Reign of Ice (Forever Fae series) Page 24

  Lailah leaned over my body and placed a gentle hand on my stomach, smiling. I gasped and collapsed onto the bed beside my body, bursting into tears. “Are you saying I was pregnant?” I cried, my eyes wide. When she nodded my world came crashing down on me. How could I have been so stupid? I not only sacrificed my life, but the life of my unborn child.

  “I didn’t know,” I sobbed, wiping the tears angrily away from my face. “I sacrificed myself when I had a baby growing inside of me. I will never be forgiven for that. Brayden will never forgive me for this, for leaving and sacrificing myself and his unborn child.”

  “He knows you didn’t know, Ariella,” Merrick spoke up softly. “Elvena told him there was no way you could’ve known so early if you weren’t expecting it or looking for it to happen.”

  “It still doesn’t change the fact that I’m gone and with it my child,” I wailed.

  Lailah knelt down and took my hands in hers, her amber eyes kind and full of life. “I am going to change that, Ariella,” she revealed. “That’s why I brought you here … to give you back your life.”

  “What? How?” I whispered hopefully.

  She smiled and placed my own hand on my stomach. “The baby inside your womb is still alive, Ariella. She needs you and we need her. The night she was conceived she was marked to be a Keeper, and on that night she had already come into her power. That’s why you were able to see Merrick and Lukas when you were here. Those are not your abilities, but your daughter’s.”

  “I’m going to have a daughter?” I whispered, wrapping my arms around my stomach.

  Tears of joy streamed down my face, but they were soon put on hold when I realized what Lailah just said. My daughter had been chosen to be a Keeper. How was that going to be possible with her alive?

  “Wait,” I exclaimed, grabbing her hand. “You said she’s going to be a Keeper. To be a Keeper she will be in the Hereafter. Does that mean she has to die for that? I’m not going to let you take her!”

  Lailah lifted a challenging brow. “I am not dead, Your Highness. Keepers are very much alive,” she pointed out sternly. “And your daughter will be also. She will be able to travel from this realm to the Hereafter to assist those in crossing over. She will be able to see Merrick and Lukas or whoever she pleases anytime she wants. This is a very special gift that makes her a very important female in your realm, and in the mortal world. There are faeries not only here that she will be helping, but those that are lost in the mortal realm. That is why we are sending you back so you can bring her into your world and make her strong so she can fulfill her destiny. The Land of the Fae has not finished changing, and your daughter is going to be a part of it all.”

  I glanced down at my frozen body and then back to her. “So how do you put me back in my body exactly?”

  She grinned, and about that time her body began to glow with a bright, beaming light. The brighter it got the more it felt like I was fading and being pulled in a new direction. “Getting you back is the easy part, Your Highness. I look forward to meeting your daughter when the time comes.”

  “So do I,” I whispered with a smile. “So do I.”

  Closing my eyes, I succumbed to the pull on my soul and let it take me, deeper and deeper. I knew the moment I connected back with my body because I could feel it, I could feel her … my daughter. I could feel her life growing inside my belly and giving me the strength I had lost, but I could also feel Brayden’s grief. It ripped through my chest like a thousand knives. I was home, I was safe, and I needed to find him … fast.

  WHEN I OPENED my eyes and took my first deep breath the whole room fell silent. I looked down at my chest where the gash from the iron blade had wounded me and I was surprised to see that there wasn’t even a scar there; it had healed completely. I glanced around the room; they were all frozen in place, their eyes wide open in shock. I sat up slowly and cringed when my muscles stretched and popped with my movement. I guess being dead took its toll on my body.

  “Ariella?” Calista cried, her eyes teary and wide. She was on the bed beside me, where she had been just a few minutes ago when I was still dead. She reached out a hand to touch me. “Please tell me I’m not seeing things.”

  “You’re not seeing things,” I assured her, taking her hand. “I’m here.”

  The room erupted in screams and shouts, and I had to close my ears because it was so deafening. Elvena took my face in her hands and closed her eyes, chanting in her usual way. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. “You’ve been touched by a Keeper,” she sobbed. “They let you come back.”

  Smiling, I nodded and put a hand on my stomach. “Yes, they did. Apparently, I’m carrying something very important. How did you know about the Keepers?” I asked. “I never knew such a thing existed.”

  She waved me off. “Child, when you’ve lived as long as I have you see and hear things, and I am not surprised you didn’t know anything about them because when it came to your studies you didn’t listen very well,” she scolded halfheartedly.

  I chuckled lightly, but there was no time for that. I had to find Brayden. “I need to go,” I blurted out. “Brayden needs me. I have to find him.”

  I got out of bed and embraced my family quickly, especially my brother, before turning back to Calista. “Be honest,” I said to her, “how bad did Brayden take it?”

  She sighed and lowered her head. “It was bad,” she answered softly. “Even Ryder and Kalen had never seen him explode like that. No one knows where he’s at, and they’re afraid he’s going to try and leave for good.”

  I could feel our bond, strong as ever, but the grief had consumed him; it clouded his mind and all I could sense was emptiness coming from him. “That’s not going to happen. I will find him,” I promised.

  I embraced her one last time before rushing to the door where Bastian waited patiently with his arms crossed at his chest. I tricked him in the Black Forest and it was something I didn’t want to have to do, but I wanted to know he would be safe. It was the only thing I could think of to get him away unharmed.

  “Are you mad at me?” I asked him.

  He sighed and pulled me to him. “I was at first. However, now that you’re alive I can’t help but feel in awe of you right now. You were so brave, Ariella.”

  I leaned back and smiled. “Thank you, but I’m a little surprised to see you in the palace, though.”

  Lifting a brow, he rolled his eyes and laughed. “Your mate wanted to find a reason to kill me so he offered to let me come into the palace as long as I didn’t enthrall any of your fae. The consequence would be death if I were to fail. I couldn’t leave without seeing you one last time.”

  “There won’t be a last time anymore. I’m back and I’m not going anywhere, except to find Brayden,” I stated adamantly. I looked back at everyone and they all smiled reassuringly at me before I left. As soon as I got out of the palace, I knew where I needed to go. Brayden’s sorrow was like a beacon honing me to him and leading me the way. The closer I got to him the stronger I could feel his grief.

  “Oh Brayden,” I whispered to myself.

  Glancing down at my flat belly, I rubbed a hand tenderly over my womb and sighed. “We’re coming for you.”

  The path to Brayden led me straight through the woods to the place where it all began. He was so close, but yet so far away. It was like my words would just float through his mind instead of him hearing them. Please don’t let me be too late to bring him back.

  Once our ice cottage came into view I couldn’t wait any longer. Each second felt like an eternity and each step I took my heart raced even faster, a heart that could finally beat again. When I got to the door, I quickly burst through it expecting to see Brayden, but all I found was a dying flame and nothing except emptiness.

  “No, no, no,” I repeated over and over, rushing in. Where could he be? I just felt him here.

  “Brayden!” I shouted, rummaging through the house for anything that might lead me to where he was. He was j
ust there, but now he was gone; I couldn’t feel him anymore. My heart sank when I realized I was too late. In the one second I couldn’t make it here on time he was gone … to the mortal realm.

  “Brayden, come back,” I cried, shouting as loudly in his mind as I could. “I’m here and I’m alive. Please come back to me.”

  I felt nothing through our connection. He had shut off and he had me blocked. I had no clue where he went or how to find him. There was no telling how long it would take for me to locate him in the mortal realm, or if I would make it to him in time before he did something stupid.

  Placing a hand on my stomach, I let the tears fall and murmured softly, “What am I going to do, little one? I have to find him somehow.”

  Before I could make it to the door, I gasped as something within my body began to pulse and come alive. There was magic blooming inside me and swirling around like butterflies in my stomach. I fell to my knees as all that energy built up and left my body in a huge rush of blinding light and colors that flew into the sky. Breathing hard, my chest heaving up and down from excitement, I slowly got to my feet and leaned against the door.

  “I don’t know what you did, little one, but it must have been something major for that amount of power. I say we go find your father now.”

  I was determined to find him no matter how long it took, but I prayed that it wouldn’t take long. The longer it took, the worse his grief would consume him. When I opened the door and stepped out, I marched through the woods toward the palace. I didn’t get too far; the sound of my name upon the wind had frozen me still.

  “Ariella?”

  I turned around slowly. My heart thumped wildly in my chest and the connection to Brayden suddenly surged back to life as I saw him standing there looking lost and unsure.

  “You came back,” I cried. “I was going to go to the mortal realm to find you.”

  “But you’re gone, angel. Why would I want to be found without you by my side? You may have saved us, but you left me here when all I wanted to do was help you,” he spat angrily.

  “You did help me, Brayden,” I exclaimed. “It may not have been you directly, but our daughter who is part of you brought me back, just like I’m assuming she brought you back to me just now.”

  “How is that possible? You’re dead! I felt you, Ariella, and there was nothing left. You’re probably not even here now, just a figment of my imagination.”

  “Why are you Winter men so stubborn?” I growled, stalking toward him. “You want me to prove I’m alive, well here it goes.” The second I reached him, I grabbed his face in my hands and pulled him roughly down to my lips. “Feel me, Brayden. Feel my touch and tell me I’m not alive,” I muttered to him silently.

  Groaning, he trailed his hands down my face, down my arms, and then down to my waist where he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. Ever so slowly, the sorrow and grief that consumed his soul from my loss began to disappear and wither away. He was coming back to me; he believed me.

  Breathing hard, he released from the kiss and placed his forehead to mine. “You’re really here,” he breathed. “I can feel you.”

  “Yes,” I whispered. “And so is our daughter.” I took his hand and placed it on my belly. “She’s in here and she’s alive.”

  “How were you able to come back?”

  I smiled and glanced down at his hand running circles across my stomach. “Originally, I wasn’t supposed to come back, but our fate had taken a new turn and had given us our daughter. She’s special, Brayden. I was sent back so I could bring her into the world. I don’t know what is going to happen in the future, but I do know that she’s going to play a huge part in it and she’s going to need to be strong.”

  Brayden took my face in his hands, pressing his lips firmly to mine while never taking his eyes off of me. When he pulled back he said, “And we will make her strong … together. No more running away and trying to save the day by yourself. We are bonded for a reason, angel, and that is because we love and want to protect each other. What you did, sacrificing yourself like that, hurt worse than a thousand deaths.”

  I nodded and closed my eyes. “I know, and I will never forget the pain of that for as long as I live. I didn’t know if you could ever forgive me for that.”

  He sighed, tilting up my chin. “I will on one condition.”

  When I opened my eyes, a tear escaped down my cheek and he wiped it away. As I gazed up into his soft, brown eyes I knew without a doubt that I would do anything to heal the wound I caused in his heart.

  Softly, and with all the love in my being, I murmured, “I will do anything you wish, Brayden. Just name it.”

  Grazing my lips with his finger, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I need you to promise me something. Promise me that no matter what happens in our future or how you think you are protecting me that you will never try to run off and save us again. We are one now … a solid bond that will always be stronger together. I can’t lose you again, angel. I don’t want to ever know that kind of suffering again.”

  I nodded sadly, but it was my turn to wipe the tears away from his eyes. “You will never know how sorry I am for doing that to you. But I can tell you this … I promise I will never do it again. You have my word, my oath, that from this day forward we will do everything as one. I will make it up to you for as long as I live.”

  Biting his lip, he turned his head toward our icy cottage with a mischievous grin on his face. “Well then, in that case you can start making it up to me now,” he replied huskily. He reached down and lifted me up under my legs, making me giggle, and carried me the rest of the way to our little hideaway.

  “And how would you like for me to make it up to you?”

  Once inside, he shut the door and carried me over to the blankets, laying me down gently. He slowly lowered the straps of my dress off my shoulders, kissing along the way as he bared my naked flesh. “You’re going to let me make love to you all night, angel, and then when we wake up tomorrow morning we are going to start all over again.”

  I smiled up at him and kissed him tenderly on the lips. “I think I like the sound of that,” I cried softly. “It’s the perfect start to a new beginning and a beginning that we will share together, just you and me … and our daughter.”

  For the rest of the night we made love to each other and basked in the joys of knowing that everything was going to be fine from now on, especially since we were together again and I was alive. There was no evil, there was no dark sorcerer … only us, our love, and our magic. The Land of the Fae had triumphed, we had won, and I was home.

  My Winter of ice …

  Five Years Later

  “DADDY, CAN YOU tell me the story again?” Ella chimed, jumping up and down. Brayden looked back at me and smiled, shaking his head incredulously.

  He tucked our daughter into her small bed and we both took our place on each side of her. Brushing away the blonde hair out of her face, we both gazed down at her angelic, light brown eyes. Even though we knew the answer to the question, Brayden always asked it. “Do you not get tired of hearing the same story every night, little one?”

  Ella beamed at us and shook her head. “Uh-uh, I love hearing how mommy saved us. I think the baby likes to hear the story, too.”

  “Actually, you saved us Ella,” I said, tapping her nose playfully. “And the baby does like to hear the story. He wiggles around in my tummy when Daddy tells it.”

  Our son would be here any day now and I had Elvena on standby for when that time came. Brayden was excited to be welcoming a son into the family. He said he was going to go crazy with only females around him if we didn’t add a son.

  Ella giggled. “I know, because I can sense his happiness. But I still like to hear how brave you were, and also how fun it was to ride on Uncle Drake’s back. Do you think he will let me ride on Aidan’s back when he gets older?”

  Brayden and I both chuckled. Aidan was Sorcha and Drake’s newborn son, and a dragon as well. We a
ll thought they weren’t going to have any, but they surprised us a year ago with the news. It was very exciting considering it would be adding more dragons to our land.

  To Ella, I said, “I’m sure once Aidan gets old enough you’ll be able to, but it’ll be a while considering he’s only a baby right now. When you get older you will be able to fly as well when you get your wings. Don’t forget that.”

  She nodded cheerfully. “I know,” she squealed. “Lailah says she will teach me how to use my wings when I get them. I told Merrick I will fly him around.”

  “Is he here?” Brayden asked curiously.

  She looked past Brayden’s shoulder and snickered. “He’s right behind you making faces,” she replied.

  Brayden rolled his eyes and in a serious voice he said, “Well, you tell Merrick that when you get older he’s not going to be having these late night visits in your room. Make sure he understands that.”

  I put a hand over my mouth to cover my smile. Brayden was always the protective one, and I could just imagine Merrick rolling on the floor with laughter over that.

  “He said okay,” Ella announced, giggling again.

  Now that Ella was born and separate from me, I had lost my ability to see those I loved in the Hereafter. I couldn’t see Merrick and reminisce with him anymore nor could I see Lailah. When I was pregnant she had informed me of the changes Ella would go through once she got older, and also the amount of time she would need to spend in the Hereafter. The thought scared me at times, but I knew it was what she was destined to do.

  The courts had grown stronger over the years with new life and new powers. Calista and Ryder had welcomed a daughter into their family and little Merrick adored her. He was her protector, or that was what he always said when we visited. Meliantha and Kalen had their hands full with their twins, but fully expected to have more someday.

  My friends Kamden and Zanna completed the marriage bond soon after I came back to life five years ago. They also had a daughter who was a little younger than Ella, and to this day both Ella and her were inseparable. When Kamden and Zanna would visit, Ella would relay messages back and forth between him and Lukas. To this day, years after, I still felt the guilt of his loss, but I was glad Kamden had a way to stay connected to his brother.