Reign of Ice (Forever Fae series) (2 page)

As I was about to take another sip of my wine, a set of arms wrapped around my waist and twirled me around, making me spill the whole glass of wine I just poured onto the floor.
Kamden’s laugh sounded in my ear along with Zanna’s. Thankfully, none spilled all over the sleeveless midnight blue gown I chose to wear for the occasion.

“Now look what you did,” I grumbled halfheartedly—teasing—as
Kamden set me back on my feet. I smacked his arm and placed my hands on my hips. “That was a perfectly good glass of faerie wine, Kam. Now what am I going to do?”

“Uh … pour another glass,” he suggested mockingly. I set my glass down and sighed. It was probably best I didn’t drink more. One glass of faerie wine was potent enough to get anyone drunk, and I was already feeling way more than tipsy as it was.

I’d grown really close to Kamden and Zanna while being in the Spring Court and I just realized how much I was going to miss them when I left to go back to Summer. They were both originally from the Winter, but they chose to follow Kalen when he became king of the Spring Court. Kamden’s rich, black hair matched Zanna’s perfectly along with their shimmery golden skin of the Spring. It was amazing how their skin glittered under the light, but that was one of the perks about being a Spring Fae.

Kamden
held out his hand for me to take and asked sweetly, “Will you dance with me, Princess?”

I raised a brow at
Zanna who in turn rolled her eyes and pushed me into his arms. “Stop looking at me like that. I’m not going to get mad if you dance with him. I know who his heart belongs to, not to mention I know where yours belongs as well.” I lifted a brow and rolled my eyes. I asked her a few questions about Brayden just to get an insight on who he was since she lived in the Winter Court before, and ever since then she claimed that I was in love with him.

Smiling, she winked and waved at us before disappearing into the crowd. I gazed up at
Kamden. “You are one lucky man, Kam. Maybe one day I’ll be able to find someone who can put up with me.”

He chortled and pulled me close, placing a hand on my waist while holding my hand in the other. “It’ll happen one day, but this person
Zanna speaks of … is she talking about Prince Brayden?”

Biting my lip, I averted my gaze from his hazel eyes and smiled. “Maybe,” I began. “All I know is there’s something about him. It’s a feeling I get when he’s close. I can feel it even now.”

“That’s because he’s headed this way,” he remarked. “And let me tell you … he looks pissed as hell that you’re dancing with me.”

Kamden
turned me around, but kept his hand on my waist with a glint in his eye. “What are you doing?” I whispered incredulously.

He leaned down to whisper in my ear, “Just trust me. I’m a guy, I know how this works.”

Brayden’s glare hardened as he approached us, darting his eyes back and forth from me to him. Whatever was going on, he didn’t look happy. Could it really be that I was with Kamden? The second he stopped in front of me, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “Good evening, Brayden. Are you enjoying the party?”

He scoffed and looked down at
Kamden’s hand on my waist, gritting his teeth. “Not really, which is why I’m heading back to the Winter Court. Would you mind if I spoke to you?” he said, directing the question to me. His eyes lifted and met Kamden’s before adding, “In private.”

Kamden
bowed his head graciously and winked at me quickly before Brayden could notice. “As you wish, Your Highness. It was a pleasure seeing you again.”

“Likewise,” Brayden retorted dryly.

After Kamden left to join Zanna, Brayden and I stood there in awkward silence. “So …” I stated nervously. “What did you need to speak to me about?”

My heart thundered in my chest as I took all of him in. He was tall with short chocolate brown hair that matched his chocolate brown eyes, and creamy pale skin that I knew would be cold to the touch. His hand rested on the sword that was inside the sheath attached to his armor belt while the other was clenched in a tight fist. He definitely wasn’t a jokester like
Kalen or passionate like Ryder, but there was something mysterious about him that intrigued me. He was so unlike anyone I had ever met. He needed someone to loosen him up, to show him how to have fun and not be serious all the time. For once, I had a challenge and I actually looked forward to it.

Brayden finally opened his mouth to speak, “I wanted to say thank you for tending to me when I was injured.
Kalen told me you never left my side.”

Nonchalantly, I smiled and shrugged a shoulder. “I didn’t, but I know how important you are to
Kalen and to the Winter Court. I had to make sure you were going to be all right.”

“Is that the only reason?” he asked curiously, his eyes roaming over my face. His gaze landed on my lips, but quickly averted them back to my eyes in all seriousness; it only made me smile more.

“What other reason would there be, Prince Brayden?” I inquired teasingly. I hoped to get a rise out of him, but of course, being the closed off prince that he was I failed miserably.

He stiffened and looked away while saying, “No reason, Princess. Enjoy the rest of your night.” He turned to walk away, but something in me just couldn’t let him leave. That driving force within my body urged me to follow him, to not let him go.

“Brayden, wait,” I shouted, moving through the crowd. The second I caught up to him and grabbed his hand to make him stop, the whole room and everyone in it disappeared. The last thing I saw before the vision took me away was Brayden’s intense gaze staring into mine, freezing me into place, and a million emotions swirling uncontrollably through my body.

The air was cold and fresh with the smell of winter snow and ice. The land sparkled with each glittery flake that fell from the gray sky above, but then magically disappeared before hitting the ground. It reminded me of silver faerie dust. It was magical in every way possible, but what made it more magical was that it was my court … my Winter.

I knew my heart belonged in
Winter, but I could feel it even more now as the man behind me wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to him and away from the window in our room. His hands deftly untied the sash to my robe, slipping his hands inside and across my stomach. The flames in the fireplace flickered, giving the room a sensual glow, but the heat had no effect whatsoever on our haven of ice. Brayden turned me around and as I did, the robe fell to the floor and he scooped me up into his arms.

He laid me down on the bundle of blankets splayed out in front of the fireplace and settled himself between my legs. As he entered me gently, he smoothed the hair from my face and
opened my lips with his kiss. The taste and smell of him was crisp, clean, and everything Winter. Everything felt right and whole, like the weight of the Land of the Fae had been lifted. However, what made it even more complete was the man above me, peering down at me with a love I never thought possible.

Our bodies moved as one, and as the tears from my eyes froze into crystals, they slowly melted when
Brayden’s hands wiped them away with his fire. He may be the Winter King, but underneath all that fierceness and ice lay a heart of flame. I was where I belonged … I was where I was destined to be.

The second the vision disappeared, Brayden abruptly let go of my hand and stumbled back as if I’d burned him. Everyone around us stared and whispered amongst themselves, looking delighted and joyful, knowing very well what just happened between us. I felt the same way in my heart, but my smile quickly vanished when Brayden turned on his heel and walked away with not so much as a word to me. We’d just had a vision of our destiny and of us making love to each other, and he up and walked away from me.

I don’t think so.

Clenching my hands into tight fists at my side, my blood boiled and ignited in my veins as I watched his retreating form head for the door. “Seriously?” I shouted.

I was mortified and completely embarrassed as everyone in the room witnessed my rejection. Their pitying looks were too much to bear. Before he disappeared out the door, I yelled one last thing to him, “Don’t slip on the ice you cold-hearted bastard!”

Gasps erupted throughout the room, but I was too pissed to care. Marching out of the chamber, I kept my head held high and sucked back the angry tears that trembled behind my eyes. I should’ve known from my sisters’ experiences that what I felt before was the connection calling to my soul. Of all the princes I was to be bound to … why did it have to be the one that knew nothing about love, or even how to smile for that matter?

The Land of the
Fae was doomed.

“I BELIEVE MY time here in the mortal realm is over for the time being, Gothin.”

Gothin
nodded and slowly backed out of the mortal woman’s bedroom. His troll characteristics had to be hidden in the mortal realm while I procured my army … among other things. The naked woman on the bed was just one of many of my delights during my time here, and one that would ensure my future. The spell I put on her would keep her incapacitated until my presence was long gone. Mortal women were so weak and vulnerable I almost had to second guess my plan, but if things worked out the way I wanted them to then my legacy would never die. They all served a purpose and one day that purpose would be revealed.

“What shall we do now, Master?”
Gothin asked. “Now that Sorcha has been rescued, what are the next steps to capturing the last of the Four? You already told her in her dream what you’ve been doing here. Do you think they are making plans to attack?”

I scoffed and threw on my clothes quickly; we slipped out of the house undetected. Once we were outside, I summoned my magic and made a portal back to the Black Forest.
When the veil shimmered, we walked through the opening and were right back in the darkness I called home … for now.

Once we were safely
back in the forest, I turned to Gothin and laughed incredulously. “They can’t possibly be making plans any of attack. I told Sorcha about the mortal army so they would know what they were up against. The fae can’t compete with the mortals’ iron weapons. If they decide to attack, I’ll summon them, but for now I’m going to have them sit tight.”

“And the next princess?”

I sighed. “She has one more day before she turns twenty-one. She won’t come into her full power until then. The good thing is that the scroll is hidden and the danger to me is gone for now. However, I do fear that taking Ariella is going to be the hardest of all. I have a plan, but it’s going to take time to get it in motion. In the meantime, though, I think Ariella and I need to have a little chat.”

“Will that not be risky, Master?”

I cackled sinisterly and slapped him on the shoulder. “Yes, it will, but I think it’s time I had a little bit of fun.”