Reign of Ice (Forever Fae #4)(33)
“Shit! He’s coming, Brayden,” I shouted, alarmed. “The sorcerer is almost here.”
Brayden cursed angrily and quickly jumped out of bed to put on his armor and grab his sword. I did the same thing and had everything fastened except the vambraces on my arms. I was busy lacing them up when Brayden stopped in front of me with a scowl on his face. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you’re not going out there with me,” he argued.
I huffed, “Don’t start with me, Brayden. You know I’m a good fighter.”
He walked past me out into the hall and down the steps with me following close behind. “Yes, I know you’re a good fighter, but you are what the sorcerer wants and with your Summer armor on he’ll find you in an instant. I don’t want to keep you from defending our people, but this is the one time I need you to stay behind.”
Before he could open the front door, we froze in place as the horns blared from one of the palace towers. The dark army was almost upon us. We both rushed out of the house and ran up the path to the palace. Warriors were everywhere, gearing up and forming lines in the front yard of the palace. The Winter Court gates were closed and locked, but with the sorcerer’s power I had no idea if his army could get past the gates. Our gates were strong and the Land of the Fae infused its own magic to the protection of our courts. Alasdair was either extremely bold or extremely cocky to attack a whole court without his full power, or maybe he was testing us. Either way, we all knew what he wanted … me.
Brayden watched as his second in command, Coran, assembled the warriors. He was torn between his obligation to me and to his court, and I could see the turmoil in his eyes and feel it in his soul. He didn’t want to let either one of us down.
Knowing I couldn’t let our true feelings show, I kept my face blank while I talked to him silently, “Brayden, go. It would be easier to fight alongside you, but I understand your reasoning. I’ll be fine, I promise.”
He sighed. “I’m going to hold you to that promise, Ariella. It is binding. If you break it you will face the consequences.”
“Yes, I know, caveman. That’s why I said it. Just be careful out there.”
He wanted to kiss me before he walked away, but we both knew he couldn’t. I wasn’t going to let him fight this battle on his own. I had my own plans and it didn’t involve me sitting idly by and watch everyone fight because of me. However, those plans got sidetracked when Brayden grabbed a hold of Lukas, who happened to be one of his best warriors. Lukas had long, dark hair pulled back and wrapped with his thistleburch chord. Kalen would do the same thing with his instead of wearing it around his arm or wrist, and he was also the one who educated me about the special thistleburch trees. They only grew in the Winter Court, but they were perceived to give off strengthening powers. Every time I saw Brayden, and even now, he had his wrapped around his wrist. I was pretty sure he never took it off.
“Lukas, I need you to take the princess somewhere safe and guard her for me. Do not let anyone get to her, you understand?” Brayden ordered.
Great! Now how was I going to get away and glamour myself? I couldn’t let Lukas see what I could do. He bowed to Brayden and said, “As you wish, Your Highness. Do you want me to take her to the king and queen?”
“No,” I blurted out, drawing their attention. “If you take me there and for some reason the sorcerer finds me he will have us all. That’s the last place you would want to take me.”
“Very well,” Brayden gave in, sighing. He glanced at me one last time before turning around and marching away. “Don’t you dare do anything stupid, angel. I know what you are capable of.”
“But that is part of my charm,” I teased, hoping to break the tension. His shoulders tensed and he fisted his hands by his side, clearly not liking the joke. “I’ll be okay, Brayden. Just stay focused on defending your court and not worrying about me.”
“Not possible,” he replied. “But for you I’ll try.”
That was as good of an answer as I was going to get from him. Lukas grasped my elbow lightly and turned me to face him. “We need to go, Your Highness,” he said.
I nodded and followed him deep into the castle. I had explored it pretty thoroughly when I came here for the Winter Solstice Ball over a year ago. I was amazed with the architecture and the paintings they had in the halls. However, at this moment, I couldn’t enjoy any of it because I was rushed down the corridors until I got to the end of one of the hallways. Lukas opened the heavy wooden door and ushered me inside. It was an old library filled with dusty books and scrolls.
“How do you know we will be safe in here?” I asked him.
He shut the door and locked it behind him. “I don’t, but I figured it would be one of the last places someone would come looking for you.”
“Or one of the first,” I remarked, gazing at him warily. “Although one of the good things is that I can sense him when he’s near. I’ll know if he gets close.”
Releasing a shaky breath, I ran my fingers over the ancient leather bound books stacked neatly on the shelves. I bet there was hundreds of year’s worth of written knowledge from the fae and the mortal realm. I loved to read, but I was sure Calista would be ecstatic to explore this room for a while. I’d have to make sure to bring her here when she came to visit.