Page 18 of A Fate of Ice and Lies (Fated #1)

Donnie stood beside me, his hand on my shoulder. “What is all this?”

Elias directed his half smile at me. “Food.” He waved a hand at the food bank. “If we ration it out, you should have enough to feed your people until my friends and I can harvest more.”

Friends, then. Not warriors.

“Harvest more?” I managed to squeak out. “How?”

Elias spread out his hand, and a swirl of silver fluttered from his palm. “Magic.” He winked at me, and an electric shock ran all the way to the bottom of my feet.

“Show-off,” one of his friends said.

I openly looked back at the second stranger and the sleek hair that passed his shoulders. While his hair was red, it had more of an orange tint than mine.

“My name’s George,” the fae said, extending his hand. “The big, ugly guy you’ve been talking to is Elias. ”

Ugly. When I scoffed, Elias shot me a small, almost shy smile.

Although George seemed friendly, I ignored his offered hand, and instead, I rewrapped the blanket over my shoulders and chest. My heart suddenly hammered against my ribs, and I instinctively drew away from him.

While I didn’t fear Elias, this one terrified me.

My reaction bothered George for some reason, and his alabaster skin turned a sickly shade of gray. Worry for the man seeped in unwelcome, and I pushed it back.

“Brenton,” the second friend offered. “The even uglier one.”

I shook my head in disbelief. This one’s hair was more a disheveled mop that sat on his head. Still beautiful, though.

“Don’t listen to a word any of these fools say.” Elias said this as a tease, but it felt like a gentle caress.

Clearing my throat, I stood straighter and held myself closer to Donnie.

Elias narrowed his eyes at us before he cleared his own throat.

“Where is your chief of police?” Elias asked Donnie. “Fort, is it?”

“Stuck in his house,” Donnie answered. “Snow’s blocking his doorway and windows. We haven’t been able to get him or his family out in two days.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Elias questioned, his voice gruff with what I thought was annoyance.

“We’ve got it handled,” Donnie said with a note of defiance.

“Clearly,” George huffed out.

He wrapped his muscled arms across his chest, and when Brenton pushed his shoulder, the scowl on George’s face fell away. George shook his head at his friend, not in annoyance but amused tolerance.

It was strange to see the three of them together.

So humanlike, yet different. That difference was apparent in the short-sleeved shirts they wore that not only showed off their ridiculous muscles but also told me they weren’t as cold as the rest of us.

Although oddly enough, Brenton and George both wore gloves to protect their hands from the temperatures.

“I’ll get him out,” Elias said with an arrogant nod.

“With magic?” I asked.

When the weight of his full attention swung back to me, I shifted uncomfortably.

“The greatest of magic,” he replied. “With my dragon.”

I licked my lips. “Dragon?” I asked in wonder.

He openly studied me, his gaze searching my face for something. “Does that frighten you?”

“Dragons?” Feeling stupid, I mentally shook myself out of this stupor. “I’ve never met a dragon before,” I whispered. “The commander’s dragon is breathtaking.”

“My uncle’s dragon is a sight to behold,” he agreed.

“Your uncle?” My eyes widened while my pulse quickened. “Are you a commander too, then?”

He inched closer to me. When his fingers brushed over the knitted edge of my blanket, I stilled, barely breathing. His heated breath caressed my cheek, and I shuddered. My traitorous body begged for more.

“I’m the prince of my realm,” he whispered.

Surprised, I pulled away and gaped at him as his boyish grin vanished.

What was I doing, thinking? Teasing a fae as if he were anything more than the enemy.

“Don’t . . .” I took a step back .

He held up his hands and angled his head in question. “What did I do wrong?” Worry washed over his features as he took me in.

I squeezed my arms tighter to keep myself from shaking. “Don’t touch me. I don’t know you. I don’t—don’t touch me.”

“Okay,” he breathed out. “I won’t touch you. I’m sorry, Teddy.”

He stood awkwardly, this giant sculpture of a man, not knowing what to do or who to look at. He fisted his hands by his side before shoving them into the pockets of his pants.

“I think that’s enough, Ted,” Donnie said, placing his hand on my elbow. “Why don’t you go inside while we figure out what to do with the food?”

“Distribute it to your people,” Elias answered, his tone leaving no room for argument.

“I won’t risk giving it to anyone until I know it’s safe,” Donnie argued.

“Why wouldn’t it be safe?” While his tone was calm, a vein strained along his neck.

“You said it yourself.” Donnie waved a hand in frustration before he shoved it back into his own pocket. “You harvested it with magic. Some of that produce can’t grow in this weather. Your magic may be unsafe for us.”

“You think I’d risk her. . .” He shook his head. “You think I’d risk anyone’s life?”

“I don’t know what to think,” Donnie tossed back, his face reddening in that telltale way that said he was much angrier than he was letting on. “I don’t know if you’re here to help or harm us.”

“Why would we waste our time harming you?” Elias asked .

“Why would you waste your time helping us?” Donnie countered.

Their back-and-forth made my head throb and made all the strange happenings of the past few days intolerable. My chest swelled; my heart batted against my ribs as this overwhelming sensation of everything and everyone flooded my brain.

“To harvest us, of course,” I joked.

I felt my cheeks flush when everyone turned to me.

I choked back a nervous laugh, but when I couldn’t suppress it, I covered my mouth as laughter erupted.

I hunched over, waving my hands in the air while I silently begged them to ignore me.

Instead, Donnie’s hand circled my lower back as he leaned down with me.

“You should go inside, Ted,” he said again.

I nodded but laughed even harder, both the motion and the sound further splitting the pain in my head.

And I swear, I swear, Leanora tsked in disapproval.

I swear she guided my attention to the knife Elias sheathed against his right foot.

I swear she urged me to grab it and plunge it into his chest.

I sucked in a shaky breath.

Elias knelt in front of me, his stunning face peering up at me in amusement.

“Don’t tell my dragon I told you”—he said, his voice tender—“but she’s a beautiful creature. While I’d never tell her so, I’ve often thought she looked majestic.”

The noise and commotion in my head stilled as I gazed back into his steady eyes. He blinked, and I found myself doing the same.

Suddenly sober, I nodded. “Majestic, yes.”

I chewed on the inside of my cheek in contemplation. He seemed to wait for me, expecting me to do something, anything. My heart settled into an easy rhythm.

How? I should be terrified of this . . . fae. I was terrified of him, but I also wasn’t. For some eerie reason, his presence calmed me. How was that possible?

But then I thought about his dragon. Majestic.

“Where you come from, does everyone have a pet dragon?”

One of Elias’s friends barked out a loud laugh that made me jump.

“Pet dragon,” George muttered with a shake of his head.

Elias sat on the ground and played with the fresh snow he let fall between his fingers.

It was mesmerizing to watch, and my knees threatened to buckle with the sudden desire to join him.

I probably would have if he hadn’t turned his focus back on me.

Then it felt like my lungs had forgotten how to work, so I took a purposeful breath in and out—over and over again until the knot in my chest loosened once again.

“Nalari, my dragon, isn’t a pet. Sama, my uncle’s dragon, isn’t a pet either.

None of the dragons are,” he explained, his voice soothing and as warm as the blanket I still clung to.

“They’re what we call Guardians. Kind of like.

. .” He paused for a few beats. “Like what you think of as angels maybe. Our Guardians guide and protect whoever they’re charged with.

Our elder Guardians are more like gods. We pray to them and ask them for protection or permission.

They’re the true rulers of our kingdom.”

I chewed my bottom lip, wondering if I could ask more questions.

Wondering how patient he’d be with the millions of thoughts that raced through my head about his kind and where he came from.

And dragons, because oh my gosh, dragons!

Even in my nerdiest book dream, I had never actually imagined dragons were real.

At least not in my time. Or in my realm , which I guess they hadn’t been until fae and dragons had entered our world.

“Ask anything,” he prompted, as if reading my mind.

I shuffled uncomfortably, forcing my thoughts away from awe and toward the practical.

“The food you brought us is safe for humans to eat?” I asked instead.

Disappointment marred his face, but he hid it when he reluctantly got up from where he sat and walked toward one of the carts. “My friends and I researched what food you harvest and eat. We were able to acquire seedlings that we planted.”

“Your tiny, handheld computers and Google are the real magic,” Brenton joked. “If we ever make it back to Niev, we should take this technology with us.”

Elias bowed his head and shook it. “Brent.” Elias dug his fingers against his scalp.

Ignoring his friend, I asked, “But how did you grow it with all this snow? Do you have a greenhouse?”

“We don’t have much of a house just yet,” Elias said, sending me another half smile.

I put my hands on my hips. “How did you grow the food?”

“Forget it, Ted.” Donnie put an arm over my shoulders, and as he drew me closer, he waved his other hand toward the carts. “We appreciate all this, but we’ll figure something else out.”

“Guardians help me,” Elias hissed out as he rounded on Donnie, his towering body making me feel small although his heated gaze rested on my old friend.

Donnie stepped forward, pushing his chest out toward the fae who could destroy him. I touched Donnie’s arm, wanting to pull him behind me when I knew Elias would hurt him but not me.

Which was ridiculous. Right?

“How do you expect to survive without food? You are my responsibility.” He thumped an open palm against the large expanse of his chest.

His violet eyes shone bright with anger, and for one quick beat, they turned impossibly black so that no white showed—just an engrossing abyss of black.

I hissed in a breath as I took a retreating step back.

“Teddy,” he sighed out, his shoulders slumping in resignation.

“Please leave,” I whispered.

His expression fell, but before he could say anything, Donnie rushed forward toward where George stood. I turned to see George kneeling on the ground and little Victoria, unattended with her mom nowhere around, chewing on half a strawberry.

“No,” I pushed out.

Her little smile fell when Donnie scooped her up and shoved a finger in her mouth.

“Spit it out, Tori,” he said, his words strewn together in an anxious stream.

Squirming in his arms, the little girl dropped the rest of her strawberry and started to cry. I hurried to her, rubbing soothing circles on her back when I reached her. She leaned toward me, her skinny arms stretching toward me to pick her up.

With her nestled in my arms, I kissed her temple. “Did you eat that strawberry?” I asked, trying to keep the nervous quake from my voice.

She nodded before dipping her face to my neck. I rubbed her back again and maneuvered my body to the side so she was farther away from Elias when he approached us.

He stopped a few feet away and held his hands up.

I tilted my head down to better listen to her breathing, not that I could hear it that well over the hammering of my heart.

“We should take her to Daniels,” Donnie suggested, talking about our town doctor. “He’ll know what to do.”

“There’s nothing to do here but maybe feed her more,” Elias growled.

I looked around for Collette but couldn’t find her. I clasped a hand over Victoria’s ear to shelter out some of my worries.

“Is she going to be okay?” I asked Elias. “Because so help me God, if you’ve harmed her in any way. . .” I fought back the threatening tears.

“I haven’t harmed her,” Elias said, resting a hand on his chest where his heart lay. “I wouldn’t harm her or you. You must believe me.”

Anger and fear clashed, so I clenched my mouth shut to keep them from chattering. “I must believe you?” I parroted back with a scoff. “The only thing I have to do is stay away from you and your kind.”

He blanched at my words, taking a step back as if I hurt him, which was absurd.

“I’m taking her to the doctor, and you better pray to your Guardians he doesn’t find anything wrong with her,” I warned.

Donnie placed a heavy hand on my shoulder, and I went when he drew me to him.

I would have let my trembling legs collapse under me if Victoria’s mom had been around to take care of her daughter.

But as she’d done so many times in the past, she’d probably left, knowing I’d watch Victoria in her absence.

I didn’t have time to wonder how long that absence would be this time.

Elias raked a hand through his long hair.

“I didn’t harm her,” he promised. “But you’ll find that out soon enough.

When you return, I’ll have your store filled with the food we brought.

I’ll be back in a few days when we harvest more, and I’ll bring as many cuts of meat as I can.

” On his sides, he clenched his fists hard.

“I won’t let you suffer, Teddy.” He said it with such reverence I wanted to believe him.

Except. “We all suffer. It’s probably the only thing every species has in common.”

But with Victoria cradled in my arms, I wished it weren’t true. I wished this strange fae, with all his strength and power, could shield us from the worst of it.