Ever Winter (13 page)

The woman turned, her golden skin glowed with a smooth tan and rich amber brown eyes watched her move closer. She was slender and wore a cloak clasped at her neck over a bright yellow dress tied right beneath her breasts. It flowed down to her feet, making her look like she was floating. The woman smiled at her and held her arms out as if waiting for an embrace.

“Shade, I’ve waited so long to meet you.” She gave her a hug, squeezing tightly and sighing as she pulled her away to look at her. Her eyes glistened with tears, elated to see her. Shade studied her face, throwing her an unsure smile and tried her best to pinpoint where she’d seen her face before. So familiar yet, why did it still feel like it was a stranger standing before her.

“Have we met?” Shade asked.

The woman laughed, pulling her in for another embrace. “No, we’ve never met, but I’ve watched you your entire life.” She stepped back again, taking in Shade’s confused look. “You’re my legacy, Shade. You are blood of my blood. The last and only one in existence. Inside, you carry my powers. In you, I live on, even in deep slumber.”

Shade’s mouth opened, surprised at the woman’s words. Could she be the one from Dylan’s story? The Ancient Summer Queen? It had all felt like a fairytale of sorts, but could that mean that one of the ancient queens was standing before her? There was an Ancient Ice King so why wouldn’t there be a summer queen?

“What do you mean?”

“I’m Kilara, I rule the summer court, all the Seelie clans and am one of the ancient faeries of the land. You’re my descendant−my heir. You’re the only one I have now. I need you to find my resting place before Corb does. Do you understand?”

Shade felt around at her memory, a mention of Corb and a flash of Dylan floated across her mind, like a forgotten errand she
was supposed to do. “Corb? Why does he want to know where you are? How’d I get here, by the way?”

“Because, he seeks to enslave me for all of time as his queen. I loved him once but he has, for the lack of a better word, changed.” Kilara sighed, her own memories flashed behind her eyes as she continued. “He cannot find me Shade. He’s enchanted your memory away, but you’ll remember this, he cannot make you forget everything. There is always a way to remember, Shade. Don’t forget that.” She softly tapped on the memory vials dangling around Shade’s neck before she pushed a strand of hair out of her face and her brows furrowed.

“Where are you, so I can find you?” Shade stopped, remembering her destiny to stay with Corb. “Wait, if I know where you are, won’t he find out? He has me trapped.”

The summer queen shook her head and looked behind her. She waved someone forward, presenting Shade’s spirit guides Duende, Elaby and Astrid. Shade gasped with joy and ran to them as they took turns giving her hugs, smiling brightly.

“They will help you remember. Corb is powerful but he cannot acquire what you don’t want him to never know or understand. Don’t forget what I’ve told you Shade. Always remember, your memories are at your side already, you just have to find a way to remember them.” She reached out and once again tapped the memory vials hanging from her throat. Shade clasped at the necklace containing her grandmother’s essence and the other vial, which held her own memories which Jade, her mother, had made for her before leaving her at the beach. She nodded, smiling up toward the queen and her spirit guides.

“But Corb will know. He’ll take my necklace.”

The queen shook her head, a kind smile played on her lips. “He can’t do that. Memory charms are sacred and can’t be removed by anyone in Faerie except the wearer. He’ll think you’ve forgotten what they’re for. Even an Ancient is powerless to remove such sacred magic.”

Shade was relieved at her words, hoping she wouldn’t forget what they were for when the time came. “I’ll remember. I won’t forget, I promise.”

“It will be hard, Corb is quite powerful. But, we’ll be there for you.” Her spirit guides said in unity. Their identical faces comforted Shade and she had missed them incredulously. The joy she felt to know that they had remained with her, even in silence, was overwhelming. They couldn’t speak to her but in dreams, and even those were now quite rare as Shade’s magic had grown intense and had kept them at bay with self-imposed barriers.

The summer queen pulled her close and leaned in to whisper in her ear. She told her the location and where to find her and exactly what to do to wake her. Shade etched it into her mind and hoped it would stick. She knew time was short before she woke, she could feel it pulling her back into the world every second. As the spirit guides and the queen waved goodbye to her, she waved back and prayed she wouldn’t ever forget.

Chapter Twelve

“SOMETHING’S WRONG.”

Soap paced the room as Brisa curled up on one of the settees. Prince Lotinar’s knuckles were white as bones as they gripped the arms of his chair. His face was stoic, but his eyes glowed in silent fury as the Changeling-Teleen warrior continued to pace the length of the room.

“We don’t know that.” Ursad gritted his teeth as he spoke.

“Then what do we know? All I know is that it’s been three days. Three days! Shade’s time is up and she has yet to return! And…” He stepped up toward the prince and narrowed his eyes. “Your teleporting servant is missing. How do you explain that? He chose a strange day to teleport out of here. The third day that we’re still waiting and he vanishes, without a word? I don’t think you realize what is going on here, unless that’s a common habit of your servants.”

“Stop already!” Brisa groaned and threw a pillow across the room. She was missing her best friend and worried sick. “Something is going on but we don’t know what it is yet or what we’re going to do about finding out.” She turned toward the prince, her frown growing deeper as she studied the royal. “What are you planning to do now? Have we assembled a search party? Or anything for that matter? Maybe Ilarial can help… We need to help them, go there and…”

“No.” It was Ursad’s turn to stand up, folding his arms to pace the room. “We can’t go there. The Great Divide is extremely protected and isolated. If the Ice King doesn’t want us there, we can’t enter. Only his kin can enter without permission.”

“Wait,” Brisa interrupted as he paused to glance her way. “How do you know that? How would you know if only his kin can enter unless…You’ve been there, haven’t you?” She glared at him as she waited for him to answer, staring accusatorily. “And who might be related to this ‘Ice King’?”

Soap stood perfectly still observing Ursad’s sudden shift in attitude. He seemed flustered and caught off guard. If anything, Soap could see a liar in their midst.

“Yes, how would you know such things, Your Majesty?”

The silence filled the room as the two pairs of eyes focused on the prince. Sweat gleamed on his forehead as he flicked his eyes between them and backed away like a frightened animal. “I don’t know, maybe it’s something someone once told me…”

“I don’t believe you.” Brisa was on her feet and stepped toward the prince. Soap grabbed her back before the guards popped out of camouflage and aimed spears directly at them both. Brisa froze and let Soap tug at her arm, pulling her against his chest. They couldn’t approach the Prince within five feet. The sharpened metal ends were inches from their faces as they waited for Ursad to decide what he was going to do now.

“It’s alright. I’m pretty sure we’re all just very concerned about Shade.” He waved his troops to ease back into their positions. They immediately faded all around the room but the feeling of solace was gone. Brisa slipped back down onto the settee looking like she was going to burst into tears and Soap took to the chair across from her. Tension filled the room, swallowing any kind of hope they might’ve had. They both faced the prince, unsure of what to do next.

Ursad also resumed his position on his chair once more. He rubbed at his forehead; his alabaster skin looking even paler, if that was possible. Finally, his glowing green eyes flashed open and looked sadly upon them.

“I’m sorry. I tried to keep her safe. I think that Corb has kept her prisoner, though I’m pretty sure he has restored her powers. The last thing he’d want is for her to die from a darkling mark. He needs her, desperately. He seeks to find the Summer Ancient and Shade, well, she’s her only living descendant.”

“What?” Brisa’s face screwed up with confusion. She glanced toward Soap, hoping he might know what was going on.

“You’re saying she’s related to the Summer Queen? The Ancient Seelie ruler has not been seen in hundreds of years. How would Shade know her location?” He was as perplexed as Brisa was and wanted answers, now.

“She wouldn’t, unless the queen tells her.”

Soap laughed, shaking his head but looking disgusted. “So, you think she’s going to tell Shade somehow? And Corb will find out somehow? Is that it? So what happens when he does discover the Ancient’s location? What of Shade then?”

“I don’t know.”

“Liar.”

“Soap.” Brisa shushed him, afraid the guards posted along the wall would emerge again. “Look. Tell us everything you know, Ursad. She was your friend too. She saved you from your cursed fate and you treat her like this? How could you hand her over to Corb like that? It was you wasn’t it? You told Camulus to take her there.” A knot of dread twisted in her stomach, knowing her friend was so far away
and in so much danger. It wasn’t like she could do anything about it−she was powerless, utterly human. At least, she’d make damn sure these faeries had their heads on straight to help her as much as they could.

“I didn’t tell him to take her there because
I wanted Corb to take her prisoner. I had to get her there, no matter what. I have to obey any orders from the King. He’s my father and also ruler of this realm, whether I like it or not.”

Nothing was short of shock written across their faces. Corb was Ursad’s father? It was unexpected at the most. Comprehension replaced the shock as they waited in silence, not knowing now if Ursad was a friend or foe.

“So when do we go then?”

“I can’t go there, it’s
−I vowed I’d never return…”

“We don’t care about your tragic childhood or your insecurities, we want Shade back and you’ll help us. You owe it to her. She could’ve left you stuck as a deformed mess−a cursed outcast. She could’ve but she didn’t. You’re inde
bted to her.”

Ursad flinched at Soap’s words, baring his eyes into the intricately woven rugs on the floor. A thin line where his lips should’ve been told them his tension was eating him alive, maybe his guilt was too. He knew Soap was right. Shade was owed so many things for her many sacrifices for the Land of Faerie, including saving him from exile. He gripped the arms of his chair until his nails dug into the hardened wood, making them throb in pain and his knuckles turn bone white. Could he face Corb once more? He hated him with every morsel of his being.

The Ancient Ice King had approached him but a few days ago, after years of no contact, telling him what he had to do. Defying him would make things worse so he’d gone along with his orders and hoped that he’d let Shade go in the end. After all was done, he hadn’t let her go, obviously. This made Ursad’s chest ache with guilt and seared through his heart. Shade would have nothing to do with him now, for certain. This was the absolute worst of it.

“I understand. I’ll take you there, but the dome that protects the castle only welcomes kin once a moon cycle. When the moon is once more full, the gate opens and it will let me in and whoever is with me. That is almost two weeks away.

“What? Two weeks? No, we have to get there sooner. I’m not waiting two weeks. It’s your fault she’s in this mess! Fix it now or I’ll fix your face.” Brisa was on her feet again but Soap caught her before she could even step on foot near the prince. They didn’t want to end up dead before they could rescue Shade. Brisa wasn’t a sit and wait type of girl.