Reign of Ice (Forever Fae #4)(36)
Another life was lost, another soul taken because of the sorcerer’s greed. Calling upon my wind, I closed my eyes and lifted my hands over Lukas’ ashes. The window burst open and in gusted the cold, snowy breeze of Winter. It swirled around the ashes and gathered them up, carrying them out to the land. “Take him somewhere special,” I breathed across the wind.
Still gazing out the window, keeping my tear-stained face away from the warriors, I silently pleaded with Brayden, “We need to send word to everyone and let them know what’s happened, especially Kamden. I didn’t know Lukas was his brother until he told me.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Brayden uttered soothingly. “Let’s get you out of here.” He took my hand and helped me to my feet. The warriors bowed their heads solemnly and backed out of the room, leaving Brayden and I alone. Wrapping his arms around me tight, he held me up against his chest and said, “From now on, you are not leaving my sight. If we have to fight, we fight together. We are in this as one.”
With my heart tired and bruised, I gazed up at him with a newfound strength. Maybe he wouldn’t be too difficult to deal with after all. “And that’s how it should be,” I told him. “I will always fight for my people, for my court … and for you.”
Always …
THROUGHOUT THE EVENING, Brayden kept a contingent of warriors posted at the gates to keep lookout. There were times every now and again when we would see a scout scurrying along the forest line, keeping watch on our every movement. I couldn’t feel the evil of the dark sorcerer, which was good, but what bothered me was that he had his people monitoring us. It almost seemed like we were being trapped somehow. How was Durin going to deliver the dagger without being attacked?
I watched as Brayden gave Coran his final commands before we could retire for the night. I had sat on the front steps of the palace for the past few hours, pondering how I was going to tell Kamden of his brother’s death. I wondered if he was going to blame me.
Brayden approached me and reached out his hand. “He’s not going to blame you, angel. Come on let’s go home. You need your rest.”
Taking his hand, I let him pull me up to lead me through the palace and out the back. The snow crunched beneath our feet as we somberly made our way to his dwelling, hand in hand. “How are Durin and everyone going to get here safely with Alasdair’s scouts watching our every move? I know we can fight them if we have to, but I don’t want to lose anyone else or put anyone in unnecessary danger,” I said.
Nodding, he blew out a heavy sigh. “Right now I have an idea, and for the time being it’s going to have to work. I sent our sprites with letters to go to each court, and even to Durin, to inform them of what happened here today. I also sent in a request to Calista asking if we could compensate Nixie somehow to get her to transport everyone here when the time comes, and to also get Elvena to figure out what it would take to put up a protection spell against the dark sorcerer. It’s not safe for you anywhere if he can get to you.”
Nixie was Calista’s friend who helped rescue her from the dark sorcerer when she was in the Black Forest. She can port travel to anywhere in the Land of the Fae in a matter of seconds. Years ago, after the attack on Calista, Nixie was our only way of travelling safely and it appeared it was going to be that way again.
“When do you think we will hear back from everyone?” I asked.
“Most likely first thing in the morning, angel. Coran is going to keep watch for the rest of the night so I can be with you. There are some things I wanted to show you.”
He let go of my hand and put his arm around my shoulders as we climbed up the stairs to his dwelling. “What did you need to show me?” I asked curiously, leaning my head on his shoulder.
“You’ll see,” he whispered. “You need something to get your mind off of things.”
When we got inside, I took a shower and changed into one of my silky nightgowns. I was exhausted, and what I really wanted was to lay my head on Brayden’s soft pillows and go to sleep. When I got back in the bedroom, Brayden was nowhere to be found. “I’m down the hall, angel. It’ll be your second door on the right.”
Opening the bedroom door, I found the hallway dark except for the sliver of light coming from the room two doors down. I slowly crept across the soft rugs on the hardwood floor and when I got to the crack in the door I peeked inside. What I saw had me completely taken by surprise. Gently pushing the door open, I ambled inside and gazed at the pictures on the walls in awe. Some were of places in the mortal realm, but most were of different landscapes in the Winter Court. I scanned each picture with appreciation, one after the other, until I came upon a couple of paintings on the opposite side of the wall. Gasping, I placed a hand over my mouth and gazed at them with tear-filled eyes.
“Brayden,” I whispered. “Did you paint all of these?”
Brayden was behind the easel with a smirk on his face as his hands deftly moved up and down with the paintbrush. “I knew you would like them. My mother taught me how to draw when I was young, and over time I got really good at it. No one else knows I can do this other than her. I wanted to share something of me with you so you would know there is more to me than you realize.”
I reached out to touch the face on the canvas before me … my face. It was like I was staring in a mirror it was that perfect. I murmured softly, “You know, your mother told me we had things in common and I thought she was crazy. I never once realized she could be right.”