Summer of Frost

by L. P. Dover

  Knowing she needed the comfort, I wrapped my arm around her waist and let her lay her head on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Calista. I don’t know what I’d do without Oren. I know it’s a great sadness you bear on your heart.”

  She shrugged half-heartedly. “It’s just hard sometimes when I see all of you with your guardians, it reminds me of what I lost. I can feel Merrick’s essence inside me, giving me strength, but I still miss seeing his smiling face. He was my best friend.”

  While listening to Calista talk, I had an idea form in my head. I wasn’t too sure how far my capabilities could go or what kind of limit I was bound to, but what I had in mind was definitely worth a try.

  “Calista, look at me,” I said, circling around to face her. She sniffed and took a deep breath before lifting her gaze. Her tear-streaked cheeks were flushed, but she gave me a half- smile anyway. I asked her, “What would you do if you could see Merrick again?”

  “What wouldn’t I do would be the question. First, I’d thank the heavens and the stars for allowing me that honor, and second, I’d tell him how much I missed him.”

  I nodded, swallowing hard and trying not to cry from her pain. I would’ve done anything to see Oren if the situation was turned.

  “Why did you ask me that?” she asked.

  I paused, then softly said, “Because I think I know a way you can see him again. I never thought about it before until now, but with my dream walking abilities I can try to find him.”

  Calista fell into the seat behind her while the tears flooded like rivers down her cheeks. “Are you really saying I can see him again?”

  I knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in mine. “Yes, Calista. I’m pretty sure I can find him. Would you want to try tonight?”

  She squealed and flung her arms around me so tight I could barely breathe. “Yes!” she exclaimed happily. “I would be forever in your debt if you could grant me this.”

  I laughed, but then struggled to breathe from her excited grip. “Let’s just say it’s a belated wedding gift to you and my brother. How about that?”

  “That sounds perfect.” She let me go and hastily wiped the tears from under her eyes while I sucked in a deep breath. “Oh, Sorcha, I’m so sorry. I guess I got a little too excited.”

  “It’s okay.” I laughed. “I know how exciting this has to be for you.”

  “You have no idea. Now let’s get you to the throne room. I know everyone’s dying to see you, especially your parents.”

  I strolled alongside her until we got halfway down the corridor. “Wait, I forgot something! I’m going to run back and get it from my room, and I’ll be down there in just a second.”

  She grinned and squeezed my hand. “Okay, I’ll let them know.”

  Back in mine and Drake’s room, I found what I was searching for, and quickly made my way to the throne room. I could hear everyone speaking to each other as I sauntered up to the door. Once I opened it and came into view, everyone went silent. However, it didn’t take my mother long to break that silence.

  My mother, Queen Mab, rushed over to me and took my hands. “Oh, my heavens! You don’t even look like the same girl anymore,” she cried.

  “It’s because I’m not, Mother.”

  She waved her hand flippantly in the air. “Oh I know, just don’t let the Bitch Queen taint you. After all, you’ll be spending more time around her than me now that you’re here with all the sun and heat. I just don’t see how anyone can stand it.”

  “Most of us aren’t made of ice,” Queen Tatiana interrupted with a sneer. “It’s just a shame you don’t melt.” When my mother opened her mouth to make a snide comment, I cut between them and held up my hands.

  “Stop!” I commanded forcefully, glaring at them both. All eyes pivoted to the altercation with curiosity, but I didn’t care. “Can you for once play nice with each other? I don’t know why you two are like this, but it’s got to stop. Look around you … look at our beautiful families. It’s growing and becoming stronger. Put your differences aside and keep it that way until we defeat the dark sorcerer. You can always go back to your bitching after that. Can you do that, for everyone’s sake?”

  It was a bold move, but someone needed to step up and say something. Surprisingly, it was Queen Tatiana that folded. She placed her golden skinned hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “You’re right, Sorcha. This is a wonderful day, and I don’t want to spoil it for you. It brings me joy to see my son so happy. We’re family now, so if you ever need anything you know you can come to me.”

  I smiled, and placed a hand over hers. “Thank you.”

  She beamed lovingly at me, but then threw an icy glare at my mother before marching her way over to Meliantha and the twins. My mother agreed to the temporary truce, earning a grin from me in return even though it took great effort for her to agree.

  Oren caught my eye, and called me over. I left my mother and greeted him with a warm embrace. He whispered in my ear, “You’re hiding something, ai dulin. I can feel it. What’s got you so excited that you can’t tell me?”

  I snickered, and whispered back, “I can’t tell you, but you’ll find out soon.”

  I kissed him on the cheek, and moved to my father, who crushed me in a bear hug.

  “I’m so glad you’re all right,” my father sighed. “We came to the Summer Court the moment we found out what happened.”

  “I’m okay. You know I can handle myself.”

  “That’s for damn sure.” He laughed. “Don’t be mad, but I already gave Drake the fatherly lecture.”

  Annoyed, I pulled out of his grasp. “What did you say?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing much really, just that if he hurt you I’d come kill him.”

  Shaking my head, I chuckled. “If he hurt me, I’d kill him.”

  He kissed me on the forehead. “That’s my girl.”

  Meliantha spotted me and waved me over to her and Kalen where they were both holding onto the babies. I kissed the little ones on the cheeks, and noticed my brother gawking at me with a smirk on his face. “What is it, Kalen?”

  “I was just thinking about something. When you and Drake have babies, will they come out looking like dragons?” he joked.

  “Um … I hope not, and anyway, I don’t see myself as the domesticated type yet.” One day I would love to have kids, but I knew I wasn’t ready for them yet. Drake and I had too many adventures to explore.

  Meliantha giggled. “You say that now, but I’m sure things will change. You’re in luck, though; I don’t see Drake being the domesticated type either. Congratulations, by the way, and I’m glad you made it home safely.”

  I gave her a sideways hug since her daughter was bundled in her arms. “Thank you, and I’m glad I did, too.”

  My eyes then found Ariella and Brayden who were both on opposite sides of the room. I felt sorry for Ariella because even though she was smiling and playing with little Merrick, I knew she had to be upset over my brother obviously steering clear of her. He had to feel the connection, but being how he’s always been, Brayden was the only man in my family that found love as a weakness. Yes, he had women every now and again, but he kept them a secret when he did. I just happened to always catch them leaving his place in the middle of the night. I hoped Ariella could melt that heart of his before she killed him, but the chances were slim of that giving the death stare she gave him across the room. Hopefully, they both would come to their senses.

  Once I acknowledged everyone, I finally ambled over to Drake, whose heated gaze had me melting. He pulled me over by the arm and pressed his lips firmly to mine. “Watching you yell at our mothers was priceless. I think everyone’s jaws dropped when you did that.”

  “I don’t know why I did it, it just came out and I kept going with it.”

  Drake draped his arm around my shoulder. “Well, you did great with them. So how about we get this meeting started?”

  I nodded, eager to get it going. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

 
Drake glided to the middle of the room and spoke, grabbing the audience’s attention. “Thank you all for coming. So many things have happened over the past couple of days, and I knew we needed to discuss them in private. We don’t know who to trust, so for now, anything important needs to be discussed with only us.”

  Nods and murmurs of agreement filled the room. Drake continued once he had the approval from the room, “You all know about Alston already, and that he was the one who took Sorcha with the dark sorcerer’s help. Ariella is the next one on his target, so we need to make sure she’s well protected. I know more will be discussed once we plan her Guardian Ceremony. However, something happened last night with Sorcha that concerns us all. The dark sorcerer came to her in her dreams.”

  The room crackled with dangerous energy as soon as the dark sorcerer was mentioned. Drake eyed me and nodded toward our families, signaling it was my turn to talk about the dream. I joined Drake in the middle of the room and explained, “When the dark sorcerer got my power, he must’ve acquired my ability to dream walk. Basically, he wanted me to pass along a message to everyone. He has a mortal army ready to fight, and with that mortal army will come a slew of iron weapons, and we all know what that can do to us. He also said he’s hidden the scroll where no on other than he knows where to find it.”

  Calista stepped forward. “How are we going to defeat him if we don’t know how? We all know our guardian weapons can hurt him, but that’s it, they don’t kill him. The scroll was our only hope. There has to be some kind of spell that could lead us to it.” She turned and addressed Elvena, “Surely there’s something, right?”

  Elvena had her eyes trained on me with a sly grin on her face. She answered Calista, but kept her gaze pinpointed on me. “I’m not aware of a spell to do that, child. Although, for some reason I suspect the new Summer Queen has something up her sleeve, and I mean that literally.”

  Frozen, I stared at her in shock, my heart pounding in my chest. How did she know that? Drake leaned over and whispered in my ear, “What is she talking about?”

  Elvena smiled and waved her hand in the air, impatiently. “We’re waiting, child. You weren’t planning on keeping everyone in the dark now were you?”

  “How did you know?” I asked her, stuttering in disbelief.

  “I could sense it the moment you walked in the room.”

  Drake furrowed his brows in confusion. “Have you been keeping secrets from me?”

  “Yes, but I wanted it to be a surprise for when we were all together.” I laughed and slowly pulled the hidden object from underneath my sleeve and held it in the air. Gasps reverberated through the room, along with cheers of excitement. They all knew what it was.

  Delighted, Drake asked, “Is that what I think it is?”

  I kissed him on the lips. “Yes!”

  I carefully handed it to Elvena who held it in her hands and gawked at it for the longest time. If anyone knew how to read it clearly it’d be her. It was written in the Old Fae language.

  “How is this possible?” Drake questioned. “I saw you give it to the sorcerer.”

  “Oh, I did give a scroll to the dark sorcerer, but it wasn’t the right one.” I spoke the last part while glancing at Oren, wondering if he’d catch on.

  He narrowed his eyes, contemplating my meaning, and when he realized what I did he burst out laughing. “Are you saying he has your letter instead of the scroll?”

  I nodded cheerfully. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I guess being pissed at Drake paid off.”

  “Hey!” Drake interceded. “Do you mind explaining? I would sure like to know.”

  Taking a deep breath, I let it all out with a sigh. I kept my gaze on Drake when I answered, “Okay, here it goes. When I went to the Spring Court to visit Meliantha, Kalen, and the babies, I was so mad at you for being distant with me. I didn’t expect you to think our dreams were real, but after the dream where you told me to stay away from you I got angry. I was mad, so I wrote a letter to you. The morning I was going to give it to you, you had already left. I kept it and put it in my pouch on my armor belt. When I got the scroll, I put it in there as well. Then when the sorcerer came and demanded it, I carefully felt around and picked the letter in hopes he wouldn’t notice. Thankfully, he didn’t look at it before he hid it again.”

  The room exploded into cheers and laughter after the good news was spilled. Drake picked me up and swung me around in his arms. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

  “Oh, I know,” I agreed teasingly. “We have the advantage now. He has no idea we have the scroll, which means we’re going to surprise the hell out of him when we defeat him.”

  He set me down, and pierced me with a serious glare. “Although, I think I’m kind of pissed you didn’t tell me you had the scroll.”

  I grinned. “A girl has to be able to have some secrets.”

  “Good luck, Drake. My little sister is sneaky,” Kalen piped in, joining us. “She was always the sly one in our family.”

  I scowled at him half-heartedly. “No, I think that would be you. Everything I’ve learned has been from you and Ryder, but all of my underhanded tactics was because of you, Kalen. I guess, in this case, taking after you came in handy.”

  He chuckled lightly. “I’m glad I could help.”

  The conversations ceased the moment Elvena came into view. She strutted her way to the middle of the room with the open scroll in her hands. She went first to Calista and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward Meliantha where she linked their hands together. Elvena then motioned for me to hold Meliantha’s other hand while Ariella joined in with mine and Calista’s. The moment the circle was complete, a surge of raw power flowed through us, taking our breath away.

  “Do you feel it?” Elvena asked, walking around our circle. From our gasps and wide eyes she knew very well we felt it, so she continued with her speech, “What you feel is all your power connecting and strengthening off each other. It’s not at its prime yet, but it will be when Ariella comes into her full power. Imagine how strong you’re going to be then.”

  Ariella was the one who spoke up. “What’s going to happen when I get my full power? What does the scroll say we have to do?”

  Elvena reluctantly met our gazes one by one, and it was perfectly clear that she was keeping something from us, something grim, but it didn’t seem like she wanted to discuss it in the filled room. Whatever was written in the scroll wasn’t going to be easy, that was for sure. I just wondered what it was. Holding up the scroll, Elvena addressed the room, her soft, angelic voice echoing off the walls.

  “To defeat the dark sorcerer we need the blood of the Four … the bonded blood of the Four. Which means Ariella will need to be bonded to Brayden for this to work.” Ariella groaned and met Brayden’s gaze across the room where he stood unmoving beside my father, King Madoc. Her groan elicited no reaction from him, which only made her fume even more. It was looking like Brayden was going to need some sense smacked into him after this meeting.

  I squeezed Ariella’s hand to give her reassurance, and she sighed before squeezing mine back. I leaned into her and whispered softly, “It’s going to be okay. Brayden isn’t the type to express his feelings, and neither am I really, but Drake has helped with that. I know he’s feeling the connection, but he probably just needs more time to process everything. He’ll come around.”

  “I guess we’ll see,” she whispered, gritting her teeth. Brayden’s gaze was lowered to the floor, and I was sure he’d balk at the sight of Ariella staring daggers at him. Her icy and violent stare would make any Winter Fae cower away from her. She was going to do great in the Winter Court.

  “Does it say why the blood has to be bonded?” Ariella asked. “My blood should still be the same, bonded or not.”

  Elvena shook her head. “No, my child, it won’t. Right now we have Calista with Fall blood, Meliantha with Spring, Sorcha with Summer, and you. As of right now you’re Summer, but we need you to be the Winter.”

  Arie
lla clenched her jaw and lowered her head. “Thank you. Unfortunately, I get it now.” She released mine and Calista’s hand and stepped back. The strong flow of magic was gone with her absence. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get some fresh air.”

  She hastily retreated out of the room, keeping her gaze on the door while Brayden finally showed the first real emotion the whole time he’d been there. Worry crossed his face, but once she was out of the room the blank mask fell into place. He really needed his ass kicked.

  To get the focus off Ariella’s departure, I decided to speak up. “How is our blood going to defeat the dark sorcerer?”

  Elvena explained, “We need to have a special weapon made, preferably by Durin since he’s the most powerful of the dwarves. Each of you will go through the process of letting this weapon take your blood, the same way you do it in the Guardian ceremonies. Once the blood has been taken, the weapon will be indestructible and the sole key in killing the dark sorcerer. When it pierces his blackened heart it’ll be all over. Every bit of power he took will be restored back into the land. The Black Forest will be no more … he will be no more.”

  The room went quiet, especially since Ariella stormed out, and it was hard to get excited about defeating the dark sorcerer when the couple we needed to complete the bond didn’t look like they were going to be bonded anytime soon. However, Elvena hadn’t explained everything, and I had a feeling she didn’t want us all to know.

  When everyone left to celebrate, Calista, Meliantha, and I stayed behind to question Elvena. “What aren’t you telling us?” Calista demanded. “You may be able to fool everyone else, but you can’t fool me.”

  Elvena sighed and hung her head. “It’s not something to worry about right now. There’s still plenty of time ahead of us until we can even think about making the weapon, since the current state of Ariella and Brayden’s union is complicated.”

  Her grim expression didn’t imply there wasn’t anything to worry about. I wanted to know, and I was going to find out. I snapped at her, “I saw your face, Elvena, and it sure as hell appeared to be a look that it was something we needed to worry about. If I have to take the scroll away from you and decipher it myself I will.”