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Iston is the eldest prince of the elvish kingdom. We grew up together and had a lot of history between us. We've been intimate for the past two years, enjoying our time together without all the obligations. We have passion and I love how he touches me and makes me feel, but there’s something missing. Everyone expects us to join our kingdoms. Unfortunately, my time was slowly running out before I had to make a choice. It was hard to do that with the visions plaguing my every thought.
However, it wasn’t just Iston pushing for the marriage, but the whole realm. Everyone was dying to see our union come to fruition. But that wasn’t the only trouble I was facing. Turning to face Merrick, I looked into his concerned brown gaze and ruffled his blond hair; it’d grown out a bit and curled around his ears. His skin was still golden like all the Summer fae.
“Don’t worry about me, Merrick.”
His smile faded. “It’s hard not to, Ella. I’ve been by your side ever since you were born. I know you have a lot going on.”
If he only knew. For the past two weeks, I’ve not only dealt with Iston and tried to figure out what to do with him, but I’ve also had visions. They weren’t about things that had already happened; it was as if they were a premonition, about what wasgoingto happen. Only I didn’t know what any of it meant.
On the night they started, I could’ve sworn someone was in my room. I’d sought out my elder Keeper to tell her everything this morning, but she had been called away to the mortal realm. There was no one else who would know what was going on.
Closing my eyes, I laid my head on Merrick’s shoulder. “I’ll be fine, I promise. Iston’s not going to push me into anything. I got this.”
“That’s for damn sure,” he said, his body shaking with laughter. “You are definitely your mother’s daughter. She used to give your dad hell.”
I snorted and opened my eyes. “He deserved it. I’ve heard plenty of stories on how he was an ass before they got together.”
The Winter fae weren’t exactly known for their warm hearts, but I’d seen my dad's love for my mom and her love for him.
“So, what’s going on?” Merrick prodded again.
Before I could reply, there was a shift in the air, and I felt a warm presence behind me. Merrick jumped to his feet and turned around, bowing at the woman who appeared. I already knew who it was going to be.
“Lailah,” Merrick called out, lifting his head.
He held out a hand to help me up so I could face the elder Keeper. She had the same whitish-blonde hair as me, but her eyes were amber, whereas mine were dark brown. We looked about the same age, but she had centuries on me. Growing up, I spent a lot of time with her while she mentored me in my Keeper duties; she was like a second mother.
Lailah smiled warmly at Merrick before focusing on me, her voice soft and smooth, almost angelic. She was the wisest of all the fae I knew. “I’m sorry we couldn’t speak this morning, Ella. I’m here now if you still want to talk.”
“I do,” I replied. I squeezed Merrick’s hand and met his brown gaze. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
Merrick smirked. “Yes, you will.”
Most fae enjoyed the Hereafter and chose to spend their time in pure bliss, but not Merrick. Yes, we were in the Hereafter now, but I knew he’d rather be in the Land of the Fae watching over my aunt Calista. Which was what he’d do when he wasn’t annoying me.
Lailah held out her hand and a bright light engulfed us the second I touched her. One minute we were in the Hereafter, and the next, we were in my Ice Court home, overlooking the frozen meadow. Every time I stepped foot in the Land of the Fae, the land’s call to me grew stronger. It wanted me to claim what was mine . . . the Frost Court. At least, that’s what I called it; it felt right. My parents had their Ice Court, and my father’s parents had reign over their Winter Court, but my kingdom was going to be different. Instead of snow like the Winter Court and ice like the Ice Court, I wanted frost. It was going to be a unique addition to the Winter Court. And if I completed the marriage bond with Iston, our kingdom would intertwine with the elves. It would make the Land of the Fae an even stronger realm.
Lailah peered out the floor-to-ceiling window to the icy landscape beyond. She was a Summer fae, but she never acted as if the cold bothered her.
“Tell me about your visions, Ella,” she said, keeping her back to me. “I know you started having them, and I can sense they’re troubling you.”
Lailah was the most powerful Keeper in all the land. If anyone could decipher my visions, it’d be her. I stood next to her, wanting her to meet my eyes, but she kept her gaze on the window. I had a feeling she already knew what I’d been seeing.
“You know what my visions mean, don’t you?” I asked.
Lailah blew out a sigh. “Yes, but I want to hear whatyouthink. Who do you think the man is?”
In my visions, I saw a guy with dark hair and gray eyes. He was dangerous. Lethal. And very powerful. I wanted to be wrong about who he was, but every time I saw him in my mind, I knew that my assumptions were correct. There were more of him, but he was the one who needed to be feared; he was the one with all the power.
“He’s a Shadow fae,” I answered. “Son of Alasdair, the dark sorcerer who tried to take over the Land of the Fae.”
My mother had killed Alasdair and sacrificed her life in the process. At the time, she didn’t know she was pregnant with me. I was the one who kept life in her body so Lailah could bring her back from the Hereafter. Using magic to restore life was not something that could be done for just anyone. My mother was brought back because of my destiny to become a Keeper.
Lailah nodded and looked into my eyes. “Sadly, your brother didn’t kill all of Alasdair’s offspring during the last battle.”
After Alasdair was defeated, my people detected some of his magic in the mortal realm. That was when it was discovered he’d been procreating, building an army of his own blood. It sickened me to think of all the women he’d violated to achieve that. I was told he was a brutal man.
My brother, Beck, had tracked down Alasdair’s eldest son about a year ago and killed many of the Shadow fae. But deep down, I knew it wasn’t the end; my visions only proved it. The Shadow fae weren’t going to stop coming after us until we completely wiped them out.
