Summer of Frost (9 page)

When the army began losing numbers, more
would come to take their place. It all seemed endless, and we were
clearly losing hope of winning, especially when we heard thunder
rumble in the distance behind us. Had they tricked us by trapping
us in the middle? When I turned my head to look at our doom, it
wasn’t the dark sorcerer’s army trapping us in place, but the shiny
gold armor of the Summer Court coming to our rescue.

When Drake approached, his eyes were fixed
on me when he yelled, “We have to get you out of here!”

I threw my hands up in the air. “Don’t you
think I know that, you idiot!” I screamed back.

Oren came to my side. “We can’t make it all
the way back to the Winter Court with them coming after us. We need
a plan.”

“You’re right,” Drake replied, looking
straight at me. I was furious at him, but the concern in his eyes
gave me pause so I decided that for the time being I needed to be
cooperative.

Quickly, I asked, “What should we do?”

Instead of responding to me, he turned to
Oren and spoke to him. “We need a diversion. The dark sorcerer
knows that you’re her guardian. Wherever she is, you’ll be
there.”

“And your point?” Oren asked
impatiently.

“Sorcha comes with me and Sarette with you.
She looks exactly like the princess so it should work. Head back
fast to the Spring Court, it’s much closer. Sorcha will come with
me to Summer.”

“What! No!” I demanded, cutting him off.
“I’m not leaving my people!”

Oren looked torn, but reluctantly nodded at
Drake. He turned to me and sighed. “It’s the only way,
ai
dulin
. You have a better chance of getting out of here, and
he’ll keep you safe.”

Sarette grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Go!
We’ll be fine!”

“Switch weapons,” Drake commanded,
interrupting us. “They’ll know your spear. If your friend has it
they’ll definitely think she’s you.”

I turned to him and growled. I hated being
told what to do when I was going to do it in the first place.
Sarette and I quickly switched weapons and began to move apart. Her
sword felt odd in my hands, but I stashed it in my belt and bolted
in the opposite direction from my friend and guardian.

“We need to hurry!” Drake exclaimed. “My
people can’t hold them off for much longer.”

As the distance grew, I sent a silent prayer
to Oren.
“Protect Sarette, and stay safe. Be careful,
Oren.”

“
Same to you, Princess. Get to the Summer
Court safely.”

My horse flew like the speed of light across
the land, keeping up easily with Drake and his brown mare. The
rumble of hooves on the ground signaled the advancement of the
other Summer Fae warriors catching up to us. They surrounded me and
Drake while we trekked the last few miles to the Summer Court. The
air was hot and humid the moment we crossed into their territory,
and it almost made me struggle to breathe it was so thick.

“
Oren, I made it to Summer. Where are
you?”
I waited to hear him come through the connection, but I
was only met with silence.

Drake stopped in front of the palace and
climbed off his horse, looking relieved and worn out. I never knew
he could look like that. Even in our dreams he was always calm and
collected, never showing raw emotions. Climbing off my horse, I
decided to try Oren again, desperate to hear his voice.

“
Oren? Oren, where are you?”

Panic started to engulf me, and I struggled
to breathe, gasping for air. Drake rushed over to me. “Are you
hurt? What’s wrong?” he asked, surprisingly gentle.

He looked unsure of what to do and genuinely
concerned, and in that moment I wanted to fall into his arms, but I
couldn’t. Instead, I fell to the ground screaming. The pain
exploded in my mind, and I knew that it was Oren’s pain coming
through to me. He was hurt, and he was in distress. Tears streamed
down my face as the pain intensified, bringing a whole new agony to
the forefront. I felt like I was going to die.

“Something’s wrong,” I choked out, shocked
that my body was losing control. Never before had I felt a tear,
never before have I cried for someone, but in that moment … I
cried.

Never in my life had I ever felt so
helpless. Watching Sorcha scream in agony was the worst pain I
thought I’d ever had to endure. My heart literally was ripped to
shreds in that moment, and what was worse was that I had no clue
how to help her. One of our healers had to use a sleeping spell on
her to get her to calm down, and even then, her will was so strong
that I thought the spell wouldn’t work. She fought it for as long
as she could, but eventually it became too much. I ended up
watching her sleep for the rest of the afternoon. I never even took
my eyes off of her when I heard someone enter the room through the
door behind me.

“You need to get some rest, my Prince,” the
voice recommended. The healer who had cast the sleeping spell on
Sorcha stood behind me. His name was Grayce, and he was one of the
oldest faeries in our court.

“I’m not tired,” I replied back, even though
I felt and looked exhausted.

“She’s going to be asleep for a while,
probably until tomorrow afternoon.”

Wide-eyed, I peered back at the healer.
“That long?” I asked hesitantly.

The healer looked thoughtful.
“Unfortunately, yes, but she needed it.”

Groaning, I put my head in my hands. “She
may have needed it, but when she wakes up, all hell is going to
break loose.”

“What does that mean?” Grayce asked, looking
confused.

Standing up, I ran my hands through my hair.
“It means, master healer, that we’re going to have a very angry
Winter Fae woman on our hands.”

My night was filled with a dreamless sleep.
I assumed my subconscious listened to me when I said I didn’t want
to dream about Sorcha ever again. For the whole morning, I spent it
with her at her bedside. Her warrior gear had been stripped, and
she was cleaned and dressed in a beautiful blue robe. She always
looked amazing in blue in my dreams, and even in real life she
looked astonishing.

Sorcha looked like an angel lying there all
peaceful and asleep, but I knew she was anything but one. The
sleeping spell was probably about to wear off, so I decided that
not being there would probably be best. I didn’t want to be the
source of her wrath. I was half tempted to lock the door to keep
her from taking out her anger on an innocent passerby. I decided
against it, but made sure to inform everyone to stay away from that
part of the palace until she woke up.

I met my father in the throne room, along
with the warriors that fought with me the day before. The grim
expression on my father’s face was answer enough. I was about to
hear bad news.

“What news from the Spring Court? Did
everyone make it there?” I asked, knowing very well that they
didn’t.

My father, King Oberon, shook his head and
sighed. “Over half made it there, including Sorcha’s brother,
Brayden. He was badly injured, but Ariella is taking care of him
while Meliantha makes her rounds to the wounded.”

Closing my eyes, I asked the one question
that I dreaded to hear the answer to. I had a feeling from Sorcha’s
episode earlier, her guardian and friend were in some serious
trouble. “What about Sorcha’s guardian and her friend?”

My father shook his head, and lowered his
gaze. “They didn’t make it, son. We don’t know if they’re alive or
dead.”

Hanging my head, I groaned and ran my hands
through my hair, frustrated. “How am I going to explain this to
Sorcha? The minute she finds out she’s going to want to leave here
to find them, and I can’t let her do that.”

“You’re absolutely right!” her voice
hollered out. “I’m going to find them!” Lifting my head, I stood
there frozen and shocked as Sorcha stood menacingly in the doorway
to the throne room. She stalked toward me and my father,
determination and confidence in each step.

“How are you feeling?” my father
acknowledged her.

Sorcha grinned faintly and bowed her head.
“Not too bad, actually. Thank you for your hospitality.”

“You are most welcome, child. I’m sure you
heard what we were discussing?”

Sorcha nodded. “Yes, and I wanted to tell
you that I have a way to locate my guardian and Sarette. Once I
find them, I’m going to go get them.”

“I understand, and you know we’ll help you,”
my father offered.

Curious, I asked, “What if your guardian is
incapacitated and can’t hear you through the bond? How will you
know where they are, because obviously if he could tell you, you’d
know by now?”

Narrowing her eyes, she gave me a sly grin.
“I have my ways, Prince Drake. By morning, I
will
know where
they’re at, and I
will
go to them. I refuse to let them
suffer because of me.” She bowed quickly to my father and me before
hurrying out of the throne room. I wanted to follow her, but I
couldn’t bring myself to do it.

“She reminds me so much of her mother,” my
father uttered. He rose up from his throne and clapped me on the
shoulder before leaving the room. Once all was quiet, I sat there
in the throne room contemplating our next strategy plan. If Sorcha
did, in some way, find out where her guardian was, there was only
one way to get them out quickly and safely, and that way depended
solely upon me.

After eating dinner with the warriors, we
all dispersed to head to our beds for the evening. The warriors had
their own quarters separate from the palace, but inside the walls
just like me. I had my own dwelling that gave me the space and
privacy away from my family, especially when Calista and Meliantha
were still living there. I was almost outside the palace when the
sound of music stopped me mid-step.