Wren

This wasn’t about mating. No, it was about something far bigger than me. Far bigger than my mother or anyone else.

“War.” Lacey spoke absently while she lay right back on the chaise we’d been on earlier in the atrium. It was the first word she’d uttered since we’d left her mother's bedside. “War.”

“How long has your mother been this sick?” I was a horrible friend. I’d been there for a month, and I’d bought the lies about Queen Beverly being away. I wondered what my mother knew. They’d been close friends at one point. But time can change a whole lot. Time can change nearly everything.

“Six months.”

“And they still don’t know anything?” I already knew the answer, but I had to ask anyway.

“No.” She put a hand to her throat. “They’ve brought in everyone. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. But I wasn’t allowed.”

“I understand. I kind of have some experience dealing with parents who demand difficult things from you.” Well, at least a mother. My father had been gone from my life for years. But that was an entirely different story.

“I know you do.”

I pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry, Lacey.”

“Despite what I said when you left, I didn’t actually want you to leave. And I'm glad you are back. I just wish it were for a better reason.”

“Yeah me too.” War was never a good thing. My mother’s talk about the end was beginning to make more sense.

“Wren, hey. Sorry.” Frost hurried into the atrium with Preston close behind.

He put a hand on my arm. “Are you okay?”

“I am.” I moved to my feet. I was exhausted but sitting down wasn’t going to help wake me up any. “What about you? How did it go with the king?”

“It went fine.” He put a hand in his pocket. “I can’t say the information was happy.”

“No.” I nodded. “Not if you heard the same news I did.”

“War.” He only uttered one word, but it’s the only one he needed.

“It’s been so long… and back then it was different. I mean these Dwellers.” Lacey curled up on her side.

“How is your mother?” Frost bowed his head slightly.

Lacey looked away, across the room. “Not good.”

“I’m sorry.” He knelt down beside her. “I truly am.”

“Thank you. But there is nothing we can do.” She pressed her lips together. “Nothing at all.”

“Plus, we need to get ready for war.” Preston crossed his arms. “One can never be too prepared.”

“You don’t need to sound so excited about it.” There was an edge to my voice, but I was too tired to adjust it.

“Sorry. I know. It’s just new.” His expression was more sheepish than I’d seen him.

“Yeah, I know.” I tried to soften my voice some with my reply. He was just a kid, even if he was close to adulthood and looked it. “But just keep reality in mind. This isn’t going to be fun.”

“I never said it was.” Preston started to pace.

“Does anyone else want some honeydew?” Lacey sat up. “I could sure go for some right now.”

I was glad she asked because none of the rest of us could. “Yes.”

“I’m shocked you want honeydew.” Frost nudged me with his elbow.

“I can get you something less sweet if you want,” Lacey offered. “We’ve got plenty here.”

“I think I could use sweet this time.” Frost let out a low whistle. “It actually sounds good.”

“Are you feeling okay?” I put a hand on his forehead.

“It’s been a day.”

“That it has.” No sense denying that reality.

He put an arm around me. “To the tavern?”

“To the tavern.” Lacey sighed before we made our way over.

“It is really nice here.” Frost sipped from his frosted glass while we sat and watched the river.

“I know.” We’d left Preston and Lacey to their own devices as we both needed air—and time— together. We had a way of relaxing each other that no one else could.

“I understand why you like to spend so much time here.”

“It is beautiful. But it isn’t home.” Despite loving the temperate weather and beautiful foliage, I would always be more comfortable among the ice and snow of my home court. It was in my blood.

“No, it isn’t.”

“Winter Court is home to you too, right?” I’d never directly asked him the question. I wondered how much of that oversight came from worry over the answer. Frost had been a consistent part of my life for as long as I could remember, I needed to know that despite what came, that would never change.

“Of course.”

“Do you remember much from your time in Summer?”

“No.” I’d been so young. “I mean I remember some of the fear. I remember my mother crying.”

“It must have been terrifying.” I knew about the war. I had to. It was why my father never came home.

“It must have been for you too.” He wrapped his hand around mine. “Absolutely terrifying.”

“It was.”

“You’ve never given up on seeing him again.” He moved our entwined hands onto his leg. “Have you?”

“I wish I could. Life would be easier if I did.”

“One could say that about a lot of things.” Frost got a faraway look in his eye. “But, he’s your father. It’s okay for you to miss him.”

“I barely knew him. Is it okay to miss someone you barely knew?”

“Yes. It’s okay to miss someone you never knew.” He released my hand, and I felt a momentary disappointment until I realized he was just readjusting it.

I knew exactly who he was talking about. Frost wasn’t the firstborn of his family. There had been a brother before him. A brother whose footsteps he’d been trying to fill even though no one had asked him to as far as I knew.

I sipped my honeydew. I’d been drinking entirely too much of late, but I figured I wouldn’t be drinking all that much more soon. Life was about to get even more intense.

He let go of my hand again and instead put an arm around me. “You are going to be okay, Wren. I promise.”

“You mean we are going to be okay.” I couldn’t lose him. Not completely. I couldn’t handle a world that he was not part of.

“You know your protection is of the utmost importance.” He stroked my hair.

“That doesn’t mean your safety isn’t important too.”

He said nothing, so I continued. “We don’t even know what we have to make it through yet. Isn’t that the crazy part? We are expected to just go along with things blindly.”

“That’s kind of the story of our lives, right?” He gazed out at the water. “We are fed bits and pieces of information, and we somehow have to hope that’s enough and we aren’t being led astray.”

“It sure seems that way.”

“But at least we have each other.” His gaze returned to me. His eyes looked deep into mine. “At least we have that.”

“I can’t imagine my life without you.”

“I’ll always be here for you.” He leaned in, and I leaned in.

The next thing I knew our lips had made contact, and it was happening again. The sparks, the intensity. The moans. I wrapped my arms around his neck. His arms wrapped around my body. The kiss intensified and deepened until I felt completely and utterly out of control. I slipped my hand up the bottom of his shirt and ran my hands over his warm skin. He cupped my breast over my dress. I’d never wanted to get rid of material more.

His lips moved down to my neck, and my entire body warmed as I arched into him. This was it. It was happening again, and this time I wasn’t going to try to stop myself. By the way his lips and hands devoured me, he wasn’t going to either.

“Excuse me.” A voice asked from nearby. “Do you know where I can find Frost?”

I turned to see an exceptionally tall, very human looking man with jet black hair.

“I’m Frost.” Frost rose quickly trying to compose himself. I was struggling more than he was, I had yet to get my heart rate back to normal as I let Frost pull me up to standing. “And who are you?”

“James.” The man held out a hand. “James Mendel.”

I snapped out of the fog and watched Frost accept his handshake. “I’m afraid that name doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“I’m a Guardian from Energo.” He pointed to his chest. “A Guardian to the Essence that is.”

“Energo?” Frost’s browns moved together. “So it’s really true. You are still around.”

“As far as I know.” James winked.

“Why did you seek me out?” Frost seemed completely back to normal now. How had he snapped back so quickly? Wasn’t he part of that kiss? Because this was his job. The answer creeped in. Friends or not, he was sworn to protect me.

“My friend told me I needed to find you. Seems I may be of some help. He made a stop in to see the queen.”

“The queen?” The queen was bedridden she wasn’t exactly taking a lot of guests. “Who is your friend?”

“Elron.” James looked up at the sky. “He’s an elf. Kind of related to you, I guess. Right? Elves and Fae are from the same lines at some point. But he’s not from here.”

“Why is he with the queen?” I ignored his comment about elves and Fae. It wasn’t something we were going to admit to.

“He comes from a line with some healing abilities. He may be able to help, but it sounds like it could take awhile, so he told me to come find Frost to start discussing strategy. You look pretty important. Who are you?”

“Wren.” I couldn’t remember the last time someone had asked my name. It may not have ever happened. Even in one of the other courts people knew me, for better or worse.

“She’s the heir to the Winter Court.” Frost stepped closer to me. “She’s more than pretty important.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Wren. And Frost.” James grinned. “Always nice to meet important people. So Frost, how much experience do you have with this?”

“With war?” Frost moved even closer to me.

“War? I usually call it battle, but close enough.”

Frost narrowed his eyes. “I’m trained in combat. I’m a skilled archer. And I’m a shifter.”

“Shifter, huh?” James looked me over. “What do you shift into?”

“A wolf.” Frost’s voice had become monotone.

“Ah. Classic.”

I laughed. “Classic? As compared to what?”

“You don’t meet too many panthers in these parts or anything.” James gazed around the meadow. “At least that I know of. One never knows what shifters are around I suppose.”

“True.” I’d learned not to jump to conclusions too. Shifters were very good at hiding and blending in even if they were required to register with a court if they lived within the borders.

“What is your experience with battle?” Frost turned the question back on James.

James grinned. “You don’t even want to know.”

“Yet I do.” Frost shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I absolutely want to know.”

“You could write a book about it.” James’ grin widened. “Or many.”

“I assumed there must be a reason they brought you in.” The Courts hated to even turn to each other for help, let alone turn to outsiders. “So I’ll take your word.”

“As I implied, I have a lot of experience.”

“Against Dwellers?” Frost crossed his arms. “In particular?”

“Unfortunately.” James’ expression darkened. “And against some far worse.”

“What are the Dwellers?” Frost asked. “No one has quite explained that yet.”

“Being kept in the dark?” James gazed up at the darkening sky.

I heard the distant sound of thunder. The storms were coming back already. “Yes.”

“I know the feeling. Comes with the territory of your position, I bet. I get my share of it as well.”

“And you said you were a Guardian to the Essence?” I normally sat back and let someone tell me their story without pushing for a response, but I decided to deviate from it this time. “Pardon my lack of knowledge, but what does that job involve exactly?”

“Protecting the most important woman in our world.”

“So you weren’t joking? There is still an Essence? A leader with the ability to control all the elements?”

“Yes.” James nodded. “Her name is Charlotte by the way, but that is neither here nor there.”

“Is she your lover?” Frost asked.

James laughed. “Uh. No. My fiancée is named Ainsley if that helps. But I might as well ask, what’s your position, Frost? By the way you move around Wren here you must be some sort of protector yourself.”

“Yes.” Frost nodded formally. “I am sworn to protect my Court, especially the royal members.”

“My guess is we can relate on quite a few things. Maybe we will be friends.” James smirked.

“We’ll see about that.”

“I was making a joke. Trying to lighten the mood.” James gave me a look. “Is he always this uptight?”

“In Energo you may be used to war. We are not here. We have been at peace for two decades.”

“I get it. But you can’t let the stress get to you. It’s only going to make you weaker.”

“That’s generally my philosophy.” Frost seemed to have relaxed some.

“But not today?” James raised an eyebrow.

“Not today.” Frost looked up at the sky. “The rain will be starting again. We should head inside soon.”

“I need to find Elron anyway.” James nodded. “I’m around if you want my assistance. I’m going to help either way.” He turned to me. “Pleasure meeting you, Wren. I think my fiancée would like you.”

“Pleasure to meet you too. Thanks for joining in with us to defend our land.”

“No one wants to let these Dwellers gain more power.” His expression darkened again. He went from jovial to dark so quickly.

“I’m getting that sense.” I shivered. Shivering at Spring Court? It seemed impossible except that the shiver had nothing at all to do with the temperature.

“When you guys are ready to work, come find me.” James turned and walked away.

As soon as James disappeared around the corner, Frost looked at me. “If he was too forward with you, you had every right to put him in his place.”

“He wasn’t too forward. Besides, I’m not putting anyone who has come to help us in their place. We need all the help we can get.”

“I agree with that point in theory, but you need to be respected.”

I smiled. “Frost, I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m good. I can handle myself.”

“I know you can. You can handle anything.”

“Well, almost anything.” I tried to ignore the growing ache inside. “I can’t handle the way I feel about you.”

“And what way is that?” He stepped closer.

“You know what was happening before we were interrupted.”

“Yes, yes I do.” He smiled that sinfully sexy smile of his.

“I don’t know if I handle that.” I pressed my palm to his chest. “You are a hard man to resist.”

“You don’t have any idea how hard you are to resist.” He put a hand on my hip. “There’s nothing in the world I struggle with more.”

“Well, you don’t have to resist me.” I so didn’t want him to. I wanted him, and I wanted to know he wanted me.

“Yes, yes I do.” He swallowed hard. “I need to stay focused.”

“Won’t you focus better after you give in?” What was I doing? I was full on coming on to Frost. Maybe it was the honeydew, or the stress of everything, or the fear of the trouble to come, but I could barely think straight.

“We can’t be together. We both know that. I can’t be your mate. I’m not what your mother wants for you.”

“And who cares? About any of that?” I was tired of worrying about anyone or anything other than the moment. “Life is supposed to be lived. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

“And your life is precious to me. I will not hurt it, or put you at risk in any way.” He looked deep into my eyes. And I didn’t think. I kissed him.

He kissed me back, and before I knew it, the haze set back in. I couldn’t think. I could only feel. His warmth. His taste. We were down on the wet grass, his hard body on top of mine. I buried my fingers in his thick, damp hair while his hands and lips explored me further. I started to unbutton his tunic.

He stopped short. “We can’t keep doing this.” He jumped to his feet and offered me a hand to help me up.

I refused. I chose to lie there in the wet grass and let the humiliation wash over me. “Why not? How does this hurt my life?”

“Maybe it doesn’t. But it’s going to make it harder when I have to let you go.” He held out a hand again. “Please, Wren. Please understand how hard this is for me.”

“I know.” I did, but it stung. It stung that he could reject me even if it was the right thing to do. “Just leave me out here.”

“Are you serious?” His eyes bugged.

Lightning lit up the sky above us.

“I love you, Wren. Ok? I love you so much it hurts sometimes, so no. I’m not going to leave you all alone out here in a magic-induced thunderstorm.”

I accepted his hand, the words I love you floating around my head. “You said I love you.”

“Because I do. And don’t pretend to be surprised.”

“I love you too.” I took both his hands in mine. “Even if I don’t know where that’s going.”

“Right now it’s getting us inside.” He looked up at the sky after another loud roll of thunder filled the air. “This storm isn’t going anywhere.”

Neither is the way I feel. I kept the thought to myself. Things were messy enough already.