by Talia Jager
Sorin took my hands and led me around the floor. Graceful. At ease.
“That was some dance you and…”
“Tannon,” I said. “He’s a good friend.” Why did I feel like I had to explain?
“Hmmm. Well, that was an excellent dance you both did. Elegant.”
“He caught me off guard.”
“Couldn’t tell. Looked like you had practiced that dance for months.” Sorin spun me.
“Well, we are taught that particular dance as kids, so we know it well.”
Changing the subject, he said, “I still can’t believe our parents agreed to this.”
“I didn’t think they’d ever agree.”
“The fire pushed them to do it.”
“I figured. How is your land?” I asked.
“Healed.”
“Any news on the Iron Fae?”
“No. They vanished. Someone said they didn’t expect the Winter Fae to show up and that scared them off.”
“Well, hopefully, they’ll stay away.”
Around midnight, the festivities came to an end. I didn’t want to go, but our servants were loading up the carriages. Sorin gave my hands a squeeze and then lifted them to his lips. He kissed them and softly said, “I’ll see you in two weeks’ time.”
“Count on it.” I stared into his eyes for a moment longer. “Hurry up and master the air element so I can see you more,” I said in a whisper.
“I will.”
“Aurora!” my father called.
I curtsied, tore myself away, and ran to my carriage. Forcing myself not to turn around for fear of bringing attention to myself, I smiled and talked to Lumi about the night.
Chapter Eight
Aurora
The day after the Summer Solstice, I sat with my sisters playing a game of marbles.
“I don’t like this celebration idea,” Eira said.
“Why not?” Lumi asked.
“It’s weird. Don’t you think? Didn’t you feel out of place yesterday?”
“Not really,” Lumi responded. “You did?”
“Yes! I just think it’s better to stick to our own kind.” Eira picked up a marble.
“I think that’s silly. What do you think, Rory?”
“I agree with you, Lumi. We should all be able to get along—”
“Getting along is different than hanging out,” Eira interrupted.
“Eira, they teach us about the Iron Fae at school. Don’t you think it would be in our best interest to come together to fight them?” I asked.
“Iron Fae? Do you really think we’ll have a problem with them?”
“The Summer Fae just did. They could come after us next.”
Eira pressed her lips together. “If they do, it’s because we helped the Summer Fae.”
“It was the right thing to do. We should have alliances with each kingdom. Then we can ask each other for help.”
“I just didn’t like it, Rory. Is that so wrong of me?”
“No.” I sighed. “I just wish you’d open your mind to the possibilities.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not the only one who thinks it’s stupid. All of my friends were hot and wanted to go home, but our parents insisted we all stay for the entire event.”
“It’ll only be four times a year, Eira, and one of those times will be here. We’re not talking once a week,” Lumi argued.
“Whatever.” She picked up her flute and started playing it, and soon I had forgotten about the argument we were having. She played beautifully. It was her favorite thing to do when she wasn’t bellyaching about something. Lumi stood up and started dancing, which was her favorite thing. After watching Lumi for a few minutes, I got up and joined her.
Later, I took a walk with Raina. When we were far enough away from the village, she said, “Yesterday was fun.”
“I wish we could go back.”
“We will. In a year.”
I laughed. “Sooner would be better.”
“Well, we have the falls, but Rory…you should watch yourself.”
My eyes cut to her. “Why? How?”
“The way the two of you look at each other. You can tell there’s more to the story. If someone finds out about the falls or that you’re off kissing the Summer prince, we’re all going to be in serious trouble.”
“We haven’t been caught in all the years—”
“You’ve never felt this way about a guy before.”
She had a point there. Nobody had ever made me feel the way Sorin did. “Do you think anybody there would rat us out?”
“No. We have good friends, Rory. All of us have been going there for years. I think it’s safe to say we’re pretty loyal to each other. But we have to stay just friends. We’re both supposed to be looking for a husband, not making out with faeries we can’t have.”
“I know.”
“I saw you dance with Tannon. He’d be a good choice, Rory.”
“I know.” I sighed. I almost hated hearing that. A good choice. Yes. He’d be a good choice, but I wanted more. Didn’t I deserve more?
The next two weeks passed very slowly, but the time to go to the falls came at last. Sneaking out of my room and down the stairs wasn’t hard at all. I met Raina and Ivy at the entrance to the woods where they waited with the horses. I grabbed the bucket of Merry Berries I had stashed there earlier, and we left for the falls.
The weather in neutral areas followed the weather for what time of year we were in. Being July, that meant it was hot in all the neutral areas. So, to me, the neutral part of the falls was humid and way too hot for my liking, but nothing would keep me from going. If it got to be too much, I’d just go over to the Winter Land area and cool off.
Navin gave me a big hug when we arrived. “My brother has done nothing but talk about dancing with the princess who turned his brother’s hand into ice.”
I laughed. “I’m glad I left an impression.”
“Oh, you did!”
The others joined in the conversation as we waited for the Summer Fae to arrive.
“I heard the king and queen are already planning ours,” Jora said.
“It’s months away,” Navin commented.
“They want to be prepared.”
“I can’t wait to see your land, Jora,” I said.
Just then, Sorin stepped out of the trees, and my heart skipped a beat. He looked dashing in his bright orange shorts and yellow shirt. His gaze landed right on me, and I felt my cheeks warm. I could tell he was trying to decide if he should come right to me or do something else first. Not wanting to wait, I approached him.
“Are you just here to look, or are you going to join us?” I asked.
He smiled. “I could stare at you all day long.”
Standing there face-to-face, I fought the urge to throw my arms around him and place my lips to his.
Keir interrupted. “Do I get a hello?”
I glanced at him. “Hi, Keir.” Secretly I made a snowball in my hand, and when I hugged him, I smashed it on the back of his neck.
“Fireflies! That’s cold!” he swore and jumped but had a huge grin on his face.
“Rory, bring out the berries!” Linden called.
“So soon?”
“I’ve had a hard week,” he said with a sigh.
I fetched the basket, only taking a couple for myself. I wanted to talk to Sorin and enjoy being with him instead of being silly. Two berries were enough to take the edge off and make me happy.
We sat by the falls with our feet dangling in the water. “Did your parents say anything after the party?” I asked.
“They talked about how it went, who was there, who wasn’t there—”
“Who wasn’t there?”
“Apparently there were a few faeries who didn’t make it, and that didn’t sit well with them.”
“Oh. I didn’t notice.”
“Not meant for us to notice. It’s an adult thing I suppose.” His pinky touched mine, and my pinky wrapped around h
is and held it. “They talked about what everyone wore.”
“That must have been interesting.”
“Not for me, really. I don’t care. What someone wears or how they do their hair isn’t a big deal for me, no matter how different.”
Well, that was good news for me. “I tend to go big sometimes.”
Sorin laughed, which made me laugh. “You’re not overdressed.”
“It must be weird though when you’re used to vibrant colors to see so much white.”
“It’s not just white. There are hints of blue and purple. It’s not boring or plain at all.” He held my eyes for a minute. “Now the sparkly blue lips, those my mother talked about.”
It was my turn to laugh, and I licked my lips. “I have fun with makeup.”
“Yeah, it’s fun to see what little drawings you’ll come up with.”
I thought of the swirls that I drew on the sides of my eyes today. “You don’t mind them?”
“Not one bit.” He looked up at the waterfall that came from Winter Land. “What about your parents? Did they say anything?”
“That it was hot.”
“Hot?”
“Temperature wise.”
“Oh, I didn’t think about that. I bet we’ll be cold when it’s time for Winter’s turn.”
“My parents mentioned something about hosting a lot of it in the castle. Then faeries can come in to warm up. Maybe have a bonfire going outside,” I said.
“What else?”
Shrugging, I said, “I kind of ignored my parents. They talked a lot on the ride home, but I was distracted.”
“Oh yeah? By what?”
“You. I was thinking of you,” I admitted. “Oh, I did hear them mention that they were surprised they enjoyed it. That the food was good, and your parents were welcoming.”
“I’m not sure my mother liked it, but she did her part. Maybe she’ll loosen up and have more fun at the next one since she doesn’t have to host it.”
“Many of my friends had never seen other faeries, so there were lots of comments about Summer’s bright hair colors and wings and Autumn’s deep colors.” I kicked my feet in the water, and a few drops landed on us. “Your sister is cute.”
“Yeah. She’s sweet. Has me wrapped around her little finger too. I’d do anything for that girl.”
“As you should. Your mother doesn’t…seem like a motherly person. Is that too personal?” I didn’t want to offend him.
“No, it’s fine. She’s not. It wasn’t a big deal with Dune or me, we’re boys, but being a girl, she really needs a mother. When I have kids, I want them to have parents who care and are there for them.”
I smiled over at him. “You’re taking this way too fast, Summer boy. Kids? We’re not old enough for that.”
Laughing, he reached down in the lake and sent water my way. With a wave of my fingers, I stopped the water in midair and then waved my hand to make them hit Sorin and get his shirt wet.
I giggled at the shocked expression on his face, but he shut me up by putting his lips on mine.
When he pulled back, he said, “Sorry. I couldn’t resist.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I muttered, taking a deep breath to calm my racing heart.
“Do you have a favorite flower?” Sorin asked.
Flowers? He wanted to talk about flowers after kissing me the way he just did—with so much emotion? “No. I don’t know much about flowers.”
“Hmmm. Guess you wouldn’t.” He turned around and called, “Keir!”
Keir came over, and Sorin whispered in his ear. He laughed, and they bent down and ran their hands over the grass, making a field of flowers appear.
“Enjoy,” Keir said and walked away.
I gasped. “They’re beautiful.”
“Now you get to pick a favorite.”
“There’s so many!”
“This isn’t nearly one percent of all the flowers in the world.”
I sat down in the middle of the field and started smelling them one by one. “I think that one is the prettiest.” I pointed to a tall blue flower.
“That’s a bearded iris.”
“But this one smells the best.” I touched a small white bell-shaped flower.
“Lily of the valley. Good choice. I noticed you picked white and blue.”
I laughed. “I guess I did. It wasn’t on purpose. So, what about you? What’s your favorite flower?”
“Wisteria. It grows on a tree in a big cluster that hangs down. Actually, they’re purple or white, so I guess I like your colors too.”
We sat quietly for a few minutes watching the waterfalls. There was a serious question I needed to ask him but didn’t want to. “Do your parents have someone picked out for you to marry?” I asked.
“Maybe. I think my mother has someone in mind, but I told her I’d pick my own wife.”
“Will she let you?”
He shrugged. “I think she will have to as long as I pick before my eighteenth birthday.”
“So you have a year?”
“Eleven months.”
“Do you have anyone in mind?” I asked, nervous to hear his answer.
He played with a flower. “No. I know all of the girls in Summer Land, and none of them makes my heart leap.”
I smiled. “So the right girl will make your heart leap?”
“Yes. I imagine so.” He handed me the flower. “What about you?”
I sighed. “My parents will probably pick a few and then make me choose one. That way they can say they didn’t force me to marry the one they wanted.”
“So there’s no one you want to marry?”
“No.” For some reason, I wanted to be completely honest. “There’s that one guy who danced with me. Everyone thinks we’d be good together, but there’s something missing—”
“He doesn’t make your heart leap.”
“No. I guess not.”
“When will you be eighteen?”
“I have longer than you. I’ll be seventeen in January. Of course they’ve been pushing since I turned sixteen.”
“Mine too. It’s as if they think it’s a race.”
“Maybe we can change it for future generations.” I twirled the flower in between two of my fingers. “Do you ever think about just telling them no?”
“Refusing to pick a bride?”
“Yeah.”
“No. I’m sure my mother would have me tied up at the altar and speak for me if I told her no.”
I huffed. “Seriously?”
“Absolutely.”
“It’s depressing. I don’t want to spend my life with someone who I’m not completely in love with—”
“Hey, guys! Come join us,” Cedar called, interrupting my thoughts.
I shot Sorin a look, shrugged, and got up to join the fun.
Raina stood on a rock. Navin and Iris nodded, and she jumped. The second her feet left the rock, Navin and Iris raised their arms, creating a gust of air strong enough to keep Raina in the air—like she was flying—for about a minute. Her wings fluttered like they wanted to fly themselves.
Back on the ground, she laughed. “That was awesome. I love when we do this!”
Navin turned to Sorin. “Want a turn?”
“Yes!” He jumped up on the rock and did the same thing Raina had done. The look on his face as he “flew” was priceless.
We all took turns until a faint glimmer of light began to creep out of the darkness. I sighed to myself, not wanting to leave. I enjoyed being at the falls, where the stress faded, and we all relaxed.
After I shared a short good-bye kiss with Sorin, we all headed toward our horses. I whispered to Keir, “Make sure Sorin wipes his mouth before going home. There are sparkles all over his lips.”
Keir laughed heartily and then became serious. “I will. Take care, Rory.”
“You too, Keir.”
I climbed on my horse and looked behind me as Sorin and Keir took off. I watched them as far as I could see, then I turned a
nd headed home.
On the way, Raina said, “Be careful, Rory. You’re playing with fire.”
Every morning, Sorin was the first thing that popped into my mind. This had to stop. Raina was right. I would only get hurt if I kept thinking about him and flirting with him. That needed to end. I had to push him from my mind and think about something else. Maybe I should go see Tannon. Have lunch with him. First, I needed to get some of my frustrations out, so right after breakfast, I headed to the training grounds.
“Morning, Princess, what would you like to start with today?” the guard in charge asked.
“Hand to hand.”
“Very well.” He pointed to where a few faeries were sparring.
My turn came quickly. Fighting in a dress was difficult but not impossible. I had worn a shorter one knowing I was going to be doing this. I put my whole body into the fight and won the first few rounds, but when I got up against the high-level fighters, I wasn’t doing so hot. I could tell they were holding back. I gave it all I had, and then I said, “Don’t coddle me. Finish it.”
Brac nodded and had me on the ground within seconds. His expression changed immediately. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No. I’m fine.”
He outstretched his hand and pulled me up. “You’re good.”
“For a girl?”
He laughed. “Yeah.”
“I need to get better. Any pointers?”
“You’ve got the speed, but you need more strength.”
I nodded. I would add some exercises to my day. “Thanks.” I hurried to sword fighting before getting a few minutes of target practice in.
“Rory! Let’s go!” Ivy yelled.
I aimed my last arrow and let it go. It hit the target dead on. I placed the bow back and ran down the path to join Ivy and Raina.
I tried to focus on school and training to keep thoughts of Sorin from consuming me, but I wasn’t very successful. Somehow I found him in everything I did. I had feelings, real feelings, for him, and that scared me.
Chapter Nine
Sorin
When the horses touched down at the falls, I jumped off and hurried to the falls. Keir laughed behind me. “Wait up!”