Cicely! Cicely! Stop! Get off this plane, now. You are in grave danger!
Ulean’s voice was urgent, but I refused to listen. And then, as I turned, looking for more prey, there was a brilliant flash—like lightning against thunderclouds—and I found myself falling, spiraling through the air, the power of the winds suddenly sucked away. Frantic, I twisted head over heels as I realized the ground would soon approach.
Shift into an owl, Cicely. Ulean was beside me, urging me to transform.
I’m still in my clothes—I can’t get them off. I’ll get tangled in them if I do.
And then, from somewhere in the distance, I heard a voice as beautiful as the night—as dark and rich and melodic as a rose garden on a summer’s evening. I couldn’t make out the words, but they were old, and vibrant, and coiled around me, and the next thing I knew, my clothes had drifted away—somehow I’d gotten them off. And I realized my free fall had slowed considerably and I was almost drifting on the breeze.
Now, shift! Don’t question it, just shift.
Without wasting time, I shifted. Arms to wings, fingers to wing feathers, body shortening, feet to talons, and then, I was aloft, pulling up and out of the spell that had kept me from crashing to the snowy ground below. I circled the tree line. We were only a short ways from the portal.
Ulean, I will fly to it, because I have no idea where my clothes are. Can you tell Grieve and Chatter so they can tell the others?
Of course, Cicely. Go now.
And so, I flew directly to the Twin Oaks, never so happy to see two trees in my life. I lightly touched down on the ground, loosing my balance on the snow, and as I transformed back, I fell forward, into the icy banks of white. I scrambled to my feet and raced for the portals. Two of the guards had sped along, and they were there. One of them handed me his cloak, without a word, affixing it around my shoulders, and they took my hands and jumped through the portal with me, back to safety.
The others made it back with no problem. Shivering, I wondered what had happened to my clothing, when Luna approached and handed me my jeans, underwear, corset, jacket, and circlet.
“I have a spell that brings things to me. I just…brought your clothes to me when Ulean whispered that you couldn’t transform because of them.” She looked pleased as punch, and I grinned at her.
“Thanks for the strip job.” I winked at her, then sobered. “Seriously, that’s a handy spell. Keep in practice. If I ever need it again when we’re out, don’t hesitate.”
She nodded. “I’m more than happy to help.”
We had a few minutes before meeting my father, so I hurried to my room and dressed again. Druise once more tightened the corset laces for me.
“Can’t we just do that and then use the busks to hook and unhook it?”
The look on her face spoke volumes. “We can, my Lady, if that’s what you choose to do. But…this is…what I do for you. I’m not sure how to be your lady’s maid, begging pardon. You don’t seem to need me.”
Feeling bad that I’d upset her, I flashed her a warm smile. “But I do, and I will more and more as time goes on. I don’t think I’ll need you quite in the ways a lot of the Queens would, but we’ll work out our pattern.” Motioning for her to sit down beside me, I waited until she uncomfortably complied. “Listen, Druise. I’m from a far different world than the life of the palace. And while I’ll adapt on some things, the Barrow will have to adapt to me on others. We’ll find a compromise that works for us both. Meanwhile, you keep doing what you do, and never fear—I like you. I’m not going to yank your job out from under you.”
She frowned for a moment, and then a smile broke through her gloom. “Thank you, Your Highness…because this position means the world to my family. It’s a step up for us—I’m the first one to stand this near to the Court.”
Then it hit me. This was how it worked here. This job wasn’t menial labor to her; it wasn’t beneath her. It was actually a boost in status and—most likely—payment to her family. And she’d been worried that I’d turn her out. And that would have been a supreme disgrace.
I patted her hand. “Druise, take heart. You’re my lady’s maid. Nobody else. As long as you are loyal to—” I started to say Grieve but stopped myself. It was time to think before I spoke. “As long as you are loyal to the King-Elect, and to me, then have no fear.”
As she dropped to her knees by my side and pressed her forehead to my hand, a soft bell chimed in the chamber. I glanced around.
“That is the summons to Court, Your Highness.” She quickly stood and stepped back, her cheeks flushed. “Are you dressed? Is there anything else you need?”
I glanced down. I was back in my jeans and corset, but my hair was a mess. “Would you mind brushing my hair again?” It would have been just as easy for me to pick up the brush, but I was starting to get it.
She beamed and motioned for me to sit at the vanity. The strokes of the brush felt good against my scalp, soothing me into a relaxed state.
Ulean swept up by my side.
Cicely, you did what you needed to in order to escape, but we have to find a way for you to control the winds. Lainule broke you out of the frenzy this time—
Lainule? You’re kidding! I didn’t know it was her.
Yes, she broke your concentration. She will tell you about it herself.
Wondering how Lainule had thrust herself into the plane of Air, I shook my head. Druise was finished with my hair, and so I thanked her, stood, and headed out to the Court, where Lainule was waiting with Wrath and the others.
She gave me a long look. “Ulean told me what happened. The Elemental wasn’t aligned with Myst, I think. But there are powers in the wild now that are chaotic and running mad. This was not your fault. But we have to take you in hand and teach you how to direct these abilities that the fan transferred to you.”
I gazed into her eyes. “How did…did you…”
“Remember, I told you that I owned the fan before you?”
I nodded, sensing that some sort of revelation was on the horizon.
“Cicely…the same thing that happened to you, happened to me. The fan’s powers—became a part of me. But I learned to control them.” She smiled then, tipping my chin up. “This is why I know how dangerous it can be to call them forth.”
“There’s more. The Snow Hag stopped us today.” I told them about what she’d said. “Myst is nearer than we feared. And her Shadow Hunters are regrouping.”Lainule let out a sigh. “We’ll send out scouts. That’s all we can do for the moment, but at least we are forewarned.”
“And now, wife, I must take my daughter and her fiancé to see their new home. Your friends may attend.” Wrath motioned for me to follow. The others fell in behind Grieve and me, and we trailed after my father, out the door of the Court, while my mind whirled with thoughts.
Chapter 5
We exited the Barrow and I wondered just how we were to find our way into the realm of Winter. No one had yet told us how the realms were connected, and it wasn’t something obvious to figure out.
Wrath paused and looked back at me. “The path to the realm of Winter is found outside Summer. Are we all here?”
I glanced around. Grieve, Chatter, Kaylin, Luna, Peyton, and Rhiannon…and me. All waiting. And behind them, Lainule waited, her robes shimmering gold and green. Her hair was turning fast now, the highlights auburn among the gold.
“We’re here.” I steeled myself.
“A moment.” Wrath motioned to the side, and Druise ran up carrying a heavy cloak the color of twilight. She draped it around my shoulders and fastened it with a silver pin in the shape of a holly leaf. I rubbed my hand on the material. It was soft, almost like velvet, and warm.
I looked up at my father. He smiled and shrugged.
“You may be destined to become the Queen of Ice and Snow, my daughter, but even you will find the realm harsh and cold at first. That will change, of course, but for now, best you be protected. The rest of you, cloak up. Grieve and Chatter will be fine, but mortals and half-bloods must take care.”
And out came another servant with a cloak for Rhiannon, matching mine but in a deep hunter green with a gold brooch, and slipped it over her shoulders, fastening it for her. Yet another servant carried cloaks for Luna, Peyton, and Kaylin. When we were all ready, we headed toward the portal, following my father.
As we emerged from the portal, I saw what my playing with the winds had wrought. The sky was shimmering with snow, the pale sun that had been trying to peek out through the clouds the past few days was gone, and a cutting wind was blowing the snow into high drifts. I’d taken Myst’s handiwork and made it worse.
“Once we stop the Indigo Court, at least winter will fade normally,” Luna said.
I bit my lip. “It will fade here, but…” I glanced at my father. “Where Grieve and I will be living, it will be perpetual winter, won’t it?”
He nodded. “Yes, my dear. And Rhiannon will live in perpetual summer. I have a feeling you two are going to break tradition, though, and come out of your realms more often than Lainule did, or Tabera.”
Grieve took my hand as we turned in a direction I had not yet been in—this was not the way to where we had found Lainule’s heartstone, nor where we had journeyed to the realm of the Bat People. Instead, we were heading into the core of the forest, toward the Cascade foothills. There was no path here, but as Wrath moved forward, the bushes opened up for him, pulling back under their heavy weight of snow, as if they sensed his coming and acknowledged his presence.
“Who was the King of Winter? You said Tabera was murdered by Myst. But what about her King?”
He paused and turned. “Tabera was married to Shatter. As always happens when a queen dies and is not replaced, he died with her.” The look on his face told me that his death had not gone easy.
“Did Myst kill him, too?”
“No.” Wrath glanced up at the snow that fell softly, with a muffled hiss, around our shoulders. “When Myst came to this land, when you were her daughter, she didn’t attempt a coup of the Winter Court. Not until this past year. She hid in the shadows for centuries, biding her time, and bred her court.”
I had wondered about that—my memories of that time were nebulous, coming in snippets, and I had no clue of how things had gone down other than what I’d been shown.
“When did she kill Tabera?”
My father frowned. “Last year she came out of hiding, emerged and destroyed the Winter Court. Because we—and Tabera—kept to the traditions of having contact only during the Solstices when the reins of control change over, we did not know it had happened until Litha—the Summer Solstice.”
“So you had no clue?”
He shrugged, a dark look clouding his face. “In some ways, we gave her the perfect setup. Tabera could have called for help, if we had kept closer contact. So Myst threw her down—she found Tabera’s heartstone and destroyed it.”
I shivered. Destroying a queen’s heartstone was cold, deliberate execution. “And Shatter tried to avenge her?”
“Yes.” Wrath started walking again. “From what the remnants of the Winter Court tell us—those who managed to escape and were not turned—Shatter planned out an assassination. But a few of his guards fell under Myst’s spell, including his most loyal captain. Shatter’s plan was exposed. Before Myst could kill him, Shatter destroyed himself, taking a number of Myst’s new converts with him. He blew up part of the Winter palace. We’ve had a crew working on it nonstop since we routed her from the Barrow.”
A thought crossed my mind. “Is Myst…will she still have Shadow Hunters there?”
“No,” Grieve said. “When she routed Summer, she took up residence in the Court of Rivers and Rushes because it provided easier access to the town and their people.”
Wrath nodded. “The guards and tradesmen have been working hard, and there are no signs of Myst or her Shadow Hunters. The Winter Court is ready and waiting for you.”
I fell silent, thinking about everything he had told me, as we traversed the roughening terrain. Lainule, Grieve, Chatter, and Wrath had no problem, of course. They could walk on top of the snow if they wanted. Kaylin wasn’t far behind them—he moved with an ease that belied the demon within him. But Luna, Rhiannon, Peyton, and I weren’t faring quite as well. How the hell was I going to function once I actually moved into the realm of Winter if I couldn’t even get around?
“I’m going to have to get snowshoes, I think, once we move in.” I was grumbling and knew it, but the thought of a continual struggle to even get around in my own home was daunting.
Lainule glanced at Wrath. “I think we should tell her. I’ve hinted at it before, but I haven’t come out and told her clearly.”
“Tell me what?” Please, oh, please, let it be something good for a change.
Wrath gave her a nod. “When you and Rhiannon undergo official initiation, you will be able to move like full-blooded Fae. As we’ve said, the initiation will change both of you in ways you can only imagine. We can’t tell you everything, but that much, I assure you.”
I glanced at Rhiannon, a look of glee spreading across my face. She returned it with just as much enthusiasm. “That is awesome!”
Lainule laughed. “Oh, I wish I could stay to see what kind of courts you girls run. I know we can trust you, but in your hands—you and your cousin—Summer and Winter will never be the same.”
Rhiannon’s smile faded, as did mine. The reminder that Lainule and Wrath would be gone, forever, struck us yet once again. But then, Rhia hadn’t gotten to meet her father, and he was dead.