Summer of Frost Read online

  “You’re absolutely right!” her voice hollered out. “I’m going to find them!” Lifting my head, I stood there frozen and shocked as Sorcha stood menacingly in the doorway to the throne room. She stalked toward me and my father, determination and confidence in each step.

  “How are you feeling?” my father acknowledged her.

  Sorcha grinned faintly and bowed her head. “Not too bad, actually. Thank you for your hospitality.”

  “You are most welcome, child. I’m sure you heard what we were discussing?”

  Sorcha nodded. “Yes, and I wanted to tell you that I have a way to locate my guardian and Sarette. Once I find them, I’m going to go get them.”

  “I understand, and you know we’ll help you,” my father offered.

  Curious, I asked, “What if your guardian is incapacitated and can’t hear you through the bond? How will you know where they are, because obviously if he could tell you, you’d know by now?”

  Narrowing her eyes, she gave me a sly grin. “I have my ways, Prince Drake. By morning, I will know where they’re at, and I will go to them. I refuse to let them suffer because of me.” She bowed quickly to my father and me before hurrying out of the throne room. I wanted to follow her, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

  “She reminds me so much of her mother,” my father uttered. He rose up from his throne and clapped me on the shoulder before leaving the room. Once all was quiet, I sat there in the throne room contemplating our next strategy plan. If Sorcha did, in some way, find out where her guardian was, there was only one way to get them out quickly and safely, and that way depended solely upon me.

  After eating dinner with the warriors, we all dispersed to head to our beds for the evening. The warriors had their own quarters separate from the palace, but inside the walls just like me. I had my own dwelling that gave me the space and privacy away from my family, especially when Calista and Meliantha were still living there. I was almost outside the palace when the sound of music stopped me mid-step.

  The music was achingly familiar, and the force of its pull had me turning around and ambling toward it. It was a sound that got my heart beating out of control and in pain from the sweet melody. I thought I’d never hear it again. It was the sound of Sorcha’s song … my song.

  The air in the Summer Court was different from the Winter; it was more vibrant and full of life. I loved my home, but something about being in the heart of Summer appealed to me. King Oberon had sent a message informing me of dinner, and invited me to join him and the queen. I politely declined, with deepest regrets, and ate alone in my room.

  I was wound up too tight and too apprehensive to sleep. My dreams were the only way I could communicate with Sarette and Oren, and if I couldn’t calm myself down enough my attempts would be fruitless. Oren’s mind was blocked or he was unconscious; either way, I was unable to talk to him every time I tried.

  Frustrated, I decided to walk around the palace to clear my mind. The curiosity in me piqued as I walked through the different halls of the palace, comparing it to my frigid home in the Winter. My eyes were alight with joy when I stumbled upon what had to have been their music room. The door was partially open, so it wasn’t like I was really invading their privacy. Secretly, I pushed the door fully open and entered into heaven.

  As I walked by the piano, I glided my fingers along the keys, careful not to make a sound. The instrument I was trying to get to lay in the corner of the room, looking desolate and alone. I bet no one ever played it. The harp was elegant and made of gold, whereas mine at home was made of silver. I took a deep breath before sitting on the stool and getting into position, praying they wouldn’t be upset if I played it.

  The chords were stiff as I played each note of my song … the song I wrote for Drake. Closing my eyes, I let the music wash over me and take me to the place I kept hidden inside my soul, the place that only Drake was allowed to go. Once the song was completed, I sat there, letting the calmness of the melody soak through to my soul. I knew I was relaxed enough to do what I had to do.

  Quietly, I left the music room and turned to head down the hall toward my bed chamber. Once I rounded the corner, I almost collided with the one person I wasn’t expecting to see. Breathing hard, I stopped abruptly and placed a hand over my heart. “Drake, you scared me!” I shrieked.

  “I’m sorry,” he apologized, looking frantic. “Were you in the music room?”

  Without thought or reason, I opened my mouth and lied, “No, I was just exploring your home. It’s really nice by the way.” With everything going on, I felt it was best to wait until things settled down before I told him the truth of our secret affair.

  “The music,” he whispered, looking away, confused. “I know I heard music.” He lowered his head and ran his hands over his face. When his gorgeous gray gaze landed on mine, I melted where I stood, and almost buckled.

  “I’m sorry, Drake,” I said softly. “Maybe you just imagined the music you heard. The mind is a powerful place where our dreams can feel like reality, and you know what?” I said, looking deep into his eyes. “Most of the time those dreams come true. We just have to want them bad enough.”

  “Sorcha, what’s going on? I’ve been trying to ignore the tension we have between us, but it’s becoming unbearable. Your babbling doesn’t help matters either. I don’t know what’s going on, or what the hell you’re talking about, but I can see it in your eyes that you’re keeping something from me.”

  He paused to study me, and it took all I had to bite my tongue about the babbling remark. He always gave me a hard time in our dreams when I was cryptic with my comments. It was one of the things I liked to do to drive him crazy. He reached up to touch my face like he was in a trance, but then blinked and pulled back quickly, clearing his throat. Softly, he said, “It’s almost as if I’ve seen that look a million times on your face, but I don’t see how that’s possible. I don’t even know you, but I’m having these weird feelings.”

  Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and hung my head, hiding my smile. When I opened them and lifted my head, the Drake from my dreams was there. I almost wrapped my arms around him, but stopped myself just in time. Drake caught the movement and frowned. It was getting harder to keep my distance with the pull tugging me to him.

  Sighing, I explained, “I promise all will be revealed tomorrow. You may not understand what that means, but I need you to trust me. You’ll find out everything soon enough, but for now I need to concentrate on finding Oren and Sarette without any distractions.”

  “Are you always this cryptic when you talk?”

  Shrugging, I laughed. That was one of the first things he asked me in our dreams many moons ago. “Pretty much. I like to keep people on their toes, and keep them guessing.”

  A slow growing smile formed dangerously on his lips, and I ached to taste them like I’d done a thousand times in our dreams. When his eyes landed on my mouth, I licked my lips and wondered how much better things were going to taste and feel being outside of the dream realm. Silently, I groaned. He was such a bad influence on my body.

  “These distractions you speak of … do you consider me to be one or something?”

  “Oh, yes.” I sighed, feeling the flush creeping over my cheeks.

  He laughed a deep, masculine laugh that sent chills down my body. “Do what you have to do, but I expect an explanation tomorrow, a real one.”

  Nodding, I whispered to him, “I promise to tell you everything tomorrow. My word is my bond.” Without waiting for a reply, I walked past him and went straight to my room, breathing hard the entire way, wishing I could turn around and spend the rest of the night with him. Unfortunately, I couldn’t. I had to concentrate on finding my guardian and Sarette.

  Lying in my bed, thoughts of Drake seized my mind, but it didn’t take long for sleep to take me away. I’d tried to get into Oren’s head, but couldn’t get a path to him. It was as if he was purposely blocked from my mind. Instead of probing further, I tried Sarette
and amazingly got right in.

  “Sorcha!” Sarette screamed, running to me. Not many people knew of my dream walking abilities, but she did, which is why she didn’t look shocked to see me. “I knew you would come,” she cried, flinging her arms around me. “Please tell me Alston is with you.”

  I froze in her grasp, and so did she. From that one gesture she knew what my answer was going to be. “No,” she whispered. “I saw him go down, but I knew he would get up, he had to have gotten up and gotten away. He just had to.”

  She was in denial, and my heart broke for her. After a few seconds, she sagged in my arms and started to cry. “I’m so sorry, Sarette, but he’s not with me. I don’t know where he is or if he even made it out alive.” Grief consumed her, flowing in waves from her to me. Even though Alston and I had issues that brought me to hate him sometimes, I was still going to miss him. He was once my lover and friend, and would always hold a special place inside me no matter how our relationship ended.

  “Sarette, I’m sorry I have to do this, but I need you to tell me where you are and what’s going on. There will be plenty of time to grieve for Alston, but right now I need answers. Is Oren okay? He’s not answering me when I speak to him.”

  “He’ll be fine. He’s out of it right now, but he’ll live. His breathing is steady at least.”

  “Where are you?”

  She shrugged. “I know we’re near the Crystal Lake in the Mystical Forest. For the most part, I’ve been pretending to be incoherent, and keeping my head down. They think I’m you, but once they see my eyes and really get a good look at me they’re going to know I’m not. I’m afraid of what they’ll do when they find out.”

  “Is the dark sorcerer there?” I asked hesitantly.

  She shook her head. “No, apparently he’s not even in the Land of the Fae right now. The man who caught us is a dwarf named Brokk. He’s the one Durin’s been looking for, the same dwarf who delivered Meliantha’s arrows and the cursed cuff that was given to Finn. Anyway, I heard him talking about how he wants to trade me for power. He says that if the dark sorcerer doesn’t agree to the trade he’s going to tell the courts where to find the sacred scroll.”

  My eyes went wide at that and she nodded weakly in return. I could tell that losing Alston was going to take a huge toll on her, but she was strong. I had to believe she’d get through it. Taking her by the shoulders, I made sure she was looking into my eyes when I spoke to her. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. When I wake up, I’m going to tell King Oberon and Drake everything so we can plan our attack. Whatever you do, keep your eyes hidden for as long as you can, but also try to keep tabs on the dwarf. I need to make sure we get him.”

  She nodded in understanding. “Just hurry, Sorcha. If the dark sorcerer comes back, things are going to get uglier and more complicated.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m coming for you. As soon as I can get through to Oren I’ll tell him what’s going on. I just need you to be strong for me, and know that no matter what I will get you out of this,” I assured her. We hugged one more time, and reluctantly, I let her go. Sarette smiled at me before the dream closed off and faded into black.

  Once the dream was over, I flew out of the bed and into the night. I had to find Drake. I slept with my gear on, because I knew I wouldn’t want to waste time once I had the information I needed. The heat flushed my skin the moment I stepped out of the palace doors, and immediately I began to sweat. The Summer Court was going to take time to get used to. I knew Drake didn’t live inside the palace, but just outside of it in his own dwelling. It didn’t take long to figure out which one was his, considering there was a dragon emblem on the front door.

  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 he
r. 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.