Reign of Ice (Forever Fae series) Read online

  “She doesn’t hate you,” Brayden expressed sadly, listening in on my thoughts. “One of these days she might see things differently, but until then, you have me. Tonight nothing needs to be in your thoughts except you and me.”

  Lifting up on my toes, I clasped my arms around his neck and tilted his head down so I could place my lips against his. He growled low in his chest and held me tighter with his hands pressed firmly on my lower back, pulling me toward him. “You are all mine tonight, angel. Nothing is going to stand in our way this time.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that,” I teased, biting his lower lip.

  Brayden licked the lip I just got through biting and took my face in his hands, gazing at me with his heat-filled eyes. “After I take you back to my dwelling there’s something I need to do afterward.”

  “Like what?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

  He grinned mischievously and winked. “I can’t tell you, but it’s something I had been thinking about all day. I’m going to need Calista’s help to make it happen. I promise it won’t take long. Then when I come back I’m going to make you my queen.”

  “And then what are you going to do?”

  Shivers raced across my skin as Brayden lowered his lips to my neck and kissed his way slowly up to my ear. His voice came out husky and full of need when he whispered in my ear, “And then, my sweet angel, I’m going to make love to you.”

  BRAYDEN HAD LEFT with Calista over an hour ago, along with Ryder and Kalen for protection purposes. The look on Calista’s face was priceless when Brayden went to her and asked for her help. His brothers picked on him a little, and instead of getting mad like he did last time they picked on him, he joined in with the laughter and joked back. He wanted to escort me to his dwelling, but his mother requested some time with me before he took me away.

  Sorcha also joined me, but held me back a few paces while we followed Queen Mab down the corridor to her side of the palace. Quietly, she whispered sarcastically in my ear, “What happened to all that mess about not getting attached and bonding with my brother?”

  I rolled my eyes at her and sighed. “It was stupidity talking. I’ve been known to speak before I think sometimes. After everything that’s happened I realized that by not bonding with him and forming our court that I would be putting you all at risk if I failed.”

  “I see,” Sorcha remarked. “Is that the only reason why you’re doing it?”

  I smiled and shook my head. “No it’s not, Sorcha. I love him.”

  We walked in silence the rest of the way until Queen Mab ushered us into one of her rooms and shut the door behind her. “Mother, what are you up to?” Sorcha asked. “I don’t think Ariella is going to be interested in your hand me downs.”

  The room we were in looked like a huge closet that would put mine to shame any day. Queen Mab scoffed and dismissed Sorcha with a wave of her hand. “I didn’t bring her here for a hand me down. I actually have something that I had made for her when she got here,” she responded incredulously.

  She disappeared into another room, and when she came back she had the most gorgeous white gown draped over her arm. She held it up to me and grinned. “When you came here and we had that talk, I knew you and Brayden would work things out. You will look like a true ice queen in this dress.”

  Sorcha snickered, “Why, because she’s going to look like a snowflake? She’s going to blend into the snow with that white dress, her bright blonde hair, and pale skin.”

  They bantered back and forth and I thought it was funny how they interacted with each other. My mother and I never talked like that or joked around, and it made me happy to know I was a part of something real. The dress was simply amazing, but what really made me smile was that I knew Brayden couldn’t care less what I wore; it was what was underneath that counted.

  Brayden still wasn’t back yet from doing whatever he and my sister had to do, but Coran was waiting for me by the back palace doors. “Did Brayden tell you to keep a watch over me or something?” I asked humorously.

  He bowed his head and gave a slight grin. “Yes, he did, Your Highness. I was told to escort you to your home when you were done with the queen.”

  With my dress in hand, I was ready to go. Coran followed me closely as we ambled down the path to Brayden’s home. It was hard to call it my home since once we formed our own court we wouldn’t be living there anymore. It was strange to think that in just a matter of hours I would be queen of my own court. Up ahead, I could see Kamden waiting for me on the front porch steps with a worried frown marring his face. He was alone and that could only mean one thing … he hadn’t found Zanna yet.

  “Any luck whatsoever in figuring out where she could be?” I called out as Coran and I approached him.

  He shook his head and threw his hands up in the air. “I’ve been looking, but I can’t find her. I think something’s wrong. This isn’t like her to disappear like this.”

  “Hmmm …” I wondered. “I know she wouldn’t have given up looking for you and went back to Spring, which means she’s probably still here somewhere.” I walked up the steps to my door and let Kamden and Coran follow me inside. Draping my dress over one of the chairs, I took a seat and tried to think. Where could she be?

  Coran stationed himself by the front door while Kamden took the seat across from me. Frustrated, he ran his hands through his hair and grumbled, “What are we going to do if we don’t find her? We’ve never been away from each other like this.”

  Reaching over, I placed a reassuring hand over his and squeezed. “We will find her, Kam. When Brayden gets back I’ll get him to send some people out to look for her. It could be that you two just missed each other. Although, for some reason I have a feeling in my stomach that I don’t see that as being the case here.”

  “I would say not,” Coran interrupted angrily, gazing out the front window. He drew his sword and came to stand in front of me.

  “What’s going on?” I demanded, trying to see around him.

  He pointed his sword to the window and said, “Look.”

  Kamden and I got to our feet, and I pushed past Coran to gaze out the window. “Oh, no,” I wailed. “This can’t be happening.” What I saw made my blood run cold. At the edge of where Elvena put the protection spell stood Alasdair with Zanna in his grasp, and a huge smile on his face. Kamden stormed out of the house and raced down the steps, but stopped when I shouted, “Kamden, stop!”

  I started to walk out the door, but Coran stepped in my path. “I can’t let you go out there, Your Highness. You won’t be protected if you go past the shield.”

  Zanna was terrified and trying her best to keep calm, except the iron blade at her throat wasn’t helping. One tiny move and it would all be over; I refused to leave her at his mercy. I gazed up at Coran, my decision is final. “She’s my friend, Coran. I can’t just leave her out there.”

  I pushed past him and out the door, making sure I had a firm grasp on the dagger in my belt. Kamden moved closer to the border, with raw panic in his eyes, and roared, “Let her go!”

  Alasdair laughed, the echo of it ringing menacingly in the air, and tightened his hold around Zanna’s waist. The iron from the dagger was blistering her skin at the neck and I knew she had to be in great pain. What made everything worse was that not only did the sorcerer hold a fatal blade to her throat, she was also wearing the bloodstone talisman. It was the same necklace that could siphon a fae’s energy and kill them within minutes. I could feel Kamden’s fear for her and it broke my heart, but most importantly it made things more clear. I was ready to fight.

  The sorcerer pointed his iron weapon at me and sneered, “If you want her bad enough you will step past your protective barrier and take the talisman off from around her neck. If not, then she will die here just like your friend I gutted the other day.”

  Those words were where I lost Kamden and his ability to restrain his anger. He leapt past the area of protection and attacked; all the while I screamed as I watched h
im make a fatal mistake. Zanna fell helplessly to the ground, blood oozing out in spurts from the cut through her neck by the iron blade. Her body thrashed as the poison spread and tried to invade her body.

  “Coran!” I yelled. “Find Meliantha, and hurry. I’ll be okay, just go now as fast as you can!”

  I expected him to protest, but something must’ve shown on my face because he nodded and rushed off with impeccable speed up to the palace. Kamden attacked the sorcerer with everything he had and I knew he needed my help, but I had to save Zanna. Quickly, I ran past the safe zone, grabbed Zanna under the shoulders, and carried her back over to the protected side.

  The bloodstone glowed an ominous red and I could see her getting weaker and fading by the minute. The cut on her throat was getting worse, her flesh slowly decaying as the poison seeped into her veins. “Dammit, Zanna, you better hold on and fight. Help is coming and I need you to stay strong,” I pleaded.

  I grabbed the talisman and tried to yank it from around her neck, but it burned me the second I touched it. It sizzled the skin on my hands as I tried to lift it over her head, but it was no use. It didn’t budge.

  “Shit,” I hissed in pain. No wonder no one was capable of taking the talisman off of themselves.

  It reminded me of the dagger Durin made for us. No one could touch it other than me and the others. Was the sorcerer’s talisman that same way? Unsheathing the special dagger from my belt, I didn’t know if what I was about to do would work, but I had to try. Sliding the blade under the golden chain, I jerked it up as fast as I could. I never expected it to be so easy, but it broke and fell to the ground.

  I did it.

  “Kamden!” I yelled, catching his attention briefly. When he saw I had Zanna on the safe side, he dodged another of the sorcerer’s blows and immediately lunged back into the protection of Elvena’s spell. The second he was safe, he ran over to Zanna and picked her up in his arms.

  “Zanna,” he cried, holding her tight.

  Meliantha raced toward us with Coran, Drake, and Sorcha trailing behind her. “Get her to Meliantha now!” I ordered him. With Zanna sputtering in his arms, he jogged up the path and collapsed in front of Meliantha, placing Zanna in front of her. Meliantha bent down, closed her eyes, and placed her hand on Zanna’s throat. I prayed to the heavens that she would be okay.

  Alasdair sheathed his iron dagger and smiled. “Well, that was fun, Princess. I was hoping to have some more dreams with you during this little reprieve, but again, you ran scared and had to have a protection spell to keep you safe. However, I knew you couldn’t resist saving your friend,” he taunted eagerly. His gaze found the talisman on the ground, and before I could secure it in my grasp, he extended his hand and chanted a few words in a language I didn’t know. The necklace bolted off of the ground and back into his hands.

  An uneasy feeling washed over me as he stared at me and smiled. “I must say this has been one of my simplest missions yet. I never thought it would be so easy to steal your power.”

  “What are you talking about? You haven’t gotten my power,” I snapped.

  Alasdair dangled the necklace in his hand and chuckled menacingly. “Oh, Princess, that’s where you’re wrong. All it took was one simple touch to absorb your essence into the bloodstone and you’ve already done that. So thank you, Your Highness, for giving me what I needed.”

  My blood ran cold. What had I done? How could I have been so stupid as to touch it?

  “You bastard,” I hissed. Quickly, I shot to my feet and charged after him, heading for the border. Before I could get past the shield, I was knocked off my feet by the weight of someone tackling me to the ground. The breath whooshed out of me as the impact from the fall had me gasping for air. When I looked up, the sorcerer had disappeared and Brayden was on top of me, scowling and angry.

  “Brayden, no!” I shouted, slamming my fist in his chest. “Why did you stop me?”

  “I can’t leave you alone for five minutes without you getting into trouble,” he bellowed furiously. “What were you thinking?”

  Defeated, I huffed and let my head fall back into the snow. I wanted to cry, scream, and demand that time rewind itself so I could finish this once and for all. I had a chance to end everything, and now the situation had made a turn for the worse. The sorcerer had my power, which meant he would be just as strong as us once he absorbed my essence.

  Brayden was breathing hard and fuming when I glared up at him. “I had to save her, Brayden. I couldn’t sit by and watch her die in front of my eyes. I could’ve killed him if you wouldn’t have stopped me,” I growled.

  I waited on him to tell me how stupid I was for trying to charge after the sorcerer alone, but that never came. Instead, he stared at me, his eyes softening with understanding in his concerned, brown gaze as he helped me to my feet.

  He brushed the hair out of my face before cupping my cheeks in his firm hands and placing a gentle kiss to my lips. “I know you’re a good fighter, angel. It’s just the thought of you fighting him sets me on edge. The last thing I want is to watch you die in front of my eyes.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” I whispered regretfully. He wasn’t going to be around when I did what I had to do.

  Peering over his shoulder, I could see Zanna still on the snow laden ground, unmoving, with Kamden and Meliantha hovering over her. “Oh no,” I cried. Taking Brayden’s hand, I ran as fast as I could to them and collapsed onto the ground by their sides. Meliantha’s hand was covering Zanna’s neck and she was rocking back and forth, her lips moving silently, with a sheen of sweat misting on her brow.

  Kamden was devastated, tears streaming down his cheeks as he watched his one true love lying helpless on the ground. His pain tore through my heart and it killed me to know that Brayden was going to be in the same position soon, mourning my death. Deep in my heart, I felt stronger than I ever had in my entire life and in a way I did feel invincible. Maybe there would still be hope for me. When I faced off with the sorcerer I had no clue what was going to happen, but I had to have faith that things would work out the way they were supposed to. If I lived or died, I would at least know that I saved everyone I loved.

  When Meliantha stopped chanting and opened her eyes, the whole world fell silent. She took a few deep breaths and a slow smile crept across her face. She removed her hand from Zanna’s neck and spoke, “It’s done. She’ll be all right now. If I got to her later it would’ve been all over.”

  Kamden picked Zanna up in his arms and held her tight against his chest. “Thank you, thank you so much,” he murmured over and over.

  Meliantha smiled and squeezed his arm reassuringly. “She’s a strong woman, Kamden. You’re a very lucky man. She’s going to need some rest, but she’ll be as good as new in a couple of hours.”

  Kamden bowed and took Zanna up to the palace, followed by Coran. Now that Brayden was back with Calista and Ryder our whole group was complete. Meliantha placed her hands on her hips and scowled, “I would’ve given anything to be able to kill that son of a bitch. Seeing him again brought back everything he did to me and Kalen.”

  Out of all the princesses, Meliantha was the one who had been used and violated by Alasdair more than any of us. I could understand her desire and hunger to kill him. I ran my hands soothingly down her arm, but she caught them in her grasp and gasped. They were blistered from the talisman and I wasn’t going to lie, they did hurt, but I knew they would heal soon. My sister, however, wasn’t going to let me wait it out. The moment she sent her power flowing into my hands, it felt like a warm pair of gloves wrapping themselves around the blisters. Slowly, I could feel the pain ebbing away faster and faster until there was none left. When she let go of my hands, they were as good as new and perfectly unblemished. Breathing a sigh of relief, I pulled her to me and held her tight. Softly, I whispered in her ear, “Thank you, Mel. I would’ve given anything to have killed him for you. He will die soon, you have my word.”

  Somberly, I pulled back and addressed t
he rest of the group, “We have bigger problems now. We’re going to need to call in our allies as soon as possible and get their help.” Calista’s eyes grew wide when I reluctantly met her gaze and nodded at her. She knew what I was getting ready to say … my power had been taken.

  Drake interrupted with a wave of his hand, “I think we figured that out already judging by what he did here today. I’ll make sure the Summer warriors are ready once you and Brayden…” He stopped mid-sentence, casting a mischievous glance in mine and Brayden’s direction. Sorcha rolled her eyes, but nonchalantly he continued, “Never mind, I’m not going to finish that sentence. Anyway, I’ll have my people ready.”

  He and Sorcha turned to leave, but I stopped them with my next words. “He took some of my power, Drake.” With eyes wide, they both turned around and everyone stared at me, shocked. I nodded and continued, “Yeah, when I touched the talisman to get it off of Zanna’s neck it siphoned some of my energy. I didn’t realize it could do that without it being around my neck. So now his quest is complete. He’s going to be stronger, and even with all of our courts combined it’s going to be a devastating battle.”

  “Shit,” he hissed, running his hands through his thick, red hair. “We need to get prepared quickly. I’ll inform Mom and Dad and get the Summer warriors ready. This isn’t going to be good.” He and Sorcha rushed up to the palace and disappeared inside the walls.

  “Meliantha,” I said, turning toward her, “we’re going to need the Tyvar and Redcaps in this. Is there any way to alert them and have them ready to fight?”

  She nodded. “They will come. Bayleon and Bastian promised they would be ready when the time came. They won’t let me down.” Kalen scoffed and rolled his eyes. He didn’t like the Tyvar much considering they wanted to make Meliantha their sex slave back when she was taken captive by them. Her power saved her from their clutches, and since they were enamored by her they let her free when they found out who she was. Bayleon and Bastian had kept in touch with Meliantha and would always send her gifts, which Kalen didn’t like at all. Bayleon was the Tyvar leader, and Bastian was his brother and also one of the leaders who had taken an instant liking to me when I met them several months ago. I was out in the garden with Meliantha when they arrived one time, and ever since then I always made a point to be with her when they visited.