Summer of Frost (6 page)

“It’s a pleasure to see you, Your Highness,”
Ashur acknowledged, bowing slightly.

“Same to you,” I replied. “Are we in time?
Ariella
had
to make sure she got here before the twins
came.”

Ashur laughed. “You were almost too late.
She’s actually having them now.” His brows furrowed, and he winced.
“As a matter of fact, Meliantha is doing her best to shield her
pain, but she’s not really doing it so well. I thank the heavens
every day that I’m not a woman.”

I nodded in agreement. “You and me both,
Guardian.”

Ashur guided me into the palace and through
several corridors. I was expecting to hear screams of pain, but as
I approached the room all I could hear were screams of joy. Ryder
was standing outside the door when I sidled up. “Couldn’t handle it
in there?” I joked.

Ryder turned around and laughed. “Once the
babies started coming I hightailed it out of there. I’m sure Kalen
was fine without the moral support.”

“I bet his pansy ass fainted.” I
laughed.

Ryder clapped his hand on my shoulder. “Just
wait until it happens to you, my friend.”

At that moment, Ariella burst out of the
room laughing and crying. She ran up to me and pulled me by the arm
and into the room while Ryder followed. Everyone was smiling as
they looked upon the two little babes wrapped in blankets. Elvena
cleared away all the bloody linens and smiled at me before leaving
the room. My twin sister, Calista, was being the mother hen, as
always, dabbing a washcloth over Meliantha’s forehead and helping
her to drink a cup of water.

Kalen was sitting on the bed, staring at the
bundle in his arms in awe. Meliantha smiled over at him, but when
her gaze found mine she called me over, beckoning me excitedly.
“Drake! You have to see this,” she said jubilantly.

When I walked over and glimpsed the babe in
her arms, I couldn’t help but beam at what I saw. “Red hair,” I
sighed.

Meliantha grinned. “Just like us. His name
is Kale, and your niece’s name is Lia.”

“Beautiful names, sister,” I whispered,
leaning down to kiss her on the cheek.

Calista took this time and stood up to give
me a hug. “Dad is going to be thrilled to know his red hair was
passed down.” She laughed. “Are Mom and Dad coming?”

I nodded. “They’ll be here tomorrow. Ariella
was in too much of a hurry to wait on them,” I said, shooting
Ariella an exasperated glare.

Ariella shrugged noncommittally. “Sorry, you
all know I’m not very patient.”

“That’s for damn sure,” Calista agreed with
a smile on her face.

Calista and Ariella bantered back and forth,
making everyone laugh, but there was another matter that was eating
away inside me. Impatient as I was, I had to know if Sorcha was
going to make an appearance. Sounding as non-interested as I could,
I directed my question to Kalen. “Is your family coming?” I asked
him.

Kalen smiled at his daughter before
answering me. “Oh yes, they’re coming. Calista sent Nixie out there
to tell them this morning, but only Brayden and Sorcha are able to
come early.”

My heart did a triple beat and I had to stop
myself from smiling. I looked around the room quickly to make sure
no one heard it or saw my traitorous smile, but I was too late.
Meliantha smiled at me and tilted her head inquisitively.
Shit!
I thought to myself. I should’ve known I could never
get away with anything when she was around.

“Would you like to hold your nephew?”
Meliantha asked, letting her real question slide.

Sweat broke out in my palms, and my eyes
went wide. I had never in my life ever held a baby, and I balked at
the thought that I would do something wrong. “I don’t want to hurt
him,” I admitted sheepishly. “What if I drop him?”

“Nonsense!” my sister answered. “You’re not
going to drop him.”

Calista took Kale from Meliantha and placed
him gently in my arms. It felt awkward at first, and honestly, I
didn’t know what to do. I was scared to move or breathe for fear
that I would do something wrong, so I stood there frozen in place.
After a few minutes, I was starting to get the hang of it. I walked
around the room, cuddling the baby in my arms, and watched as he
slept with his little thumb in his mouth.

Out of nowhere my heart began to pick up
speed and that pull I felt long ago at the Ball came back full
force. It was when the dark-haired beauty entered the room that I
realized it was coming from her. Her eyes found mine and we both
came to a complete halt.

When I walked into the room, I wasn’t
expecting to see Drake cooing and smiling at the baby in his arms.
My knees felt weak in that moment and I would have toppled over if
Brayden wasn’t beside me. It was a beautiful sight before me, and I
couldn’t stop the smile from forming on my lips if I tried. We
stared at each other for a long-lasting few seconds, but then Drake
turned his face away in what I assumed was embarrassment.

His skin turned red, and I could tell he was
gritting his teeth. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but I had
to keep reminding myself that he had no clue about our dreams being
real. To him, he only met me at the Winter Ball and that was it.
After the last dream we had, I guess I just expected more.

The air in the room had turned electric, the
tension flowing like waves all around us. Not only did Drake and I
have a stare off, but I also noticed out of the corner of my eye,
that Brayden and Ariella were doing the same thing, too. Silence
filled the room, making it uncomfortable, so I decided to break
away from it all and go to my brother.

Kalen was on the bed beside Meliantha so I
rushed over and knelt by his side. “Congratulations,” I whispered
to him and Meliantha so I wouldn’t wake the sleeping child in
Kalen’s arms. Brayden clapped Kalen on the shoulder and
congratulated him as well.

“Thank you for coming,” Kalen said, kissing
me on the cheek, and nodding to Brayden.

“Anytime,” I replied.

Meliantha held out her arms, so I went to
her side of the bed and hugged her gently. “It’s nice to see you
again, Sorcha.”

“It’s nice to see you, too,” I told her.
When I pulled back, she gave me a knowing smile while looking back
and forth between me and Drake. I cleared my throat and shifted
uncomfortably by her side.
Was I that easy to see through?
I
thought to myself. I looked back at Drake and he averted his eyes
so quickly I had no clue if he was even looking at me or something
else.

“Would you like to hold Lia?” Kalen asked,
catching my attention.

“No!” I exclaimed, a little too loudly,
clearly sounding nervous.

Kalen laughed and walked over to me, placing
the baby in my arms even though I was shaking like a leaf. “Drake
acted the same way, but look at him,” he said, peering over at
Drake, who was acting fidgety and uptight now that the attention
was on him. “He’s an expert now. You’ll be fine, and besides, I’m
sure you’ll have your own children someday, so it’s good to have
the practice.”

“I don’t think so, dear brother. I’m not the
motherly type.”

He scoffed and shook his head, but when he
settled back on the bed beside Meliantha I heard him whisper,
“She’ll change her mind.” I chose to ignore his comment by giving
my attention to the little one I was holding.

I did wonder what it would be like to have
one of my own, but I also knew I had plenty of time. There were
still so many things I wanted to do and see before I had a family
of my own. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Drake staring
at me, but I didn’t acknowledge him. I didn’t want to give anything
away in that room with everyone watching, especially when it killed
me not to return his gaze.

We all left the room to give Meliantha and
Kalen some alone time with the babies and for them to get some
rest. When we arrived we were shown to a set of rooms where Alston
and Sarette had decided to stay while I visited with my family. I
left without speaking to Drake, even though he looked like he
wanted to speak to me. I thought I was ready to tell him … but I
wasn’t. Oren was going to scold me, I was sure of it.

Meliantha and Kalen insisted we stay for the
night so Brayden and I had agreed, even though I knew Brayden
didn’t want to. His home was in the Winter Court and he loathed
having to get accustomed to a new court. On the way to my room, I
overheard one of the servant’s mention that the Summer Fae were
staying as well. I knew that would give me more time to work up the
nerve to tell Drake about what had been going on.
Maybe I could
break it to him in our dreams,
I thought to myself.

When I opened the door to my room, I
silently groaned at the sight of Alston sitting on my bed. “How are
your family and the babies doing?” he asked.

“Like you care,” I hissed, heading to the
window and taking off my gear in the process. Gazing out at the
landscape, I noticed for the first time how beautiful it was with
colorful flowers as far as the eye could see. Kalen’s pack of
wolves were frolicking and chasing each other across the land, and
it made me smile. I missed his wolves being at the Winter Court. I
could picture myself living there amongst the milder temperatures
and the smells of Spring, but it wouldn’t do well with my cold
blood.

Alston came up behind me, closing the
distance to where I could feel his body lightly touching mine. What
the hell did he think he was doing? “I do care,” he whispered in my
ear. “Anything that involves you is something I care about.”

“You’re full of shit,” I argued, moving
closer to the window to get some distance.

He placed his hands gently on my shoulders
and turned me around. I was shocked with how gentle he was being,
but I was sure it was just a farce. However, his eyes had lost the
coldness to them, which caught me off guard. “When are you going to
realize that I’m honestly trying to change? You fell for me once
and I know you can do it again.”

“It’s not that simple,” I said.

His lip curled up in the corner in a
half-smile. “Nothing is ever simple.” He paused to look out the
window before coming back down to me, his icy blue eyes looking
soft and genuine for once. I hadn’t seen that side of him in a long
time, and I can honestly say I missed it. He was my friend long
before he became my lover.

“What’s changed, Alston? Why are you being
like this now?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t realize how pushy I
was being until Sarette and I talked. She pretty much threatened me
and said I was screwing up all chances for us to be together. I
can’t let that happen.”

“People don’t just change overnight,” I
uttered, skeptical of his intentions.

Alston took my hands, and against my better
judgment I let him kiss my palms. “I know that, but I’m going to
work really hard. Just give me a chance.”