by L. P. Dover
He stiffened and looked away while saying, “No reason, Princess. Enjoy the rest of your night.” He turned to walk away, but something in me just couldn’t let him leave. That driving force within my body urged me to follow him, to not let him go.
“Brayden, wait,” I shouted, moving through the crowd. The second I caught up to him and grabbed his hand to make him stop, the whole room and everyone in it disappeared. The last thing I saw before the vision took me away was Brayden’s intense gaze staring into mine, freezing me into place, and a million emotions swirling uncontrollably through my body.
The air was cold and fresh with the smell of winter snow and ice. The land sparkled with each glittery flake that fell from the gray sky above, but then magically disappeared before hitting the ground. It reminded me of silver faerie dust. It was magical in every way possible, but what made it more magical was that it was my court … my Winter.
I knew my heart belonged in Winter, but I could feel it even more now as the man behind me wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to him and away from the window in our room. His hands deftly untied the sash to my robe, slipping his hands inside and across my stomach. The flames in the fireplace flickered, giving the room a sensual glow, but the heat had no effect whatsoever on our haven of ice. Brayden turned me around and as I did, the robe fell to the floor and he scooped me up into his arms.
He laid me down on the bundle of blankets splayed out in front of the fireplace and settled himself between my legs. As he entered me gently, he smoothed the hair from my face and opened my lips with his kiss. The taste and smell of him was crisp, clean, and everything Winter. Everything felt right and whole, like the weight of the Land of the Fae had been lifted. However, what made it even more complete was the man above me, peering down at me with a love I never thought possible.
Our bodies moved as one, and as the tears from my eyes froze into crystals, they slowly melted when Brayden’s hands wiped them away with his fire. He may be the Winter King, but underneath all that fierceness and ice lay a heart of flame. I was where I belonged … I was where I was destined to be.
The second the vision disappeared, Brayden abruptly let go of my hand and stumbled back as if I’d burned him. Everyone around us stared and whispered amongst themselves, looking delighted and joyful, knowing very well what just happened between us. I felt the same way in my heart, but my smile quickly vanished when Brayden turned on his heel and walked away with not so much as a word to me. We’d just had a vision of our destiny and of us making love to each other, and he up and walked away from me.
I don’t think so.
Clenching my hands into tight fists at my side, my blood boiled and ignited in my veins as I watched his retreating form head for the door. “Seriously?” I shouted.
I was mortified and completely embarrassed as everyone in the room witnessed my rejection. Their pitying looks were too much to bear. Before he disappeared out the door, I yelled one last thing to him, “Don’t slip on the ice you cold-hearted bastard!”
Gasps erupted throughout the room, but I was too pissed to care. Marching out of the chamber, I kept my head held high and sucked back the angry tears that trembled behind my eyes. I should’ve known from my sisters’ experiences that what I felt before was the connection calling to my soul. Of all the princes I was to be bound to … why did it have to be the one that knew nothing about love, or even how to smile for that matter?
The Land of the Fae was doomed.
“I BELIEVE MY time here in the mortal realm is over for the time being, Gothin.”
Gothin nodded and slowly backed out of the mortal woman’s bedroom. His troll characteristics had to be hidden in the mortal realm while I procured my army … among other things. The naked woman on the bed was just one of many of my delights during my time here, and one that would ensure my future. The spell I put on her would keep her incapacitated until my presence was long gone. Mortal women were so weak and vulnerable I almost had to second guess my plan, but if things worked out the way I wanted them to then my legacy would never die. They all served a purpose and one day that purpose would be revealed.
“What shall we do now, Master?” Gothin asked. “Now that Sorcha has been rescued, what are the next steps to capturing the last of the Four? You already told her in her dream what you’ve been doing here. Do you think they are making plans to attack?”
I scoffed and threw on my clothes quickly; we slipped out of the house undetected. Once we were outside, I summoned my magic and made a portal back to the Black Forest. When the veil shimmered, we walked through the opening and were right back in the darkness I called home … for now.
Once we were safely back in the forest, I turned to Gothin and laughed incredulously. “They can’t possibly be making plans any of attack. I told Sorcha about the mortal army so they would know what they were up against. The fae can’t compete with the mortals’ iron weapons. If they decide to attack, I’ll summon them, but for now I’m going to have them sit tight.”
“And the next princess?”
I sighed. “She has one more day before she turns twenty-one. She won’t come into her full power until then. The good thing is that the scroll is hidden and the danger to me is gone for now. However, I do fear that taking Ariella is going to be the hardest of all. I have a plan, but it’s going to take time to get it in motion. In the meantime, though, I think Ariella and I need to have a little chat.”
“Will that not be risky, Master?”
I cackled sinisterly and slapped him on the shoulder. “Yes, it will, but I think it’s time I had a little bit of fun.”
SORCHA AND DRAKE’S Summer Court had been formed and everything was right in the Land of the Fae, except one thing. I had the vision with Brayden, but instead of him talking to me and figuring things out, he up and left me standing alone in the middle of the dance floor in the Spring Court.
Two days had passed since then, and instead of being in the Spring Court I was now standing in the new Summer Court palace. It was completely different from my home in the other Summer Court. This one looked more like a tropical paradise with its sandy beaches and palm trees. It was beautiful.
Sorcha had tricked the dark sorcerer when he demanded to have the scroll back. Instead of giving him the scroll, she handed him a letter that she had written to my brother stating how much of a jackass he was when he blew her off a while back. The expression on his face if he ever found out would be priceless.
Only my family and the Winter Court family were in the room to discuss the meaning of the scroll. I thought maybe Brayden would come around once he spent a couple of days away, but I was wrong. Staring at him from across the room, as he avoided my gaze, only fueled the fire more. As Elvena deciphered the meaning of the scroll, she had all of us hold hands: Calista, Meliantha, Sorcha, and I. The magic between the four of us was the most raw and powerful force I’d ever felt flow through my veins. However, that feeling did not compare to the panic I felt after hearing Elvena explain the rest of the scroll in full detail. Surely, I wasn’t hearing her right.
Elvena began, “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.”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I inwardly groaned and then glanced at Brayden, who stood motionless by his father, King Madoc. I glared at him, waiting on him to look at me, but nothing … it was always nothing with him. You have got to be kidding me. Why won’t he acknowledge me? All I knew was that my heart was racing and I wanted to scream. I wanted to punch Brayden in the face so hard and see what he’d do. Would he just stand there and take it or would he actually say something? Maybe I should try.
Sorcha squeezed my hand and leaned over to whisper in my ear, “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,” I whispered back through gritted teeth. I needed more answers than just the vague explanation Elvena spouted off. “Does it say why the blood has to be bonded?” I asked Elvena. “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.”
Lowering my head, I closed my eyes and sighed, clenching my jaw. “Thank you. Unfortunately, I get it now.” I let go of Sorcha and Calista’s hands and backed away, determined to get out of there. They all had pitying looks on their faces and I couldn’t stand to see them directed toward me. My sisters looked as if they wanted to follow me, but I held up my hands, stopping them. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get some fresh air … alone.”
Hastily, I retreated from the room and out of the palace onto the sandy beach, breathing in the salty sea air. The sound of the water was soothing—almost hypnotic—as I gazed out at it. However, its lulling magic wasn’t working on me at the moment.
“This is ridiculous,” I snapped out loud. “Talking to someone should not be this complicated. I’m going to go right back in there and make him talk to me.” Taking a deep breath, I turned away from the magical blue water and marched right up the steps of the palace and down to the main hall. I was disappointed when I approached the room and found that everyone was already gone except Elvena, Calista, Meliantha, and Sorcha.
I was about to go in there when their words made me halt at the door.
“What aren’t you telling us?” Calista demanded. “You may be able to fool everyone else, but you can’t fool me.”
What was going on? I wondered. I sidled closer to the door and closed my eyes, trying hard to concentrate on what they were saying.
Elvena sighed. “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.”
This time it was Sorcha who snapped, “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.”
“All right, child, I’ll tell you,” Elvena whispered regretfully.
“Do I need to fetch Ariella?” Meliantha asked, cutting in. I was about to walk in when Elvena’s panicked voice rang out.
“No,” Elvena cried. “I don’t want her in here. She has so much to worry about right now. I can’t put this burden on her.”
What the hell! What burden? I wondered, breathlessly. The whole world felt like it was closing in all around me and there was no way out. I could barely hear from the pounding in my heart vibrating in my ears.
“Did the scroll mention something having to do with Ariella?” Sorcha questioned curiously.
“That’s the thing,” Elvena whispered sadly. “You all have sacrificed so much, and now one of you might have to sacrifice it all. If what the scroll says is true, I fear it’s going to have to be Ariella that kills him, and I just don’t know what the outcome of that will be.”
I’m the one who has to kill him? I screamed in my mind.
Meliantha’s voice was laced in fury. “Please don’t tell me she’s going to die if she kills that son of a bitch. You’re not saying that, right?” The pounding in my chest grew louder … harder.
Elvena replied. “To be honest, I’m not sure. The scroll states that the only one with the ability to kill the dark sorcerer will be the one who can earn his trust. We all know he’s not going to trust any of you, which leaves only one left. Since Ariella hasn’t fully come into her power, we need to wait and see what happens before we tell her. I don’t want her knowing yet. We’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.”
More words were mumbled between them, but I couldn’t focus on them. They were deliberately trying to keep this from me, and for what, to protect me? What was I … three years old? Out of all the years of being tormented by the dark sorcerer, who would have thought it would all came down to me? Now no one knew if I’d live through it or not. I knew he needed my power, but knowing the fate of my land depended on me to end it …
How the hell am I going to defeat him when it depended on me bonding to a complete asshole?
Slowly, I backed away from the door, hoping they couldn’t hear my steps, and ran as fast as I could toward the stables to fetch Lennox, my white stallion. I couldn’t stay there a moment longer, not when I was being deceived and lied to by those I loved.
As my feet pounded against the sand, I could hear someone behind me, chasing me, but I didn’t slow down. I pushed harder but it didn’t matter because a set of strong hands caught my arms in an instant and whirled me around. I was not expecting it to be the man it was, the one who hadn’t cared to acknowledge me from the very beginning.
My breath came out raspy from running, but I immediately pulled out of his grasp and glared at him. “What do you want?” I hissed.
He clenched his jaw and sighed. If I was reading his gaze correctly he almost looked worried for me, but that definitely couldn’t be right … right?
“I saw you run out of the palace and I wanted to make sure you were all right. Are you leaving?” he asked.
I snorted and rolled my eyes incredulously. “Yes, I am. So if you’ll excuse me I need to saddle my horse and get the hell out of here.” I turned to walk away, making sure to keep my chin in the air with dignity after being humiliated by him on numerous occasions. I groaned when I looked over and noticed he was keeping his pace beside me.
“I’ll accompany you,” he insisted. “It’s the least I can do.”
I didn’t know what came over me, but I burst out laughing. I whirled on him and placed my hands on my hips, narrowing my eyes at him. “The least you can do?” I muttered sardonically. “I’m sorry, Prince Brayden, but the least you can do is leave me alone. I think you’ve done enough. I hate that talking to me is such an inconvenience to you.”
Brayden closed his eyes and lowered his head. He ran his hands over his face and groaned before lifting his chocolate brown gaze to mine. “Talking to you is not an inconvenience, Princess. You need to understand that this is all new to me. Your ways are very different from mine.”
That was definitely true, I thought to myself.
“That may be the case,” I snapped, “but it doesn’t give you the right to be an ass to me. You humiliated me in front of everyone in the Spring Court, and today you refused to talk to me or even look at me. I stayed with you day and night when you were injured because I wanted to. You fascinated me, and I thought there was more to you than what you let on, but I was wrong.”
Even saying those words felt wrong. My heart was warring with me to take them back, but I couldn’t. When Brayden tried to reach for my hand, I backed away and swallowed hard, shaking my head against the tears that stung behind my eyes. You cannot fall, I repeated over and over in my mind. I did not want to cry in front of him or show him any weakness whatsoever.
My gaze never faltering, I looked straight at him and said, “We’ll figure out another way to save our land. There has to be another way. I may be young, but I’m not going to put up with your bullshit, even if we are destined to be together.”
His mouth flew open and he looked at a loss for words. It didn’t matter anyway because we were interrupted by someone hollering my name. “Ariella,” a voice called out. Kamden approached me warily while furrowing a questioning brow. “Are you okay?”
Averting my gaze from Brayden, I nodded at Kamden and smiled. “Everything will be fine as soon as I get home.”
Entering the stables, they both followed me in. I found Lennox, my white stallion, bucking against the stall and whinnying. “Shh … calm down boy, I’m okay. We’re going home,” I cooed, running my fingers through his
mane.
He could feel my distress as I secured my saddle onto his back while Brayden stood off to the side and watched. With the reins in my hand, I pulled Lennox out of the stall and waited on Kamden.
Hitching up his own saddle, Kamden secured it down and came to my side. “I’ll make sure you get there safely. I don’t want you going alone.”
Brayden scoffed and had the gall to look offended. “That won’t be necessary, warrior. I’ll accompany her home.”
“Like hell you will,” I argued, climbing onto Lennox’s back. “Trust me, Prince Brayden, the last place you want to be right now is around me. I’m too angry, and when I’m angry I want to hit things. You need to stay out of my way.”
“She’s right,” Kamden admitted. “I’ve trained with her.”
Brayden’s lip tilted up in a slight smirk and his eyes glinted with humor, almost mockingly. He didn’t even acknowledge Kamden but kept his gaze on me the entire time. “In a way, I want to call your bluff, Princess. I do like a good challenge and a fierce female is something I have longed to behold. I’ll grant your wish and stay out of your way … this time. However, next time you’re going to face me.”
Curling my lip, I glared down at him and said, “And I’ll be ready, although, I don’t think you will be.”
I nodded toward Kamden and he sped out of the stables onto the white sand and stopped, waiting for me to follow. Brayden stepped out of the way so I could have a clear path, but before I could speed past him he placed his hand on my knee, halting me. My heart jumped at his touch and I couldn’t deny that it actually felt right.
“I’m sorry if I caused you pain. It was never my intention,” he admitted, his brown eyes softening.
I sighed and held onto the reins tighter, nodding my head because I had no clue what to say or do. “Good-bye, Brayden. I wish you a safe journey back to the Winter Court.”
It was lame but that was all I could come up with. Nudging Lennox with the heel of my feet, he slowly bounded out of the stables and out onto the powdery white sand. I caught up to Kamden, and against my better judgment I looked back to take one last glance at Brayden. The emotion on his face was one of the last ones I had expected to see … sadness.
