Reign of Ice (Forever Fae #4)(3)
I’d grown really close to Kamden and Zanna while being in the Spring Court and I just realized how much I was going to miss them when I left to go back to Summer. They were both originally from the Winter, but they chose to follow Kalen when he became king of the Spring Court. Kamden’s rich, black hair matched Zanna’s perfectly along with their shimmery golden skin of the Spring. It was amazing how their skin glittered under the light, but that was one of the perks about being a Spring Fae.
Kamden held out his hand for me to take and asked sweetly, “Will you dance with me, Princess?”
I raised a brow at Zanna who in turn rolled her eyes and pushed me into his arms. “Stop looking at me like that. I’m not going to get mad if you dance with him. I know who his heart belongs to, not to mention I know where yours belongs as well.” I lifted a brow and rolled my eyes. I asked her a few questions about Brayden just to get an insight on who he was since she lived in the Winter Court before, and ever since then she claimed that I was in love with him.
Smiling, she winked and waved at us before disappearing into the crowd. I gazed up at Kamden. “You are one lucky man, Kam. Maybe one day I’ll be able to find someone who can put up with me.”
He chortled and pulled me close, placing a hand on my waist while holding my hand in the other. “It’ll happen one day, but this person Zanna speaks of … is she talking about Prince Brayden?”
Biting my lip, I averted my gaze from his hazel eyes and smiled. “Maybe,” I began. “All I know is there’s something about him. It’s a feeling I get when he’s close. I can feel it even now.”
“That’s because he’s headed this way,” he remarked. “And let me tell you … he looks pissed as hell that you’re dancing with me.”
Kamden turned me around, but kept his hand on my waist with a glint in his eye. “What are you doing?” I whispered incredulously.
He leaned down to whisper in my ear, “Just trust me. I’m a guy, I know how this works.”
Brayden’s glare hardened as he approached us, darting his eyes back and forth from me to him. Whatever was going on, he didn’t look happy. Could it really be that I was with Kamden? The second he stopped in front of me, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “Good evening, Brayden. Are you enjoying the party?”
He scoffed and looked down at Kamden’s hand on my waist, gritting his teeth. “Not really, which is why I’m heading back to the Winter Court. Would you mind if I spoke to you?” he said, directing the question to me. His eyes lifted and met Kamden’s before adding, “In private.”
Kamden bowed his head graciously and winked at me quickly before Brayden could notice. “As you wish, Your Highness. It was a pleasure seeing you again.”
“Likewise,” Brayden retorted dryly.
After Kamden left to join Zanna, Brayden and I stood there in awkward silence. “So …” I stated nervously. “What did you need to speak to me about?”
My heart thundered in my chest as I took all of him in. He was tall with short chocolate brown hair that matched his chocolate brown eyes, and creamy pale skin that I knew would be cold to the touch. His hand rested on the sword that was inside the sheath attached to his armor belt while the other was clenched in a tight fist. He definitely wasn’t a jokester like Kalen or passionate like Ryder, but there was something mysterious about him that intrigued me. He was so unlike anyone I had ever met. He needed someone to loosen him up, to show him how to have fun and not be serious all the time. For once, I had a challenge and I actually looked forward to it.
Brayden finally opened his mouth to speak, “I wanted to say thank you for tending to me when I was injured. Kalen told me you never left my side.”
Nonchalantly, I smiled and shrugged a shoulder. “I didn’t, but I know how important you are to Kalen and to the Winter Court. I had to make sure you were going to be all right.”
“Is that the only reason?” he asked curiously, his eyes roaming over my face. His gaze landed on my lips, but quickly averted them back to my eyes in all seriousness; it only made me smile more.
“What other reason would there be, Prince Brayden?” I inquired teasingly. I hoped to get a rise out of him, but of course, being the closed off prince that he was I failed miserably.
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.