Summer of Frost (3 page)

Ariella climbed up on my back and shivered.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to watching you change. The
sounds are enough to make me cringe. I can’t imagine what it feels
like.”

I huffed at her, making her laugh. Once she
was gripped on tight, I took off into the sky, going higher and
higher while my wings carried us swiftly across the land.

I was him … I was ‘The Dragon.’

“Are you going to tell him?” Oren’s words
came out as grunts as the rod of my spear landed a hard blow
against his ribs. He was trying to distract me, but I knew better
than to let him take my mind off of training. He knew I wouldn’t
falter, but it didn’t stop him from trying. We trained every day,
and every day he did the same thing to me.

Dodging Oren’s blows, in one quick breath I
said, “How am I going to tell him, Oren? I haven’t seen him since
the Winter Ball. I can’t just go up to him the next time I see him
and say, ‘Hey, Drake, you know the dreams you’ve been having …
well, ever since I became a dream walker I had the silly notion to
visit you in your dreams, and now I can’t seem to stop’.”

“I think it would be wise to tell him next
time you see him, Princess. You’ve been taking up the man’s dreams
for months now. Don’t you think the game needs to stop if you
aren’t going to do anything about it?” Oren stated, piercing me
with a glare that challenged me to say otherwise.

I huffed in defeat. “I will … someday, when
the time is right.”

Whistling, Oren shook his head. “Is that
nervous energy I feel coming off of you. Since when do you get
nervous? I’ve never known you to care what others thought.”

I kicked him in the shin, and he hissed at
the impact.
“I don’t care,”
I replied silently with force.
“Now let’s stop talking about it and get back to training. I
need to get my mind off of it.”

“
As you wish, ai dulin.”

I wondered what Drake would say when he
found out. Our dreams for the past few months have been like
nothing I’d ever experienced before in my life. When I turned
twenty-one, I had some new abilities come to me. I had always had
an affinity for the earth, but now I could dream walk, and I was
also a truth seeker. If I wanted to know if someone was telling the
truth, all I had to do was touch them and I could sense it. Things
worked differently in the dream realm. Drake and I have had several
heated moments in our dreams, but in reality it wasn’t real. Our
interludes were but a taste of the real thing.

Oren took this time to laugh, and I could
only assume he saw what I was thinking in my mind. Giving him an
evil sneer, I sent him a mental image of what I’d do to him if he
so much as breathed a word about it to anyone. I shifted and swayed
from his advances while swinging my spear in the process. I landed
a quick blow to his backside, and he howled in pain, the smile now
gone from his angelic face. His brown eyes were light as caramel,
and sensual enough to see the soul beneath them, but he used to not
always be like that. He was a swift and deadly killer, and cold as
ice to others, but when he won the title of Guardian to me … things
changed. Oren only let me see that certain side of him, just like I
only let him see a certain side of me.

In a way, we have no choice since we’re
bonded, but right now, he looked intent on making me pay for the
blows I’d given him. So much for the sweet Oren.

“
What are you waiting for?”
I taunted
him silently. He didn’t answer, just kept those brown orbs trained
on me. His thick, brown curls didn’t even move as he gracefully
countered my movements.

The spear was light as I held it in both of
my hands, waiting for him to retaliate. We circled each other,
mirroring our movements together. The wooden shaft of my spear had
been carved and smoothed to perfection, although, I could still
feel the ridges of the ancient words engraved underneath my hand.
Groval, poldora, nomin:
Courage, strength, wisdom. For some
reason, saying the words made me feel stronger … faster.

As soon as I repeated the words in my mind,
Oren advanced. We parried and sparred for what had to have been
hours. I was proud of myself because not once during our hours of
training did he get one single hit on me. Oren took training
seriously, and he would always push me until he knew I could no
longer stand it. Only when exhaustion took over would he let me
stop. I dropped to the mat, breathing heavily, while Oren lay down
beside me, patting my leg in approval.

“
You’re getting better, Princess. Your
concentration didn’t waver a bit, even though I know your thoughts
were on a certain prince. I must say that I’m proud of you, ai
dulin.”

Ever since I was a child he had called me
ai dulin,
which meant, little bird. It was a name that’s
been stuck with me throughout the years, and it didn’t look like he
was ever going to stop using it. I actually loved the endearment,
since it was the only one I’d ever been given. Oren’s past was
heartbreaking, and growing up I could always see the hint of
sadness in his eyes over his lost love. On the day he was going to
ask her to bond with him she disappeared to the mortal realm and
never came back. He searched for years and years, but eventually
gave up. He had chosen to never be with a woman since then, and had
put all of his efforts into being my guardian.

“Thank you,” I said, nudging him with my
elbow. “I have a wonderful guardian who has trained me well.”

Oren looked over at me and smiled. His
straight, white teeth sparkled along with the pale perfections of
his skin. He kept watch over me as a child, and it wasn’t a shock
when he volunteered to battle it out with the other warriors for
the title of my Guardian. Oren was over two hundred years old, and
had seen things I could only imagine. He didn’t look a day over
twenty-five, but that’s how we all were here. He was the one who
carved the shaft of my spear, and engraved the magical words into
the wood.

Each princess had taken up a special weapon
they were good at maneuvering. Calista had her daggers, Meliantha
had her bow, and I had my spear. I had no clue what special weapon
Ariella had mastered, or if she was even practicing with weapons.
My spear was made from the thistle-birch tree, which made it light
and durable. Not only could I use it for throwing, but I could also
use it for combat. The tip of my spear was made by the dwarves, and
infused with mine and Oren’s blood, just like Meliantha had done
with her arrows. That way when, or if, I was ever attacked, I’d
have my
own
way of defending myself if something were to
happen to Oren.

Ever since the incident with Calista and
Meliantha, I had been ordered to train. I knew that I was next in
the dark sorcerer’s plans, so therefore, I had to be ready. Kalen
used to help me practice, but now that he was King of the Spring
Court, I no longer saw him as much. My training partners were now
my guardian, Oren, and my last and only brother of the Winter
Court, Brayden.

Brayden didn’t help out nearly as much
anymore now that he was the Leader of the Winter Court Army, and
spending his time training them. Once Kalen left, the title was
given to him.

“I know you miss your brothers,
ai
dulin
, I can feel it, but you’ll get to see Ryder and Kalen
very soon. I’m sure Meliantha will be having those babes any day
now, and once she does I’m sure everyone’s going to be there. When
I say
everyone
, you know who else I speak of, don’t you?”
Oren asked.

Nodding, I bit my lip. “I knew I would see
him when the time came. There’s no way he’d miss his niece and
nephew being born. He talks about them all the time in the dreams
we have, amongst other things. I’m sure he’s going to be appalled
when he finds out our dreams are real, and that he’s let himself
open up to me. It didn’t start out that way, you know.”

Oren grinned. “From what I’ve seen, you two
have grown awfully close the past several months. If what you do in
your dreams is real, I’d say he’s madly in love with you, and who
wouldn’t be? You’re an amazing woman. I don’t think he will be as
upset about the dreams as you think he’ll be.”

I laughed. “Did you miss the part where we
argue and fight all the time, Oren? Drake is an obnoxious and
arrogant whelp at times, and you know I can never keep my mouth
shut when he gets in his moods,” I retorted, flustered.

“You both have so much in common, but I
think it compliments you. He’s your flame, and you’re his ice.
Although, opposite in appearance, you are both similar in spirit.
Do you not see where this is headed,
ai dulin
?”

“What do you mean, Oren?” I asked
innocently, even though I knew what he was going to say.

“I am saying that I’ve seen in your mind,
and I know what’s there. You want me to think that it’s nothing
between you two when you’re actually afraid to fess up to what’s
really going on. You and Drake have been building a secret
relationship for a while now, and the signs are everywhere.” When I
didn’t respond he continued. “He’s your other half, Sorcha. When
you two see each other again, I wouldn’t be shocked if the vision
happens when you two touch. Don’t tell me you hadn’t thought about
it.”

I groaned and hid my face in my hands. “I’m
not going to lie … I have. I felt it when we met, and in our dreams
the connection explodes with intense power. We’ve touched in the
dream realm, but I know that doesn’t really count since it’s only
in our minds. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like when I see
him again.”

Oren patted my leg again, and began to sit
up. “It’ll definitely be interesting, Princess,” he admitted.

“What will be interesting?” Alston shouted
from the doorway, his harsh voice echoing off the walls. I sat up
quickly and groaned at the sight of my past lover’s form striding
closer. Oren tensed beside me, and leveled a steely glare in
Alston’s direction, clearly not liking the intrusion.

“I don’t think that’s any of your concern,
Alston. I think it would be wise for you to mind your own
business,” I snarled while getting to my feet. Oren followed suit
and moved to stand beside me, but also to the front of me,
protecting. He knew very well of my past with Alston, and how
possessive over me he could be. Sarette said it was love, but even
I wasn’t stupid enough to believe it.

Alston moved forward and made his way to us.
His tall, elegant frame was well-muscled and chiseled to
perfection. His black hair was in disarray while his armor, still
covered in snow, glistened in the lighting of the training room. My
brother always had them training outside. Alston’s hands were big
and strong, and even from across the room, I could see the firm
grip he had on the handle of his sword. His piercing blue eyes
never left mine as the distance came to a close. I remembered the
nights with him very well, and I remember having pleasures with him
that I’d never forget.

Once things started to progress with Drake
in our dreams, I had let Alston go. When he felt me slipping away
from him, he tried to hold onto me more—to keep what we had
alive—but I couldn’t stay. His eyes used to look at me with
longing, but now all I saw when he looked at me was hunger. He
thought he could make me come back to him by making me jealous, by
parading other women in front of me, but all it did was push me
further away. I kept waiting on him to give up on me, but he never
did, and I’m starting to think he never will.

Standing before me, Alston rubbed his chin
maliciously. “Hmm … none of my concern? See, that’s the thing, my
lovely Princess, starting today I’m going to be part of your
protection detail. Therefore, I think it pertinent that I know
everything that’s going on. We wouldn’t want anything happening to
you, now would we?”