Summer of Frost (Forever Fae #3)(43)

“I’m sorry, Sarette, but it’s entirely up to your cousin. If he hands Sorcha over willingly, I might consider not killing him, but if he doesn’t then I will fight for her, and he will die.”

She blew out a shaky breath. “Then I’m coming with you. I can talk to him … get him to back down.”

“No!” Oren and I yelled at the same time.

Narrowing her eyes, she pinned us with the most stubborn stare imaginable. It made me miss Sorcha even more, and it didn’t help matters that Sarette had the same long, black hair and body that reminded me of her. “I’m afraid you have no choice. If you don’t let me come then I’m not going to tell you where they might be. There’s still a chance I’m wrong anyway. I only know of this place because I heard Alston talking about it, and I followed him. I figured it was his retreat when he would get upset over Sorcha.”

“It’s too dangerous, Sarette, and if we have to kill Alston you’re going to be right there. Is that what you want? Do you really want to watch your cousin die?” I asked skeptically.

She gave me a defiant stare and pursed her lips. “No, I don’t want to watch him die. That’s why I’m hoping he’ll give himself up when he sees me.”

If Sarette was anything like Sorcha, she’d weasel her way into going no matter what I did or said. Huffing out a breath, I relented and gave in. “Fine! But if you want to be na?ve enough to think Alston’s going to listen to you then that’s your problem. If things turn for the worse, you need to stay out of the way. Sorcha’s probably going to be pissed as hell with me for bringing you, especially if you get hurt.”

Sarette shrugged. “She’ll just have to get over it. She helped rescue me and now I’m going to help rescue her. It’ll make us even.”

I couldn’t argue with that. “Let’s go,” I told them. “I have a feeling this will be it.”





I woke up extra early with an idea in my head. If I was surrounded by dark magic then there had to be an end point. There was no way it could cover that much land in the mortal realm, and not give out or have weak points. All I needed to do was sneak out of the house and see how far it took to get my connection to Oren open, and then hurry back once I talked to him.

Quietly stepping out of bed, I tiptoed to the closet. My warrior gear was in there along with my spear. The clanking sound of my armor made me cringe each time the sound vibrated across the room. Opening the door, I glanced around quickly before walking past what I assumed was the room Alston slept in. The door was closed, so I glided carefully away from it, holding my breath for emphasis.

The stairs creaked as I descended them and I silently cursed the whole time, hoping I wasn’t screwing up my stealthy plan. If I could only get to the door I’d be able to get out. The front door opened silently and I was about to make a run for it when Alston’s voice boomed out from behind me.

“Where the f*ck do you think you’re going?” he stormed angrily.

Not expecting his furious tone, I whirled around and faced him. He had never talked to me like that, and I definitely wasn’t going to allow him to do it again. “First off!” I exclaimed. “Don’t you ever use that tone with me again. Second, I’m not a prisoner, and if I want to go for a walk on my own then I’m entitled to. I don’t need a babysitter, and you sure as hell are not going to order me around.”

His electric blue eyes widened in panic, but only for a second. He approached me slowly as if I were a caged animal in need of a tranquilizer. I could recognize that maneuver from anywhere. He was preparing to chase me if I ran. My instincts told me to run, but with him inching closer I knew I wouldn’t get far. My time for escape had already left.

When he was close enough, he lifted his hands up in defeat. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten overbearing like that. You just looked like you were trying to sneak off.”

I was, I thought to myself, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. So instead, I said, “I was trying to be quiet and not wake you.”

“What were you going out there to do?” he asked, curious.

Nonchalantly, I shrugged my shoulders. “I wanted to get some fresh air and walk around a bit, maybe even practice with my spear. I still need to keep up with my training, you know.”

He peered at me skeptically. “Are you sure you weren’t trying to run away?”

“Now why would I do that? Do you have a guilty conscience or something?” I asked, studying his expression.

He laughed nervously and averted his eyes, a clear sign of lying. “No,” he replied. “I just don’t want you to leave without protection. I think you scared me more than anything.”

I nodded, pretending to understand. “You know I’m not helpless, right? I have been training for a while and I have no doubt that I could kick your ass.”

Alston bit his lip and moved gracefully to tower over me. “I think I’d like that. How about we do a little hand on hand combat outside for a while? Maybe it’ll relieve some of the tension.”

“You’re on.” I laughed wickedly. “Don’t get mad when you get your ass beat.”

He winked. “I’ll take my chances.”





My muscles ached, but I made sure to give Alston a good beating. “I think we’re done with weapons for a while. By the way, where did you learn to do what you did with your spear? I know Oren and your brother didn’t teach you those moves.” He paused and furrowed his brows, looking off into the distance. “It actually kind of reminds me of how the Summer Fae fight.”