Summer of Frost (Forever Fae #3)(16)
I turned to him and growled. I hated being told what to do when I was going to do it in the first place. Sarette and I quickly switched weapons and began to move apart. Her sword felt odd in my hands, but I stashed it in my belt and bolted in the opposite direction from my friend and guardian.
“We need to hurry!” Drake exclaimed. “My people can’t hold them off for much longer.”
As the distance grew, I sent a silent prayer to Oren. “Protect Sarette, and stay safe. Be careful, Oren.”
“Same to you, Princess. Get to the Summer Court safely.”
My horse flew like the speed of light across the land, keeping up easily with Drake and his brown mare. The rumble of hooves on the ground signaled the advancement of the other Summer Fae warriors catching up to us. They surrounded me and Drake while we trekked the last few miles to the Summer Court. The air was hot and humid the moment we crossed into their territory, and it almost made me struggle to breathe it was so thick.
“Oren, I made it to Summer. Where are you?” I waited to hear him come through the connection, but I was only met with silence.
Drake stopped in front of the palace and climbed off his horse, looking relieved and worn out. I never knew he could look like that. Even in our dreams he was always calm and collected, never showing raw emotions. Climbing off my horse, I decided to try Oren again, desperate to hear his voice.
“Oren? Oren, where are you?”
Panic started to engulf me, and I struggled to breathe, gasping for air. Drake rushed over to me. “Are you hurt? What’s wrong?” he asked, surprisingly gentle.
He looked unsure of what to do and genuinely concerned, and in that moment I wanted to fall into his arms, but I couldn’t. Instead, I fell to the ground screaming. The pain exploded in my mind, and I knew that it was Oren’s pain coming through to me. He was hurt, and he was in distress. Tears streamed down my face as the pain intensified, bringing a whole new agony to the forefront. I felt like I was going to die.
“Something’s wrong,” I choked out, shocked that my body was losing control. Never before had I felt a tear, never before have I cried for someone, but in that moment … I cried.
Never in my life had I ever felt so helpless. Watching Sorcha scream in agony was the worst pain I thought I’d ever had to endure. My heart literally was ripped to shreds in that moment, and what was worse was that I had no clue how to help her. One of our healers had to use a sleeping spell on her to get her to calm down, and even then, her will was so strong that I thought the spell wouldn’t work. She fought it for as long as she could, but eventually it became too much. I ended up watching her sleep for the rest of the afternoon. I never even took my eyes off of her when I heard someone enter the room through the door behind me.
“You need to get some rest, my Prince,” the voice recommended. The healer who had cast the sleeping spell on Sorcha stood behind me. His name was Grayce, and he was one of the oldest faeries in our court.
“I’m not tired,” I replied back, even though I felt and looked exhausted.
“She’s going to be asleep for a while, probably until tomorrow afternoon.”
Wide-eyed, I peered back at the healer. “That long?” I asked hesitantly.
The healer looked thoughtful. “Unfortunately, yes, but she needed it.”
Groaning, I put my head in my hands. “She may have needed it, but when she wakes up, all hell is going to break loose.”
“What does that mean?” Grayce asked, looking confused.
Standing up, I ran my hands through my hair. “It means, master healer, that we’re going to have a very angry Winter Fae woman on our hands.”
My night was filled with a dreamless sleep. I assumed my subconscious listened to me when I said I didn’t want to dream about Sorcha ever again. For the whole morning, I spent it with her at her bedside. Her warrior gear had been stripped, and she was cleaned and dressed in a beautiful blue robe. She always looked amazing in blue in my dreams, and even in real life she looked astonishing.
Sorcha looked like an angel lying there all peaceful and asleep, but I knew she was anything but one. The sleeping spell was probably about to wear off, so I decided that not being there would probably be best. I didn’t want to be the source of her wrath. I was half tempted to lock the door to keep her from taking out her anger on an innocent passerby. I decided against it, but made sure to inform everyone to stay away from that part of the palace until she woke up.
I met my father in the throne room, along with the warriors that fought with me the day before. The grim expression on my father’s face was answer enough. I was about to hear bad news.
“What news from the Spring Court? Did everyone make it there?” I asked, knowing very well that they didn’t.
My father, King Oberon, shook his head and sighed. “Over half made it there, including Sorcha’s brother, Brayden. He was badly injured, but Ariella is taking care of him while Meliantha makes her rounds to the wounded.”
Closing my eyes, I asked the one question that I dreaded to hear the answer to. I had a feeling from Sorcha’s episode earlier, her guardian and friend were in some serious trouble. “What about Sorcha’s guardian and her friend?”
My father shook his head, and lowered his gaze. “They didn’t make it, son. We don’t know if they’re alive or dead.”