Reign of Ice (Forever Fae #4)(4)
He laid me down on the bundle of blankets splayed out in front of the fireplace and settled himself between my legs. As he entered me gently, he smoothed the hair from my face and opened my lips with his kiss. The taste and smell of him was crisp, clean, and everything Winter. Everything felt right and whole, like the weight of the Land of the Fae had been lifted. However, what made it even more complete was the man above me, peering down at me with a love I never thought possible.
Our bodies moved as one, and as the tears from my eyes froze into crystals, they slowly melted when Brayden’s hands wiped them away with his fire. He may be the Winter King, but underneath all that fierceness and ice lay a heart of flame. I was where I belonged … I was where I was destined to be.
The second the vision disappeared, Brayden abruptly let go of my hand and stumbled back as if I’d burned him. Everyone around us stared and whispered amongst themselves, looking delighted and joyful, knowing very well what just happened between us. I felt the same way in my heart, but my smile quickly vanished when Brayden turned on his heel and walked away with not so much as a word to me. We’d just had a vision of our destiny and of us making love to each other, and he up and walked away from me.
I don’t think so.
Clenching my hands into tight fists at my side, my blood boiled and ignited in my veins as I watched his retreating form head for the door. “Seriously?” I shouted.
I was mortified and completely embarrassed as everyone in the room witnessed my rejection. Their pitying looks were too much to bear. Before he disappeared out the door, I yelled one last thing to him, “Don’t slip on the ice you cold-hearted bastard!”
Gasps erupted throughout the room, but I was too pissed to care. Marching out of the chamber, I kept my head held high and sucked back the angry tears that trembled behind my eyes. I should’ve known from my sisters’ experiences that what I felt before was the connection calling to my soul. Of all the princes I was to be bound to … why did it have to be the one that knew nothing about love, or even how to smile for that matter?
The Land of the Fae was doomed.
“I BELIEVE MY time here in the mortal realm is over for the time being, Gothin.”
Gothin nodded and slowly backed out of the mortal woman’s bedroom. His troll characteristics had to be hidden in the mortal realm while I procured my army … among other things. The naked woman on the bed was just one of many of my delights during my time here, and one that would ensure my future. The spell I put on her would keep her incapacitated until my presence was long gone. Mortal women were so weak and vulnerable I almost had to second guess my plan, but if things worked out the way I wanted them to then my legacy would never die. They all served a purpose and one day that purpose would be revealed.
“What shall we do now, Master?” Gothin asked. “Now that Sorcha has been rescued, what are the next steps to capturing the last of the Four? You already told her in her dream what you’ve been doing here. Do you think they are making plans to attack?”
I scoffed and threw on my clothes quickly; we slipped out of the house undetected. Once we were outside, I summoned my magic and made a portal back to the Black Forest. When the veil shimmered, we walked through the opening and were right back in the darkness I called home … for now.
Once we were safely back in the forest, I turned to Gothin and laughed incredulously. “They can’t possibly be making plans any of attack. I told Sorcha about the mortal army so they would know what they were up against. The fae can’t compete with the mortals’ iron weapons. If they decide to attack, I’ll summon them, but for now I’m going to have them sit tight.”
“And the next princess?”
I sighed. “She has one more day before she turns twenty-one. She won’t come into her full power until then. The good thing is that the scroll is hidden and the danger to me is gone for now. However, I do fear that taking Ariella is going to be the hardest of all. I have a plan, but it’s going to take time to get it in motion. In the meantime, though, I think Ariella and I need to have a little chat.”
“Will that not be risky, Master?”
I cackled sinisterly and slapped him on the shoulder. “Yes, it will, but I think it’s time I had a little bit of fun.”
SORCHA AND DRAKE’S Summer Court had been formed and everything was right in the Land of the Fae, except one thing. I had the vision with Brayden, but instead of him talking to me and figuring things out, he up and left me standing alone in the middle of the dance floor in the Spring Court.
Two days had passed since then, and instead of being in the Spring Court I was now standing in the new Summer Court palace. It was completely different from my home in the other Summer Court. This one looked more like a tropical paradise with its sandy beaches and palm trees. It was beautiful.
Sorcha had tricked the dark sorcerer when he demanded to have the scroll back. Instead of giving him the scroll, she handed him a letter that she had written to my brother stating how much of a jackass he was when he blew her off a while back. The expression on his face if he ever found out would be priceless.
Only my family and the Winter Court family were in the room to discuss the meaning of the scroll. I thought maybe Brayden would come around once he spent a couple of days away, but I was wrong. Staring at him from across the room, as he avoided my gaze, only fueled the fire more. As Elvena deciphered the meaning of the scroll, she had all of us hold hands: Calista, Meliantha, Sorcha, and I. The magic between the four of us was the most raw and powerful force I’d ever felt flow through my veins. However, that feeling did not compare to the panic I felt after hearing Elvena explain the rest of the scroll in full detail. Surely, I wasn’t hearing her right.