by Talia Jager
Sorin helped me to the ground and sat down beside me. “I have to confess something.”
“What?”
“I look at your snowflake every day.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s cool.”
Holding his hand, I sat there more confused than I had been. Why was I having these feelings—for a Summer faerie?
“I have an idea,” Raina announced, standing in front of Sorin and me.
“What?”
“Maybe there’s a way to get each Season to host a day for the others to come visit. Learn about each other. Do some business. I know we trade and all that, but this could be so much more. You two, as the heirs to the thrones, should suggest this and see what happens.”
I glanced over at Sorin. “I will talk to my parents.”
“As will I,” he responded.
As dawn approached, everyone took off except Keir, Raina, Ivy, and us. Sorin and I stood to the side saying our good-byes. “You’ll come again next time, won’t you?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t miss it.” He brushed a strand of my hair behind my ear, and I smiled in pleasure as his lips closed in on mine.
Minutes later, on the way home, I noticed a light on the ground. I motioned to the others to land far to the right, and we stayed quiet. Two guards and three centaurs galloped by, shining the light around. Once they were far enough away, we continued the ride home.
“What was that?” Raina asked after we had put our horses away.
“Looked like a scouting mission,” Ivy said.
“Remember the centaur when we were collecting ingredients?” I asked Ivy. “He seemed like he was looking for something.”
“Or someone,” Ivy said. “What if they’re looking for someone?”
“Like who?”
“I don’t know. If anyone can find out, you can, Rory.”
“Just because I’m royalty doesn’t mean they tell me everything. Raina has a better chance finding out from her father.”
“Maybe both of you try to find out. I don’t have a way. I’m just a commoner.”
“Oh, stop.”
“Well, it’s true. You didn’t even tell me that you had something going with the Summer prince.”
“I don’t. I…I’m not sure what’s going on. I don’t know how I feel.” I shrugged. “But Ivy, you’re our friend no matter who your parents are or what job you have.”
“I’ll never have the bond you two have.”
Raina and I hugged her. “You are very important to us.”
Ivy pulled back and said, “It’s important to find out what’s going on, especially if it might affect us going to the meet-ups.”
“I’ll see what I can find out and figure out how to suggest getting the lands together.” I had no idea how to do either, but I had this crazy new need to at least try.
Chapter Five
Aurora
I wasn’t ready to talk with my parents right away. I needed time to think about what to say and how to say it. I kept my eyes open for anything out of the ordinary but never saw anything to explain why the centaurs and guards were out searching.
On my way to training one day, I felt someone following me. I turned but didn’t see anyone. By the time I got to set up with my bow and arrow, I was positive someone was watching. Turning quickly, I caught a blond satyr before he could hide. “Why are you following me?” I demanded.
“Your father ordered me to protect you.”
“You’re protecting me?”
“Yes.”
“From what?”
“I don’t know. Just know what my orders are.”
I added asking about the guard to the list of things I needed to talk to my parents about. My father should know that my battle skills were better than most and having a guard wasn’t necessary.
A couple times a week, I trained with one of our elders, Talv. He had spiky blue hair and didn’t look like an elder. Time was kind to the fae. We aged until we were about twenty-five human years and then slowed way down.
As we started, he chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“I don’t have anything left to teach you, Princess. Your skills are way beyond mine.”
“You have taught me for years, Talv. Surely there’s more I can learn from you?”
“You? No. Your sisters? Yes. They lack the discipline you have. With our empath abilities, it’s easy to tell the difference. I can feel how you want to be one with the water. Your siblings haven’t gotten there yet, and I’m not sure Eira ever will. But let’s get to this so you can beat me.”
Palms up, I created two water balls. Holding my right hand back near my head, I released blasts of water from my hands. Talv held up his shield and blocked each one. I kept blasting him while using my other hand to send a beam of water. He reciprocated with a beam of water of his own, pushing mine back.
Quickly I formed ice on my right hand and sent bursts of frozen pellets at Talv, who used his shield to protect himself.
I dropped the beam of water, letting it fall to the ground and saturate it. Waving my hand I made it turn to ice. Had Talv not been a Winter Fae, he probably would have slipped and fallen.
Talv repositioned his hands in an offense position. Hands by my side, I quickly raised them up toward the sky, making an ice wall appear between us. I could make out the smile on his face through the ice wall. I flipped my hands over and out to the sides. The wall started to fall and when it was about halfway down, it shattered into millions of pieces suspended in the air.
After a few seconds, I let them drop to the ground. Talv, still on the offense, took a few steps toward me. I reformed the ice below us into a mound under just my feet lifting me up. Just before he took aim, I made the ice mound turn into snow and disappeared inside. I shot out of the bottom and blasted a water beam at his feet, catching him off guard. He lost his balance and fell to the ground.
“Are you okay?” I hurried to him and offered my hand.
“Oh yes. I’m fine, Princess.” He took my hand and stood up. “Nicely played. You really don’t need me anymore.”
“Oh, but I love practicing with you. Don’t give up on me.”
“Give up? No. You’re just beyond what I can teach you. I wish there was a way for you to practice with the other elements. That would be a great test of your abilities. Too bad the courts are so busy among themselves, they can’t be bothered with each other.”
Another sign I should talk to my parents.
As we headed back toward the castle, I thought about the group of fae I had gotten together with every month for years now. I wondered if they’d ever be willing to spar with me. This could be the argument I should make with my father as well. We should be friendly with other Seasons for training purposes.
I waited a few days before mentioning to my father what we had talked about at the falls. “Father, may I talk to you for a minute?” I asked, poking my head in the library.
“Of course. Come in.”
I walked in and sat across from him in a big cushioned chair. Trying not to appear nervous, I said, “We’ve been talking about history a lot in class. The Iron Fae, the Elementals, the courts. I wondered, why is it we don’t help each other out?”
My father was silent for a minute, and I thought maybe he would yell at me, but instead he calmly said, “We tried. The courts couldn’t get along, so we decided that it was best this way.”
“We still trade with each other.”
“Sure. We’d all starve if we didn’t. We need each other to live.”
“Then why close each other off? Maybe reach out to see if someone else is interested. Imagine how realistic our training could be. We would be experienced in fighting elements other than our own. Not to mention, I find the differences in our cultures fascinating and would love to find out more about the other Seasons.”
My father swelled with pride, and he smiled. “You will make an incredible queen someday.
In the meantime, I will take your advice under consideration.”
“Thank you, Father.”
When I didn’t leave, he looked over and asked, “Is there something else?”
“The other week I was hunting down some ingredients in the backwoods for school, and a centaur came out of nowhere with an alarmed look on his face. Is everything okay?”
My father leaned back. “There was a sighting of Iron Fae. We were just making sure our land is safe.”
“Are we in danger?”
“I don’t think so.”
“So why is there a satyr following me?”
My father looked annoyed as he answered. “He was supposed to be hidden.”
“I’m good at knowing who’s around. You taught me to be aware.”
“I guess I did. He’s just extra security.”
“You do know I could fight someone off better than a satyr or any other guard you assign to me?”
My father smiled and answered, “Can you deal with it to make an old man happy?”
“Who’s the old man?” I joked.
Father laughed. “Are you buttering me up for something?”
“Would it help to get the answers I want for the things I just mentioned?”
“No. Having a guard with you would just put my mind at ease.”
“Then, by all means, the goat boy can follow me around.”
My father squeezed my shoulder, and I left the room and wandered around the castle. Neige was in the practice room, working on his magick. He was so cute trying to make some ice appear. When he waved his hands, icicles would form and fall to the ground.
I walked over to him and knelt down. “Like this.” I showed him how to hold his hands and move them quickly for the water to turn to ice and stay where he wanted it.
“Oooh!” Neige clapped. “Good job, Rory!”
“Your turn.”
He did what I showed him and succeeded in getting the ice to stay up like a tower.
“Now follow my hands.”
He put his on top of mine as I raised them up, put my fingers together, then drew them down and to the side. The ice turned back into water and the water fell to the floor.
“Awesome…thanks, Rory.”
“You’re welcome. Keep working with your trainer, Neige. You have great potential.”
“What’s that?”
“It means you’re going to be an awesome water bender someday.”
A big grin spread over his face, and I tousled his white-blond hair before heading up to my room.
As I was heading to bed a few days later, I passed by the great hall and heard voices from inside. I paused outside the door, listening to my parents talk.
“I’ve gotten word that an Elemental will need a Winter faerie to train him on water manipulation,” Father said.
“You want to offer Rory?” Mother asked.
“I do.”
“Oh, Zohar, that’s a lot of responsibility. Do you think it’s too much for her?”
“I think our eldest daughter is far beyond her years. Not only is she smart, but she is the best water bender I’ve ever seen, and the rules state that we shall provide the best of our kind for the Elemental to learn from.”
“She’s just a kid.” My mother’s voice was soft.
“He’s still training with the Spring Fae, so we have a little while to make a decision.”
I tiptoed away from the door before they came out and caught me listening. They had to be talking about Sorin, right? Who else would it be? Sorin was close to being done with his air training, and all he had left was water. Smiling, I walked away. If I was appointed as Sorin’s trainer, I’d be able to see him without sneaking around. That would be awesome!
Something was off when I walked downstairs for our morning ritual. My parents weren’t waiting for us. The door was slightly ajar, so I slipped outside.
Birch and Artin were discussing something with my parents, and by the looks on their faces, whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
Once I stepped onto the ground, a burst of pain shot through my body, and I jerked my foot back. “What was that?”
My parents spun around. “Rory, you don’t need to be out here.”
“Something’s wrong. I can feel it. What’s going on?”
“There’s a fire in Summer Land,” my father answered.
“A fire?” That’s why the earth was in pain.
“Yes.”
“What do we need to do?”
Everyone looked at me like I had five heads.
“Rory, it’s in Summer Land,” Mother said slowly like I missed that bit of information.
“So? We don’t offer our help?” I looked between them all, wondering if maybe they might grow five heads.
“They haven’t asked,” Father said.
The situation blew my mind. Because we were from two different lands, they wouldn’t ask for help, and we wouldn’t offer.
“See, Father, if we were friends, then we’d go help. This hurts us too. The ground is in pain, meaning trees, plants, maybe other fae…”
Maybe Sorin.
“Trading could be affected,” I continued.
“She makes good points, Zohar,” my mother commented.
A knight approached. “The fire is spreading.”
My father looked at me and nodded as he turned to the knight. “Get our best water benders, and let’s go help.”
Relief spread through me. “Thank you, Father. Where do I go?”
“You? You’re not going.”
“Why not? I’m one of the best water benders.”
“You are the best, but you’re also young and I won’t allow it.”
“Why not?” I asked again.
My father let go of a sigh. “Because, Rory, someone said the Iron Fae started this fire, and I won’t have you in danger if they’re lurking around.”
Iron Fae? Why would they set a fire?
Even though the fire raged on, we still had trainings and school, but it was hard for me to pay attention.
“Rory?”
“What?” I shifted my eyes to my teacher’s face. When I realized he had asked me a question, I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. “Sorry. Can you repeat the question?”
“Do you know what a vessel is?” Aquilo asked.
“No.”
“A vessel is when the essence of a faerie is put into a human. They look human and have no idea what they really are. Sometimes they never find out. They’re there to protect and help keep the balance of the elements and seasons. They may see something happening and fix it without realizing they were put there for that reason.”
“Are there many of them?” I asked.
“I don’t have numbers, but they’re all over the human realm.” He walked toward the other side of the room, and I relaxed a little. “Let’s talk jobs. What jobs do faeries hold?”
“Warriors and guards,” Hollis answered.
“Trainers,” Ivy said.
Raina chirped, “Healers.”
“Water benders. Nature faeries,” I said.
“Hello? What about teachers?” Aquilo rolled his eyes, and a couple of giggles erupted. “What is the job of the nature faeries?”
“Each land is responsible for its own season. For us, it’s to make sure winter comes.”
“Good. Who can tell me what a scout is?” Aquilo asked.
Hollis raised his hand, and the teacher nodded. “A faerie who is sent out to the neutral land to look around.”
“And what are they looking for? Juniper?”
“Iron Fae, damage to the earth, anything that would threaten us,” she answered.
The door swung open and in walked two guards. “Princess Rory, your parents sent for you. You are needed in Summer Land to help contain and put out the fire.”
I stood from the desk and made my way to the door. One of the guards handed me a change of clothes and a pair of shoes. I took them and hurried to the bathroom. I was a little surprised at the
outfit they brought me—a tank top that had an ombré style to it, fading from the lightest blue to a dark blue, white shorts, and a pair of white flats—but then I reminded myself I was about to go into Summer to help put out a fire. The temperatures there were already uncomfortable for us Winter fae, but with the raging fire, it was going to be miserable. The shoes would help protect my feet.
Taking a quick look in the mirror, I decided to quickly scrub off all my makeup so I didn’t have to worry about it running down my face and getting into my eyes with the heat from the fire.
Walking out of the bathroom, I said, “Let’s go.”
We ran outside, and each hopped on a horse. Zev started whining. “No, boy. You need to stay here. Understand? Stay.” I knew he understood, and I knew he didn’t like it. I could feel his emotions too. He wanted to come and protect me. “I need you here so I don’t worry about you,” I told him. He barked, but sat down. “Good boy.” I patted the horse and said, “Go.” He began galloping at full speed toward the Summer Land border. I could see smoke high in the sky.
“Why did my parents change their minds?”
“There’s no sign of the Iron Fae. It looks like they just threw a fireball and left,” Artin responded. “So when we realized they weren’t there, we informed your parents, and they said to get you and escort you to Summer Land immediately.”
We bolted through the gate and toward the smoke. The farther in we got, the worse visibility was. We hopped off the horses, and Artin stopped me. “You need to prepare yourself for how hot it is going to be when you get in there. It will be extremely unpleasant. But you have to put that out of your mind and focus on the task at hand. Focus only on your bending.”
I nodded, and we ran toward the orange glow. The heat hit me like a brick wall. For a second I let myself be overwhelmed by it, then I put it out of my mind. I saw some flames getting very close to a group of Winter and Summer Fae. I would need a lot of water for this. I scanned the area for a source of water, no matter how small. I pushed my right arm out to the water, pulled with both of my hands bringing the water to me, then pushed my arms up, arching them up then down and sending the water over me to the fire. Once the water hit the fire, I outstretched my arms, bringing them in and clenching my hands into fists, turning the water and flames into ice. Opening my hand, I raised it and pushed it down, turning the ice back to water and letting everything flow to the ground.
