Summer of Frost (11 page)

Sunrise had to be only a couple of hours
away, but I couldn’t wait. We needed to get things going as soon as
possible. I knocked on the door, and waited for him to answer. When
he didn’t come, I knocked harder and more persistent. The door
snapped open, revealing a half-naked Drake with a scowl on his
face, and hair mussed up from sleep. I gawked at him like a starved
animal, and couldn’t stop my eyes from taking him all in. His
tanned muscles were sculpted to his lean body, and when he caught
me staring, an amused smirk came across his face and he flexed his
muscles. That brought me out of my stupor.

“Let’s go! I know where they’re at,” I
blurted out. “We need to get to them quickly.”

“Calm down,” he murmured gently. “We’ll get
them out safely. Go to the throne room and I’ll have everyone there
in ten minutes.”

Turning on my heel, I raced back up to the
palace and into the throne room. I had ten minutes to get my
bearings before all my secrets were revealed to the whole Summer
Court, and to Drake. The room was alight with candles and smelled
fragrantly of sunshine and flowers, but no amount of sweet smells
were going to calm my nerves. I paced for the full ten minutes it
took to get everyone assembled. They were all eager and ready for
battle.

King Oberon took his place at the front and
sat while Drake stood up beside him, both waiting for me to speak.
Quickly, I glanced around the room at everyone present before I
began. Loudly, I spoke so the whole room could hear me. “I was able
to get into contact with my friend and guardian last night. I know
where they’re at, and what’s going on. It’s not what I was
expecting.”

King Oberon nodded. “Go on, Princess. We’re
all listening.”

Sneaking a glance at Drake, he nodded as
well.. “Apparently, there’s been a mutiny of sorts with some of the
dark sorcerer’s people. The man in charge of the attack is a dwarf
named Brokk, and he’s the one Durin’s been searching for since the
whole Meliantha debacle. He thinks Sarette is me, and he wants to
trade my power
for
power. If the dark sorcerer doesn’t grant
him this, Brokk is going to threaten to tell the courts where he
hid the secret scroll, the same scroll our people wrote over a
century ago telling us how to defeat him. It seems the dark
sorcerer wasn’t the only one who knew where the scroll was
hidden.”

Gasps erupted from everyone, and the feeling
of hope we never thought imaginable surged with great force
throughout the room. We’ve been searching for years to find a way
to defeat Alasdair, and his evil magic, and we were so close to
finding it.

King Oberon raised his hand. Everything and
everyone went silent. “If this is true, then we need to find out
where the scroll is at.”

I agreed. “If we capture Brokk and bring him
here I can find out everything we need to know.”

The king furrowed his brow in question.
“How?” he asked.

Here we go,
I thought.

“As you know, when one of the Four come into
their full power some new abilities emerge. Calista is the
all-powerful, Meliantha can heal and bring back life, and I can
find the truth. I’m a truthseeker.”

Drake took that time to speak. “How does
that work?” he asked curiously.

“All I need is to have contact to him, like
touching his hand and so forth, and the answers will come to
me.”

“And this was your guardian that told you
all of this?” King Oberon asked.

I paused and inhaled deeply, knowing it was
the time I was going to reveal my secret. Slowly letting out my
deep breath, I finally answered, “No … it wasn’t my guardian, but
my friend, Sarette, who told me.”

The king paused, weighing in my reply. “How
is that possible? It doesn’t make any sense,” he remarked.

The time had come, and instead of answering
the King, I looked straight at Drake when I spoke. “It’s possible
because I visited her in her dreams. You see … not only am I a
truth seeker, but I’m a dream walker as well.”

Drake’s mouth flew open and uncertainty
crossed his features. I could tell by the expression on his face
that he was wondering if our dreams were real or if he cooked them
up in his own imagination. If he asked in front of his people and I
said that it wasn’t me he would feel like a fool in front of
them.

King Oberon looked pleased. “I’m impressed,
Princess. The only other person I know with dream walking abilities
is Elvena, but she needs others to help her. Are you saying you can
do it all by yourself?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“You and my daughters have become very
powerful women. No wonder the dark sorcerer wants you. Let’s pray
we have better luck keeping you out of his grasp. Sometimes it
seems the more we tried keeping my daughters safe, the easier it
was for the dark sorcerer to get to them.” The king’s eyes looked
haunted and weary. I knew he had to feel like he failed when the
dark sorcerer took Calista and Meliantha’s power.

“Let’s hope so,” I agreed. “What do we do
now?” I asked, turning to Drake.

He returned my gaze and stared at nothing
except me for a few seconds, but then looked across the room at the
warriors. “We need to leave now while it’s still dark. That way
I’ll be concealed when I fly overhead to scout out the army. I want
you to divide into two groups and come at them from different areas
while I come in from the sky. Do you all understand?” he commanded,
his voice booming across the room.

“Aye!” the warriors agreed in unison.

“Then let’s go!”

At Drake’s dismissal everyone dispersed,
including me. Swiftly, I turned around and raced out of the throne
room and the palace doors.

“Sorcha!” Drake yelled.

My steps faltered for a moment, but I kept
walking. There were too many people around, and I didn’t want to
discuss anything with him while the warriors were there to witness
it. Not to mention what would happen if he touched me.

“Sorcha, stop!”

Before I could make it to the secluded
garden on the other side of the palace, I was taken by the arm by
Drake’s warm, solid grasp. That touch was all it took.

The Vision

The sound of waves crashing around me brings
comfort to my ears as I swim along in the crystal blue depths of my
sea … the Summer Sea. The Land of the Fae has
changed—grown—bringing a whole new Summer Court. I have never
understood the magic of the land, except all I know is that it
gifted us with a whole new life … a whole new land. We’re separate
from the original Summer Court, but we’re still one and the same.
However, this part belongs to me and Drake.

The water feels cool against my heated skin,
except when I see the smoky gray eyes of the man before me, the
water quickly heats up. I could feel the current of it around me
pulling him closer, as if it knew that’s where he belonged … in my
arms. When Drake grasps me against his naked body, he takes my face
in his hands and wastes no time in claiming me as his own. The sea
churns and moves frantically around us as Drake kisses me hungrily,
feverishly. His lips taste salty from the water, but underneath
that is the pure and exotic taste of the Summer. It’s addicting. He
is addicting.

The sea appears to know our needs and wants,
and is obviously reflecting our moods. Right now the water is wild
and dangerous, flowing excitedly around us, caressing our bodies.
Our passions are fierce and full of heat, just like the sea. I can
see the fire burning in Drake’s eyes, and it makes my blood boil.
Wrapping my legs around his waist, he gently strokes my opening
with the head of his cock before plunging in deeply with one hard
thrust. I scream out in pleasure as he rocks my body against the
waves. Before, I never welcomed the heat, but now I live in it …
and I love it. This is my home, and this is where I belong.

The moment I was thrust out of the vision
everything became clear. Sorcha swayed on her feet, but I caught
her, earning me a dazed smile in return. “Of all the days for this
to happen, it had to be on one where we’re going into battle,” she
said sarcastically.

I laughed. “You should know things are never
easy here, especially when you’re one of the Four. Take my sisters
for example.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she
agreed.

Sorcha lowered her head and stared at the
ground nervously, a trait I’d never seen from her before. There
were so many questions floating through my mind and I didn’t know
where to start. “So, are you going to tell me everything now?” I
asked, trying hard to hide my desperation.

With a smirk on her face, she lifted her
head and beamed. “I think you know everything, Drake.”

After hearing about her dream walking
abilities I pretty much knew then that my dreams were real, but I
wanted to hear it all from her. “Yes, but I want to hear you say it
to me.”

Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly
and pierced me with her emerald green gaze. “Very well then. Where
do you want me to start?”

“I want you to start with the dreams. Were
they
all
real? Was it really you in them
every
single
night? And most importantly, what the hell were you doing with me
when you were obviously with that dickhead?” I asked, crossing my
arms over my chest. I wasn’t angry before, but now that I knew the
truth I was pissed knowing she came to me in my dreams and also
shared a bed with Alston at the same time.

She lowered her head and laughed. “There’s
no need to get angry. There hasn’t been a ‘me and Alston’ for a
long time now.” When she looked up at me I could see the honesty in
her eyes. I should’ve known he would lie to me, and I was stupid to
believe him.

“That’s not what he said,” I said
flatly.

She huffed out a breath. “Son of a bitch! Is
that why you looked pissed yesterday?” she asked. At my nod, she
continued, “I should have known he would do something like that. I
guess he didn’t get over your pissing contest at the Winter
Ball.”

“Hey, he started it,” I pointed out with a
smile on my face.

Shaking her head, a sadness grew over her
face and her lips turned down in a frown. “It doesn’t matter now. I
think he’s dead, Drake. Sarette said she saw him go down in the
fight, but she was hoping he was with us. I told her that he
wasn’t.”

“I’m sorry, Sorcha. I didn’t like the guy,
but I know he was your friend,” I said, hugging her tight. Even
though Alston was a dick, I would never have wished death on
him.

“Anyway, answering your
other
questions, yes the dreams were all real. From the first time I
visited you in your dreams, I couldn’t stop. I kept telling myself
not to go back, but I didn’t listen.” She lifted her gaze and
smiled mischievously. “I guess I liked fighting with you too
much.”

I laughed. “That’s it? We did a lot more in
our dreams than fight.”

In my dreams, I touched and kissed her every
night. It was all real … our love was real. Sorcha smiled when she
caught me staring at her lips, and ran her tongue over them
enticingly. We had a strong connection in our dreams, but being
this close to her in person has intensified that bond. Lifting my
hand, I ran it through her silky black tresses before grazing her
pale cheek with my finger. Her skin was as white as snow, but soon
it would be the color of Summer.

“Are you wanting to kiss me, Drake?” she
asked humorously.

“Maybe,” I answered, moving closer. “Are you
against me kissing you, because if I recall correctly, I think
we’ve done a little more than that in our dreams.”

She smiled and bit her lip. “Oh yes,” she
sighed. “How could I forget?”

Groaning, I instantly grew hard at the
thought of the vision and our time together. If we didn’t have to
rescue her people, I’d lay her down right where we were and make
love to her all damn night. Placing my hands on her face, I pulled
her toward me to close that last inch. She moaned and smiled
wickedly at me when she felt my hard cock pressed and ready for
action against her leg. To make matters worse, she tortured me by
gliding her leg up and down it, making me groan and grip her hips
rousingly.