Eira pushed a hand through her hair, getting it tangled in the knots that had formed over night. She needed to shower, but if she did, she’d lose the smell of Josh that surrounded her. Though maybe she could rectify that by stealing one of his shirts. Or several of his shirts. Yes, that sounded like a good plan.
She wondered over to the locked chest where she kept the book. Crouching down, she ran her hand under the bottom of it, locating the key where she’d hidden it. Technically, she believed that she was supposed to carry the key on her at all times, but nothing said secret like a key hanging around her neck, so she’d hidden it underneath instead. Besides, no one would think to look there. Hell, no one would even be thinking of looking for her book at all because no one but Izzy even knew of it’s existence.
She fit the slightly rusting key into the lock and turned it. She was rewarded with a large clunk as the chest unlocked. Luckily, she didn’t have to actually lift the lid itself, her Grandma had tricked a witch into spelling it for her. Eira didn’t like to think about how she’d done it.
Dust flew up from the chest, and she coughed, already regretting not thinking this through completely. Looking away, she blinked her eyes, trying to rid herself of the dust that was making her eyes water. This wasn’t going to be fun. Going back to the chest, she pulled out the large book and re-positioned it as she stood. Why did they have to make the thing so damn heavy? She knew it was handwritten, and old enough that it had to have been, but it was so damn inconvenient. She’d have to scan it all in and put it on a tablet for her own child. It’d take time, but if it meant that he or she would never have to do this then it’d be worth it.
Or maybe she’d make Leth do it. Punishment for his lying. That seemed fitting, especially given that she couldn’t actually be rid of him if she tried. He was hers now, and she was his.
She stumbled out of her room and into the open plan living room, and hefted it on to her dining room table. She looked at the massive tome again, and wished that it was evening and an acceptable time to have wine. Unfortunately, it was not, nor did she have the time to wait until the evening so she could drink wine. The frosts were already late, and she’d already wasted time by going on a stupid date with Leth when he knew he wouldn’t tell her anything, despite promising to.
Small snowflakes covered the dining table in front of her and Eira growled in frustration, this was getting ridiculous. Concentrating harder than she should have to, she tamped down on the anger that was building inside her. Something needed to change, she’d never lost control like this before. Finally, the snowflakes dissipated and she felt calm enough to make herself a coffee and start reading the Goddamn book.
Three hours, twenty-six minutes and four cups of coffee later, she was about ready to scream. For whatever reason, the person who’d decided to write this had also decided that writing the useful information in with a boring day to day log was the right choice. She really didn’t care what numerous generations of Jacks and Jacquelines had eaten for breakfast. Though it had given her a new appreciation for her name. Up until now, she’d found it cliché that her name meant snow, but now she guessed at least it wasn’t Jacqueline like a lot of the heirs before her.
The interesting bits actually were interesting at least. There was a lot that she needed to know, but hadn’t bothered reading before. Part of her wanted to stop, but she knew that wasn’t an option. Though at least she was at one of the interesting part:
Queen Nieves, ninth Queen of the Winter Fae, made a deal with Jack Vorst. If he could produce six barrels of the Queens favourite wine within a day, then she would forfeit her powers over the frost and snow, making her role a ceremonial one. What Queen Nieves wasn’t aware of, was that Jack knew her sommelier, and had been tempting him with the hand of his only daughter in marriage. Jack had been bribing the sommelier, and had saved up the six barrels, which were never served to anyone but the Queen, before approaching her. Thus, when the Queen agreed to the deal, Jack returned to Nieves’ Court with the six barrels, and she lost her powers over the frosts. The powers rest with the Vrost family, renamed to Frost in 1542 when they relocated to the Kingdom of England along with the rise of Protestantism, to this day, and will continue to do so for the rest of eternity.
She stared at the book, before re-reading the passage. And then again for a third time. How the hell had a fae Queen managed to lose her powers over what was essentially a bet? That seemed like a monumentally stupid thing to do. More than that, there were still questions surrounding why Jack even wanted frost powers. They were cool at times, but ultimately, did nothing, it was all a little confusing and she wasn’t sure where it all fit together.
She pushed up from the table and wondered back over to the kettle, knowing another coffee was definitely in order if she was going to stand any chance of sorting through the rest of the damn book. She’d probably regret her fifth cup later, but maybe she could work off the excitement with Josh. Actually, that sounded like a good plan. She almost text him to let him know, but held back. It’d only end in them texting back and forth, which would distract her from what she was supposed to be doing.
The light outside her windows began to fade, and her eyes ached from the strain, but she’d finally started to accept that it was worthwhile. She’d learned a lot, including that there were very few people who could actually control the seasons. Namely, the four Fae Queens, well three Fae Queens, the winter one was still pretty useless, their heirs...and her. Which meant that it could only be one them trying to stop the frosts, leaving two possibilities as far as Eira could tell. Either the Winter Queen was trying regain control over them, or one of the others was trying to stop them herself.
Spring made no sense, after all, stopping winter wasn’t exactly conducive to making sure that spring itself came. Which left summer or autumn, and given that Leth was of summer fae descent, and wouldn’t talk about it, that kind of had her thinking that the Fae Queen of Summer was the one behind everything. Not that knowing that actually helped her. She had no idea where the Fae Courts were, or where the Queen would be, or how to even stop her once she had. Though maybe getting confirmation should be first. Which she guessed meant talking to Leth. Except that she was still mad at him, and didn’t have a number to call him on anyway. Doing the only thing she could, she snatched up her phone and clicked onto Josh’s name, almost certain that he’d have the fae’s number. They’d all been talking about her behind her back anyway from what they’d said, and Josh seemed to be the ring leader of that. Knowing him, he was probably trying to come up with a way to seduce her. Not that it would actually take much. Even Leth could win her pretty easily and she was mad enough at him to keep making it snow.
Now all she needed to do was discover as much as she could about the fae, preferably before she faced the one who could tie her stomach up in knots. Only problem was, there was nowhere to really find it out without visiting one of the Councils, and considering that she didn’t have one, as she didn’t belong to any one race, that would prove easier said than done. Guess it was the internet for her, and the strenuous task of separating the fact from fiction, and hoping that she picked the right options. Still, knowing even a little before talking to Leth would put her in better stead than she was in now.
Ten
Eira pushed her croissant around her plate, ignoring the latte that had been set down beside it by the waitress sending her jealous looks from across the room. Not that she really blamed the poor girl, Leth was looking particularly attractive this morning, which definitely wasn’t helping her stay mad at him.
“What changed your mind?” he asked, as she shredded her croissant more, not wanting to actually eat it.
“I need answers.” She looked up and met his eyes, almost losing herself in the rich colours that seemed to swirl around in them.
“I—”
“You can’t, yes you’ve said.” She was surprised by the bitterness that came through in her voice. “But I’m only asking you to tell me if I’m r
ight or not.”
“Okay.” He drew out the word, his hesitation clear to Eira, and while she could kind of understand, she needed him to help her. He had to, he was her mate after all.
“The only ones who can control the seasons are the Fae Queens and Princesses right?” She knew that was the case, but she wanted to check that he wouldn’t lie again, and this was a good way of testing it. Or at least she hoped so.
“And you, yes.”
Good, so he was going to tell her the truth.
“Tell me about them?” she asked, testing the waters.
“What do you want to know?”
She shrugged. Her research hadn’t really brought up much, not that she’d expected it to, and she’d basically come up with nothing more than she’d already known. There were four Courts, one for each season, and no full-blooded male fae. Which ultimately got her no closer to anything.
“What do you know?” she returned. Leth shrugged and took a bite of his own pastry, some kind of odd Danish thing with raisins in it. Not her cup of tea in the slightest. She waited as he chewed but said nothing, her anger beginning to mount again, though she made sure to keep control of it the best she could, snowing all over a café wouldn’t be her best idea.
“That the others can control aspects of the seasons to a certain degree,” he said eventually, and she nodded. She’d figured that much out. It was fairly obvious given the smell of summer that Leth gave off.
“Makes sense.”
“But the only people who have true power are the Queens, and the Princesses when they reach eighteen.”
“And how many of them are eighteen?” she asked.
“All of them I think. Though the Autumn Princess has been missing for years. No one knows where she is.” He shrugged, and she stared at him in shock.
“So, you’ll tell me that, but you won’t tell me about who is stopping the frosts?” she bit out.
“I can’t tell you, I wish I could, but I can’t.” He looked away, actually looking kind of sincere despite it all. Damn it, she wasn’t going to soften. There was too much at stake. Instead, she laughed bitterly.
“Yet it’s okay to tell me that one of the princesses is missing? Seems odd.”
“Everyone knows she’s missing. The Autumn Queen asked the other Councils for help finding her.” He shrugged again only infuriating her more. But she pushed it away. With difficulty, true, but she managed, picking up her latte and finally taking a sip, finding it was finally the perfect temperature for her.
“Fine,” Eira muttered, still finding it a little bizarre.
“But Winter has no powers, right?” She watched as shock crossed his features, he probably hadn’t realised that she knew that. Then again, why would she? She wasn’t fae, just like she wasn’t a witch or a shifter or anything else.
“How do you know that?” he asked, and she raised an eyebrow. “Oh, right, yes. The Winter royalty isn’t powerless as such, they just have no control over the frosts or snow.”
“Because they lost it to my ancestor.” He nodded at her, confirming the story that was written in her family history.
“As far as I’m aware yes.”
“Could Winter be looking to win her powers back?” she asked, watching his face to try and gage his reaction.
“I doubt it, she doesn’t seem that interested, and her daughter...well she has bigger things to worry about.” Eira nodded, that was two less suspects, three if she counted the missing Autumn Princess, who she was almost completely sure was really Rhianna.
“Spring?”
“I see what you’re doing, Frostie,” he said sternly, but something like pride in his eyes.
“But you’ll tell me anyway. My theory is, you can’t tell me who, but you can tell me who it isn’t.” She leaned back, satisfied that she was on the right lines. Leth smirked, lighting up his face slightly and something akin to pride in his eyes.
“Maybe.”
“So, Spring?”
“No, she wouldn’t even be able to, she’s too close to Winter.” The twinkle in his eye revealed that he knew exactly what he was saying.
“So, it’s Summer.” He nodded, but didn’t say anything. “But you can’t actually tell me about it?”
“No. I’m bound by familial ties,” he admitted, looking kind of sad.
“They’re stronger than a mating bond?” That surprised her. As far as she knew, there wasn’t much that was actually stronger than the bond she should share with Leth. In fact, maybe nothing at all.
“At the moment, yes.”
“Meaning things could change?” That was interesting.
“I’m not completely sure, but I guess when we seal the bond properly, things might change. I’d really like to tell you about my family.” His smirk changed into a genuine smile and she returned it, her anger starting to dissipate slightly.
“You really can’t tell me about them?” He shook his head in response. “Wow.”
“I mean, I can take you to see them, just not say anything about them.”
“Huh.”
“Yes, being fae is weird.” He laughed to himself. “Well, being half-fae is weird.” He looked kind of wistful, and on a whim, Eira stood up and made her way around the table. She slid herself on to his knee, ignoring the sensation of the waitress’ eyes burning into her back. Jealousy could be a powerful emotion, but she wouldn’t worry about it. After all, Leth was hers, and she knew that wouldn’t change. Ever. As scary as that thought was.
“I’ll never think of you as half,” she said softly, looking into his eyes, the slight height advantage she had by being sat on his lap meaning that she was looking down at him. He lifted a hand and touched her cheek, and awe filled expression in his eyes.
“You’re letting me touch you?”
“Clearly.” She let out a small laugh, resting on of her hands on his chest and feeling the warmth radiating from him.
“I didn’t think you would after yesterday.”
“I was tempted not to let you, and don’t think that I won’t get you back.” And she would, she had a book that needed transferring so that her son or daughter had an easier time of reading it than she did, and she didn’t want to do the boring as hell job herself. “But you’re one of my mates, Leth, I can hardly ignore you.” Her voice had dropped so that it was a lover’s murmur, and their faces came within touching distance.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “And I’m sorry,” he added.
“Don’t worry about it, but don’t lie to me again either. If you’d told me why you couldn’t tell me, then we could have avoided me being mad at you.”
“If you think I won’t piss you off again during the rest of our lives, then you may have another thing coming, Frostie.” His face lightened, and he returned to the boyish self that he’d been when he’d first broken into her flat.
“Oh, I expect you will. But I also expect that you can make it up to me.” She let a wicked smile creep onto her face, and was rewarded with dilated pupils and a hitch in his breath. Satisfied, she leaned down and kissed him, pulling him closer by grabbing a fistful of shirt. Leth wrapped his arms around her tightly, pressing her body for his. If only they weren’t in public. She wouldn’t have been able to deny herself otherwise.
Eleven
She traipsed up the stairs towards her flat, exhausted from her shift at the café. Really, she’d wanted to spend her day planning, but she’d had a shift, and blowing that off just wasn’t an option.
“Oh, hell,” she muttered as she noticed two forms leaning against the wall next to her front door, chattering away. Until they saw her anyway. Then two pairs of eyes fixed on her, one blue, one the odd summer brown. She’d bet Josh wasn’t far off either.
As if on cue, the door to his flat opened and he stepped out, striding straight towards her and kissing her swiftly, before letting go and nodding towards the other two. “Evening,” Josh said. “Shall we?” He motioned towards Eira’s front door, sending sparks flying and unlocking
it. Another handy trick. She was beginning to feel like she’d drawn the short straw when it came to powers.
She nodded and headed towards the door, being stopped by Leth as she passed him, and was tugged into his arms. “Don’t think you’re going to get away without saying hello.” He dipped his head and kissed thoroughly while the other two looked on. None of which felt odd. She stepped back, ending the kiss and smiling at Leth. He looked particularly pleased with himself, and she shook her head in amusement, before turning to face Rueben who had a warring expression on his face.
“No.”
“Seriously?” The look in his eyes told her that he wanted her, so why the hell wouldn’t he hurry up and kiss her?
“I’m not kissing you, Eira.”
“Why?” Much to her annoyance, it came out like a whine. Though maybe that would work.
“It’s not the perfect moment.”
“Maybe I don’t want the perfect moment?” She put her hands on her hips, ignoring the chuckle coming from Leth beside her.
“Want to go put the kettle on, Josh?” Leth asked, still sounding particularly amused.
“Good plan,” Josh replied, breezing through Eira’s front door.
“Good luck, Frostie,” he said, trailing his hand across her lower back as he moved past her to follow Josh.
“Maybe it’s not about what you want,” Rueben muttered after Leth had left. He was probably keeping his voice low to stop the other two from overhearing. It likely wouldn’t work, most paranormals had excellent hearing.
“Have you considered how much you’re missing out by saying no?”
“Yes. I have eyes.” That he did. Eyes that were currently burning into her and heating her like no one else could. Well, Leth and Josh could, but no one other than that. “And watching is always fun.” He took a step forward, the predator in him making itself known, and she could have sworn she could see his fangs poking through his lips again.
Saving Eira (Fated Seasons Book 1) Page 6