a sound plan if Varian didn’t mind losing good warriors in battle.

  There had to be another way.

  I glanced down at the ring in my hand. A sudden rush of clarity cut through me and I understood why Mahaeru said my time here hadn’t ended. Because I had to defeat Sanna.

  “I can take her,” I whispered. Varian stilled beside me. “I’ll use this ring for the last time to take her down.” Then, I promised myself I would get rid of the damn ring and its magical stone somehow.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, apprehensive.

  I nodded. “Just keep the ogres busy while I fight her. Once she’s down, I can subdue the ogres too.”

  Varian halted in front of me and took my hands in his. He fixed his eyes on mine and I could see the conflict in them as bright as the sunlight. But he didn’t try to stop me. Instead he said, “I’ll buy you as much time as I can.”

  29

  Varian

  My first instinct was to hold on to Layla and tell her no. No, she wouldn’t be going down to meet Sanna, of all creatures in this world. No, she wouldn’t risk her life for me, for my kingdom …

  But at the same time, I knew her. She was strong and loyal and badass. If anyone could beat the wicked witch, it was my Layla. So, I pushed back my protective side and trusted her. I believed in her.

  I knew she could do this.

  Still, I felt my heart yanking as I took her down the inner wall so she could walk into what was sure to be the most fearsome battle of her life too—and possibly mine.

  I wanted to give her armor, maybe a sword and shield, but she wouldn’t need any of that. All she needed was the ring in her hand. The rest was theatrics.

  I reached for her hands and laced my fingers with hers while I waited for my most elite warriors to arrive.

  “Layla, I—“ My words were caught off when someone suddenly stepped right by our side and caught our attention.

  “Hold that thought,” Mahaeru said. Where had she come from? How had she just appeared here? Elegant and stoic as always, the dark-haired goddess waved her hand and a large portal opened a few feet from us.

  On instinct, I tugged Layla to me and took a large step back. “What are you doing?”

  “I thought you could use some help.” The goddess gestured to the portal.

  Then familiar faces stepped through it: King Cadewyn and Queen Amber of the Winter Court, Queen Hayley and General Ashton of the Spring Court, and Prince Nox and Princess Amaya of the Night Court. Behind them, dozens of their soldiers marched out, filling the courtyard and mixing among my own soldiers.

  But most surprising of all was the presence of Prince Redley of the Autumn Court. The Autumn Court had been quiet and isolated for so long, I sometimes forgot about them.

  My jaw fell open. “What are you doing here?”

  “Mahaeru told us you were back and needed some help,” King Cadewyn said, clasping my arm. He wore his most elegant armor and his silver-white hair tied in a tight braid—his battle hairdo.

  “I wouldn’t miss a chance to take down Sanna,” Queen Hayley said. She had a personal stake in this.

  I glanced at them all, relieved. “Thank you for coming.” I turned to Prince Redley, his dark hair tinted auburn under the sunlight. “I admit I’m surprised to see you.” He held out my hand.

  He grabbed my arm in a tight grip. “The Autumn Court has been quiet for too long.”

  I nodded, glad he was here. They all were here.

  The walls shook with a new blast.

  Layla slipped her hand in mine. “This is not the time for pleasantries,” she said, her tone grave. “We better go before she reaches the gates.”

  I nodded, knowing she was right.

  I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it, my eyes glued to hers. I hoped she could see how much she meant to me. But I couldn’t dwell on it.

  Instead, I let her go and turned to the warriors waiting for a command. I unsheathed my sword and shouted, “We destroy the ogres, and we rid our world of them!”

  A roar met me, along with the bang of sword hilts and shields.

  Without looking at Layla again, I marched out of the gates with my fellow warriors, and the real battle started. First, we cleared a path for Layla, but when she was in the line of sight of the wicked witch, I forced myself to turn my back to her and do what I had to—buy her time by keeping the ogres busy.

  But I kept close in case she needed a hand.

  I ran into the fray and started cutting through the ogres, imbuing my sword with my fire, and slowly whittling down their numbers. From the corner of my eye, I saw King Cadewyn tearing through the monsters' lines in his wolf form. General Ashton cut through our enemies with his sword as if they were made of smoke.

  And then I saw Sanna throw a heavy boulder she had dug out of the ground toward Layla, who was already on her knees and panting. My heart squeezed, and I tried to get rid of the two ogres I was fighting to go to her.

  An icy wind hit the boulder, changing its trajectory slightly, and vines sprouted from the ground, creating a net to catch it. To the side, Queen Amber and Queen Hayley switched between helping Layla and taking down ogres.

  I felt immensely grateful.

  The mace of an ogre hit me square in the shoulder and I flew a couple of feet, landing on my back on the hard ground. I groaned as I rolled to my feet before the mace squashed my chest. The ogre came at me with bared teeth and spit rolling down his mouth, and I pushed Layla out of my mind for now.

  We fought against the ogres for what seemed hours, the sun was already on the other side of the horizon, starting to dip across the desert, and we had cleared a vast space.

  I killed my hundredth ogre and raised my sword, ready for more. But there weren’t many more. The ones I could see around me were already engaged in a fight with other warriors.

  I made my way back to the real fight, which hadn’t moved from the main road but had destroyed the pavement and pillars and porches along the way.

  Even though she was breathing hard and sweating, Layla didn’t stop. She threw bolt after bolt at Sanna, who seemed equally tired but equally powerful.

  I wanted to go in and help, end this fast, but I knew this was something Layla had to do alone. I forced my feet to stay still and watched, my heart in my throat.

  It didn’t take long for Layla to break a thick sandstone pillar and throw the pieces at Sanna, a painful rain. The wicked witch waved her hand, sending most of the pieces to the side, but not all of them. The chunks hit her in the shoulder and legs, jerking her back.

  But they had been a distraction. Once the pieces were gone, dark magic weaved around Sanna’s legs and torso, holding her in place, and a spear appeared in front of Sanna’s chest.

  Slowly, Layla walked closer.

  “It’s over,” she yelled, her voice hoarse with exhaustion.

  “You can’t imprison me!” Sanna yelled, shaking her body and trying to get rid of the magi
c. But it was the ring’s magic. It was too powerful.

  Layla shook her head. “I can’t imprison you, because you would find a way to escape. Leaving you alive is too dangerous.” Layla pressed her lips tight, and I could see this was hard for her, as hard as killing Carlyn or any other witch from her past would have been. “Goodbye, Sanna.”

  The spear forged ahead, piercing Sanna through the chest. The witch’s eyes rounded and blood came out of her mouth.

  Layla stepped even closer and closed her eyes. Light shone from Sanna’s skin, and like a snake, it slithered away from her—white light at first, then black. Layla raised her hand and the light was sucked into the stone of the ring. Sanna’s magic.

  Without her magic, she was a frail human.

  A moment later, Sanna’s head lolled forward.

  The wicked witch was dead.

  Layla stumbled back several steps. I went to her, but Mahaeru beat me to it. Sensing the goddess’s presence, Layla turned. In a flash, she slipped the ring off her finger and offered it to Mahaeru.

  “Take this thing far away from me,” she rasped.

  Mahaeru took the ring. “You’ve done well.” She glanced at me. “You both have.”

  I nodded at the goddess, but approached Layla. I halted a foot from her, afraid of being too far away that she didn’t know my feelings, or too close that she felt suffocated.

  “I’m proud of you,” I told her, with every fiber of my being. I knew it hadn’t been easy for her to kill Sanna, but she had done it. For herself, for me, for my kingdom, and the fae realm. She finally avenged her sister. She was finally free.

  “And I’m just tired.” She leaned on me, resting her head on my chest.

  The pride, the love, the protectiveness I felt for her spiked, and I wrapped my arms around her, keeping her close to me. I placed a kiss on the top of her head and whispered, “Everything will be fine now.”

  Four Months Later