“I hope Frost, Preston, and Elron get back soon.” I was getting restless, especially now with Creighton was around.
“Which one is your boyfriend?” Creighton looked at me.
“Neither. Frost is Wren’s mate, Preston is his younger brother.” Matilda explained.
“And Elron, well, he’s Elron.” James shrugged.
“Are we talking about the elf then?”
“Do you know everyone?” James laughed.
“I make it my business to stay on top of things.”
My body reacted to the thought of him on top of me. What the hell was wrong with me?
Creighton definitely noticed. “You okay, not a princess?”
“Really?” I gritted my teeth. “You still won’t drop it?”
“I would if I believed it actually bothered you.”
“But you don’t?” I was going to lose it. He was unbelievable. “You think I like it?”
“I know you like the attention.”
“Okay. That’s enough, you two.” Matilda stepped between us. “With all due respect, I don’t believe this conversation is going to get us anywhere.”
“No. It’s not.” And I had no idea why I’d even let it go on for this long.
“I cannot help it. She brings it out in me.” Creighton looked around Matilda at me.
“You don’t even know her.” Wren’s brows drew together.
“Feels like I do.” His eyes roamed up and down my body. “Strange.”
“Yes, strange.” I should have hated the ogling, but I didn’t. I had done the same thing more than once since seeing him.
“You do not feel the same way?”
“No.” I was lying. At least partially. It's not that I felt I knew him, but I felt we had this intense connection that could have only come from time together.
“Fine. Deny it all you want, but eventually you will have to face it.”
“Whatever you say.” I hated that he was right.
Creighton
I was out of my ever-loving mind. I was letting this woman royally screw with my head. Too bad I couldn’t let her screw with something else, as I’d wanted her from the moment I set eyes on her. I didn’t even usually go for brunettes, but one look into her green eyes and I was a goner. And I had no idea how to break the spell.
That was most likely the reason I found myself doing something incredibly stupid even if I wanted to pretend I was trying to protect Energo. “How about we head back to my neighborhood and regroup?”
“To your neighborhood?” Lacey looked up at me through those long eyelashes of hers.
“Would you rather I said my place?” I teased. Hell, I loved teasing this woman with my words, and I so wanted to tease her in other ways. “Is that specifically where you want to go?”
“Of course not.” Color rose to her face, and I was glad I had pushed her. Was I serious? Why did I enjoy getting a rise out of her? She was just some Fae royalty who was only in Icentris because she was stuck. As soon as it was possible she would be out of here, and I would never see her again. And that should not have bothered me, but it did. A whole lot.
“Would you prefer to stay here?” I knew she did not. Not by the looks of the goosebumps forming on any of her exposed skin. “Tents are great and all, but they won’t provide much shelter for the coming storm.”
“Storm?” Wren looked up at the sky. “What storm?”
“The coming one.” I knew no one else probably sensed it, but I was used to it. I had a better sense for these things than most.
“I don’t sense a storm.” Wren still had her neck craned. “Strange that you do.”
“Do you usually sense them?” It was hard to keep my eyes off Lacey, but I was curious about what Wren was saying.
“Yes. Almost always.”
“So do I. And I sense this one. Maybe your sense is less effective so far from home.”
“That the case for you too?” She asked.
“Cannot say I have ever been quite as far from home as you are now.” Not that I lacked plans to travel further, but the opportunity had not come my way yet.
“We are very far from home, aren’t we?” Lacey wrapped her arms over her chest.
“You already know the answer to that.” James may not have known the women well, but he knew them better than I did. I wanted to change that. Especially when it came to Lacey. I knew he was not into her. When a Guardian like James settled down it was for life; he would never have eyes for anyone else, but she might still look to him for protection.
“But how do we measure distance anyway?” I said the wrong thing. I could tell by one quick look at Lacey’s face. She was sad. Homesick maybe.
“I suppose we can’t measure this distance.” Wren spread her arms out wide. “Traveling by chasms and all.”
“Chasms you made.” I figured she would be fine with the statement, since she seemed pretty proud of it.
“Evidently.” Wren stared at her hands. “I still can’t really believe it.”
“Oh, I believe it.” Lacey perked up. “It was incredible.” Something akin to awe was in her voice. “I've always known you were strong, but that was something else. I know I've given you a hard time, but really, I’m impressed.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever spoken so highly of me.”
“If you truly think that, then you aren’t a very good listener.” Lacey pushed her shoulder into her friends in a playful way. “You know I am always impressed by you, Wren.”
“Oh yes, especially when you try to kick me out of your court.”
Lacey sighed. “Come on. I already explained I was trying to look out for your best interests.”
“Oh yes.” Wren grinned. “That’s right.”
“You two have such an interesting friendship.” Matilda looked between them. “Who would have thought Spring and Winter…”
“Do the courts not usually get along?” I knew nothing of these Fae, of their courts, and of their world, and there was no reason for me to particularly care. Yet, I did.
“Those two better than others. Winter and Summer, and Spring and Autumn though, don’t get me started on that…” Matilda rolled her eyes.
“Because Coral is horrid.” Wren groaned. “Of course we don’t get along with Summer.”
“It’s mostly an outdated thing really.” Lacey clasped her hands together in front of her.
“Oh? You just love Autumn so much?” Wren raised an eyebrow.
“She’s sweet.” Lacey pushed her feet together. “Well, she wants everyone to think she is sweet.”
“Oh. The truth comes out,” I quipped. You could learn a lot about someone by the way they described their rivals.
“It’s complicated.”
“I know all about complicated.” Far too much about complicated.
“Oh, do you now?” She let her hands fall to her sides.
“But this is not about me. It is about you.”
“Why?” She raised her chin.
“Because I asked first.”
“It doesn’t work that way.” She tapped her toe.
“Why not?” I was enjoying this banter entirely too much.
“Because.” She continued the tapping. Evidently she was getting very annoyed.
“You know I would have to listen to a princess though.”
“Don’t even…”
“What?”
“Are you sure you two don’t know each other?” Wren looked between us. “Lacey, have you been skirting between worlds behind my back?”
Lacey glared at her. “Well, I guess that depends on whether you’d been opening chasms for awhile now.”
Wren paled.
Lacey put a hand on her friend's arm. “Sorry. I’m stressed.”
I watched her hand sitting there, wondering what it would be like to have her hand on me.
“I know.” Wren patted Lacey’s hand. “Although I can’t understand why you’d be stressed. Life is so calm right now.”
�
��Heavy on sarcasm.” I had to give credit where credit was due. “Nice. I doubt my complicated is going to help de-stress you.”
“Nor will mine de-stress you.” Lacey blinked a few times.
“I never said I was stressed.”
“Well, talking about it will stress me out more.”
“Well, that is a different story completely.”
“I guess so.”
A clap of thunder sounded from far off.
I pointed toward the sky. “I told you there’s a storm brewing.”
“Lovely.” Lacey wrapped her arms around herself. “Something tells me this won’t be a spring shower.”
“Ah, but there is nothing quite like a good storm.” Personally, I loved them. “Sometimes they can be a nice distraction. If you focus on the thunder—on its strength— it can overpower just about any other thought.”
Lacey rested her chin on her hand. “I’ve never thought of it that way.”
“And that is lovely and all.” James glanced around. “But do you guys really want to be out here in this? I know you are used to storms back home, but it will not be calm here. No storm is calm in Icentris.”
“What if they can’t find us?” Wren asked nervously.
“You mean if your mate is unable to track you down?” James smirked.
“Come on. If it’s going to be that bad of a storm.” Wren squinted her eyes and looked off into the distance.
“Frost is with Elron. They will find us.” James' tone was softer now. “They will deduce we looked for more permanent shelter.”
“You really don’t think the tents will work?” Lacey wrapped her arms around herself.
Wren gestured to her arms. “I thought you were freezing last night. And let’s be real. You are freezing now. It’s even colder.”
“Maybe.” Lacey looked down.
She was freezing. And I hated that. Yet, she was trying to get out of going someplace warm. I assumed there was a reason for that. And I wondered if the reason was me. “Then why are you trying to avoid following me home?”
Her head snapped up. “You didn’t say it was your home.”
Now that was a reaction. “You are acting like it was.”
“What is this?” She sighed. “Are you trying to get me to say I’m embarrassed or something? Are you trying to make me mad? I don’t get it, and I’m cold, tired, stressed, and plain done.”
“I am just.” I tried to formulate an answer. “I am just being me, I guess.”
“Well, I don’t like you very much then.”
James snickered. “Straight to the point, are you?”
“It’s been a long few days. As you know.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I just need a break from all this. A reset or something.”
“I am sorry.” I was. I had pushed her too far. “You do look cold. We need to get you inside.” I really hoped she didn’t interpret that the wrong way even if I was thinking of all the ways I wished I could make her warm.
“I don’t need you to do anything.”
James waved his hands in front of him. “No chance of me stepping into that one, and I suggest you don’t either.”
“Ugh.” She scowled. She still looked hot when she scowled. “I can’t even with either of you. Please tell me not everyone in Energo is as infuriating as you are.”
“I could make comments about your world too.” Why had I said that? It was like I was purposely putting my foot in my mouth to anger her. Wanting to take her to bed was one thing, wanting to fight with her was something else entirely.
“You aren’t seeing us at our best.” Wren put an arm around Lacey. “But that’s not even the point.”
A clap of thunder sounded from close by.
“It’s cold.” Matilda turned to look at Lacey. “We should find shelter. If it pleases you, Lacey.”
“If it pleases her?” I thought over her words. “Oh. You work for her. Huh. I had failed to pick up on that right away. That’s a good thing by the way. That you treat your help well.” Very well, if I had just assumed they were all friends.
“She’s not my help.” Lacey’s expression was a mix of being aghast and embarrassed. “She is a member of my court. I respect all members of my court.”
“She and her family are good and fair rulers.” Matilda sounded like she actually meant her words, but one never knew.
“But you work for her.”
“I fulfill my duty to the court. My being here is in direct violation of what the king ordered, but I did it because I believed Lacey had the interests of the court and its people in mind. If you are asking whether I would follow an order given by Lacey, the answer is yes. But would I disobey an order to protect my home and my court?” She paused. “Yes.”
I glanced at Lacey to gauge her reaction to all this. She was smiling. Interesting. She supported Matilda. She supported insubordination and free thinking. This girl was getting more and more interesting. And cold. She shivered.
“Okay, time to go. The storm is coming. And I am done joking around. I am taking you guys to my mom’s place. That okay with you?” I addressed everyone with the question, but I was really asking Lacey. She was the one who seemed to have the biggest issue with the implication of going to my place, and she was also the one whose opinion really mattered to me.
“That would be fine.” Lacey nodded. “As long as everyone else is okay with it.”
“I have been stuck outside in an Incentris storm before. Getting underground would be great.” James started walking.
“Underground?” Wren hurried to catch up with him.
“Yes… I guess you never noticed that there are no houses around here?” I tried to phrase the question politely, but I was sure it came out wrong.
“Oh. Good point.” Lacey walked by my side. At least she was not avoiding me. I picked up my pace to move ahead of James. There was no reason to let him lead the way to where my people lived. “Clearly my observational skills need work.”
“It’s been a long few days.” I used her own words from earlier.
She smiled. That had been the right move.
“I’m glad we’re moving. It’s going to be dark soon,” James spoke from behind us.
I knew what he meant. There was more to worry about than the storm. Wren may have gotten rid of those Shadows, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other dangers lurking.
We made our way across the icy plain as the wind intensified. James had not been exaggerating about storms here; they were not the sort average people wanted to be caught in. I was from Icentris. It was in my blood. I could handle the never-ending cold. The wind. The hail. The ice. But someone like Lacey wearing little shoes and light clothes had no chance.
I led the way down the stairs. “Be careful. Especially you, Lacey.”
“Why me?” Lacey stopped. .
“Your footwear isn’t going to help you with any of these steps.” They were solid ice, like everything else.
“Oh.” she looked down. “Right.”
“I could carry you.” I already knew how my question would be received, but I asked anyway.
“Uh, no.” Color rushed to her face. “I’m good.”
“Are you sure?” I pressed as I pictured her slipping and sliding down head first. “Or at least let me give you an arm.” I would be so angry with myself if she slipped and hurt herself.
“I’ll be fine.”
“And my mom will kill me if I let you fall.” I held out my arm. “Come on, it is just an arm.”
“Fine. An arm will be fine.”
I looped my arm through hers and was nearly blown over by a jolt of energy like nothing I had ever experienced before. It took a moment for me to steady myself before I led the way down the steep, icy stairs. I lit a lantern that was rarely used, as Arcos knew the stairs and tunnels by heart, but boots or not, the others could slip. Or get scared. They were putting a lot of trust in me, or maybe the trust was for James as he’d vouched for me in his own way. For once my reput
ation helped me, or rather the fact that I had a reputation at all.
“Creighton?” Mom called out from behind the tall teak door.
“Yes, Mom. And I did not come alone.” She wasn’t the type of woman you wanted to surprise, even if she was always happy about having company.
“Not alone?” She pulled open the door holding a lantern. Her eyes immediately went to where my arm slung around Lacey. “Hello.”
“Mom, this is Lacey. Wren. Matilda. And that’s James.”
“Mendel. I know who he is.” She nodded at him. “Lacey did you say?” Of course her attention went to Lacey.
“Yes.” Lacey struggled to pull away from my side. “Nice to meet you, Ms...”
“The name is Gytha. Please call me that.”
“Nice to meet you, Gytha.”
I waited for my mom to step aside a little so we could move in. I finally caught her eye and she did. “Come in, come in.”
“Thank you.” Lacey smiled. She walked right over to the roaring fire.
It was my turn to smile. At least she was glad to be inside.
“Were you really out there in that?” Mom pointed to Lacey’s light coat. Matilda joined her by the fire. Wren stood beside James.
“Yes… I don’t have need for much winter clothing where I’m from.”
“And you never visit me.” Wren stuck out her tongue at Lacey.
Lacey’s mouth fell open. “Really? Now? You want to get into that with me now?”
“I’m just mentioning that if you spent more time visiting me you’d be better prepared to handle winter weather.”
“Because that hadn’t crossed my mind yet.” Lacey rubbed her hands by the flames.
“Fae.” Mom nodded. “You are Fae.”
“Yes. We are.” Lacey turned to her. “Thank you for your hospitality. Seems a storm is brewing out there.”
“I hope Creighton did not leave you waiting too long.”
“No.” Lacey gave me an amused look. “He was quick to invite us.”
“Good.” Mom patted my arm. “He hasn’t forgotten all his manners.”
“Not all, but some?” I teased. “Gee, thanks, Mom.”
“Do you really wish to pretend you have perfect manners?” She raised an eyebrow. “No matter how hard I tried with you.”
Spring's Wolf (A Court of Shifters Chronicles #2) Page 2
