Reign of Ice (Forever Fae series) (22 page)

“ARIELLA, WAKE UP,” Merrick demanded, shaking me by the shoulders.

I gasped and opened my eyes. Immediately I wanted to go back into the dream realm to be with Brayden. Merrick breathed a sigh of relief and took my hand, lifting me up off the ground. “I tried waking you up for over a minute. It was like you were somewhere else, but you were crying.”

“I
was
somewhere else,” I said, wiping away the tears with the back of my hand. “I was in the dream realm with Brayden.”

Merrick frowned and squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry I had to wake you and take you away from him, but we need to get out of here.”

“What’s going on? How long was I out?”

Quickly, he pulled me to our horses and lifted me up onto mine. “You only slept for about an hour when I started to hear noises out in the distance. I can hear someone coming and it’s not just a couple of people I’m talking about. By the sounds of the vibrations on the ground we’re looking at a whole army. I don’t know if they are our allies or if
it’s the sorcerer’s army, but I don’t plan on sticking around to find out. Glamour yourself and let’s get out of here.”

Taking a deep breath, I concentrated on making myself look like a male
Winter warrior and grabbed onto the reins. “Let’s go,” I ordered.

We set off at a brisk pace through the forest, going in the opposite direction from the unidentified army marching toward the courts. As long as our people stayed behind the gates they would be protected. At the moment, it wasn’t them that needed protecting, but me. A quick glance behind me showed not only one,
but two riders following our trail and gaining ground.

“Faster, Ariella,” Merrick shouted. He couldn’t be seen or heard by anyone other than me, so basically I was out in the woods alone with two riders chasing me down. I pushed my horse faster, but it was no use. The others were quicker and more agile than the horse I was on. If I was on Lennox there was no way anyone could ever catch me.

The second I heard the arrow zip through the air I knew it was over. My horse cried and bucked—throwing me off in the process—as the arrow stuck into her backside. She flung me up against a tree and the breath whooshed out of me, leaving me breathless and gasping as I fell to the ground with a hard thud. My traitorous horse whinnied and galloped away into the darkness, heading straight back home.

“Merrick,” I choked out on a whisper. My head took a nasty hit and my vision was going from blurry to dark and back again. I tried to get up, but the pain in my head from hitting the tree was too much.

“You’re losing your glamour, Ariella,” Merrick growled impatiently, shaking me by the shoulders. “Dammit, wake up. I won’t be able to fight them for you.” I heard him getting angrier and cussing as my chasers dismounted their horses and took slow, curious steps toward me. The pain in my head pounded harder, but if these were minions of the dark sorcerer I was going to take them out no matter what.

Taking a few deep breaths, I grasped the handle of the dagger and slowly pulled it out of its sheath. It wasn’t until I heard one of the riders speak that I realized who they were. My glamour was gone, and even from a distance I knew they would be able to tell who I was. Relaxing my hold on the dagger, I breathed a sigh of relief and let my
head rest lightly on the ground.

“What are you doing?” Merrick hissed.

“It’s okay,” I whispered. “I know who they are. They aren’t going to hurt me.”

“Who are they?”

I couldn’t reply because in the next instant, a pair of midnight blue eyes and stark, white blond hair came into my field of vision. The man above me had changed since the last time I saw him, but his angelic face had stayed the same. The hair that used to hang low down his back was now cut shorter and tousled in messy spikes on top of his head. It didn’t take away from the ethereal beauty of his race; it made him more handsome.

He scooped me up off the ground and sighed heavily. “Holy hell, Your Highness, please forgive me. My eyes must have deceived me because I could have sworn I was chasing a warrior.”

“You were,” I told him groggily. I was exhausted and in pain, and I didn’t want to lose consciousness … not yet.

Carrying me in his arms, he managed to mount his horse by pulling up on the saddle with one hand and keeping me balanced with the other. “Are you hurt?” he asked softly.

He touched the back of my head and I winced. “Just right there where you touched. My horse knocked me off when you shot her. I think you owe me big time after this.”

“I don’t know if I can ever make up for hurting you, Ariella. I was told you had gone missing so we’ve been trying to track you down. We need to get you home where you’ll be safe. We were on our way there in hopes we could intercept you when one of my men scouted you out. He thought you were a traitor headed toward the Black Forest.”

“You can’t take me home,” I pleaded, my eyes wide. “I will do whatever you want me to just please don’t take me back. Everything I’ve done would be for nothing. Please, Bastian …”

Bastian groaned and closed his eyes. “You do realize how this will complicate things if
Bayleon finds out I found you and didn’t bring you back. Not only will I have his wrath, but your lover’s as well. I think I need something in return for this favor,” he decided.

“What happened to owing me?” I muttered incredulously.

“What happened to doing whatever I want just so I wouldn’t take you back?” he countered mockingly.

Merrick smirked. “This guy is good. I guess with being what he is he perfected the art of manipulation over the years.”

Narrowing my gaze, I huffed and pursed my lips at Bastian, ignoring Merrick’s comment. “Fine, what do you want?”

Smiling, he pulled on the reins and we set off deeper into the woods. “I only want one night with you, Ariella. Now that you are queen, I know I will never get a night like this for as long as I live.”

“What do you mean by one night with me, Bastian? You know I can’t give you what you want,” I murmured warily.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. “I know that and I would never ask that of you unless you came to me willingly. I can feel it in your soul how much you love your king and I know you would never betray that bond.”

“Then what is it that you want?”

Bastian gazed up at the dark sky and then down to me. I was still clutched in his arms as we rode through the blackness of the Mystical Forest. “There are only a couple of hours left until dawn. All I want is for you to talk to me like you had before, like I was someone who was worthy of your time.”

“But you are worthy, Bastian. You can’t help the way you were born. I just wish there was a way I could break the curse on your people. I do want to see you happy,” I uttered wholeheartedly.

He smiled and held me tighter. “Being with you tonight will make me happy. You have no idea how much. I promise to let you go at dawn.”

“Thank you, Bastian. It means a lot,” I said.

“Anything for you.”

BASTIAN AND KRILL
, the other Tyvar who had helped chase me down, built a small camp under the canopy of trees on the outskirts of the Mystical Forest. Merrick stayed with me the entire time, sitting in the corner of the little hut that Bastian and Krill made as our makeshift shelter. For the past couple of hours, I talked to him about many things … normal things, and also the fact that I could see my sister’s dead guardian and that he was accompanying us. I wasn’t too sure if he believed me or not since I took a hard hit to the head.

Bastian wasn’t accustomed to having a female around that could talk to him without wanting to rip his clothes off. You would think that would be any guy’s dream to have naked women around you all the time, but I was wrong. I felt how lonely and sad he
was not knowing what it would be like to have a normal life. He got a taste for it with Meliantha when she kissed him, and I could see it in his eyes that he wanted to feel it again.

“You never told me what you were doing out here, Ariella. I want to know why you don’t want me to take you back to your king. Did he do something to you?” he asked, clenching his jaw.

“No,” I cried, shaking my head. “Brayden would never do anything to harm me. You’re not going to like what I tell you, but unfortunately, it’s the way things have to be.”

I swallowed down the last handful of berries and took a sip of water. I couldn’t believe how hungry I was. Bastian already knew basically everything because of
Meliantha. However, he didn’t know about the scroll and what it said. Quickly, I told him about the dagger I carried and how I was the one who needed to kill the sorcerer. I skirted over the fact that I might not survive it.

“You’re going to do what?” he demanded angrily, jumping to his feet. Merrick, fully alert now, got to his feet as well and stood above me. It was strange to think that I could see him in front of me, but Bastian couldn’t. Bastian continued in a low growl, “If I would’ve known this was going to happen I wouldn’t have agreed to let you go. From what you’re telling me it sounds like you won’t be making it home from the Black Forest. Is that what you’re telling me?”

Still sitting on the ground, I gazed up at him and nodded. “Yes,” I whispered. “That’s why I had to leave. If Brayden knew he wouldn’t have let me go.” I got to my feet and faced him. “I have to do this, Bastian.”

He shook his head and glared at me. “The only way you are going is if I go with you,” he argued. “And if you refuse I’ll tie you up and carry you back to the Winter Court. Trust me, you don’t want me to do that.”

“No,” I exclaimed. “I don’t care what you threaten me with, I’m not going to let you put yourself in danger. The whole reason why I’m doing this alone is so I can keep you all safe and protect you.”

Bastian scoffed and began saddling up his horse while Krill saddled up his own as well. Merrick elbowed me in the side to get my attention. “I know you don’t want to put him in harm’s way, but he would be able to help you. Yes, I’m here with you, but there’s nothing I can do to protect you. I can only touch
you
and no one else.”

“I said no,” I hissed quietly.

Merrick sighed and squeezed my shoulder sympathetically. “I’m sorry, Ariella, but you’re not going to be able to make that decision for him.” Unfortunately, I knew he was right, but it didn’t make it any easier to deal with. Risking myself was one thing, but risking one of my friends was another.

When Bastian got done with his horse he stalked over to me and took me by the arms, holding me firm. “You do not have a choice in this, Ariella. Either you let me go with you or I take you back. It is all up to you.” 

“Why are you doing this? I told you that the chance of surviving is practically none,” I told him.

Nonchalantly, he shrugged and lifted me up on his horse while Krill held the reins. Probably so I wouldn’t run off. “Then we will die together, Your Highness,” Bastian stated. “I would rather die honorably with you by my side than live centuries with the curse of my people. I am going with you whether you like it or not.”

Bastian quickly mounted Krill’s horse and called him over. Before sending him off on foot, he explained to him what he wanted him to relay back to his people, “Krill, when you find Bayleon tell him to send word to Meliantha that her sister is fine, and that I am with her. I’m not going to let her do this alone.”

Krill frowned and bowed his head, replying solemnly, “As you wish, Bastian. Safe journey to you.”

The farewell hung heavily in the air and immediately I regretted ever agreeing to let him come with me. Bastian wasn’t just a normal Tyvar, he was one of their leaders with a brother who would miss him if he didn’t make it back alive. The thought was like a knife in my gut, twisting and opening me up to more pain and death. I was hurting everyone by my decision to leave, and it killed me to know I was causing so much heartache and grief.

Bastian clasped Krill’s forearm and said his good-bye, “Farewell, my brother. If I don’t return then hopefully one day I will see you in the Hereafter. I can only pray that I am worthy enough to be set free.”

Krill bowed to both of us and then set off at a brisk pace through the trees. I watched him disappear and imagined how angry Brayden and the others were going to be when they found out Bastian went against orders and didn’t bring me in. If we survived this ordeal, the outcome wasn’t going to be good.

“Why do you have that look on your face?” Bastian asked curiously. He sidled up to my right side while Merrick took up my left.

I blew out a heavy sigh and gave him a withering glance. “You better hope we don’t survive this,” I told him.

“And why is that?” he asked, lifting a curious brow.

“Because,” I started, “once Brayden finds out you’re with me and didn’t take me back, he’s going to be angry enough to kill. I fear of what he will do to you if we make it out alive.”

Bastian scoffed, “I am not worried, Your Highness. If he feels the need to fight me then he can. I am not easy to take down.”

Neither was he
.