Read Army Of The Winter Court (Skeleton Key) Online

Authors: Ali Winters,Skeleton Key

Army Of The Winter Court (Skeleton Key) (7 page)

He walked up to her, taking both of her hands in his and let out a relieved sigh.
 

“I’m glad you finally made it.”

“Made it? Where am I?”

“This is where I live,” Ian said patiently, a broad grin still on his face. It was hardly what she would have called a satisfactory answer.

“Okay, then wherever this place is that you live,” she made a wide sweeping gesture with her hands, indicating the world around them. “I’d like to wake up and go home now. I’ve had enough.”

Ian frowned. “I’m sorry, you can’t go home.”

Ice chilled her veins and for the first time in days she felt a shiver. Though, this one was caused by the fear that coursed through her and down her spine, rather than the freezing temperatures.
 

“What do you mean, I can’t? You can’t hold me here. This is
my
dream.”

“If it’s your dream, then just tell yourself to wake up,” he bit out. The haughty answer caught her off guard, it was far from his usual charming personality. Though, what did she really know about him anyway?
 

Ridiculous. He’s not even really here.

“I’ve tried. I think something is wrong. I can’t wake up. I need help.” Her words came out weaker than she’d meant them to.

Ian watched her for a moment before speaking.
 

“Come with me, and I will do what I can to get you home when I am able.” Each word was spoken carefully, leaving her feeling as if there were a lot more meaning to his intent than what he had said.

“Okay,” she agreed, not knowing of any other option she could take.

“Good, now—”

“What’s wrong with your ears?” she asked staring at the side of his head.

The tips were pointed, sticking out through his hair that was now slightly longer, like it had been months since he’d had it cut.
 

I definitely would have remembered that.

His mouth pinched tight.
 

“There is nothing wrong with my ears,” he said pointedly. “It’s quite normal here.”
 

“Yeah? And where is ‘here’?” Evvie asked again.

“You are in the Winter Court.”

That explained the weather at least, but other than that it meant nothing. She’d never heard of a Winter Court before. Evvie shook her head.
 

“I don’t know what that means.”

“You are in the Winter Court, though most just refer to it as the Unseelie Court. I am an Unseelie Prince.”

“An Unsee—what?”

“An Unseelie Prince—Or fae, if you prefer.”

How could he say something like that with a straight face?
 

The corner of her mouth tugged up into a half smile.
 

“Fae? You mean,” she said, unable to stop herself from giggling, “You’re a…
fairy
?”

His smug expression slipped.

“Uh, yes, however, we prefer the term fae—”

“You’re a fairy!” she exclaimed, unable to hold back her laughter any longer. It was insane. It had to be some crazy dream caused by her fever. Her brain was melting, and it had turned Ian into a freaking
fairy.
 

When she managed to stop laughing and catch her breath, Evvie swiped the back of her hand across her eyes, drying the tears that had escaped. Glancing up at his face, it was obvious to her that he was anything other than amused by her reaction.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I just wasn’t expecting you to say fairy.”

“Fae,” he corrected.
 

“Right…” Evvie paused and glanced around. “If you’re a fair—fae, why is everything here dying? Shouldn’t there be large trees, toadstools, and flowers everywhere, maybe a couple of woodland creatures bounding around?”

“No, this is the Winter Court.”

“Snow pixies, or arctic animals playing in hills covered with snow?”

He cleared his throat, looking more uncomfortable than she’d seen him in the few hours they’d spent together.

“We are in the Unseelie realm, not the Seelie realm.”

“And that means… uh, what exactly?” Evvie prompted.

Aurelian swore under his breath, “The Unseelie are dark fae. Not the happy, singing, and fluttering about fae you are thinking about.”

She took a step back.
 

“I knew it… this was too good to last,” Tears formed at the corner of her eyes, stinging. Squatting down, she gripped her head in her hands as she felt an anxiety attack coming on.

“I am not evil,” he said defensively.

“Excuse me, but announcing that you’re a ‘dark fae’ doesn’t inspire me to have loads of warm fuzzy feelings about you… or any of this!” she snapped, tilting her head up to meet his gaze.

Kneeling down in front of her, Ian took her face in his hands.
 

“I promise that I will not hurt you. I need you safe.”

“You need me safe?” Evvie knew it wasn’t something she should question, but what could he really do to her in this dream? Everything felt so real. She couldn't control her reactions or feelings and it was getting harder by the second to remember that it was just an insane dream. “Why?”

“Just trust me, Evvie. I need you safe.”
 

Seeing he wasn’t going to answer her question, she nodded. The only thing she could do was accept that for now, but once she was able to dream herself a new outfit she would insist.

“Good,” he said, lifting her to her feet.

Evvie studied him, scanning him from head to foot and frowned.
 

At her confused expression, he raised an eyebrow and asked, “Is something wrong?”

“You mean, besides the obvious?”

He nodded.

“Where are your wings?”

“My… wings?” he asked, taken aback.

“Yes, you’re a fairy, right? Aren’t fairies supposed to have wings?”

“Fae—and that is a common misconception. Pixies have wings; I am not a pixie.”

“Mmmmm, if you say so, Tink,” Evvie said with a smirk. Her emotions were a roller coaster ride, racing between amusement and fear as her mind and imagination warred between what was real and what was surreal. Dark fae, light fae, real, insane dream manifestation of her most recent date—it didn’t matter. If she continued to fight it as she had been, things would just worse and worse. She would trust her questionable instincts for now, and right now they were telling her that Ian would keep her safe.

“Tink?” he asked.

“Yeah, you know, Tinker Bell—Tink.”

He shook his head, uncomprehending.
 

“I don’t—”

Waving her hand dismissively, she laughed, adding, “Never mind.”
 

Once again, her dream morphed into something different. Only this time, it was comfortable and not one full of terror.

“I was worried you wouldn’t make it here in time,” Ian said as he watched her, no doubt seeing the rush of emotion going through her as each one skittered across her face.

“In time for what? This is just a dream.”

“Before something bad happened to you.”

“Ian?”

He hesitated, “Actually, it’s Aurelian, but you can call me Auri.”

“You lied to me about your name?”

“No, I merely used a less common nickname.”

She crossed her arms, uncharacteristically upset about such a small thing. “It was still deceptive.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way. I will promise you now, that I will never lie to you.”

Her eyes narrowed. “But what about the full truth? Or will you ‘conveniently’ leave things out?”

His sudden laughter startled her.
 

“That remains to be seen.”

“Why?” she demanded.

“It depends on what you wish to know and what you need to know.”
 

She frowned but let it go, something heavier weighed on her for the moment.
 

“Auri, I’ve had a high fever for days, I think this is the something bad happening right now. I can’t wake up, what if I’m in a coma or worse…”

“Then you need to make sure that this becomes something good.”

Evvie supposed there were worse ways to go and worse dreams to have. She felt the corners of her mouth turn up into a wide grin.
 

Something good…

The broad smile that stretched across her face faded.

Sorrow seeped into her at that last thought. She would die and then that would be it. No more movie night marathons, no more late nights studying before a final exam, no more girls’ nights in, no more dates… no more first kisses. No more
anything
.

Eyeing the man in front of her, she regretted not having kissed him on their date. She’d chickened out. He would have kissed her, but she’d pulled back, offering him nothing more than her hand and had run off, leaving before he had a chance.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

There was nothing left now except this, right here, in her mind. If all she had was this crazy, fever induced dream, then she would take it. She would take everything she that could from it.

“Shall we go?” He asked, holding his hand out.

Evvie slid her hand into his and let him pull her closer.
 

No more last kisses
… tugging on his arm, she pulled him to a stop.

“What—”

She gripped the lapels of his suit and lifted herself up against the front of his body. Pushing up on her toes, she wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling his face down to meet hers and pressed her lips to his.

At first, he didn’t react, but seconds later, his arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her off her feet. She kissed him with all the passion she could pull from her soul, with all the desperation one might expect of having been trapped underwater and suddenly finding air. One of his hands snaked up her back and tangled itself in her hair as he deepened the kiss. Fire coursed through her veins, making the beat of her heart frantic. In the back of her mind, she wondered if he could feel it pounding. Every inch of her that he touched burned with the memory, instantly longing for his hand to return.

Breathless, she pulled back and studied his pained expression as though he was warring with himself over whether to continue the kiss or end it.

“What was that for?”

“If I’m going to die from a fever then I at least want to enjoy whatever hallucinations I have, while I can.”

Aurelian pressed another kiss to her lips before setting her back down to her feet.

“Evvie,” he said, his voice hoarse. “This is not a dream. This is as real as anything you’ve ever experienced.”

“No, no. No. This is a fever induced dream,” she insisted, feeling heat rise up her neck and stain her cheeks. Why would her dream insist it was real? How fried was her mind? “I know this isn’t real. Fae aren’t real; they don’t exist.”

Aurelian sighed.
 

“Fine, I will let you think that, for now. But we really do need to get you back. I was afraid you wouldn’t learn how to use the key.”

“Key?” she mumbled, as she allowed him to take her by the hand and lead to toward the foreboding castle ahead.

“Yes,” Aurelian answered, bending down and picking up the key that had somehow followed her to this place. “Take this. Do not use it until I tell you.”

“What, why?”
 

Whatever his answer was, she didn’t hear it. The second he placed the skeleton key in her hand, pulsating energy flowed through her, filling her ears with a loud buzzing. Flashes of their encounters, their date, everything, came flooding back. He was no longer the man she remembered and the veil that had been over her eyes lifted, showing him as he was, here in this world. When he spoke with the maître d’, when he handed her the rose on their date, a flash of light followed. It was his magic.

Unsure of why she believed the images freshly painted in her memory, she knew deep in her gut that this wasn’t just a dream.

It
was
real, and she’d kissed him—in her towel.

Blood drained from her face and the world began to tilt.

He paused to look back at her.
 

“What’s wrong?”

“I—I—” Her mouth dried and the words she wanted to say stuck in her throat before vanishing, as if they died from the embarrassment.

The look of concern on his face grew. Aurelian gripped her shoulders firmly, dipping his head to look her in the eye.
 

“What’s wrong Evvie?”

“This isn’t a dream?” she asked.

“No,” he said confused a frown tugged at his lips… lips she had shamelessly kissed as if they were more than the mere strangers that they were. Much more. “I tried to tell you…”

“I… but… but I—” She clamped her mouth shut to stop stuttering.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Aurelian

“How long have you been out here? You’re filthy,” Aurelian asked.

She cringed slightly at his tone, tugging on her hand, but he tightened his fingers, interwoven through hers and refused to let go. He didn’t need her running off the path and from the looks of her bare legs, patched in a dark muddy substance, she’d already been to the bog. How she managed to get so deep into the waters and back out alive was nothing short of a miracle.

“I—I don’t know,” Evvie mumbled. “Where are we going?”

“We are going to the Winter Court.” Aurelian couldn’t account for his sudden mood change, but something about that kiss... about her when she touched him made him feel strange and unlike himself.

“I thought that’s where we were.”

“No,” he said sharply.

“Why are you being like this?” she asked, jerking her hand from his grip, forcing him to stop and turn to look at her.

“Being like what?”

“Like this.” She waved her hands up and down indicating everything about him. “So… angry. Are you mad that I’m here? Because if I had my way, I would be back home—in bed.”

Her accusation caught him off guard. Was he angry? Aurelian knew he felt different, but he wouldn’t have called it anger. Processing her words, he made the effort to relax his features. The last thing he needed to do was alienate her, especially when her cooperation was the key to getting what he wanted.

“I apologize.” His words were strained as he watched her, blinking up at him with big, green eyes surrounded by thick, dark lashes. Being sorry for anything came unnaturally to him and remorse was a foreign feeling. It was weak and pathetic. “It is dangerous out here.”

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