Summer of Frost (10 page)

The music was achingly familiar, and the
force of its pull had me turning around and ambling toward it. It
was a sound that got my heart beating out of control and in pain
from the sweet melody. I thought I’d never hear it again. It was
the sound of Sorcha’s song … my song.

The air in the Summer Court was different
from the Winter; it was more vibrant and full of life. I loved my
home, but something about being in the heart of Summer appealed to
me. King Oberon had sent a message informing me of dinner, and
invited me to join him and the queen. I politely declined, with
deepest regrets, and ate alone in my room.

I was wound up too tight and too
apprehensive to sleep. My dreams were the only way I could
communicate with Sarette and Oren, and if I couldn’t calm myself
down enough my attempts would be fruitless. Oren’s mind was blocked
or he was unconscious; either way, I was unable to talk to him
every time I tried.

Frustrated, I decided to walk around the
palace to clear my mind. The curiosity in me piqued as I walked
through the different halls of the palace, comparing it to my
frigid home in the Winter. My eyes were alight with joy when I
stumbled upon what had to have been their music room. The door was
partially open, so it wasn’t like I was
really
invading
their privacy. Secretly, I pushed the door fully open and entered
into heaven.

As I walked by the piano, I glided my
fingers along the keys, careful not to make a sound. The instrument
I was trying to get to lay in the corner of the room, looking
desolate and alone. I bet no one ever played it. The harp was
elegant and made of gold, whereas mine at home was made of silver.
I took a deep breath before sitting on the stool and getting into
position, praying they wouldn’t be upset if I played it.

The chords were stiff as I played each note
of my song … the song I wrote for Drake. Closing my eyes, I let the
music wash over me and take me to the place I kept hidden inside my
soul, the place that only Drake was allowed to go. Once the song
was completed, I sat there, letting the calmness of the melody soak
through to my soul. I knew I was relaxed enough to do what I had to
do.

Quietly, I left the music room and turned to
head down the hall toward my bed chamber. Once I rounded the
corner, I almost collided with the one person I wasn’t expecting to
see. Breathing hard, I stopped abruptly and placed a hand over my
heart. “Drake, you scared me!” I shrieked.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, looking frantic.
“Were you in the music room?”

Without thought or reason, I opened my mouth
and lied, “No, I was just exploring your home. It’s really nice by
the way.” With everything going on, I felt it was best to wait
until things settled down before I told him the truth of our secret
affair.

“The music,” he whispered, looking away,
confused. “I know I heard music.” He lowered his head and ran his
hands over his face. When his gorgeous gray gaze landed on mine, I
melted where I stood, and almost buckled.

“I’m sorry, Drake,” I said softly. “Maybe
you just imagined the music you heard. The mind is a powerful place
where our dreams can feel like reality, and you know what?” I said,
looking deep into his eyes. “Most of the time those dreams come
true. We just have to want them bad enough.”

“Sorcha, what’s going on? I’ve been trying
to ignore the tension we have between us, but it’s becoming
unbearable. Your babbling doesn’t help matters either. I don’t know
what’s going on, or what the hell you’re talking about, but I can
see it in your eyes that you’re keeping something from me.”

He paused to study me, and it took all I had
to bite my tongue about the babbling remark. He always gave me a
hard time in our dreams when I was cryptic with my comments. It was
one of the things I liked to do to drive him crazy. He reached up
to touch my face like he was in a trance, but then blinked and
pulled back quickly, clearing his throat. Softly, he said, “It’s
almost as if I’ve seen that look a million times on your face, but
I don’t see how that’s possible. I don’t even know you, but I’m
having these weird feelings.”

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and
hung my head, hiding my smile. When I opened them and lifted my
head, the Drake from my dreams was there. I almost wrapped my arms
around him, but stopped myself just in time. Drake caught the
movement and frowned. It was getting harder to keep my distance
with the pull tugging me to him.

Sighing, I explained, “I promise all will be
revealed tomorrow. You may not understand what that means, but I
need you to trust me. You’ll find out everything soon enough, but
for now I need to concentrate on finding Oren and Sarette without
any distractions.”

“Are you always this cryptic when you
talk?”

Shrugging, I laughed. That was one of the
first things he asked me in our dreams many moons ago. “Pretty
much. I like to keep people on their toes, and keep them
guessing.”

A slow growing smile formed dangerously on
his lips, and I ached to taste them like I’d done a thousand times
in our dreams. When his eyes landed on my mouth, I licked my lips
and wondered how much better things were going to taste and feel
being outside of the dream realm. Silently, I groaned. He was such
a bad influence on my body.

“These distractions you speak of … do you
consider me to be one or something?”

“Oh, yes.” I sighed, feeling the flush
creeping over my cheeks.

He laughed a deep, masculine laugh that sent
chills down my body. “Do what you have to do, but I expect an
explanation tomorrow, a real one.”

Nodding, I whispered to him, “I promise to
tell you everything tomorrow. My word is my bond.” Without waiting
for a reply, I walked past him and went straight to my room,
breathing hard the entire way, wishing I could turn around and
spend the rest of the night with him. Unfortunately, I couldn’t. I
had to concentrate on finding my guardian and Sarette.

Lying in my bed, thoughts of Drake seized my
mind, but it didn’t take long for sleep to take me away. I’d tried
to get into Oren’s head, but couldn’t get a path to him. It was as
if he was purposely blocked from my mind. Instead of probing
further, I tried Sarette and amazingly got right in.

“
Sorcha!” Sarette screamed, running to
me. Not many people knew of my dream walking abilities, but she
did, which is why she didn’t look shocked to see me. “I knew you
would come,” she cried, flinging her arms around me. “Please tell
me Alston is with you.”

I froze in her grasp, and so did she. From
that one gesture she knew what my answer was going to be. “No,” she
whispered. “I saw him go down, but I knew he would get up, he had
to have gotten up and gotten away. He just had to.”

She was in denial, and my heart broke for
her. After a few seconds, she sagged in my arms and started to cry.
“I’m so sorry, Sarette, but he’s not with me. I don’t know where he
is or if he even made it out alive.” Grief consumed her, flowing in
waves from her to me. Even though Alston and I had issues that
brought me to hate him sometimes, I was still going to miss him. He
was once my lover and friend, and would always hold a special place
inside me no matter how our relationship ended.

“
Sarette, I’m sorry I have to do this,
but I need you to tell me where you are and what’s going on. There
will be plenty of time to grieve for Alston, but right now I need
answers. Is Oren okay? He’s not answering me when I speak to
him.”

“
He’ll be fine. He’s out of it right now,
but he’ll live. His breathing is steady at least.”

“
Where are you?”

She shrugged. “I know we’re near the Crystal
Lake in the Mystical Forest. For the most part, I’ve been
pretending to be incoherent, and keeping my head down. They think
I’m you, but once they see my eyes and really get a good look at me
they’re going to know I’m not. I’m afraid of what they’ll do when
they find out.”

“
Is the dark sorcerer there?” I asked
hesitantly.

She shook her head. “No, apparently he’s not
even in the Land of the Fae right now. The man who caught us is a
dwarf named Brokk. He’s the one Durin’s been looking for, the same
dwarf who delivered Meliantha’s arrows and the cursed cuff that was
given to Finn. Anyway, I heard him talking about how he wants to
trade me for power. He says that if the dark sorcerer doesn’t agree
to the trade he’s going to tell the courts where to find the sacred
scroll.”

My eyes went wide at that and she nodded
weakly in return. I could tell that losing Alston was going to take
a huge toll on her, but she was strong. I had to believe she’d get
through it. Taking her by the shoulders, I made sure she was
looking into my eyes when I spoke to her. “Okay, here’s what we’re
going to do. When I wake up, I’m going to tell King Oberon and
Drake everything so we can plan our attack. Whatever you do, keep
your eyes hidden for as long as you can, but also try to keep tabs
on the dwarf. I need to make sure we get him.”

She nodded in understanding. “Just hurry,
Sorcha. If the dark sorcerer comes back, things are going to get
uglier and more complicated.”

“
Don’t worry, I’m coming for you. As soon
as I can get through to Oren I’ll tell him what’s going on. I just
need you to be strong for me, and know that no matter what I will
get you out of this,” I assured her. We hugged one more time, and
reluctantly, I let her go. Sarette smiled at me before the dream
closed off and faded into black.

Once the dream was over, I flew out of the
bed and into the night. I had to find Drake. I slept with my gear
on, because I knew I wouldn’t want to waste time once I had the
information I needed. The heat flushed my skin the moment I stepped
out of the palace doors, and immediately I began to sweat. The
Summer Court was going to take time to get used to. I knew Drake
didn’t live inside the palace, but just outside of it in his own
dwelling. It didn’t take long to figure out which one was his,
considering there was a dragon emblem on the front door.