Chapter 1
Cress
Life wasn’t fair to some people. Some people, meaning me. Life wasn’t fair to me. “The Court of Frost?” I parroted, staring, open-mouthed at Sorrell as a cloak of ice finished forming over his entire body.
He sighed and cast a dark look my way as if this was all my fault. It wasn’t, so I didn’t know what the attitude was for, but I didn’t comment. “Yes," he stated. "We've landed in Alfheim and a castle doesn't just appear out of thin air, you know."
"It doesn't?" That seemed questionable to me since that's exactly what their castle had done. At least, from my perspective, it had.
He glared my way. "No," he said. "It doesn't. It takes a lot of magical energy to transport a castle. There's no doubt we've been summoned by the Court of Frost."
"The ambassador will be here soon then," Orion said.
I turned my head his way. "Ambassador?"
"Whoever he is, he'll want to escort us to the Castle of Frost," Roan responded with a nod.
"And you," Sorrell snapped, his finger pointed straight at me, making me blink, "need to explain what happened. I want a damn good reason why I shouldn't throw you in the dungeon and—"
Before Sorrell could even finish his threat, Roan stepped in front of me. "It was Ariana," he said coldly.
I peeked around his massive frame, watching as Sorrell's eyes widened a fraction before narrowing with suspicion. He lowered his arms and crossed them over his chest. "What happened?"
Roan looked back at me and I sighed, scooting out from behind his protective form. "Ariana said she wanted to talk—to explain," I began. "She took me to one of the castle walls, the one near the garden, and when we were talking she pushed me over the side. I tried to get back in, but the castle wouldn't open the door like it had before."
"Only Fae can cross into the castle," Sorrell said meaningfully.
I cut a glare at him, tightening my lips. "Well, it let me in before and it let me in this last time, now, didn't it?"
He didn't say anything for several moments, his face just as impassive and cold as it always was. Why the hell had he even saved me from that falling piece of ceiling? I wondered absently. It was obvious he didn't like me or trust me.
"Go on, Cress," Orion said, moving closer and touching my arm lightly.
I inhaled sharply and blew out a quick breath. "When I couldn't get back in immediately, I didn't know what else to do, so I started heading back to the village—"
"So, you did lead the humans to us," Sorrell growled, his expression darkening.
"Not on purpose!" I snapped. "I didn't even make it there before I fell into a hunter's trap and hit my head. Some sheep found me, apparently, and they took me back to the convent I was in before."
"Convent?" Roan frowned as confusion twisted his features and lowered his brows.
"It's not important," I said, waving my hand his way. "The fact is, I woke up there. Ran into my friend—who helped me escape—and we made our way back. By then, though, the nuns had called the soldiers from the local village and they'd already—"
"Wait, a friend?" Sorrell repeated, swinging his gaze to Roan. "Tell me you didn't bring another human into our court," he demands.
"Well, technically..." I started.
"I wasn't asking you, Changeling," Sorrell snapped.
That was it. I was going to clobber him. I was halfway between the space that separated us before I even knew what I was doing, but that was just fine with me. I lifted my finger and jabbed it right in his chest, shivering when a wave of cold washed over me. Slowly—ever so slowly—Sorrell's cool white-blue eyes tilted down to meet my gaze as I resisted yet another shiver and continued to scowl threateningly at him.
"I've had about enough of your remarks," I said through tightly clenched teeth. "And yes. I brought a human here—one, not another, because I'm a Fae. I think I proved that enough by stepping in to help you transport your stupid castle. Humans don't have magic, but I seem to. I don't know what your problem with me is but you need to figure it out and resolve it on your own because my best friend—the one who helped me even though I'm Fae, the one that lost her parents to Fae—is staying. Had I left her, they would have killed her. I don't leave my friends. Ever."
With that, I dropped my arm and took a step back. Still, I felt like my whole body was vibrating with my anger. I wanted to scratch his eyes out, claw at him until he bled. The anger I was feeling made me forget about the chill that surrounded him. In fact, I didn't feel it any longer—I felt overheated instead. A warmth rose up beneath my skin, making it practically glow with a yellow light. All three pairs of eyes were on me, watching me with a mixture of fascination and wariness. I didn't like that either.
It wasn't until Roan pulled me back against his chest, and I could feel his steady heartbeat in my ear, that I finally started to calm down. "It's okay, Cress," he said, leaning down to say the words in my ear. This time, I shivered for a completely different reason. But now really wasn't the time for that. "Your friend will remain safe. We'll have to leave her with Groffet, but he's trustworthy. If possible, we'll see if he can come up with an illusion that will keep her humanity a secret."
I swallowed against a dry throat. "Thank you," I croaked, feeling all sorts of emotions fill me up and slide through my veins. Damn. Being over-emotional really sucked. I felt drained already. If I were a man, I could probably punch Sorrell and be done with it, but I couldn't fight my way out of a wet bag made of parchment, so I settled for glaring at him.
I nodded once to let Roan know I'd heard him and acknowledged his words. I didn't know if that was some sort of signal for Orion, but he stepped forward and put a hand on Sorrell's shoulder. "We need to prepare for the ambassador's arrival," he said lowly.
"What's going to happen?" I found myself asking.
Orion's eyes cut toward me, but it was Sorrell who answered. "If we've been summoned by the Court of Frost then that means we're being summoned by the Frost Queen and the Crimson Queen." I frowned, confused, but he continued in that cool as ice voice of his—emitting no emotions. "And if we have been summoned then it's because we've broken Fae law."
"We couldn't help the original landing," Roan said. "They expect us to be able to transport the castle without the proper amount of power."
"Other courts have managed," Sorrell replied, lifting his head.
Roan's hands tightened on my shoulders. "Other courts have four royals. We wouldn't have been able to move it again had it not been for Cress."
"Which is a miracle in itself," Sorrell snapped before turning his gaze back to me for a brief moment before looking between Orion and Roan once more. "She could have died. If you two care so much about your damn Changeling, then keep her on a tighter leash."
I bristled, but Roan pushed me back and released me. "We don't have time for this," he gritted out. "We need to prepare to travel to them when the ambassador arrives."