Reign of Ice (Forever Fae #4)(38)

After hours of kissing and consoling each other, I couldn’t stop my exhausted body from giving out. Brayden held me tight as my eyes drifted close, and I was steadily carried away to the dream realm. I didn’t, however, expect to find myself in the middle of a nightmare.





EVERYWHERE I TURNED it was dark and cold, devoid of any life except the heart that beat in my own chest. The stench of death was all I could smell, and judging by the black, oily looking trees I knew where I was … the Black Forest. Chills crept up my spine because I knew I wasn’t alone.

Alasdair’s laugh echoed all around me, except I couldn’t see him. He drifted around me in his shadow self, slithering across my skin, touching me. He couldn’t physically harm me for real, but even in the dream realm a person could still feel pain or pleasure. I wasn’t looking forward to this visit.

“You can’t hide from me here, sweet princess,” he taunted. “I must say, I am very disappointed in you.”

“I don’t care what you think of me,” I snarled. “You’re just upset that you couldn’t find me.”

Losing his humor, he revealed himself before me, taking his true form. He was tall with long, brown hair and glowing gray eyes. He appeared to be a little older than me, but I knew he was over a century old. He could almost pass for a fae warrior with the way he was dressed in a set of armor and leathers, but a warrior he was not.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I stood my ground and kept my gaze on his as he approached. “You think wrong, Your Highness. I am not upset, I’m disappointed. There’s a big difference there. When I came for your sisters they challenged me and fought me with all they had, but you …”He shook his head and clucked his tongue. “You just hid away letting others take the fall. All I needed was one simple thing from you and that would be it. I am not trying to steal you away, because frankly you are not worth it. I like strong women in my bed and from what I have seen of you, you would break too easily.”

Gritting my teeth, it took all I had not to tell him that I was the one who fought him earlier and ran him through. If he would’ve been a normal man he would be dead. “I’m not going to give you what you want,” I snapped.

He sidled up closer to me and circled me like a shark teasing its prey. I stood my ground, and wondered how long this nightmare was going to last. What kinds of things could he do to me while we were here? I knew one thing, I didn’t want to find out and I sure as hell never wanted to sleep again if he was going to come to me every night.

Stopping behind me, he snaked his arm around my waist and slapped his hand across my neck, squeezing it tight. I couldn’t take in a breath, so I clawed at his hand trying desperately to breathe. I bucked against his body hoping it would get him off of me, but all it did was entice him.

He laughed. “Keep fighting, Princess. It only turns me on more.” When his grip loosened, I took in a ragged breath. Leaning down close to my ear, he whispered, “And I think you will give me what I want because if you don’t I will bring my army over from the mortal realm and destroy everything and everyone you love.”

I scoffed warily. “Isn’t that your plan anyway? Even if I give you my power you’re still going to bring them over. Why would I willingly give you what you want so you could destroy us? You must think I’m stupid.”

He squeezed my neck again and I gasped for air. I knew I could fight him off, but it was best he thought I was really the weak princess he believed me to be. However, I didn’t want to have to endure his toying with me and violating me. I tried to think of Brayden and if there was a way he could get me out of the dream. I screamed his name over and over, but I didn’t know if he heard because there was no response in my mind.

“I am giving you until the next new moon, Princess. If you don’t give me what I want before then, when I come for you I will have my army at your front gates to tear your world apart. You might as well face the realization that it’s over. You have no way of defeating me, even if you and your prince complete the bond to form your court.”

I struggled against his grasp, but I had had enough. Snapping my head back in a quick thrust, I bashed his nose and turned around to land a swift kick to his ribs. He doubled over but regained himself quickly, growling in anger. The dream realm shifted and began to shimmer. I could feel Brayden’s influence slowly growing stronger; he was trying to get me out.

“It is not over,” I spat. “There is still hope, and as long as that hope still lives I will not submit to you. I may appear weak, but there is more than meets the eyes with me.” The pull on my soul began to get stronger and I could hear Brayden’s frantic voice in my mind telling me to come back to him.

Before I disappeared, I stood my ground and glared at the sorcerer with all the anger and rage I had in my soul from the devastation he’d bestowed upon my people and our courts. Confident and without a doubt, I tilted my lip up in a snarling smirk and gave my final promise to him. “I can promise you this, Alasdair. On the day everything ends, I will be there to watch you fall. The hand that sends you to hell will be mine, and I will smile as I watch you and your evil be torn away from our land. I will be your demise.”

It was strange … one minute I was standing in the Black Forest and the next I woke up in the bed with Brayden straddling my waist and his hands on both sides of my head. When he saw my eyes open, he breathed a sigh of relief and helped me sit up. His head was covered in sweat and the veins in his face and arms bulged as if he’d worked out for about ten hours.