Summer of Frost (29 page)

“All right, child, I’ll tell you,” Elvena
whispered regretfully.

“Do I need to fetch Ariella?” Meliantha
asked, cutting in.

Elvena’s eyes went wide. “No! I don’t want
her in here. She has so much to worry about right now. I can’t put
this burden on her.”

“Did the scroll mention something having to
do with Ariella?” I questioned curiously.

“That’s the thing,” Elvena whispered sadly.
“You all have sacrificed so much, and now one of you might have to
sacrifice it all. If what the scroll says is true, I fear it’s
going to have to be Ariella that kills him, and I just don’t know
what the outcome of that will be.”

We all stiffened as the realization of what
she said sunk in. Meliantha shook her head forcefully and paced the
room. “Please don’t tell me she’s going to die if she kills that
son of a bitch. You’re not saying that, right?”

Elvena staggered to a nearby chair and sat
down, looking ancient and defeated. “To be honest, I’m not sure.
The scroll states that the only one with the ability to kill the
dark sorcerer will be the one who can earn his trust. We all know
he’s not going to trust any of you, which leaves only one left.
Since Ariella hasn’t fully come into her power, we need to wait and
see what happens before we tell her. I don’t want her knowing yet.
We’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.”

My mind reeled with the fact that out of the
four of us, it was going to all come down to the one that I’d least
expected. “How is she going to earn his trust? I don’t like the way
this sounds,” I admitted forlornly.

I didn’t want to think about it, much less
tell Drake what was going on. Elvena sobbed, “I’m sorry you all had
to find out like this. I worry about how Ariella will take it once
she finds out.”

Calista knelt down and held Elvena’s hands.
“Once she comes into her power and bonds with Brayden we’ll figure
it out. For now, we need to live our lives and enjoy every minute
of it. We have plenty of time to come up with other options, but
until then we speak of this to no one. I’m not going to let
anything happen to my family, especially Ariella.” She extended her
hand and held it out to us. “I say we make our own destiny. Are you
with me?”

I placed my hand on top of hers. “I’m with
you, no matter what I have to do to keep everyone safe.”

Meliantha followed and slapped her hand on
top of mine. “That bastard isn’t going to touch Ariella. I’ll hunt
him down to the end of time if I have to. I’m with you,
always.”

Our silent agreement was going to be hard to
keep from Drake, but I knew it had to be done. We had no clue what
was going to happen with Ariella and Brayden, but until they bonded
there was nothing we
could
do, but sit and wait.

“Why … must … you … torture … me?” Drake
asked while trailing kisses down my neck to my collarbone.

Moaning, I tilted my head back in the water.
“Because I can,” I taunted back.

The current of the water rocked us back and
forth, already fueling our hunger for each other by making our
bodies move together in a tantalizing rhythm. We spent the night in
our underwater retreat, and instead of getting dressed we decided
to spend the day in the water, exploring its depths.

“Well, since you abandoned me in the dream
realm, again for the second night in a row, I have to make up for
all the time we missed.” Wrapped around his body, he was already
hard between my legs. It was sublime being able to spend every
waking hour with him and no distractions. It would soon come to a
close once things were set in motion.

He lifted my chin gently with his hand.
“What’s wrong, beautiful? You seem distracted. Did something happen
in your dream that you aren’t telling me?”

My throat tightened up at the remembrance of
my dream. I witnessed the most heart wrenching sight of my life,
and I’d never forget the look on Calista’s face for as long as I
lived when she saw Merrick for the first time. “I was with Calista
last night, Drake. I did something that I didn’t think I could do,
but it worked. I found Merrick in the Hereafter and linked him to
the dream I was sharing with Calista.”

Drake’s mouth flew open. “You did that? I
didn’t know you could talk to people in the Hereafter. How did it
go?”

I smiled, and a tear escaped the corner of
my eye. “You know I’m not the type of person to cry over
sentimental matters, but seeing them together was one of the most
beautiful things I’d ever seen.”

Drake took my face in his hands and kissed
me deeply. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I love
you, Sorcha. How about we make love right here, right now, for the
rest of the night. Then, tomorrow I can teach you how to transform
into your dragon?”

Nodding, I plastered a smile onto my face
even though I was nervous about transforming into my dragon. Drake,
however, put my mind at ease by devouring my body to near
exhaustion. The night ended, giving me the best night’s sleep I’d
had in a long time.

Collapsing onto the sand, sweaty and
exhausted, I had my first transformation into the dragon. “You were
amazing up there,” Drake uttered whole-heartedly. “I can’t believe
how fast a flyer you are, and what’s even greater is that you’re a
frost breathing dragon. I guess your Winter side didn’t want to let
you go.”

I snorted. “I guess not, but opposites
attract right? My frost to your flame …”

Drake smiled down at me. “I like the sound
of that. Okay, beautiful, we have two weeks until we’re needed at
Ariella’s Guardian Ceremony. What new adventures do you want to go
on in the meantime?”

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I tugged
him down closer to me. “Anything with you is an adventure, but
preferably I’d love to stay with you here, just like this.”

Balancing on his arms, he rose above me and
stared lovingly in my eyes. “I think I can handle that, but the
question is … can you?”

With a wicked grin, I ran my hands down his
chest. “I guess you’ll have to find out.”

There was so much on my mind, but for the
time being I let it all slip away while I relished in the joys of
our court and our time together. The end was near, I could feel it,
and so could the land. I had to believe we would win, to defeat the
evil once and for all, and come out stronger. The energy of my
court crackled underneath my fingertips as I delved them into the
sand. This was my home and my land, and I had to protect it. It was
mine and Drake’s Summer … our Summer of Frost.

The End

Read on to find out what happened in Calista
and Merrick’s dream

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Ryder
asked softly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. We were lying
in bed, snuggled together with his arm around my waist, holding me
tight.

Slowly, I turned my head to face him and
whispered, “More than anything.”

He gently caressed my arm, moving up and
down in calming motions. I wanted sleep to come, but I was too
anxious, and scared that Sorcha wouldn’t be able to bring Merrick
to the dream. I tried not to get excited about it just in case it
didn’t work, but my heart betrayed me and filled me with hope.

“What if Sorcha can’t find Merrick? Will you
be okay with that?”

I shrugged noncommittally. “I’m not going to
lie, it’ll hurt, but if I could just talk to him and make sure he’s
okay I’ll be happy. His absence will always be there, but the pain
will be less. After all these years I still feel it as if it
happened yesterday.”

Ryder sighed and tucked me under his arm,
where I lay my head on his chest. He rubbed my back as I curled
into him, trailing my fingers over the deep ridges of his stomach.
His heart beat steadily under my ear, a continuous rhythm that
brought comfort and joy to my life. He was mine and he loved me,
but he wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my fallen guardian,
Merrick. Merrick saved Ryder’s life and paid the ultimate price,
but he did it for me because he loved me and knew that my life
would be empty without Ryder.

Taking deep, calming breaths, I closed my
eyes and willed sleep to come. Ryder kissed my forehead and
continued his slow, soft caresses up and down my back. “That’s it,
my love. Go to sleep …”

The sounds began to fade, and my body felt
like it was floating away as I was pulled from my mind to another
place, the dream realm.

Sorcha was waiting for me, holding out her
hand, with a smile on her face. Anxiously, I took her hand, looking
around nervously.

“
He’s not here yet,” Sorcha informed
me.

“
Oh,” I replied half-heartedly, looking
away.

She squeezed my hand and smiled. “I wanted
to ask you if there’s a place you’d like me to take you, and to
also get you to take that look of disappointment off your face.”
When I opened my mouth to speak, she cut me off. “There’s no need
to explain, I understand. This is a big deal for you, but you need
to stop doubting me. I’ll get him here. Tell me … do you two have a
special place, a place where you and Merrick share happy
memories?”