Page 6

Chapter six

Roisin

T he longer we walked, the bluer Brandon’s skin turned.

“Tell me what it’s like being human.”

If I distracted him from the cold, then I might ease his suffering.

His shoulders lifted in a half-hearted shrug as though he didn’t have the energy to lift them further.

“I’m different from other humans. They don’t know about Fae, whereas I do.” His breath puffed as he spoke, sending clouds of icy air from his face. “I grew up knowing we were special. The chosen ones to protect you.”

“Are the Fellowship good people?”

“The best.” His icy eyelashes blinked heavily. “Grandfather is the best of them. One day I will be too.”

“I’m sure you will be.” I smiled grimly.

He chuffed out a laugh. “You don’t sound so certain, Princess.”

“I know nothing about humans nor the Fellowship.”

“What would you like to know?”

“Anything. Everything.”

His blue lips cracked as he smiled.

“Grandfather is the leader of the Fellowship. Ever since I could read, he’s been training me to take over as the next leader.”

“Should there have been someone between you two? He seems ancient, yet you’re young.”

His chin dropped to his chest. “My father, but he left when I was a baby.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. He left a note saying he couldn’t handle the responsibility.”

“Brandon.” I gasped and placed a hand on his arm. “That’s terrible.”

His gaze slid to my hand, and I dropped it quickly.

“I know. That’s why I don’t spend any time thinking about him. He doesn’t think about me.”

“I truly am sorry.” I stepped closer to him. “My father has always been there for me, for all of us. He may have done some questionable things to keep us safe, but we know he loves us. I’m sorry you don’t know what it’s like to have a father’s love.”

“Alister stepped in and loved me more than a grandson, but… I don’t think it was the same.”

“He sounds like a good man.”

“He’s the best.” His lips cracked even more, drops of blood welled on the surface of his blue skin, then froze in place.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have talked to him .

I was thankful I didn’t suffer from the cold as humans did, but a weird pang tugged inside my chest at the notion I might have made a huge mistake and would cause Brandon’s death.

It wasn’t like I realized the book would take us to this other realm. I was certain we were no longer on Earth because the sun hadn’t moved and in the short time I’d been on Earth, I’d witnessed the rise and fall of the sun. Our footfalls crunched on the snow, the only sound to be heard in this eerie environment since we’d stopped talking.

From what I understood about the realms, we were most likely in the Winter Court, but I couldn’t confirm or deny it without proof. Proof meant meeting the demons that lived here. I’d heard they were hideous creatures with horns, wings, fangs, or talons, depending on the type of demon. I didn’t want to alarm Brandon, either. Humans thought demons were evil. Demons were simply another supernatural creature.

Fae hadn’t seen demons since Father had sealed the Veil separating our world from Earth. I remembered Ciara showing me one book she’d found on the Winter Court and how we’d talked about visiting the other courts one day. Imagine if she understood I was here. She’d ask me so many questions right now, like Brandon had as we’d started walking, but he’d fallen silent now.

“Brandon.”

“Yeah?”

“What can I do to help you? ”

His dark blue gaze landed on my face. “Find a way back. Tell my grandfather I died doing my job.”

“You will not die. I won’t let you.” I grabbed his biceps in my hands. They were firm and muscular beneath my tight grip. “Didn’t you learn anything about surviving in the snow?”

“I usually go out in snow gear and have a way to communicate with people. I’ve never been stuck in the snow.”

Panic swirled low in my stomach. I’d dragged Brandon into this mess. I needed to get him out of it, but we’d seen nothing in the long time we’d walked. Nothing and no one that would help us. I cursed my impetuous nature for taking the book. Of thinking I’d find more answers. There had to be something I could do. My powers were over ice, and that would only make him colder. What if I froze him solid? I could preserve him.

My sister Saoirse had told me of the time Father froze her fated mate in a block of ice, but Saoirse’s fated mate was a wolf shifter and not human. Would a human survive freezing?

“I don’t know what to do.” I dug my fingers into his arms, wishing for something to come to me.

“Relax. Breathe. I’m not dying right this second.”

I huffed out a breath of warm air that gusted over his face with us being so close. His blue lips tugged up into a smile.

“If I was about to die, would you grant me a dying wish?”

“Anything. ”

“How about a kiss from a Fae princess?” His left eyebrow rose in challenge.

I released his arms and laughed. “You wouldn’t want a kiss from the ice princess if you’re freezing to death.”

“One, you’re not an ice princess, and two, the cold wouldn’t matter right now.” Another shiver ran over his body.

He’d started shivering less often now. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I didn’t like the look of it.

“My powers are over ice, so aye, I’m an ice princess.”

“Perhaps.” He tilted his head to the side. “Ice princess means different on Earth.”

“What does it mean?”

“A beautiful woman that is insanely hard to get because they interact with almost no one.”

I wrapped my arms over my chest. “I’d say the Fae who call me that in the Summer Court mean the same thing.”

“They’re wrong and I’ll take great pleasure in telling them so myself.”

I snorted a laugh, then covered my mouth with a hand.

“From what I’ve seen of you, you’re stunningly beautiful and have a sparkling personality that uplifts others. There is nothing icy about you.”

I called my power to my hands and let the ice coat them. “And yet, here I am, ice and all.”

“I don’t believe it, and to prove it, you’ll promise to kiss me before I die.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his arrogance. At his certainty that I would make such a promise. I could be as arrogant as him, though .

A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. “I’ll promise you a dying kiss only because you won’t die here.”

He chuckled. “Princess, I’m not Fae like you. This cold will kill me, eventually.”

I swallowed the lump of fear he was right. A part of me desired to know what it’d be like to kiss Brandon. If he was dying anyway, then I’d never fall for him. Never long to put my mark on his chest when I knew it would kill him. I stepped closer.

A swooshing noise sounded in the sky. We both looked up, shielding our eyes from the bright sunlight as a dark shadow passed over our heads. Within the time it took to blink, the unusual form landed in front of us.

A tall woman, taller than any I’d ever encountered, with horns on top of her head and a set of leathery wings behind her back, stared at us as though we were specimens in a jar.

“What little ants do I have here?” she asked. “Who dares come to the Winter Court unannounced? The King will have your heads.”

“Quicker than freezing to death,” Brandon said.

Her gaze snapped at him, and she gasped. “A human.”

Then her gaze snapped at me. “And you, who are you?”

“I’m Fae Princess Roisin O’Cleirigh.”

The demon stepped back. “This changes everything.”

“And who are you?” I asked, not letting her enormous form intimidate me.

“You can call me Tay. Demon Princess of the Winter Court. ”

Beside me, Brandon gasped, and then he collapsed on the ground.

“No.” I rushed to his side. “He can’t die. This is all my fault.”

Tay tilted her horned head to the side. “How did you both get here?”

I lifted the book I still had clutched in my hand.

“How did you get that?” She reached for the book, but I snatched it back toward my body.

“I’ll tell you as soon as you help my friend.”

“Let’s get one thing straight, princess to princess. I don’t take kindly to blackmail.”

“I’m not blackmailing you. I simply want to get my friend out of the cold before he dies before we talk. Please.”

Tay’s black demon eyes narrowed. “If you’re fooling me, then your death won’t be fast.”

“I’m not fooling you. I wouldn’t even know how. This is my first time leaving the Summer Court.”

“Oh, yes, we know all about what your father has done.”

I didn’t like the way she said that, but she scooped Brandon up in her arms. Jealousy pounded hard in my veins that she was holding him so close to her body when it was me he’d made a promise to kiss him before he died. I shoved it aside because I shouldn’t have those feelings for a human. I’d never be able to mark him as my mate because he’d die from the sheer power of it. A kiss before dying meant nothing, but jealousy meant emotions, feelings…

Tay launched into the air, taking Brandon with her.

“No,” I screamed.

Had she tricked me?