Summer of Frost (Forever Fae #3)(23)

I kicked the bow out of his grasp, grabbed my spear, and dropped to my knees beside Oren. Running my hands over his body, I couldn’t see or feel any massive injuries. What could be keeping him under? I wondered.

Finn, who happened to be nearby, rushed over to help. “Princess, are you all right? You’re bleeding.”

Breathless, I nodded weakly. “I’ll be fine. I don’t know what’s wrong with my guardian, but he needs help.” Glaring at the unconscious dwarf, I continued while pointing at him, “That piece of shit there needs to be questioned, and taken back to the Summer Court. We need to contact Durin and have him there as well. This is the dwarf he’s been looking for.”

“Will do, Your Highness,” Finn agreed. “We’ll secure him and head straight for the Summer Court. The enemy is mostly dead, except for the few that retreated during the attack.”

Despair washed through me at the thought of so many killed. I wondered how many of those fae were actual traitors, and ones that were forced to be there. Either way, the damage was done, and I had to live with not knowing. Finn picked Brokk up and strapped him to a horse, making the bonds tighter than usual across the dwarf’s limbs. Good, I thought. He deserved it. He was going to have a lot more pain after I was done with him.

Sarette helped me haul Oren across Drake’s back, and once he was settled I climbed behind him so I could hold him in place. Sarette clambered up behind me and held on tight. “We’re ready, Drake! Let’s go!” I called out to him.

In one quick jump we were up and in the sky. My shoulder ached, and I winced when I tried to move my arm. Now that the adrenaline had ebbed off I was feeling more of the burn. Blood oozed warm and hot down my back, and I could feel my body swaying.

“Sorcha! Sorcha, what’s wrong?” Sarette screamed worriedly in my ear, and even though she was right behind me, she sounded amazingly far away. My vision grew blurry, and then it slowly began to grow dark. There was no pain … just peace.





Bright light streamed through the open window, making me squint and hide my face with the pillow. Groaning, I turned over on my side, but quickly sat up as the realization dawned on me. The pain in my shoulder was still there, but it wasn’t bad. Earlier, I was in the air with Drake, but now I was in a bed … with Drake. What the hell happened? I wondered. I glanced over to see him sleeping peacefully in the bed beside me. His tousled red hair and half-naked body beckoned me to touch him, and for the first time he actually looked normal. Not the infamous and arrogant prince dragon, but just a normal man.

He must’ve known I was staring at him because a slow growing smile appeared on his face. He sat up and ran his eyes over my body, clearly admiring the little silky get up I was wearing. I was out of my warrior gear, and placed in a blue lingerie-type night gown, most likely compliments of the man beside me. My golden skin stood out against the light blue color of the silk, and it still amazed me how much I had changed within just a day. Not just physically, but emotionally as well.

“Good morning, beautiful. Or better yet, good afternoon. I thought you were going to sleep all day.”

Confused, I asked, “What happened? How long was I out?”

Drake sat up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “You passed out when we were in the air. With all the excitement and blood loss you must’ve just given out. You’ve only been asleep for a few hours. I didn’t want to leave you, so I stayed here.”

“What about Oren?” I asked, panicking. “Where is he? Is he all right?”

As soon as I said his name, Oren came barreling into the room. “Did I hear someone call out my name?” he asked, charging toward me with a huge smile on his face. He scooped me up in his arms, but let me go when I winced in pain. “I’m sorry, ai dulin. I didn’t mean to hurt your shoulder. It’s just so good to see you again.” He hugged me gently and kissed my forehead. “You have no idea how helpless I felt the whole time. I knew you were safe, but there was nothing I could do if anything happened to Sarette. I would’ve failed you.”

Shaking my head, I took his face in my hands. “It doesn’t matter now. We’re all here and we’re safe. I was so worried about you. What happened? Why were you unconscious the way you were?” I asked.

Oren took a seat on the bed and placed his head in his hands. I could tell he was uncomfortable with feeling the way he did about what happened. I was just glad he was safe and in one piece. He explained, “I don’t know everything, but someone had cast a sleeping spell on me. Apparently, they didn’t want me conversing ‘in secret’ with Sarette, who was supposed to be you. They didn’t want us communicating and planning an escape.”

“How did you get out of it?”

Oren smiled and motioned toward Drake. “His healer, Grayce, had gotten me out of it. He also helped with your wound. They had to shove some nasty tasting herbal mess down my throat that tasted like horse dung. Although, I guess it worked.” He laughed while I made a disgusted face.

“That sounds pretty gross, indeed. Is Sarette okay?” I asked, looking back and forth from my guardian to Drake.

Oren answered, “Ever since we got back she’s been grieving over Alston. She’s having a hard time right now, and refuses to talk about it.”

“I can imagine,” I announced sadly. “I’ll try to talk to her. What about Brokk? Has he talked yet?”