Reign of Ice (Forever Fae series) (14 page)

EVERYWHERE I TURNED it was dark and cold, devoid of any life except the heart that beat in my own chest. The stench of death was all I could smell, and judging by the black, oily looking trees I knew where I was … the Black Forest. Chills crept up my spine because I knew I wasn’t alone.

Alasdair’s laugh echoed all around me, except I couldn’t see him. He drifted around me in his shadow self, slithering across my skin, touching me. He couldn’t physically harm me for real, but even in the dream realm a person could still feel pain or pleasure. I wasn’t looking forward to this visit.

“You can’t hide from me here, sweet princess,” he taunted. “I must say, I am very disappointed in you.”

“I don’t care what you think of me,” I snarled. “You’re just upset that you couldn’t find me.”

Losing his humor, he revealed himself before me, taking his true form. He was tall with long, brown hair and glowing gray eyes. He appeared to be a little older than me, but I knew he was over a century old. He could almost pass for a fae warrior with the way he was dressed in a set of armor and leathers, but a warrior he was not.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I stood my ground and kept my gaze on his as he approached. “You think wrong, Your Highness.
I am not upset, I’m disappointed. There’s a big difference there. When I came for your sisters they challenged me and fought me with all they had, but you …”He shook his head and clucked his tongue. “You just hid away letting others take the fall. All I needed was one simple thing from you and that would be it. I am not trying to steal you away, because frankly you are not worth it. I like strong women in my bed and from what I have seen of you, you would break too easily.”

Gritting my teeth, it took all I had not to tell him that I was the one who fought him earlier and ran him through. If he
would’ve been a normal man he would be dead. “I’m not going to give you what you want,” I snapped.

He sidled up closer to me and circled me like a shark teasing its prey. I stood my ground, and wondered how long this nightmare was going to last. What kinds of things could he do to me while we were here? I knew one thing, I didn’t want to find out and I sure as hell never wanted to sleep again if he was going to come to me every night.

Stopping behind me, he snaked his arm around my waist and slapped his hand across my neck, squeezing it tight. I couldn’t take in a breath, so I clawed at his hand trying desperately to breathe. I bucked against his body hoping it would get him off of me, but all it did was entice him.

He laughed. “Keep fighting, Princess. It only turns me on more.” When his grip loosened, I took in a ragged breath. Leaning down close to my ear, he whispered, “And I think you will give
me what I want because if you don’t I will bring my army over from the mortal realm and destroy everything and everyone you love.”

I scoffed warily. “Isn’t that your plan anyway? Even if I give you my power you’re still going to bring them over. Why would I willingly give you what you want so you could destroy us? You must think I’m stupid.”

He squeezed my neck again and I gasped for air. I knew I could fight him off, but it was best he thought I was really the weak princess he believed me to be. However, I didn’t want to have to endure his toying with me and violating me. I tried to think of Brayden and if there was a way he could get me out of the dream. I screamed his name over and over, but I didn’t know if he heard because there was no response in my mind.

“I am giving you until the next new moon, Princess. If you don’t give me what I want before then, when I come for you I will have my army at your front gates to tear your world apart. You might as well face the realization that it’s over. You have no way of defeating me, even if you and your prince complete the bond to form your court.”

I struggled against his grasp, but I had had enough. Snapping my head back in a quick thrust, I bashed his nose and turned around to land a swift kick to his ribs. He doubled over but regained himself quickly, growling in anger. The dream realm shifted and began to shimmer. I could feel Brayden’s influence slowly growing stronger; he was trying to get me out. 

“It is not over,” I spat. “There is still hope, and as long as that hope still lives I will not submit to you. I may appear weak, but there is more than meets the eyes with me.” The pull on my soul began to get stronger and I could hear
Brayden’s frantic voice in my mind telling me to come back to him.

Before I disappeared, I stood my ground and glared at the sorcerer with all the anger and rage I had in my soul from the devastation he’d bestowed upon my people and our courts. Confident and without a doubt, I tilted my lip up in a snarling smirk and gave my final promise to him. “I can promise you this, Alasdair. On the day everything ends, I will be there to watch you fall. The hand that sends you to hell will be mine, and I will smile as I watch you and your evil be torn away from our land. I will be your demise.”

It was strange … one minute I was standing in the Black Forest and the next I woke up in the bed with Brayden straddling my waist and his hands on both sides of my head. When he saw my eyes open, he breathed a sigh of relief and helped me sit up. His head was covered in sweat and the veins in his face and arms bulged as if he’d worked out for about ten hours.

“Are you okay?” he asked, wiping the
sweat drenched hair off my forehead.

I nodded and rubbed my neck from where the sorcerer had cut off my air. Nothing was sore and that proved to me that he couldn’t physically harm me in the reality sense, but in the dream it actually felt real. The room was still cloaked in darkness as the night sky filtered into our room. My eyes felt heavy, except I knew sleep wouldn’t come easily for me now. Especially, knowing the sorcerer could come into my dreams and wreak havoc.

“I’m fine, Brayden. How did you know what was going on?” I questioned curiously. “I tried to scream your name in my mind but I didn’t know if you’d hear me.”

Gritting his teeth, he said, “I heard you, angel. When you screamed my name, I woke up not knowing what was going on. You were thrashing against the bed, and when I tried to calm you down you wouldn’t wake up. I pushed into your mind as much as I could and that was when I could feel him there.”

He pulled me into his arms and held me tight. I could hear his heart thumping erratically in his chest and through our bond I could feel his anxiety and anger about not being able to protect me. “You did protect me,” I murmured gently. “You pulled me out of the dream.”

“But I wasn’t fast enough. I knew he hurt you in the dream because I could feel your pain. What did he do to you?” he demanded.

Sighing, I closed my eyes and reluctantly showed him what happened. “He’s threatening to unleash his mortal army at our gates if I don’t let him take my power. If they bring over mortal weapons from their realm we won’t stand a chance. It’ll poison our land and our people will die,” I cried.

“Dammit,” he hissed, running his hands angrily through his hair. He stormed out of bed and stalked over to the window, placing his hands on the cool, clear glass. The muscles in his back tensed and he lowered his head. “We’re running out of time,” he murmured regretfully.

I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “He said he would give me until the next new moon to give him my power. If not, then the war will begin.”

“The next new moon,” Brayden repeated incredulously. He turned around to face me with wide, concern-filled eyes. “That’s only two weeks away.”

Gazing down at the ring Brayden gave me to show his love, I knew in that moment what I had to do. It was a decision my heart had already made, but my stubbornness wanted me to take more time. However, time wasn’t on our side. Slowly sliding out of bed, I ambled over to Brayden and took his face in my hands, running my fingers over his tensed muscles.

I opened my mind to him fully and let him feel what my heart desired and wanted. Groaning, he clutched me tight with his arms wrapped around my waist and lowered his forehead to mine. “Is that truly what you want?” he asked.

“Yes,” I whispered across his lips. “I’ll be ready when the time comes.”

He leaned down and closed the distance between our lips, lingering for a few seconds while he responded silently to my reply,
“So will I, angel. I have never been more ready for anything in my entire life. We will get through this.”

I had no doubt.

MORNING CAME, AND
Brayden and I had yet to fall back asleep after what had happened in my dreams. As soon as we approached the palace doors, Coran came ambling out holding a handful of letters. “These came for you, Your Highness,” he said quickly, rushing toward us.

Brayden grabbed the papers and handed me half of them. The letters I held in my hands were from the Fall Court and
Durin. I read over them quickly, and was happy to see that Durin was going to try to get the dagger finished within the week and bring it to us. I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. Calista’s letter was good news as well. Nixie had consented to help everyone travel here undetected, and Elvena believed she could find a spell to keep the dark sorcerer away from me for the time being. They were going to be arriving later in the day.

I held onto the letters while Brayden finished reading his. Sighing, he handed them to
Coran and took my hand, leading me inside the palace. “What did yours say?” I asked inquisitively.

“
Kalen said he’s sending Kamden here today so we can tell him what happened. His family is going to want to spend some time with him while he’s here, so he will probably stay for a while. Everyone else, including your parents, requested we send for them when it’s time for Durin to arrive with the dagger. What news did Durin send?” Brayden inquired, gazing down at the letters in my hand.

I handed them to him so he could see for himself. When he read over the letters, he lifted his head and grinned. “This is just what we needed. If
Elvena can buy us time with a protection spell for at least another week, we can get everyone here and formulate a strategy for attack.” We stopped outside of the throne room doors and stared at each other. Brayden bit his lip and tucked a strand of my blonde hair behind my ear before asking softly, “Did you want to tell everyone what we decided to do?”

I smiled and shook my head. “I think it’ll be fun to surprise them, don’t you? They wouldn’t expect anything less from me.”

He narrowed his gaze, and smirked. “I’m starting to believe everything I had heard about you is true,” he teased.

“Oh yeah, and what is that?” I asked incredulously.

He kissed me on the lips and chuckled. “That I am going to have my hands full when it comes to you.”

I winked. “That may be true, but I think it goes both ways in this case. However, right now we have a hard day to get through, and I’m going to need your strength to do it.”

“You will always have my strength, angel. We will get through the day together,”
Brayden murmured silently, before opening the throne room doors.

Queen
Mab and King Madoc were waiting for us inside, so we informed them about everything that transpired during the night with the dream. Knowing there was nothing more that could be done at the moment, Brayden and I excused ourselves and decided to train together while we waited for Kamden to show up. My head wasn’t into the fighting, but I tried to maneuver the best I could.

“You’re fighting is terrible, Princess. Did you not learn anything that I taught you?” a voice called out.

Kamden’s laugh echoed through the air as he rushed toward us and scooped me up in his arms, swinging me around. “Are you just being lazy, or do Prince Brayden and I need to show you how it’s done?” he joked.

He set me down and all I could see were Lukas’ eyes staring back at me.
Kamden and Lukas had the same shaped eyes, cheek bones, and smile.
I can’t believe I didn’t notice the similarities earlier.

Tears welled up behind my eyes and I couldn’t stop my lips from turning down into a frown.
Kamden narrowed his eyes and stepped back, unsure of what to do. “What’s going on, Ariella? Why do you look like that?”

I gazed up at Brayden quickly before he nodded his head and pushed me gently toward
Kamden. Taking Kamden’s hands in mine, I squeezed them gently and looked up into his face. Wearily, I began, “Kam, there’s something I need to tell you.”

He kept his gaze strictly on me, never swaying, as I took a deep breath and let the tears fall from my eyes. “I hate we had to bring you here to tell you this, but I thought you deserved to hear it from me,” I cried.

Kamden clenched his teeth and said, “Just tell me what happened, Ariella.”

Lowering my head, I wrapped my arms around his waist, holding him tight, and laid my head on his chest. “It’s about your brother … Lukas,” I told him.

“What about him?” he asked warily. His heart thundered against my ear and I could already feel the sadness creeping in around him. He knew what I was about to tell him.

“He’s dead,
Kam,” I cried, my tears soaking through his shirt. “When the sorcerer came looking for me, Lukas was the one who guarded me. I tried to save him, but I failed. You have my promise that I will avenge him and all the others the sorcerer has taken away from us.”

He stiffened in my arms and quickly pulled away from me. I tried to grab his arm to make him stay, but he jerked out of my grasp and left me standing there staring at his retreating form as he walked away. “
Kamden,” I shouted. “Kamden, wait!” I was about to run after him when Brayden caught my elbow in his grasp.

“Let him go, angel. He needs his space, but I know he’ll come back,” he assured me.

“He’s going to blame me, isn’t he?”

Brayden wrapped his arms around my shoulders and placed his chin on the top of my head. “He’s not going to blame you, Ariella. He will, however, need you to be a friend and help him through it. He still has his parents that live in the village, but he and Lukas were really close. I can’t imagine how it would feel to lose one of my brothers.”

I watched Kamden disappear, and the farther he went the more it killed me to know that he was grieving alone. “I understand,” I uttered sadly. “I’ll ask Nixie if she’ll fetch Zanna when she brings over Calista, Ryder, and Elvena this evening.”

“I think that would be wise, angel. In the meantime, you need to focus.
Coran told me we’ve had several of our fae women request to be trained, and I think it would be good for you to help them. They will need your guidance,” he suggested warmly.

“Okay,” I agreed. My heart wasn’t into the training, but it was my duty to help the court. We hastily travelled to the training field, and when we got there I was amazed at all the women that were there ready to learn. Wide-eyed, my heart swelled with pride as I gazed at them in wonder. These women were willing to put their lives on the line for their people and their court. I wondered if soon there would be women in all the courts battling the front lines with their men. It was a new beginning for the Land of the
Fae.

“This is amazing,” I breathed in awe.

“Yes, it is angel. I know you will do right by them.”

I searched over the women, but when I spied
Taryn stretching and bending over in her tight black spandex outfit I groaned in annoyance. “Oh, I’ll do right by them, but if any of your ex-lovers are on that training field, I can’t promise they will make it through the first ten minutes.”

Let the training begin …

Training the women wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, but they were strong and they learned quickly. I was showing one of the women the proper way to hold a sword when a snowball smacked me against the back.

“Who the hell …” I growled, turning around to see who the instigator was. Brayden tried to hold in a laugh as my nephew, Merrick, balled up another snowball and pitched it at my head.

Laughing, I dodged the ball of snow as it flew past my head. I began to race toward the curly, blond haired little boy with the chubby cheeks. Merrick giggled and shrieked, “Ari! Ari!”

I scooped him up into my arms and twirled him around, loving the way his angelic laugh brought a smile to my face after the terrible day I’d had. “How’s my little man doing?” I asked sweetly.

“Nixie brought me through the rainbow. It was fun,” he exclaimed happily, bouncing in my arms. I had port travelled with Nixie a couple of times in the past, and when she took you from place to place the colors around you looked exactly like a shimmering rainbow. It was an amazing sight and feeling to be in one place one minute and then in a completely different one the next.

Merrick leaned closer to my ear and whispered, “Uncle Brayden made me throw the snowball at you.”

“He did, did he?” I asked, pursing my lips at Brayden. “I think I might need to give a little payback to
Uncle
Brayden. Maybe later we can throw snowballs at him. He’s never had a snowball fight before, you know.”

Merrick snickered and wrapped his arms around my neck. “Who told you to call him Uncle Brayden?” I asked quietly in his ear.

His whisper came out louder than I had hoped. “Mommy and Daddy told me to,” he said.

When I glanced up at Brayden, he shrugged and commented silently,
“I will officially be his uncle soon, but I bet it was Ryder who put him up to it. It sounds like something my brother would do.”

By the time I set Merrick down,
Calista made her way down the path to us, covered in a thick, long coat that billowed out in the wind. Her long, golden blonde hair matched little Merrick’s and her Fall colored skin stood out amongst the brightness of the snow. I remembered having to bundle up when I was still a Summer Fae. It was amazing how things could change so drastically.

Calista’s
eyes went wide when she noticed all of the females training behind me. “You’ve been busy,” she muttered in awe. “I think it’s amazing what you’re doing. Just imagine what it would be like if we had female warriors in all the courts.”

“It’ll soon be that way,” I said. “Give it time and it will happen.”

Calista hooked her arm through mine and lowered her voice when she asked, “Are you and Brayden finally getting along? He’s completely different from the last time I saw you two together.”

Brayden smirked and turned his head, trying to hide that he was listening. Rolling my eyes, I pulled on
Calista’s arm and held Merrick’s hand as we ambled up toward the palace. “Yes, we are getting along. Now that we can hear each other’s thoughts, things have gotten easier. I understand him, or at least I’m trying to.”

“Do you think you would be where you are now if you didn’t have the guardian bond?”
Calista wondered.