Work of Fate (Dual Court Kiss Book 2)

by Britt, Samantha

  “Aeron?” She whispered in confusion.

  Gwen jerked awake. She tried to sit up, half blind, and knocked her head into Aeron’s chin.

  “Shit,” she mumbled, clutching her forehead to ease the throbbing at the point of impact. She fell back against the couch.

  “Ow,” Aeron said at the same time, leaning away from her. He rubbed his chin, gingerly. He looked at her with concern. “Are you alright?”

  Gwen assessed herself. Her heart was racing, and her head was pounding. Other than those two things, she was fine. She told him so.

  Aeron nodded, continuing to work his jaw. “You have a hard head.”

  Gwen tried to smile at his joke, but a stab of pain turned it into a scowl. “You scared the crap out of me. Why were you sitting so close to my face?”

  “You became restless in your sleep. I thought you were having a nightmare. I was trying to wake you up.”

  Gwen flushed involuntarily, remembering the dream. She was moments away from reliving her first kiss with Kalan.

  Aeron noticed and raised an eyebrow. “Not a nightmare, then?”

  Gwen ignored his suggestive expression and tone. She sat up and looked out a nearby window. The sky was lightening, welcoming a new dawn. “I slept through the night?”

  Aeron nodded. “You needed it.”

  Gwen could not disagree with his assessment. Other than the headache from her collision with Aeron’s chin, Gwen felt better than before she rested. On cue, the events from the previous evening flooded her mind, dampening her spirits.

  She turned to Aeron. “Jai’s dead.” She needed to hear it confirmed.

  “Yes.” Aeron’s sad eyes mirrored her own.

  “We’re in Winter Court?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where… Why?” Gwen did not know which question was more relevant.

  “It is my property. Few know of it. We should be safe.”

  “Why does a Summer Fae have property in Winter Court?” Gwen’s mind whirled with possible explanations. None of them were good.

  “It was a gift from a Winter Fae for services rendered.”

  “Services?” Gwen tilted her head in confusion.

  “Yes.”

  “What kind of services?”

  Aeron waved a dismissive hand. “Various. Before the war, I spent many weeks consulting with Winter Fae. I had a respected position and relationship with Winter Court.”

  “So…” Gwen thought over the odd situation. “Someone gave you a house?”

  “Yes.”

  Gwen knew there was more to the story, but decided to allow Aeron to maintain his secret. He obviously did not want to elaborate, and she would not push him… for now.

  “Well,” she untangled herself from the heavy blanket around her legs. She moved to stand. “Do you have anything to eat?” Gwen’s stomach rumbled, empty from her lack of food the previous evening. She hadn’t managed to eat much at the banquet with everyone staring.

  “Of course.” Aeron stood and moved out of the way to allow her to rise. Gwen got to her feet and noticed her beautiful gown was torn in various places. Her fingers traced over various pink lines marring her pale skin.

  “From jumping out the window,” Aeron explained. He held out his arms for her to see his own marks. “The glass scraped us up pretty well. Do not worry. They are fading fast.”

  Gwen’s hands moved to her green dress. She was no seamstress, but Gwen knew the dress was beyond repair. Tears and cuts covered the fine fabric. “Bummer,” she mumbled. “I loved this one.”

  Aeron smiled softly. “I did too.” He held out a green sweater. Gwen hadn’t noticed it in his hands.

  Uncomfortable with his admiring gaze, Gwen took the offered sweater and slipped it over her head. It was soft and looked like something she would have seen in a Ralph Lauren catalog. Gwen turned and moved towards a long hallway. “Is the kitchen this way?”

  Aeron nodded, unaffected by her dismissal of his compliment. “I’ll show you.”

  Their footsteps were muffled by the plush, blue carpet as they moved down the hallway. Gwen followed Aeron into a modern-style kitchen. She hadn’t once entered a kitchen in the Fae Realm. She assumed they would be decorated with wood-burning stoves and salted meats hanging from the ceiling. Her lips lifted at her own ridiculousness.

  “What is funny?”

  “Nothing,” Gwen replied, glancing around. “What food do you have?”

  Aeron showed her his pantry. Its contents were covered with dust, but he insisted they had not reached their expiration. “I don’t come here often, anymore,” Aeron explained, taking an unlabeled can from Gwen’s hands. “I’m afraid I only have preserved foodstuff.”

  Gwen shrugged. “That’s fine. I’m hungry enough to eat pretty much anything.”

  Aeron retrieved another unlabeled can and two bags of dried meat. He moved to a nearby counter and opened the cans to reveal two types of nuts. Reaching into a cabinet, he retrieved two bowls and poured a can into each.

  Gwen took the bowl and bag he offered to her, and followed him out of the kitchen. They walked into the adjacent room–a private dining room. Aeron put his food down on the table in one spot, and he pulled back the chair next to it for Gwen.

  “Do you want silverware?” Aeron asked as he moved to pull two fabric napkins out of a dining cart’s drawer.

  Gwen eyed her finger food and shook her head. “No, thanks. I don’t need it.”

  Aeron returned to the table and offered her a napkin before taking his seat. “Bon appetit.”

  Gwen started on her nuts and was happy to realize they tasted like unsalted almonds. She loved almonds. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Aeron take a handful of nuts from his bowl, tip back his head, and shove them in his mouth. She found herself amused with the duke’s action. She figured it was rare to see Aeron acting anything but stately.

  As ever, Aeron noticed her amusement. Before he could ask, Gwen said, “It’s weird to see you acting normal.”

  He swallowed his food. “There’s that word again. Normal. What is normal to you?”

  Gwen chuckled. “Not uptight? No calculating movement behind every action.”

  Aeron looked surprised. “Do I look like that? Uptight?”

  “Absolutely.”

  He frowned. “Perhaps you are confusing uptight with confident?”

  “I don’t think so. Though, since I started living in Summer Court, you have seemed less intense. With me, at least.”

  “Well, that is something, I suppose.” Aeron’s eyes turned to his bowl. He spun it around, absentmindedly observing its pattern.

  Guilt marred Gwen’s teasing. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I was only joking.”

  “Perhaps that’s why Wendy preferred my brother’s friendship,” Aeron observed, lost in his thoughts. “He’s easygoing, and I am… uptight.”

  Gwen sighed in complete regret. “I enjoy your company.” It was the only thing she could think to say. She did not intent to open old wounds.

  Aeron’s eyes rose to hers. They were full of unspoken questions. “But not more than Eilian.”

  “Well… no,” Gwen responded truthfully. “But I have known him my entire life. He’s my family.” She stopped before she added, no one could compare to our friendship. She didn’t think it would make the duke feel any better.

  Aeron nodded. “True. He is your family.”

  Gwen offered him a small smile. “I guess that technically makes you a member of my family? At least, every Fae who thinks Ian is my father will think so. Should I start calling you Uncle Aeron?”

  “Fate, no!” Aeron exclaimed with mock horror. Gwen laughed. Her dinner companion smiled in return.

  “It will give the story more credit,” Gwen pointed out in mock debate. “We should consider it. Doing so might protect me in the long run.”

  “I would do anything to ensure your protection,” Aeron replied with sincerity. “But I hope I will not be forced to be viewed as a direct f
amily member.”

  “Why not?” Gwen did not need to fake offense.

  Aeron looked her squarely in the face. “Because that eliminates me as a potential suitor.”

  Gwen stilled. She blinked, trying to figure out if she heard him correctly. No matter how many times she closed and opened her eyes, his expression remained stoic. He meant what he was saying.

  “Oh,” Gwen was sure she turned one hundred shades of red. “I… I don’t know what to say to that.” She decided to be open and honest.

  “I’m not surprised,” he replied. “You seem easily flustered when discussions of feelings come up.” Aeron aimed for lighthearted, but it was clear he was uncomfortable with her response to his declaration.

  “What do you mean?” Gwen asked. She would let him pick which of his statements she was asking about.

  “Dancing with you in Eirie, you were uncomfortable discussing the prince. You did not wish to discuss him after seeing him with the Wise Ones, either. Then, there was our interaction,” he paused, observing her reaction. She forced herself to not look away.

  “You seem content to act as if nothing occurred,” he finished. His look was probing. He wanted to understand her.

  Gwen swallowed. “I guess… I just don’t know how to handle things like that.”

  “Things like what?”

  She wanted to roll her eyes. “Things like you kissing me.” She was an adult; she could handle discussing what happened without acting like an embarrassed teenager.

  Aeron nodded in approval. “There you go.”

  Gwen smirked. “Am I in therapy or something?”

  “Therapy might prove beneficial for you, given the circumstances you find yourself in.” He softened the joke with a small grin.

  “Noted.”

  Aeron laughed. “Perhaps a therapist will have insight as to why you constantly avoid discussions by changing topics.”

  “I don’t do that.”

  “In my experience, you do.”

  “I don’t know what you want me to say,” Gwen said in a variation of her initial reply to Aeron’s uncomfortable words.

  “Just be honest,” he implored. “What was your initial thought to what I just said about being your suitor?”

  Gwen shifted in her seat. “Um… embarrassed?”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know… because it caught me off-guard?”

  “Are you asking or telling me?”

  “Telling you.”

  “It caught you off-guard? Even after our kiss before the celebrations?” Aeron leaned back in his seat.

  “That caught me off-guard, too,” Gwen murmured.

  “My kiss caught you off-guard?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  Gwen felt as if they played ping-pong with their words, shooting them back and forth with surprising speed. “Because I never thought you… liked me… like that.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Why would you?” Gwen was tired of being on the defensive end of the discussion.

  “You’re bright, driven, kind, strong, unbelievably beautiful,” Aeron counted off each of the characteristics on his fingers. “I admire everything about you. Only a fool wouldn’t like you… like that.”

  Gwen was speechless. She would never have assumed Aeron thought so highly of her. He was friendly, a little flirtatious at times, but he never gave any indication he had romantic intentions towards her. Why would he? He knew about everything. He knew about Kalan.

  “I had no idea.” It was true. Even after their kiss, Gwen never would have imagined Aeron’s feelings were those he just revealed.

  “Why would you?”

  “Will you stop responding with questions?” Gwen pleaded. “The answer will always be ‘I don’t know’ or some sort of variation. Just… talk to me.”

  “I am trying. I am attempting to discern where your thoughts are.”

  “Well…” Gwen paused as she debated whether or not to reveal the truth. She knew it would be the only way to address the subject at hand.

  “I was questioning why you would have those feelings about me. Especially since you know the truth of my situation with Kalan. You know the Elder confirmed our status of lifemates.”

  Aeron finally broke eye contact, flicking his to the bowl. “My feelings for you were set long before we went to Eirie.”

  “Oh,” Gwen exhaled. “Learning the truth didn’t change them?”

  Aeron’s serious gaze returned to hers. “You are allowed to ask questions?” He smirked.

  Gwen rolled her eyes.

  Aeron sighed. “No. Learning the truth did not change them.”

  Silence settled.

  What would be the best way to handle the situation? Gwen did not want to hurt Aeron, but she knew she could not return the feelings he expressed. She looked in his eyes and saw pain… and a trace of fear. The confident Aeron was putting himself completely at her mercy, and Gwen had no choice but to turn him down. She said a silent curse to fate, prophecies, Wise Ones, everyone and everything which put her in this awful situation.

  Just as she opened her mouth to utter the disappointing words, Gwen noticed her breath came out as fog. She frowned, realizing she was cold.

  “Aeron, do you feel–”

  Gwen did not have the chance to finish the question. Unexpectedly, a blast of cold air shot through the small dining room. Its force was so frigid, it stole the breath right out of Gwen’s lungs. She gasped, trying to inhale with no success. She was suffocating.

  With frantic eyes, Gwen turned to Aeron and saw him slumped against the table. A bloodied, broken plate scattered the surface next to him.

  Panic increasing exponentially, Gwen tried to call his name, but no air passed her trachea. It was agonizing.

  The edges of Gwen’s vision grew dark, tunneling each second spent without a dose of oxygen. She knew she was moments from fainting, and stood on shaky legs to try and leave the suffocating room. She managed one step before she fell roughly to her knees. Her shoulder promptly met the cold tile as her muscles fatigued from lack of oxygen.

  Her eyes were drawn to a dark shape taking form in the entryway in front of her. Gwen tried to call for help as she looked towards the form. Make it stop, she thought desperately.

  The shape moved closer, but before Gwen could recognize its identity, darkness engulfed her.

  Her world went black.

  Chapter 28

  Ian stomped down the damp corridor leading to the basement cells. Two Summer guards flanked him, weapons ready to use at a moment’s notice. Gone was the sense of security the wards once gave. After the evening’s invasion, Summer Court citizens no longer knew what dangers to expect within the borders of their court.

  The fae’s fine leather boots splashed in pools accumulated in dips across the uneven floor. Ian barely noticed. His mind focused on the impending interrogation. He would get to the bottom of the attack. He would protect Gwen.

  At last, the group approached the targeted cell. Two Winter Fae sat inside. Based on their rumpled clothing, Ian would guess they were both seasoned Winter guards. One looked unconscious, but the other was up and alert. He stood and eyed Ian as the Summer Fae approached.

  “Duke Aeron?” The conscious fae asked.

  “No.” Ian did not give his name. He got down to business. “You are the fae who willingly surrendered?”

  “I am.”

  “What is your name?”

  “Torin.” Ian’s mind flickered in brief recognition, but he could not place where he heard the name before.

  Dismissing his thought, Ian continued. “Why did you surrender?”

  “I wished to warn Their Majesties of the plot regarding their granddaughter, Princess Gwenevere.”

  Ian stiffened at the fae’s casual use of Gwen’s title. “What was the plot?”

  “To eliminate the princess.”

  “For what purpose?”

  “To protect Prince Kalan’s reign from
a dual-court fae.”

  “Who organized the plot?”

  “Queen Tanya of Winter Court.”

  Ian’s eyes narrowed. “You are quick to turn against your court.”

  Torin’s eyes dimmed. “No,” he corrected. “This plot was not orchestrated by Winter Court, but by Queen Tanya. King Kheelen opposed it.”

  “You imply you disapproved of the queen’s plan. Why, then, did you participate?”

  “It seemed the easiest way to try and warn the princess.” There it was again. The Winter Fae used Gwen’s title with no hesitation.

  “You acknowledge Gwen’s position at Summer Court?”

  “Yes.”

  “You suspect she is dual-court fae?” Ian did not want to flat out reveal his friend’s secret.

  “Yes.”

  “But you wanted to warn and protect her?”

  Torin nodded.

  Ian grew confused. “Why would you risk betraying your own people? You must know if anyone finds out, the consequences could be great.”

  “I was one of the princess’ guards when she was known as Lady Gwen of Vetur,” Torin explained. “I’ve watched her unguarded moments. I’ve spoken with her lady’s maid and learned how kind she was to the girl. The moment I heard the accusations from the queen, I knew they had to be false. I know Gwen would never harm anyone or anything.”

  Torin paused and took a deep breath. Looking to the floor, he added, “I could not stand by and do nothing while knowing she was in danger.”

  Ian frowned as he took in the Winter Fae’s expression. It was one he recognized all too well. Gwen certainly didn’t lack interested males in the Fae Realm. Ian chuckled internally at how his friend would react when she learned how many Summer Fae already approached him for permission to pursue her. It was a little ridiculous.

  “Lord Eilian,” a voice echoed from outside the cell, pulling Ian from his thoughts. He could hear the owner’s approaching footsteps. He and his guards readied themselves for whatever was to come.

  A slim male rounded the corner and halted, with his hands up, upon seeing the aggressive stance of the fae outside the cell. He gulped, his eyes searching the faces for one in particular. “Lord Eilian?” He questioned.