Reign of Ice (Forever Fae series)

by L. P. Dover

  “The next time you come it’ll be with me inside you, angel,” he whispered gruffly in my ear.

  I groaned in protest, but he closed his lips over mine to cut off my cries. His tongue entangled with mine; he tasted so damn good I couldn’t get enough of him. Pressing his body to mine, he separated my legs with his knee and rubbed the tip of his cock over my tender flesh. We needed to say the sacred words that would bind us together for eternity, but when Brayden opened his mouth to do just that, there was a loud knock on the front door.

  It was late in the evening, too late for someone to be making a normal visit, which made us both wonder who it could be. Brayden lowered his forehead to mine and huffed angrily, “Someone better be attacking our palace, because if not then whoever is out there is dead.”

  Sighing, I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “It could be important, Brayden. There’s no telling what could be going on.” All I know is that it better be important, I thought to myself.

  Reluctantly, he slid off of me and grabbed his pants off the floor, sliding them on. He reached over and took my hand, helping me up, and handed me my clothes as well. “I’ll go see who it is,” he grumbled. “And I promise not to kill whoever it is unless it’s the sorcerer.” He kissed me quickly and mumbled angrily the whole time he descended the stairs.

  Quickly, I threw on my clothes and snatched my robe from the bathroom before I also headed down the stairs to see who it could be. I didn’t hear any yelling or shouting, so I had no clue what was going on. I rounded the corner and saw Brayden standing there with his arms crossed, staring at Kamden who looked like he wanted to turn around and walk out the door.

  “Kamden,” I shrieked, rushing toward him. “Where have you been? I’ve been so worried about you.”

  As I approached, he opened his arms to me and gave me a sad smile. I took that as a sign that he wasn’t mad at me, so I embraced him and held him tight. When he released me, his gaze glistened with unshed tears as he replied, “I’m sorry I left the way I did. I just needed some time to myself and time to spend with my family. My mother took it hard, but she’s coming around.”

  “Do you blame me?” I whispered, lowering my gaze. I never liked to fail in anything I did, especially when it came to protecting my people. The weight of his death weighed heavily on my soul and it hurt even more knowing he was Kamden’s brother.

  Exasperated, he took me by the shoulders and bent his head to the side so he could see my face. “Ariella, no I don’t blame you. Is that what you’ve been thinking this whole time?”

  “Yes,” Brayden interrupted, coming to my side. “I know you lost your brother and you are grieving, but in the future you don’t just walk away from a royal when they are speaking to you.”

  “Brayden,” I snapped. “He’s my—”

  He held up his hand to stop me and sighed. “You didn’t let me finish, angel,” he murmured out loud, but then finished silently, “I know he’s your friend, and with that being said he should’ve let you be there for him as a friend. He upset you and that’s not acceptable.”

  “You’re such a caveman,” I pointed out truthfully. “You can’t protect me from everything.”

  “No,” he admitted, “but I can certainly try.”

  He then leveled his stare at Kamden and continued, “I know Ariella is your friend, but you still have a duty to respect her as a royal. She was with him when he died, and she tried to save him. She’s going through her own pain with his loss as well.”

  Kamden closed his eyes and bowed his head. “I know, and I’m sorry. Did he say anything before he died?”

  A tear fell down my cheek at the remembrance of Lukas’ last words. “Yes, he did, Kam. He told me to tell you farewell and that he missed you.”

  Kamden sighed and ran his hands through his messy, dark hair. “I can’t believe he’s gone. It doesn’t feel real. I always thought he was invincible.”

  Brayden clapped him on the shoulder and smiled reassuringly. “Lukas was a friend of mine and one of my best warriors. He will never be forgotten.”

  Nodding, Kamden half-smiled and said, “I’m sorry to have bothered you tonight, but I honestly did feel bad about leaving you like that, Ariella. I appreciate you trying to be there for me, and I didn’t like leaving with the way things ended with us.”

  Embracing him again, I squeezed him tight and breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully, now I could rest knowing that he was safe and that he didn’t blame me for his brother’s death even though I wasn’t strong enough to help him. That guilt would stay with me forever.

  “You’re welcome, Kam. That’s why I sent for Zanna. I knew you needed someone to be there for you,” I explained.

  Kamden pulled away with wide eyes. “You sent for Zanna? Where is she?”

  “What do you mean where is she?” I shrieked. “She was supposed to be with you. She got here a week ago, Kam. Are you trying to tell me you haven’t seen her?”

  “No,” he expressed worriedly. “I spent some time with my family, but the rest of the time I spent going to all the places Lukas and I would go to when I was a kid.”

  I didn’t want Kamden to hear what I was saying, so I looked to Brayden and said silently, “What the hell, Brayden? You don’t think anything has happened to her, do you?”

  He shrugged and furrowed his brows. “I’m not sure, angel. She might be in the village at his parents dwelling. He said he didn’t stay there the whole time. She could be there waiting on him.”

  “Good point,” I agreed. “But if not then we’re going to need to find her.”

  Trying to shake off the uneasy feelings I knew he had plaguing his mind, Kamden spoke up, trying to sound optimistic, “You know, she’s probably at my parents’ house. I haven’t been back there in a few days so she might be there. I’ll go back and see if they’ve seen her.”

  Deep in my heart, I had a bad feeling that she wasn’t going to be at his parents’ house. Please let it just be the worry and sadness of recent events making me paranoid, I thought to myself.

  Kamden opened the front door, but I caught his arm before he could leave. “If she’s not there then we need to look for her. It’s been a week, and the last thing she needs to do is go searching for you when the sorcerer will do anything to get to me. We have the palace and this place protected under a spell, but outside of the perimeter its fair game. Staying inside the protection spell is crucial,” I stated adamantly.

  He nodded and stepped out onto the front porch. “I’m sure I’ll find her. Again, I’m sorry for disturbing you.”

  Brayden shut the door and ran his hands through his hair. “As much as I wanted to be angry at him for disturbing us, I guess it worked out for the best. At least now you won’t be preoccupied with worrying about him.”

  Yawning, I collapsed onto the soft, leathery couch and leaned my head back on the cool fabric. “I’m just glad he doesn’t hate me,” I mumbled sleepily. “I hope he finds Zanna.”

  “He will,” Brayden said. “Now come on and let’s go to bed. You’re tired and we have a big day tomorrow.”

  “What about …” I began, wondering if we were going to finish our bonding.

  He shook his head and took my hand, pulling me off of the leathery chair. “We have tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. At least now I know you want to finish the bond with me. Once everyone leaves tomorrow we will have the night to do whatever it is you please.”

  I smiled and bit my lip. “Yes, we do, and I’m going to take full advantage when tomorrow night comes.”

  Brayden chuckled and I followed him up the stairs to our room. We both snuggled under the sheets on the bed and almost immediately my eyes grew heavy with sleep. He nuzzled my ear, kissed me on the neck, and stated, “I look forward to tomorrow night then, angel. Sweet dreams, my love.”

  As soon as my eyes closed, sweet dreams were what I had.

  BRAYDEN AND I were the first ones in the throne room, followed by Queen Mab and King Madoc. The doors were locke
d so no one from the court could step into the room or overhear us in any way. If word got out about the dagger that could kill the sorcerer then our element of surprise would be gone.

  Nixie appeared with Kalen and Meliantha first, and then with Sorcha and Drake. She also brought back Calista, Ryder, and Elvena, my mother and father, then lastly appearing with Durin who carried a large wooden box in his hands. The salvation of our land lay in that box.

  Durin bowed, making sure to acknowledge us all with a quick glance and began, “Thank you for your patience, Your Highnesses. Constructing the dagger was interesting to say the least, except it appears it has a mind of its own.”

  “What do you mean by that?” I asked curiously.

  He set the box on the table that had been placed in the middle of the room and we all gathered around it. Durin sighed, slowly opening the box, and said, “Well … everything was going fine until I added the vial of blood to the metal.” His hands were covered in gloves, and when he removed them I realized what he was talking about. He held up his blistered and scorched palms for all of us to see.

  He continued, “I do not know what happened, but when I grasped the handle after I added the blood it burned me. I can handle my fair share of pain or otherwise I wouldn’t have lived so long, however, this kind of pain was none I had ever experienced before. You should’ve seen my hands yesterday.”

  Elvena approached the table and gazed inside the box cautiously while Meliantha stood in front of Durin and reached for his hands. Lightly grasping them, she turned them over and inspected them thoroughly, furrowing her brow the whole time. She closed her eyes and covered his wounded hands with hers while slowly moving her lips in a silent plea.

  I could feel the power in the room heighten as her healing magic returned his hands to normal, with no trace of any wounds whatsoever. Durin sighed and bowed his head. “Thank you, Meliantha. Having healed hands will definitely make my life easier,” he announced gratefully.

  “You’re welcome,” my sister replied. “I wonder why the dagger would do that to you. You are the one who made it.”

  The box with the dagger lay open on the table, but inside the whole blade was surrounded by a black, velvet cover, concealing our view of the deadly weapon. Elvena was about to unwrap the material from around it, but I shouted, “Wait! Don’t touch it!”

  She stopped immediately and everyone turned to me, wide-eyed. “Let me do it,” I insisted adamantly, glancing quickly at everyone.

  If this was the weapon I was going to have to use to defeat the sorcerer then I needed to be able to touch it. The feeling in my gut had me thinking that only a certain few would be the ones allowed to touch it, and that certain few would be me, my sisters, and Sorcha.

  Brayden came up behind me and squeezed my arms gently. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked quietly.

  I nodded and blew out a shaky breath. “I have to,” I whispered.

  My sisters and Sorcha joined around the table, giving me reassuring smiles as I slowly unwrapped the black cloth from around the dagger. When the weapon was revealed, the others gasped and moved closer, staring at the one thing that was going to save us all. It was beautiful with its golden handle and silver blade that shone like the brightest sun. The handle had silver vines interlapping with the gold, and colored jewels signifying the color of our courts. However, it wasn’t the jewels that caught my attention. Engraved in the center of the handle was a symbol that joined us all together. The crests of all our courts were combined into one.

  “This is amazing,” I breathed in awe. Not even thinking about the repercussions of touching the blade, I took hold of the dagger and lifted it up to my gaze. Brayden tensed behind me, but when it was clear it wasn’t going to harm me, he loosened up.

  “Let me try to hold it,” Calista ordered, holding out her hand. Gently, I passed the dagger to her and she was rewarded with the ability to wield it as well. The same went for Meliantha and Sorcha just like I knew it would. The question was … could any of the others hold it?

  Of course, my brother Drake was the first one to volunteer. The expression on his face was smug as he approached his queen and held out his hand, waiting on her to pass the dagger to him. The smile on her face was priceless as she set it down quickly in his hands. Drake growled as the skin of his palm sizzled under the power of the dagger.

  “What the hell,” he roared, passing it back to Sorcha immediately. “Why is it doing that?”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the hesitation in Elvena’s gaze as she contemplated how to answer his question. None of them, other than Sorcha, knew that I was aware of what was supposed to happen, and even she looked uncomfortable with the question hanging in the air. It wasn’t Elvena who spoke up with the answer; Queen Mab put it out there.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” she said, walking around our group. “The blade can only be touched by the power of the Four. It began with them and now it’s going to end with them. It appears that one of you will need to kill the sorcerer.”

  My sisters stiffened and glanced at each other before turning their attention to Elvena, who gave them warning glares. Even now they still wanted to keep me in the dark.

  Brayden slammed his hand on the table, and pierced his mother with a deadly stare. “That’s not going to happen,” he exclaimed. He then turned to his brothers and Drake, and addressed them, “What do you all have to say about this? I, for one, do not like the idea of sending in one of our mates to do this. I will do it before I let any one of them be thrown in the dark sorcerer’s clutches.”

  Ryder and Kalen both gazed warily at Brayden, and when Ryder stole a glance at me that was when I realized … they already knew as well. Placing my hand on Brayden’s arm, I sent a silent message to him, “Calm down, Brayden. We will figure this all out, okay?”

  “I am not letting you go face to face with the sorcerer. I would rather die than let him get anywhere near you again,” he argued.

  If Brayden’s outburst wasn’t enough, my mother’s sure was. She stalked up to Queen Mab and hissed in her face, “I don’t know what you think you know, but Durin was able to still touch it after putting on his gloves. My daughters aren’t going to be the ones laying their lives on the line for this. Haven’t they been through enough already?”

  Mab narrowed her eyes. I could see the anger and rage from the years past edging closer to the surface, ready to be unleashed, but she held it back for the sake of our courts. “I don’t think it’s up to you, Tatiana. Your girls are stronger than you will ever be and it’s their decision. I believe in them and in whatever they do. Just because one of them has to wield the final blow doesn’t mean they won’t survive it.”

  I swallowed hard, waiting on someone to contradict her, but they never did. Elvena cleared her throat and tried to calm down the weary crowd. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We have the dagger, which means we can kill the sorcerer, and I personally think Ariella needs to be the one to carry it. She is the one Alasdair is after right now, and if he does happen to get to her she will be able to protect herself.”

  Sorcha passed me the dagger, so I took it carefully out of her hands and sheathed it in my belt. I wondered if anyone was going to ask who should keep it. Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about stealing it from one of the others.

  Glancing back and forth from me to Brayden, Elvena reluctantly added, “There is, however, one element that we still need.” She paused and cleared her throat. “Before we can attack we need to be at our strongest, and the only way we will be that is when the final Winter Court is formed. Until that happens, we need to send word to all of our allies and have them on alert and ready to join us when the time comes. According to the sorcerer, we have one more week before his threat to bring over his mortal army and their weapons comes a reality. We need to strike before he has that chance.”

  Brayden nudged me in side to get my attention. “We need to tell them, angel. Look at their faces. We can’t keep them in the dark
on this.”

  I could tell everyone was gazing at Brayden and I curiously, wondering how our relationship was going. I felt bad that we kept them in the dark, but we had to in the hopes of keeping Alasdair from coming at me full force.

  Nodding, I smiled up at Brayden and murmured silently, “I agree with you.”

  Taking Brayden’s hand, we both walked over to the dais and stood upon it so everyone would be able to see and hear us. Mouths dropped when they noticed Brayden’s hand in mine and a smile on my face.

  “Do you want to tell them or do you want me to?” I asked him.

  He squeezed my hand and replied, “I want to do it.”

  I fully expected him to want me to do it since he always kept his feelings inside on personal matters, but having him take this step to speaking out to his family and to mine made me fall in love with him even more. He had changed so much and had given me so much of himself that I couldn’t believe I never saw it in him before.

  Brayden took a half step forward and cleared his throat before announcing, “Everyone, Ariella and I have something to say.” The mood in the room lifted as it all became clear. Where there were worried frowns marring everyone’s lips before, there were now happy smiles of joy. Brayden grinned down at me and back to our families. “Tonight things are going to change … we are going to change. We were going to surprise you all by completing the bond last night, but we got interrupted.” He said the last part on a sigh and it earned us a few snickers from the crowd. “With that being said, we plan on completing the marriage bond tonight and sealing our fate … together.”

  Our families cheered, bursting out with laughter in celebration to the good news, except of course my mother who appeared sadder instead of joyful. From her actions and comments over the years I couldn’t believe it took me so long to figure out what her problem was. She grew up having to hate the Winter Fae and even to this day she still did. It made me wonder if she hated me now that I’d turned.