by Alison Pensy
"Faedra." She felt Faen shake her shoulders. "Faedra, breathe!"
She could hear the group close in, urgent mutters erupted around her.
Just another moment, she thought to herself. I've nearly got this, just another moment. She felt her shoulders being shaken again, more urgently this time. Just a few more seconds.
"Derian!" Faen shouted. "Put your fingers back on!"
Faedra opened her eyes and gasped in a gulp of air. "No!" she shouted at Derian, trying to catch her breath.
Derian shot her a look of surprise.
Faedra looked up at Faen, her heart lurched when she saw the concern in his eyes. She grabbed his hand and placed it against her cheek. "I did it." She smiled at him before turning to the water king. "You can let me go now. Thank you, Derian."
The water king inclined his head and pulled his thumb away from the Custodian's ankle.
A collective sigh from the group grabbed Faedra's attention. Jocelyn lunged forward and threw her arms around her friend.
"Oh, thank Kernunnos you are safe!" she whispered in Faedra's ear. "You scared me."
Jocelyn pulled back.
"I scared myself," Faedra said.
"Jocelyn, if you don't mind." Faen gently pushed his sister to one side and scooped up his charge. "I wish to get this young lady home."
Faedra cast a sheepish glance around the rest of the group and felt her cheeks heat, and it wasn't from her power. "Put me down, Faen. I'm perfectly capable of walking."
"No."
Faedra's eyebrows shot up. "No?"
Faen's eyes fixed her with a no-nonsense glare as she felt his muscles tense around her. "No," he repeated.
Since when did he get all bossy? "Well, um...okay then." Faedra wasn't in the mood to argue with him, knowing full well she could make him put her down at any time, something he undoubtedly knew, too. But, truth be told, she rather enjoyed being wrapped in his arms and decided she didn't much care what anyone else was thinking. She felt Faen's tension release and laid her head against his shoulder.
"Very well, then," she said, a wry smile curving her lip. "Home, James, and don't spare the horses."
Faen's lips twitched but he said nothing.
CHAPTER EIGHT
"Oh, My Lady." A young, fair-haired fairy with luminescent wings rounded a corner in the castle and came face to face with Faedra and Faen the next day. She clasped her hands together and held them close to her heart. "I am so glad I found you," she breathed as she hovered in front of the Custodian. She cast Faen an acknowledgment with the incline of her head. "Sir."
Faen reciprocated. "Erin."
"What's wrong, Erin?" Faedra asked.
"Your father wishes to speak with you in his library, My Lady."
"Did he mention what it was about?"
Erin lowered herself to the ground. "No, My Lady. He did say it was of the utmost importance, though."
"Thank you, Erin."
"My lady." Erin gave Faedra a quick curtsy before taking flight and disappearing around the corner from whence she came.
Faedra looked up at Faen. "Probably some last minute wedding preparations."
"Probably."
"We better not keep him waiting," Faedra said, squeezing Faen's hand. "I'm starting to wonder who's more excited about this wedding. Him or me?"
"Neither," Faen said.
Faedra threw him an odd look.
"I think it's me," Faen leaned over and whispered in her ear, causing Faedra's smile to nearly split her face in two. She turned her head and planted a soft kiss on her fiancé’s lips.
"This time tomorrow, you'll be my husband," she murmured. Her warm breath fanning over his cheek.
"I know." Faen scooped her up and twirled her around in the corridor, narrowly missing a couple of unsuspecting guards that chose that moment to be walking down the hallway. They scooted to either side to avoid being clocked by Faedra's wayward feet.
Faedra squealed. "Put me down, you big oaf." She doffed him on the arm.
Faen obliged, keeping hold of her hand.
"Come on, let's go see what Father wants."
***
"Father, you wanted to see..." Faedra came to a dead stop as soon as she burst through the door to her father's library, causing Faen to bump into her back. "...me." She finished her sentence.
The king stood, and his guest turned as she entered.
"Ambassador Zaven," Faedra stated.
"Princess Faedra," Zaven reciprocated her terse greeting with a polite incline of his head.
Faedra felt Faen tense beside her. His hand squeezing hers just a bit tighter. Faedra braced herself for Zaven's hatred to hit, but her brow furrowed when all she could sense from the ambassador was...hmm...nothing. She gave him a considering look. His emotions were on lockdown. It was possible for people to hide their emotions from her, though it wasn't easy. But why would they? Unless they had something to hide.
"Faedra. Faen," the king said, drawing Faedra from her musings. "Ambassador Zaven is here on behalf of the king and queen of Alsius. They send their apologies, but they will be unable to attend your wedding on the morrow. They asked that the ambassador attend in their place and sent him with a gift for you both."
Faedra took a cautious step forward. Did they now? She couldn't help but feel disappointed. The last face she wanted to see at her wedding tomorrow was the one staring at her right now with the fake grin to beat all fake grins. She didn't trust him and she didn't want him at her wedding. But, she had learned in her many classes, that when you were royalty, you didn't have much of a choice on who was on the guest list. At the end of the day, as long as her dad, Jocelyn, and Etyran were there, the rest of the invitees she could more or less ignore. Then she inwardly rolled her eyes when she remembered that, in actual fact, she couldn't ignore the rest of the guests. She had to play dutiful heir to the throne and mingle with the hoy-paloy from the rest of the realms or they would be sorely insulted. And sorely insulted nobles from the other realms were probably not a recipe for a fine soufflé.
At this point, she realized she was far more looking forward to the intimate service they were going to have at the little village church in the World of Men for her human family and friends. She drew in a deep breath, plastered a smile on her face, and strode towards her father and his guest. Her soon-to-be consort closely at her side.
"Ambassador Zaven," she greeted again upon reaching him, managing a small curtsy this time. "I am sorry to hear your king and queen will miss out on the festivities, but I am glad you could attend in their place," Faedra lied through her teeth and realized, with no small amount of vexation, that you probably wouldn't need to be an energy manipulator to read what she really thought about the whole situation. Her father cast her a look of warning.
Don't worry, Father. I'll play the dutiful daughter. Somehow she managed to keep the false smile in place.
"Your Highness," Zaven said, picking up a small box from the king's desk and holding it out for Faedra. "Please accept this wedding gift from King Tiernan and Queen Ena. They send their apologies for being unable to attend but find themselves otherwise detained."
Faedra reached out to receive the box shaped like a miniature wooden chest but fashioned from what looked like opaque ice. It was cool to the touch. She fleetingly wondered if she would melt anything that originated from Alsius. Fire melts ice. Jalia's odd words floated through her subconscious.
"Maybe you should hold it," she turned and handed the box to Faen. "I don't want to ruin it before I even get a chance to see what it is," she continued, seeing the confusion shining in her Guardian's eyes. Faen glanced at Zaven, whose expression remained impassive. He took the box and held it out in front of him with the latch facing his fiancée. Zaven's eyes did not leave the Custodian; he continued watching her intently.
Faen lifted the lid, opening it up so Faedra could see the contents before he could.
Faedra's eyes widened and brought her hand to her mouth. She let out a soft sigh o
f admiration and brought her hand down, then hesitated for a second before tentatively allowing her fingers to trail along the bedazzling piece of jewelry. A unique pattern made from what looked like precious metal embellished with diamonds encrusted the entire body of the cuff style bracelet. She looked up at Zaven who was watching her reaction like a hawk spying on its prey.
"It's beautiful," she sighed. "I've never seen anything so exquisite. But it's too much, I can't possibly accept something like that.
"It's just ice, Your Highness," Zaven dismissed.
Faedra's smile fell. Fire melts ice. "Well, in that case, I definitely can't accept it. I would only destroy it, and it's much too pretty to be kept in a box."
Zaven's lips quirked. He leaned past Faedra and retrieved the cuff from its resting place. He lifted Faedra's hand and held it out in front of him. Faedra narrowed her eyes, she wasn't sure she appreciated Zaven touching her without her permission. There was something about the man she just didn't trust. Zaven's touch was colder than Derian's, but that was hardly surprising. Zaven was made of ice.
"Do not compare our ice to that of which you are accustomed, Princess," Zaven said as he slipped the cuff bracelet around Faedra's wrist. Faedra could not tear her gaze away from the piercing ice blue of the ambassador's eyes. "It is much stronger than you surmise."
Faedra swallowed. Until now, she hadn't really digested just how imposing this person was. But standing almost toe to toe, stretching her neck to look up at him, she suddenly had a healthy understanding of just how dangerous he could potentially be.
"There now," he said, interrupting her thoughts. "A perfect fit."
Faedra felt her hand being gently twisted from side to side. She looked down at her wrist. The cuff glittered in the light from the chandelier that was hovering overhead. A rainbow of sparkles danced off the surrounding surfaces as Zaven continued to turn Faedra's hand from side to side.
He smiled again, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Pretty, isn't it?"
Faedra kept her eyes on his as she gently pulled herself from his grasp. "It is. Please send my utmost thanks to your king and queen. It is a beautiful and thoughtful gift." Faedra held the cuff in her other hand, twisting it around her wrist, delighting in the beauty of the design. It was breathtaking, and the best thing was, it wasn't melting. She could feel a pleasant cool tingle where the ice touched her skin. Yes, she liked this gift very much.
"Faen, may I now present you with your gift?"
Faedra pulled her gaze away from the bracelet, excited to see what the king and queen had gifted to her soon-to-be prince.
Zaven opened a long box that lay on the king's desk. Reaching in with both hands, he lifted the gift from its box and turned to face the Guardian. Lying in his outstretched palms was a handsome sword fashioned, once again, from ice.
Faedra watched as Faen's eyes also widened when they soaked in the beauty of his gift. Faedra couldn't help but smile. He loved it, it was evident in his expression and in his emotions.
Faen carefully extracted the sword from Zaven's hands and held it blade pointing to the ceiling in front of his face. After admiring the craftsmanship for a few moments, he stepped away from the others and swung it around his body a few times to get the feel of it.
Faedra couldn't help but feel a girlie explosion of admiration as she watched the man she loved show off his sword skills in front of them. Oh, who was she kidding? He looked damn hot. She could hardly believe she was about to marry this incredible fae the next morning and go on to run the entire realm with him sometime in the future. Could she be any luckier? She doubted it.
"I take it your gift is to your liking, Guardian," Zaven said.
Faen stopped mid-swing. Faedra noticed a slight flush to his cheeks.
"Yes, Ambassador. The gift is magnificent." Faen inclined his head. "My thanks to your king and queen."
"Fit for a prince," Faedra chimed in, unable to hide her girlish excitement. Well, it's not every day you get to marry a prince. Although, it was only because she was a princess that he would become one, but to her, that was a mere technicality. He had been her prince since the moment she saw him in his true form.
"I shall inform them of your gratitude upon my return."
"Knock, knock."
All heads turned to the entrance of the king's study. Henry stood in the doorway with Jocelyn, who was holding the ruby staff.
"Dad!" Faedra shouted and took off towards her dad. She threw her arms around him and reveled in the hug she got back. It had been several days since she'd seen her dad; although, to him it wouldn't have seemed that long. Time moved differently in Azran to the World of Men. "It's so good to see you!"
Faedra let go of her dad and gave Jocelyn a hug. "Hi, Jocelyn. Thanks for getting my dad."
"Anytime, Faedra. It's good to see you looking so...well." Jocelyn gave her friend a warm smile.
Henry cast a cautious glance around the study. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I, darling?" he whispered.
Faedra turned around remembering the Ambassador was having an audience with her other dad. Oh, to heck with protocol. "No, Dad. You're not," she whispered and took hold of his hand. "Do you want to meet the Ambassador from Alsius?"
"Alsius?"
"It's one of the seven realms. The frozen one."
Henry raised his eyebrows. "Oh. Um, well, as long as you won't get into trouble, I suppose so."
Faedra snorted. "I'm a princess. I don't get into trouble." That wasn't entirely true, but her dad didn't need to know that.
Jocelyn coughed.
Faedra shot her a conspiratorial grin. "Watch it, you."
Jocelyn winked.
Faedra grabbed a hold of her dad's hand and pulled him into the study.
CHAPTER NINE
"That Zaven chappy's a bit of a frosty old fellow, isn't he?" Henry mused over his cup of steaming brew.
Faedra giggled at her dad's choice of words. "You don't know the half of it, Dad."
They were seated around one of the tables in the castle's immense kitchen with Faen, Jocelyn, and Etyran. All kinds of fae creatures were hustling and bustling around the enormous kitchen, preparing the wedding feast for the next day. There were spits turning large boars over fires being stoked by stout older dwarfs. Vegetables were being peeled over by the sinks and tossed into big pots. At the other end of the table, a row of cooks were rolling pastry and stirring bowls full of batter, ready to make pies and cakes. She didn't want to hazard a guess at how many guests would actually be in attendance at her wedding, but by the looks of the amount of food being prepared, her father was feeding an army.
The aromas wafting under Faedra's nose were too much to bear. Faedra leaned over and swiped a delicious smelling tartlet off one of the many trays of food that were constantly being carried past her. Out of nowhere, the back of a wooden spoon batted her hand. Faedra looked up into the reproving glare of the head cook. The Custodian shot the cook a weak smile, replaced the tartlet, and slunk back in her chair.
"So, have you two decided where you're going to spend your honeymoon?" Henry asked.
Faedra looked at Faen before answering her father. "Well, we didn't particularly want to go to Umor or Alsius, and I've already seen Zutherindal, Drofoz, Azran and the World of Men, so we asked Odin if we could spend it in Asgard. It's supposed to be very pretty. We're not going until after both weddings and the tournament, though."
Henry chuckled and shook his head.
"What?"
"Most young couples have trouble enough deciding whether to go to Europe or the Caribbean. You've got seven different realms to choose from."
Faen gave Faedra's hand a squeeze, drawing her attention to him. She smiled. She could hardly believe she was getting married tomorrow. Butterflies danced low in her belly. She was slightly disappointed that her father had organized the tournament to begin two days after the wedding, but she could see his logic in it. Most of the realm's dignitaries were already here for the wedding, and the competitors
would arrive the day after, ready to compete the following day. The castle was bustling with people. Faedra had never seen it so alive with activity. You were hard pushed to walk down the castle halls without bumping into a guest from another realm.
The sound of someone clearing their throat prompted the friends gathered at the table to turn their heads. The same gruff-looking portly lady, that batted Faedra's hand away from a tray of tartlets a short while earlier, stood at the end of the table resting her fists on her hips. Her once white apron was stained by the many times she undoubtedly had rubbed her hands on it throughout the course of preparing the feast that day. "I'll be needing this table now, Your Highness. That is if you would like me to be serving dessert for your guests tomorrow."
"We better get out of Brigid's way," Faedra muttered to her friends. "I don't want to get on the wrong side of her. She scares me."
Etyran's eyebrows shot up at Faedra's remark. It didn't go unnoticed.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm the most powerful being etc. etc. She still scares me. Come on let's go. I'll show you to your room, Dad."
Five sets of chair legs scraped along the flagstone floor of the kitchen as everyone got up from their seats.
They filed out of the kitchen passed the head cook. "Thanks for the tea, Brigid," Faedra said as she passed. A chorus of thank yous from the others followed in her wake as they made their way out of the kitchen.
Faedra noticed a slight crack in the frosty outer layer of Brigid's features. Did she dare hope for there to be a glimmer of a smile. Brigid acknowledged the thanks with a curt nod of her head.
"So, do you have all the last minute things sorted for tomorrow?" Henry asked as he walked beside his daughter and soon to be son-in-law down one of the castle's many stone corridors.
"Well, if we don't, it's too late now. We'll just have to muddle through," Faedra said with a smile. Fact was, her other dad had been organizing the wedding with military precision, and pretty much all she had to do was put on the dress, walk up the aisle, and say 'I do'. In the big scheme of things, she thought she would be able to handle that.
