The Summer Marked Read online

  Well didn’t that seem convenient? Couldn’t I spend a few minutes with Gareth before he left?

  He gave me a sheepish grin. “I’ll stop by and see you later.”

  As soon as he left, Gwenn spun on her heel. “C’mon. You need to go inside.”

  We hurried into the palace, down the hall, and back up to my room. Before she let me go in, she did a quick sweep as if checking for monsters. When she was done, she poked her head out.

  “Just so you know. I don’t approve of you being with my brother,” she said. “He doesn’t need to be worried about some weak human. I don’t know what he or the king sees in you. But I’m telling you now, I won’t coddle you. And don’t expect me to be your friend just because my brother has a momentary lapse of sense.”

  My face burned. What the heck had I done to this chick? “Um—okay.”

  “Regardless of my feelings, I’m your new guard. So don’t do anything stupid.”

  I shoved past her into my room. “I don’t need your protection. In fact, you don’t need to be near me at all.” With that, I slammed the door shut.

  If Gwenn thought she could bully me, she had another thing coming. I wasn’t the same meek girl I’d been in my world. After everything I’d been through, no way in hell was I going to let some stupid, stuck up girl with a sword tell me what to do. Well…unless of course she drew the sword and tried to kill me.

  A sigh escaped my lips. Yep. This would be a long stay in Summer.

  Acouple of hours later, Gareth barged into my room. He wore his chainmail armor and had his helm tucked beneath his arm.

  “Sorry, Nevin had some last minute things to go over before I left.” He strolled across the room, set his stuff on my bed, and then wrapped me in his arms.

  I sighed, clutching him tightly. “Are you leaving now?”

  “I’ll be back soon.” His fingers traced my jawline, and he cupped my chin in his hand, tilting my head upward. He bent down, his lips crushing mine.

  Tingles ran up from my toes to my head. My pulse soared as I pressed myself against him. He backed me against the wall, his hands tangling in my hair.

  Breathless, he pulled away, eyes burning into mine. Why did it feel like he was kissing me goodbye for the last time? A lump lodged itself in my throat.

  “May-maybe I should just go home,” I said. “At least until the training sessions are done.”

  “No. You won’t be safe there.”

  “And I am here?”

  “Gwenn will guard you with her life.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, right. She hates me.”

  “She’ll grow to adore you, same as I do. Okay, maybe not quite as much as me,” he teased then placed another kiss on my forehead.

  A knock sounded at the door behind us, and Nevin walked in. “It’s time to go. The other scouts are waiting near the gate for you.”

  Gareth nodded, then picked up his helm. Nevin and I followed him out of my room and down to the main square of Summer. Fae lined the street to cheer on the soldiers. They tossed flower petals at their feet, cheering, and clapping—a proper sendoff. Nevin pulled aside one of the other officers to have a last word, leaving me and Gareth alone for a moment.

  As we approached his men, Gareth faced me once more. “I love you. No matter what, don’t forget that.”

  “I love you, too. Please be safe.” My vision blurred as my eyes pooled. This wasn’t how things were supposed to be. I’d left my world to be with Gareth, and now he was going off to war.

  As Gareth mounted his horse, Nevin came back to my side and gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Everything will be okay. You’ll see. It won’t be so bad not having him around for a while.”

  I wanted to punch him and blame him for sending Gareth away. If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be here at the palace. But I knew that even if Nevin hadn’t ordered him to do this, he still would’ve volunteered to do anything he could to help defend his kingdom. He was a warrior: a defender of Summer.

  The gates swung open, allowing the riders to go through. A sudden pang of fear stabbed at me. Gareth was gone. I was alone in a world I didn’t understand—or almost alone. And somehow, I knew things were about to change. For so long, I’d depended on Gareth to watch out for me and keep me safe. Now all I had was myself.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Salome

  The seamstress tugged the fabric tighter, cutting off any plans I had of breathing.

  “Pull your shoulders back,” the woman, Taro, said. “And quit wiggling, or I’ll stick you with a pin.” She glared at me, her mouth drawn so tight, I doubted anyone could get her lips to part.

  Geez, we’d been at this for hours now. My legs killed me, and I wanted to sit down, not be threatened with becoming this lady’s pincushion. What I wouldn’t give to have a pair of jeans or shorts.

  A knock sounded at the door, and Nevin poked his head in. “How are we coming along?”

  “Almost done, Your Highness,” Taro said, giving him a big smile. The first smile I’d seen since she’d gotten here.

  “Good. I want to get Lady Salome out of her room for a while.”

  “Where are we going?”

  He chuckled. “It’s a surprise. I’ll come back in a few minutes to retrieve you.”

  When he shut the door, the seamstress frowned at me and hurried to put in more pins. When she finally finished, I’d only been poked about a million times, which I was sure she’d done on purpose.

  Once I changed, I went out into the hallway to find Nevin waiting for me. He grinned when he noticed I wore one of the many new dresses he’d had made for me.

  “You look beautiful.”

  “Thanks.” My eyes narrowed. “If this is some ploy to try and make me forgive you for sending Gareth away, it isn’t going to work.”

  His smile faded. “Are you going to stay mad at me forever?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe.”

  He offered me his arm and sighed. “I had no other choice. Gareth is the best warrior in the kingdom. And one of the few I trust.”

  “But you’ve already asked so much of him.”

  “Don’t you think I know that? He ran the kingdom while I was cursed. He protected our people when I could not. I made mistakes, but I mean to right them. And Gareth agreed to this. He could’ve said no.”

  We walked outside, the warm summer air brushing against my cheek like a gentle caress. I tilted my face toward the sun and closed my eyes. What did he mean, Gareth agreed? Gareth had led me to believe he had no choice. Had he lied to me? Or was this another one of Nevin’s plans to try to convince me to be his queen?

  My lids opened and my fingers brushed over the soft, silky petals of a white rose. The scent of honey permeated around me, making me light headed.

  Nevin took my hand, his face suddenly serious. “I want us to be friends again.”

  “Then quit doing things to irritate me.” I snatched my hand back from him. “And don’t spring crazy surprises on me.”

  His lips twitched. “Well, if I remember correctly, I’ve always irritated you. Even back in the human world. My arrogance. My secrets.”

  I rolled my eyes. “And the list goes on.”

  He laughed, leading me to a stone bench, which overlooked a large waterfall. Foam churned at the surface, where the thunderous waters hit the rocks.

  “Do you also need to be reminded that you used to love me? That you used to want to spend every waking moment by my side?”

  I fisted my hands at my sides. “No. But apparently you need to be reminded that I was under your spell. None of my feelings were voluntary. You manipulated me. Our whole ‘relationship’ wasn’t real. End of story.”

  His fingers swiped loose strands of my hair back behind my ear. “I’m sorry for that, but you need to realize how desperate I was to be free of that curse. Salome, I really do want us to be friends. I hate fighting with you all the time. Just give me a chance.”

  Uneasiness ran through my veins. What was he up to? Nevin only turne
d on the charm when he wanted something from me. “Maybe we’ll be friends again, but trust is earned, Nevin.”

  At the sound of footsteps behind us, Nevin spun around. “Sorry to bother you, Your Highness, but we’ve received a message from the scouting party,” an elfin warrior with dark black hair said.

  “Thank you. If you’ll take it to the throne room, I’ll be there shortly,” he said.

  As the guard left us, Nevin glanced down at me. “I’m sorry, I’ll have to leave you for a while. But feel free to explore the grounds.”

  Before I could ask whether or not I could go with him, he disappeared down the path. If the letter was from Gareth, I wanted to know what it said. I wanted to know he was okay.

  Frustrated, I plopped down on the bench and stared at the churning waters. I picked a blade of grass from the ground. With a smile, I held it to my lips and blew on it, creating a low whistle. My grandpa had taught me how to do that one summer. We sat on my porch, trying to see who could make their grass whistle the loudest. A lump formed in my throat. We’d never get a chance to do it again, because I was in Faerie now.

  “If it isn’t Lady Salome,” a feminine voice said.

  I twisted in my seat to see Rowena, the snotty noblewoman from yesterday. “Yep, that’d be me.”

  “Why don’t you join me for a stroll? There’s a lovely path that goes above the waterfall. I’ve even packed a picnic.” She stood tall, and elegant against the summery backdrop.

  My brow furrowed. This lady was a mega witch with a capital b. So was this some act? Or she was trying to be nice?

  “Um—sure.” I stood, tossing the piece of grass I held to the ground. My hand swiped the side of my dress, as I made sure I had the dagger Gareth had given me belted to my side—just in case.

  She gave me a big smile then led me toward a path hidden behind the lilac bushes. As I stepped behind them, I thought I saw Lord Darach’s ghost watching me from below the waterfall. But that seemed impossible; I didn’t believe he’d follow me from the Ruined Court.

  I gasped and stopped walking. Great, now I was seeing things. I squinted. Maybe it was a play of the light or something.

  “You need to keep up. The terrain is uneven up here if you don’t watch your step,” Rowena called over her shoulder.

  With a forced grin, I tore my gaze from the falls and pushed up the steep incline. After a few moments, my thighs burned. Crap. I was so out of shape. But we kept climbing, until at last we stood on top of the hill, overlooking the gardens.

  “Wow, it’s beautiful up here,” I said, out of breath.

  She grinned, setting her picnic basket on the ground, and spread out a blanket. “Come, have a seat.”

  “Thanks.” I sat down then curled my legs beneath me.

  Rowena opened up her basket and pulled out sandwiches, fruit, and wine. “You know, I’m one of the highest ranking noblewomen here in Summer. If you stick with me, you might get into the right circles.”

  Nice to see she was so timid and demure. I held back a snort and concentrated on the darting butterflies. “I’d like that.”

  She opened the bottle of wine and grabbed a goblet from her things. “You do know that before the king got stuck in the human world, he courted me.”

  “No, I didn’t.” Which would explain her shitty attitude toward me last night. However, it didn’t explain the sudden change with her being nice to me. Either she was trying to suck up to me in order to get back into Nevin’s good graces or she just didn’t know how to be personable.

  “Well, I’m hoping to pick back up where we left off.” She gave me a thin smile, and her eyes darkened.

  “Good luck with that. In case you didn’t know, I’m with Gareth and not after Nevin.” God, did she think I really wanted to know about her plans with Nevin?

  She poured the scarlet drink into the glass cup and handed it me. “I do hope we can be friends.”

  “Thanks. Me too.” I sloshed the drink around in the glass as she watched me intently. It’s not that I wanted to be rude, but I wasn’t a big drinker. In fact, I’d only had wine one or two other times, and that’d been here in Faerie.

  I brought the cup closer to my face and inhaled. It smelled so sweet and fruity—almost too fruity. Warning bells went off in my mind, and I sat there eyeing the drink. No way was I going to have any of it.

  Just then, Gwenn burst into the clearing. Rowena leapt to her feet, grabbed the cup from my hands, and dumped it out.

  What the hell was that? I stood, staring at her as she threw all her things back into her basket and raced down the hill.

  Gwenn’s chest heaved, and I saw she’d drawn her sword. “Are you stupid?” she said.

  “What?”

  She bent down, stuck her finger in the spot where the wine had been dumped, then held her fingers to her nose. “You almost drank poison, you idiot. Did you really think Rowena wanted to be your friend? She’s been trying to get her claws into Nevin for as long as I’ve known her.”

  My head swam, and I leaned against a tree for support. “I wasn’t going to drink it. Holy crap. Why do you think I was just sitting there with it?”

  She glared. “Stupid human. All it would’ve taken is her bumping your hand and one droplet of this getting in your system. You’re gonna get yourself killed, then my brother will blame me for your ignorance.”

  She grabbed my arm and marched me back down to the gardens, where we found Nevin coming through the gate. A look of alarm spread over his face when he saw Gwenn’s blade.

  “What’s going on?” he demanded.

  “Rowena just tried poisoning human-dearest here.”

  He glowered, jerking me away from her. He searched my face, neck, and arms. “Did you drink anything?”

  “No, I didn’t get the chance.”

  He shifted his attention to Gwenn. “How do you know it was poison?”

  “Because I could smell the sickly sweetness of her wine. And there’s only one thing that gives off that scent.”

  “Faerie Fire,” Nevin said. “That potion was outlawed.”

  “Well, apparently Rowena has a way of making it.”

  “Did you retrieve the cup or bottle it was in?”

  Gwenn sheathed her sword. “No. She took off before I could do anything. Besides, I was trying to make sure Lady Salome wasn’t harmed.”

  “I can’t convict her without proof. The Council will want evidence. And it’ll be a human’s word against a noble Fae.”

  “What about Gwenn?”

  “I’m not in the Council’s favor.” She stiffened, her eyes suddenly darkening.

  Great, I almost get murdered and my humanity stands in the way of Rowena getting punished.

  I rubbed my temples. Faerie was so not agreeing with me. I wanted to go home.

  Nevin’s hand rested at the small of my back. “Don’t worry. This won’t happen again. I’ll have guards with you at all times from here on out.”

  I glanced at him. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Gwenn, see Salome back to her room. And let the other guards know they’re to post outside her room in shifts.”

  She saluted him. “As you wish.”

  Nevin kept his palm on me as he led me back toward the palace. Gareth was wrong when he said I’d be safer here than in the human world. Now I knew just how dangerous Faerie was—and I knew what lengths some would go to get rid of me.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Kadie

  Demetria carried three bone candelabras to the royals’ table while I straightened the crimson seat covers. Somehow, we’d gotten stuck on decorating duty. And here I thought helping set up prom senior year would be the worst dance-related event I’d ever have to deal with. God was I wrong.

  When I finished with the chairs, I walked over to Demetria, who held a tray of goblets.

  “Last night, they placed me on clean up duty,” she whispered. “I had to scrub blood from the Bone Yard stones. The barred doors for sure ope
n into the drainage ditch. There are no locks on them.”

  I smiled. “Oh my God. That’s the best news I’ve heard in forever.”

  She handed me a couple of cups to place on the tables. “Be warned, the ditches are filled with water and blood. It’ll be a horrific flight from here. But I’m certain the tunnels lead to the nearby creek.”

  “Let’s hope so, because I for damn sure don’t want to get stuck down there.”

  A couple of other humans wandered in with stacks of plates. We moved to the back table so they wouldn’t overhear us.

  Demetria’s hair fell across her face like a silky wave. “You’ll need to pack some warm outfits. Wrap them up as best you can so they don’t get wet. And make sure you have your stash of food packed.”

  “Already done. I got my supplies and things last night while Etienne slept.”

  “Good. The only things left to get are the water skins, which I’ll hide outside once the ball gets underway.”

  Excitement raced through my blood.

  I’m gonna get out of here.

  No more bones. No more nightmares. As happy as I was, a niggling feeling settled in my stomach. What if something went wrong? What if we couldn’t get to the Bone Yard?

  No. Failure isn’t an option. I either get out of here, or I die trying. I can’t take any more of this place.

  Soon Etienne retrieved me and led me back to his quarters. “I have a surprise for you.”

  My eyes widened when he pulled out a beautiful scarlet gown. The top was tight, with strands of gold and white threaded through it. The skirt was like a red silken wave.

  “Wow. It’s gorgeous.” I took it from him, held it against me, and twirled around.

  He smiled. “Glad you like it.”

  I stopped spinning and glanced at him. “Thank you for the dress. And, well, for protecting me. I know it hasn’t been easy.”

  He closed the distance between us. His gaze burned into me as he swiped strands of hair from my face. “I wish I would’ve met you under different circumstances.”

  My pulse sped, racing through my veins. Warmth clutched me.

  What’s wrong with me? Why do I feel so strange around him?