Reign of Ice (Forever Fae series) (15 page)

That was a good question.

“Honestly,” I started, “I don’t think we would be where we are now without it. Eventually we would, but being able to see into his soul and feel his feelings has helped us to where we are now. He’s changed, and I see it every day in how he opens up. All he needed was a push and he got it.”

Calista
smiled over at me. “I’m glad things are getting better. I was really worried about you and him. I know Sorcha was ready to kick his ass there for a moment.”

We both laughed, and when I gazed back at Brayden following us, he rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“I was close to kicking your ass there for a moment,”
I said.
“You were a complete jerk to me.”

“Are you going to remind me of this every day for the rest of my life?”

For the rest of his life. In better terms it should be for the rest of my life, which wasn’t going to be long. I didn’t want to think about that, not when there was still happiness to be had. Brayden could feel my angst and uncertainty, so when he called out my name I let go of Calista and Merrick’s hand and turned around.

“I’ll see you in the throne room,” I said over my shoulder to my sister. Smiling hesitantly, she glanced from me to Brayden, and took Merrick’s hand. She led him away from us and toward the throne room where I knew everyone was waiting.

“Did I say something wrong?” Brayden asked.

“No,” I lied, hating myself for keeping secrets from him. “I guess I just have so many things on my mind.” Taking his hand, I gazed up into his soft, brown eyes. “Let’s go see what kind of spell
Elvena has cooked up for us. I’m pretty sure she found a way to protect the court.”

“I sure hope so,” Brayden remarked skeptically. “If not then we’re going to have some major problems.”

That was for certain.

RYDER WAS IN the throne room talking to Queen Mab and King Madoc when Brayden and I entered. Everything went silent as we approached the group, side by side. Elvena smiled and took my hands, pulling me down so she could kiss my forehead. “You look lovely, child. We were just discussing what we need to do to keep you safe from the sorcerer,” she explained.

“What have you come up with?” I asked, looking from her to everyone in the room.

When Queen Mab and King Madoc joined the group on the floor, Elvena began, “Basically, what we need to do is perform a protection spell. The only problem is that we can’t protect the whole expanse of the Winter Court. We can, however, protect the palace and extend it to your dwelling if need be.” When Brayden and I both nodded, she continued, “When we do this, you will only be protected inside the walls. I know it’ll feel like you’re trapped, but this is the best I can do.”

“Let’s do it,” Brayden insisted, gazing down at me. “We have to keep him away from you.”

I hated feeling like a trapped animal, but I knew it was for the best. Sighing, I closed my eyes and blew out a frustrated breath. “All right, what do we have to do?” I muttered, giving in.

Elvena
smiled sadly and said, “What we need is royal blood and a lot of it. We need enough to be able to scatter it around the palace and form a circle. It only needs to be a drop here and there around the walls. So now you can understand how we don’t have the means to protect the entire grounds.”

I nodded in understanding and so did everyone else. Queen
Mab handed Elvena a bowl and immediately sliced her palm, letting her blood flow freely. “This is for you, my dear,” Queen Mab murmured, gazing at me. King Madoc clapped Brayden on the shoulder before slicing his hand and mingling his blood with his queen’s. Calista and Ryder joined in and gave their blood, along with Elvena who contributed some as well.

Brayden took out his guardian dagger and I casually held out my hand for him to slice open my skin. He lifted a brow, but I waved my hand at him. “Just do it,” I scolded him playfully.

Slicing open my skin, Brayden immediately cut open his as well and we stood there staring at each other as our life essence joined in with the others.
“I wonder why everything involved with spells requires blood,”
I silently said to Brayden.

He smirked.
“Our blood is the strongest part of our bodies. It holds the key to everything.”

That actually made sense.

After our blood was taken, Elvena made her way outside and began to chant in the Old Fae language. In my spare time in the Summer Court, I had secretly been trying to learn the language of our elders. We never used it much, but in this case, with the spell it would’ve come in handy. We all watched and waited as Elvena disappeared around the side of the palace, pouring a thin trail of our blood in her wake.

When she was done, she came back inside with the empty bowl and breathed a sigh of relief. “It is done. The spell has been cast.”

For the time being I was safe … just as long as I stayed within the boundaries.

Nixie had taken
Calista and everyone back to the Fall Court, and when she returned she had Zanna in tow. “Thank you, Nixie,” I said softly. “I appreciate you doing this for me.”

Nixie was a green imp with green hair and golden wings. She was a little smaller than a child, so she fluttered up to eye level with me and bowed her head, first to me and then to Brayden. “You’re welcome, Your Highnesses. I will bring everyone back when the time comes.”

Smiling, I took her small hand in mine. “If there’s anything I can do to repay you I will gladly offer it,” I promised.

“Just keep our land safe from the sorcerer. I was imprisoned by him for far too long and I can only imagine what his poison would do to our land.”

Nodding somberly, I bowed my head to her and said, “I will keep our land safe. You have my word.”

A sad smile passed across Nixie’s face before she closed her eyes and disappeared almost immediately. Impatient,
Zanna narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest while tapping her foot against the floor. “What’s going on?” she asked quickly. “Where is Kamden? All I was told was that I had to come here as soon as possible.”

Brayden squeezed my hand and muttered silently,
“I’ll give you some time with your friend, angel. There are some things I need to take care of.”
He walked past me and placed a gentle hand on Zanna’s shoulder before he left. Zanna’s mouth dropped wide open and she became even more confused.

“Are you sure that’s Prince Brayden, Ariella?”
Zanna asked as she turned to watch him leave the room. “Because I swear he’s not acting right.”

“I promise it’s him,” I replied with a hesitant smile. “Things have changed since I’ve been here.”

“Yeah, I can see that, but you never answered the question about Kamden. Where is he, Ariella? I have a bad feeling about this,” she claimed.

Taking her hand, I led her to the window seat in my room and sat her down.
Elvena’d had enough blood to extend the protection spell from the palace to Brayden’s dwelling, so I had Nixie bring her here away from everyone else in the palace. Sitting beside her, I gazed out the window and wished I could answer her question. I had no clue where Kamden went or what he was doing. He left and hadn’t come back.

“Lukas is dead,” I whispered, my breath fogging up the glass. “We brought
Kamden here to tell him about his brother.”

Zanna
gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh no,” she cried. “He has to be devastated.”

A tear escaped the corner of my eye, but I wiped it away quickly. “He is, which is why I needed you here. I don’t know where he is,
Zanna. After I told him, he left and I haven’t seen him since. I figured you would be able to track him down.”

Zanna
sighed and wiped the moisture from her eyes. “I think I might know where he is. I’ll find him and bring him back.”

She squeezed my hand reassuringly and hastily got up, running out of the room to the front door. She wasn’t the only one who had a bad feeling.

A WEEK HAD
passed and there were no other attack attempts on the court or any bad dreams with Alasdair. The protection spell was working, but I only had a week to go before the new moon and before the threat of the upcoming battle. A battle we could definitely lose if we weren’t strong enough. Durin had sent word saying that he would be arriving soon with the dagger, so we expected him to show up the following afternoon. Everyone else would be arriving as well.

“Are you coming to bed?” Brayden whispered gruffly in my ear, drawing me away from my thoughts. Brayden had hung one of his paintings in our room, and for the past hour I couldn’t tear my eyes away from it. It was a picture of how our court was going to look when we completed the bond. At first, when everything came to light about my destiny, I didn’t even want to complete the bond with him. Now I couldn’t imagine not completing it.

Brayden wrapped his arms around my waist and slid his hands under my silky nightshirt to trace circles on my bare stomach. His touch sent tingles down my spine and it made me shiver. It was hard to imagine a Winter Fae getting chill bumps, but I did. His warm breath grazed across my neck as he chuckled and nipped my earlobe.

“I don’t see how I can refuse with you tormenting me like this,” I teased.

“It’s not tormenting if I plan on doing something about it, angel.”

Brayden kissed along down my neck to my collarbone while smoothing his hands up my bare skin to my breasts, cupping them gently. Tilting my head back, I rested against his chest as he kneaded and massaged them, rolling my nipples with the coldness of his fingers. For the past week we had explored each other’s wants and needs, but tonight that was all over. I knew what he wanted and I knew what I needed.

“I’m ready, Brayden,” I whispered, turning around so I could face him.

He brought his hands up and brushed a strand of hair off my forehead before cupping my cheeks in his hands. “There’s no turning back, Ariella. Are you absolutely certain you’re ready?” he inquired gently.

Smiling, I clutched the hem of my shirt and slowly lifted it over my head, exposing my breasts that ached for more of his touch. His gaze twinkled in the candlelight and his mouth tilted up in a tiny grin. I kissed his lips while pressing my bare chest against his and wrapping my arms around his neck.

“I want you to make love to me, Brayden. I’m ready to bond myself to you for the rest of my life, however long that may be,” I vowed.

Brayden walked us back toward the bed and sat down on the edge with me standing between his legs. He looked up at me, his eyes glistening with unbound love and passion. “I love you, angel,” he murmured wholeheartedly.

“And I love you,” I cried, a lone tear sliding down my cheek.

Never taking his gaze off of mine, Brayden slid his fingers under the waist of my silky bottoms and slowly slid them down my legs, taking my underwear with them. He growled low in his chest and picked me up to set me on the bed. He was shirtless with only a pair of loose linen pants riding low on his hips, and when he untied them and let them fall to the floor, my insides trembled with the need to feel him inside me.

I moved back across the bed and propped myself up on my elbows as he stalked toward me. Starting with my ankles, he kissed his way up my calves to my knees, and then to the tender spot between my thighs. From there he trailed his tongue up my stomach to my breasts where he licked and sucked them generously. I arched off the bed and moaned as my body verged on the edge of climax. Before I could get there, Brayden chuckled and moved up to my neck, where he bit the soft, fleshy part of my shoulder.

“The next time you come it’ll be with me inside you, angel,” he whispered gruffly in my ear.

I groaned in protest, but he closed his lips over mine to cut off my cries. His tongue entangled with mine; he tasted so damn good I couldn’t get enough of him. Pressing his body to mine, he separated my legs with his knee and rubbed the tip of his cock over my tender flesh. We needed to say the sacred words that would bind us together for eternity, but when Brayden opened his mouth to do just that, there was a loud knock on the front door.

It was late in the evening, too late for someone to be making a normal visit, which made us both wonder who it could be. Brayden lowered his forehead to mine and huffed angrily, “Someone better be attacking our palace, because if not then whoever is out there is dead.”

Sighing, I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “It could be important, Brayden. There’s no telling what could be going on.”
All I know is that it
better
be important,
I thought to myself.

Reluctantly, he slid off of me and grabbed his pants off the floor, sliding them on. He reached over and took my hand, helping me up, and handed me my clothes as well. “I’ll go see who it is,” he grumbled. “And I promise not to kill whoever it is unless it’s the sorcerer.” He kissed me quickly and mumbled angrily the whole time he descended the stairs.

Quickly, I threw on my clothes and snatched my robe from the bathroom before I also headed down the stairs to see who it could be. I didn’t hear any yelling or shouting, so I had no clue what was going on. I rounded the corner and saw Brayden standing there with his arms crossed, staring at Kamden who looked like he wanted to turn around and walk out the door.

“
Kamden,” I shrieked, rushing toward him. “Where have you been? I’ve been so worried about you.”

As I approached, he opened his arms to me and gave me a sad smile. I took that as a sign that he wasn’t mad at me, so I embraced him and held him tight. When he released me, his gaze glistened with unshed tears as he replied, “I’m sorry I left the way I did. I just needed some time to myself and time to spend with my family. My mother took it hard, but she’s coming around.”

“Do you blame me?” I whispered, lowering my gaze. I never liked to fail in anything I did, especially when it came to protecting my people. The weight of his death weighed heavily on my soul and it hurt even more knowing he was Kamden’s brother.

Exasperated, he took me by the shoulders and bent his head to the side so he could see my face. “Ariella, no I don’t blame you. Is that what you’ve been thinking this whole time?”

“Yes,” Brayden interrupted, coming to my side. “I know you lost your brother and you are grieving, but in the future you don’t just walk away from a royal when they are speaking to you.”

“Brayden,” I snapped. “He’s my—”

He held up his hand to stop me and sighed. “You didn’t let me finish, angel,” he murmured out loud, but then finished silently,
“I know he’s your friend, and with that being said he should’ve let you be there for him as a friend. He upset you and that’s not acceptable.”

“You’re such a caveman,”
I pointed out truthfully.
“You can’t protect me from everything.”

“No,”
he admitted,
“but I can certainly try.”

  He then leveled his stare at
Kamden and continued, “I know Ariella is your friend, but you still have a duty to respect her as a royal. She was with him when he died, and she tried to save him. She’s going through her own pain with his loss as well.”

Kamden
closed his eyes and bowed his head. “I know, and I’m sorry. Did he say anything before he died?”

A tear fell down my cheek at the remembrance of Lukas’ last words. “Yes, he did,
Kam. He told me to tell you farewell and that he missed you.”

Kamden
sighed and ran his hands through his messy, dark hair. “I can’t believe he’s gone. It doesn’t feel real. I always thought he was invincible.”

Brayden clapped him on the shoulder and smiled reassuringly. “Lukas was a friend of mine and one of my best warriors. He will never be forgotten.”

Nodding, Kamden half-smiled and said, “I’m sorry to have bothered you tonight, but I honestly did feel bad about leaving you like that, Ariella. I appreciate you trying to be there for me, and I didn’t like leaving with the way things ended with us.”

Embracing him again, I squeezed him tight and breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully, now I could rest knowing that he was safe and that he didn’t blame me for his brother’s death even though I wasn’t strong enough to help him. That guilt would stay with me forever.

“You’re welcome, Kam. That’s why I sent for Zanna. I knew you needed someone to be there for you,” I explained.

Kamden
pulled away with wide eyes. “You sent for Zanna? Where is she?”

“What do you mean where is she?” I shrieked. “She was supposed to be with you. She got here a week ago,
Kam. Are you trying to tell me you haven’t seen her?”

“No,” he expressed worriedly. “I spent some time with my family, but the rest of the time I spent going to all the places Lukas and I would go to when I was a kid.”

I didn’t want Kamden to hear what I was saying, so I looked to Brayden and said silently,
“What the hell, Brayden? You don’t think anything has happened to her, do you?”

He shrugged and furrowed his brows.
“I’m not sure, angel. She might be in the village at his parents dwelling. He said he didn’t stay there the whole time. She could be there waiting on him.”

“Good point,”
I agreed.
“But if not then we’re going to need to find her.”

Trying to shake off the uneasy feelings I knew he had plaguing his mind,
Kamden spoke up, trying to sound optimistic, “You know, she’s probably at my parents’ house. I haven’t been back there in a few days so she might be there. I’ll go back and see if they’ve seen her.”

Deep in my heart, I had a bad feeling that she wasn’t going to be at his parents’ house.
Please let it just be the worry and sadness of recent events making me paranoid,
I thought to myself.

Kamden
opened the front door, but I caught his arm before he could leave. “If she’s not there then we need to look for her. It’s been a week, and the last thing she needs to do is go searching for you when the sorcerer will do anything to get to me. We have the palace and this place protected under a spell, but outside of the perimeter its fair game. Staying inside the protection spell is crucial,” I stated adamantly.

He nodded and stepped out onto the front porch. “I’m sure I’ll find her. Again, I’m sorry for disturbing you.”

Brayden shut the door and ran his hands through his hair. “As much as I wanted to be angry at him for disturbing us, I guess it worked out for the best. At least now you won’t be preoccupied with worrying about him.”

Yawning, I collapsed onto the soft, leathery couch and leaned my head back on the cool fabric. “I’m just glad he doesn’t hate me,” I mumbled sleepily. “I hope he finds
Zanna.”

“He will,” Brayden said. “Now come on and let’s go to bed. You’re tired and we have a big day tomorrow.”

“What about …” I began, wondering if we were going to finish our bonding.

He shook his head and took my hand, pulling me off of the leathery chair. “We have tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. At least now I know you want to finish the bond with me. Once everyone leaves tomorrow we will have the night to do whatever it is you please.”

I smiled and bit my lip. “Yes, we do, and I’m going to take full advantage when tomorrow night comes.”

Brayden chuckled and I followed him up the stairs to our room. We both snuggled under the sheets on the bed and almost immediately my eyes grew heavy with sleep. He nuzzled my ear, kissed me on the neck, and stated, “I look forward to tomorrow night then, angel. Sweet dreams, my love.”