Reign of Ice (Forever Fae #4)(13)
He sighed and let my arm go. “You’ll find out very soon, little one. But for now I need you to calm down and come with me.”
Reluctantly, I nodded and said, “Fine, but give me one minute with Kamden.” I rushed down to the floor. Zanna was already there at Kamden’s side, helping him to his feet.
When I got there, he took off his helmet and grabbed my hands. “Please forgive me, Ariella. I’m so sorry I didn’t win for you.” His whole body was drenched in sweat and the look of defeat in his eyes made my heart break.
I squeezed his arm and shook my head, smiling warmly. “You did fantastic, Kam. There’s nothing to be sorry for. Your fighting was amazing.”
Pulling me closer, his eyes went wide and he searched all around us to make sure no one could hear him. Quickly, he started to whisper, “Ariella, there’s something you need to know.”
“What is it?” I asked hesitantly.
He closed his eyes and blew out a sigh. “Your guardian is—” That was as far as he could get before my father interrupted us.
“Ariella,” my father commanded, sending Kamden a warning glare. “I need you to come with me. Now.”
Kamden sighed and stepped away from me. Calista and Meliantha came to my side and took my hands, tugging me with them. “We have to go,” Calista said. “You can talk to your friends when you get done with the Blood Ritual.”
“Do you know what’s going on?” I demanded, following them out of the Great Room and into the hallway.
“Not exactly,” Meliantha admitted truthfully, “but we have an idea.”
We were headed toward my father’s study and behind us Ryder and Kalen followed close by, along with Sorcha and Drake.
When we approached the door to the study, my mother and father were there along with Queen Mab, King Madoc, Elvena, and Durin holding a box in his hands. I stopped mid-step and jerked my hands away from Calista and Meliantha. “Okay, this is it. What’s going on? I’m getting sick and tired of being left in the dark about everything. I want answers right now.”
“Ooh, she is feisty,” Queen Mab acknowledged with a huge grin on her face. “She will do well in the Winter Court. My son is a lucky man.”
My mother rolled her eyes and scoffed, earning an even bigger grin from Queen Mab. Durin, the leader of the dwarves, approached me warily and handed me the long wooden box that I was for certain had my guardian dagger in it. Durin was short, reaching about four foot tall, and his warm hazel colored eyes were always soft and genuine when he’d talk to me. I’d seen him at his fiercest and there was nothing soft about him when he was like that. His short brown hair and closely shaven beard was not something you would see on a dwarf, but Durin was different … he was separate from all the rest.
“I brought the dagger for you, Princess. I incorporated your Summer heritage along with the Winter since you’ll soon be one of them. However, given all the gloomy faces here I don’t know if that was such a good idea on my part, but hopefully, it’ll be what you want.”
Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened the box, and when the dagger came into view I gasped, “Oh my.”
The weapon was exquisitely beautiful, and with it coming from Durin I knew there was no way it wouldn’t be. I could feel the power in the blade as I touched it. The handle was wrapped in vines representing the Summer Court, but what made it even more beautiful was that the vines were covered in ice, or at least that’s what it looked like. There was a crystal coating around the vines that gave off a blue hue and it sparkled like snow, glittering just like my skin did in the vision.
I leaned down and kissed Durin on the cheek, completely in awe with his masterpiece. “It’s beautiful, Durin. Thank you.”
He bowed his head. “You’re welcome, Your Highness. However, I think I will leave you all and get back to the celebration. Good luck with the Blood Ritual and make sure you don’t kill your guardian with that,” he teased, glancing down at the dagger with a smirk on his face. He bowed one more time before disappearing down the hall.
The tension in the hallway was awkward, and much to everyone’s disbelief I wasn’t stupid. I knew who was waiting for me and I wanted to know why he and everyone else decided to trick me. I may have been fooled at first, but my heart knew who was in that room.
Clutching the box in my hand, I started for the door, but paused when my father placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “I know you know, Ariella, and I know you are angry. I’m sorry I kept it from you, but it was all his idea and I agreed to it. He’s trying hard to win your trust, little one.” He paused for a second and hesitated before asking, “Are you going to accept him as your guardian?”
Did I even have a choice? I wondered.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” I said softly. “But I do know that I need to talk to him in private. He tends to not speak when others are around.”
Ryder and Kalen both chuckled in the background and Sorcha nodded in agreement when I glanced at her. They knew their brother well. If I was going to get any headway with him it needed to be without everyone’s prying eyes and ears. Surely, they all agreed and left me to myself, except Elvena who pulled me away from the door with a determined gleam in her eye.
“What’s wrong, Elvena?”
She put a finger to her lips and whispered, “Shh … I don’t want Brayden to hear us out here.” I nodded my head in understanding, but I was intrigued as to what was on her mind. She continued, “None of us know what’s going to happen if you bond with Brayden in the guardian bond. This sort of thing has never happened before.”