Summer of Frost (Forever Fae #3)(10)

Kalen was sitting on the bed, staring at the bundle in his arms in awe. Meliantha smiled over at him, but when her gaze found mine she called me over, beckoning me excitedly. “Drake! You have to see this,” she said jubilantly.

When I walked over and glimpsed the babe in her arms, I couldn’t help but beam at what I saw. “Red hair,” I sighed.

Meliantha grinned. “Just like us. His name is Kale, and your niece’s name is Lia.”

“Beautiful names, sister,” I whispered, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek.

Calista took this time and stood up to give me a hug. “Dad is going to be thrilled to know his red hair was passed down.” She laughed. “Are Mom and Dad coming?”

I nodded. “They’ll be here tomorrow. Ariella was in too much of a hurry to wait on them,” I said, shooting Ariella an exasperated glare.

Ariella shrugged noncommittally. “Sorry, you all know I’m not very patient.”

“That’s for damn sure,” Calista agreed with a smile on her face.

Calista and Ariella bantered back and forth, making everyone laugh, but there was another matter that was eating away inside me. Impatient as I was, I had to know if Sorcha was going to make an appearance. Sounding as non-interested as I could, I directed my question to Kalen. “Is your family coming?” I asked him.

Kalen smiled at his daughter before answering me. “Oh yes, they’re coming. Calista sent Nixie out there to tell them this morning, but only Brayden and Sorcha are able to come early.”

My heart did a triple beat and I had to stop myself from smiling. I looked around the room quickly to make sure no one heard it or saw my traitorous smile, but I was too late. Meliantha smiled at me and tilted her head inquisitively. Shit! I thought to myself. I should’ve known I could never get away with anything when she was around.

“Would you like to hold your nephew?” Meliantha asked, letting her real question slide.

Sweat broke out in my palms, and my eyes went wide. I had never in my life ever held a baby, and I balked at the thought that I would do something wrong. “I don’t want to hurt him,” I admitted sheepishly. “What if I drop him?”

“Nonsense!” my sister answered. “You’re not going to drop him.”

Calista took Kale from Meliantha and placed him gently in my arms. It felt awkward at first, and honestly, I didn’t know what to do. I was scared to move or breathe for fear that I would do something wrong, so I stood there frozen in place. After a few minutes, I was starting to get the hang of it. I walked around the room, cuddling the baby in my arms, and watched as he slept with his little thumb in his mouth.

Out of nowhere my heart began to pick up speed and that pull I felt long ago at the Ball came back full force. It was when the dark-haired beauty entered the room that I realized it was coming from her. Her eyes found mine and we both came to a complete halt.





When I walked into the room, I wasn’t expecting to see Drake cooing and smiling at the baby in his arms. My knees felt weak in that moment and I would have toppled over if Brayden wasn’t beside me. It was a beautiful sight before me, and I couldn’t stop the smile from forming on my lips if I tried. We stared at each other for a long-lasting few seconds, but then Drake turned his face away in what I assumed was embarrassment.

His skin turned red, and I could tell he was gritting his teeth. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but I had to keep reminding myself that he had no clue about our dreams being real. To him, he only met me at the Winter Ball and that was it. After the last dream we had, I guess I just expected more.

The air in the room had turned electric, the tension flowing like waves all around us. Not only did Drake and I have a stare off, but I also noticed out of the corner of my eye, that Brayden and Ariella were doing the same thing, too. Silence filled the room, making it uncomfortable, so I decided to break away from it all and go to my brother.

Kalen was on the bed beside Meliantha so I rushed over and knelt by his side. “Congratulations,” I whispered to him and Meliantha so I wouldn’t wake the sleeping child in Kalen’s arms. Brayden clapped Kalen on the shoulder and congratulated him as well.

“Thank you for coming,” Kalen said, kissing me on the cheek, and nodding to Brayden.

“Anytime,” I replied.

Meliantha held out her arms, so I went to her side of the bed and hugged her gently. “It’s nice to see you again, Sorcha.”

“It’s nice to see you, too,” I told her. When I pulled back, she gave me a knowing smile while looking back and forth between me and Drake. I cleared my throat and shifted uncomfortably by her side. Was I that easy to see through? I thought to myself. I looked back at Drake and he averted his eyes so quickly I had no clue if he was even looking at me or something else.

“Would you like to hold Lia?” Kalen asked, catching my attention.

“No!” I exclaimed, a little too loudly, clearly sounding nervous.

Kalen laughed and walked over to me, placing the baby in my arms even though I was shaking like a leaf. “Drake acted the same way, but look at him,” he said, peering over at Drake, who was acting fidgety and uptight now that the attention was on him. “He’s an expert now. You’ll be fine, and besides, I’m sure you’ll have your own children someday, so it’s good to have the practice.”