The Summer Marked Page 18

  I’d felt attracted to plenty of guys, but this time it felt…different. Deeper. More permanent.

  My lips twitched. “You mean like some place that wasn’t ruled by a mega-psycho bitch?”

  He chuckled, a beautiful sound in my ears. “Yes—that. Listen, I should probably go so you can get ready for the ball. I’ll see you later.”

  I waved as he left me alone. Once the door shut behind him, I gathered my things. Demetria would be by soon to pick up laundry as well as sneak my things outside.

  With trembling hands, I managed to slip into my new gown. I paced the floor for a few minutes until I heard a knock on the door.

  “Laundry,” she said from outside.

  “Come in.”

  She pushed inside and gave me a quick nod. “Are your things ready?”

  “Yeah, just a second.” I grabbed them from the chair and handed them to her.

  She placed them into her large hamper, covering them with dirty sheets. “I’ll find you later at the ball.”

  With that, she was gone.

  Etienne stepped into the room a while later. “You ready to go?”

  My breath caught in my throat. Holy crap, he looked hot. The dark green tunic brought out his already brilliant blue eyes. Heat crept up my neck. Okay, that wasn’t the reaction I wanted to have.

  “Um—yeah.”

  He offered me his arm, and we made our way to the ballroom. When we stepped inside, I was nearly blinded by the beautiful Fae. But the arrogance in the room was suffocating. The scarier imperfect creatures, like the goblins, satyrs, and fauns, hurried around fetching things for the other Fae.

  Music carried on the air as human musicians warmed up.

  “There you are, you’re needed in the kitchens.” A dwarven woman caught my arm.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll find you for a dance once the meal’s been served.” Etienne gave my hand a squeeze then made his way over to the royal table.

  When I got to the kitchen, someone handed me a tray of appetizers: tiny cheeses, fruits, and crepes. With a deep breath, I pushed back to the ballroom. In the middle of the floor, some people were already dancing. Relief flooded through me when I noticed Teodor swaying back and forth with Crazy Chick.

  I held my tray in front of me, allowing Fae nobles to grab food. Geez, I felt like the Waitress to the Stars with the way they waved me over so they could snatch it up. If one more person called me “human” or “pet,” they’d likely have a strawberry sticking out of their eye. Or more likely they’d pluck my eyes and eat them.

  When my tray emptied, I spun to go get more.

  “I think it’s time for that dance you promised me,” Etienne said. He took my tray from me and handed it to someone else.

  “Okay.” My voice came out sounding more breathy than I wanted.

  He wrapped an arm around my waist and guided me onto the dance floor. Once there, he clutched me close to him as the soft music surrounded us. I inhaled deeply. My heart pounded against my ribs, like someone playing the xylophone.

  “You’re the most beautiful woman in here,” he whispered, his breath hot against my cheek.

  “Thank you.” I shifted so my gaze met his.

  Oh hell, he’s so gorgeous.

  I knew better, but I couldn’t deny my attraction any longer. Worse, I didn’t want to.

  We swayed back and forth, bodies pressed close. His fingers traced my jaw-line, and my hands tightened around him. At that moment, I lost myself in him and in the music. The way he looked at me made me feel like a precious jewel.

  He leaned down. His lips were a breath away. “Kadie.” My name fell from his mouth like a whispered promise.

  “Yes?”

  The queen clapped her hands. “Humans, bring in the main course.”

  Etienne took a quick step back, as if realizing what almost happened. “Thank you for the dance.” He gave a slight bow then moved to his place at the head table.

  Trying to slow my pulse, I hurried to the kitchen again, retrieving a tray with roasted pheasant on it. It was probably for the best that we hadn’t kissed. I didn’t need an attachment to one of the winter princes, especially since I’d likely never see him again. I just wish there’d been some way to repay his kindness to me while I was imprisoned here.

  I went from table to table, putting meat on plates. When I ran out, I caught Demetria’s eye, and she nodded toward the hallway. With my tray still in hand, I followed her out of the room.

  “Quick, we can put our dishes in the changing rooms,” she said.

  With a quick glance over my shoulder, we raced away from the kitchens. Once we got to the curtained rooms, we ditched our trays. My body quaked as waves of nervousness clenched my gut. We slipped back into the shadows, our backs pressed against the walls. We crept to the door leading into the Bone Yard.

  I sucked in a deep breath. This was it.

  Demetria opened the door, and we hurried outside into the bitter cold night.

  “Our packs are in that empty pot,” she said.

  I followed her to one of the large cauldrons. She bent down and grabbed our sacks. I secured mine to my back then ran for the barred door to the drainage pit. Demetria joined me, and I clutched hold of the metal grates and tugged.

  Nothing happened. Oh God. Please. Don’t do this. Fear wriggled into my mind. I braced myself and pulled again.

  “It’s not budging,” I said, frantic.

  “Here, let me help.”

  We both gripped tight, jerking and tugging with all our strength. My fingers tightened around the bars.

  Creak.

  At last, it swung open. We dropped to our knees, crouching to get through the small hole. Demetria dropped in first, and I heard the splash as she hit the water below. With a deep breath, I slid in backward so I could shut the barred grate behind us. It swung back easier than it had when we tried to open it. With the grate secure, I fell into the putrid bloody water. The stench made me gag as it sloshed around my waist and the walls of the tunnel.

  I didn’t want to think about the nasty stuff floating in here.

  It’s a way out. Just hurry.

  In the darkness, we continued to push forward, neither of us sure what we’d find at the end of the long tunnel. My teeth chattered as the cold seeped through my skin. We wouldn’t last long out here. My feet caught on uneven rocks, and I reached for the wall to steady myself.

  For long minutes, we fought our way through, until at last we saw a miniscule amount of light ahead. As we got closer, we came to a similar barred door. It led into a creek. We braced ourselves against the frigid bars and pushed. The door budged, and we tripped out into the open.

  “Quick, get out of the water and get changed.” Demetria tugged her pack from her back.

  The winds whipped through the trees, sending tiny tornadoes of snow spiraling at our feet. How long would we survive in this cold? Numb, I stripped out of my wet gown and tugged my dry clothes from my bag. As quickly as I could, I slipped my dry garments on and secured a cloak about my shoulders. I then shoved my feet into a pair of fur-lined boots.

  “Toss your wet garments into the drainage pit and let’s go,” I said, wadding up my bloody things. I threw them inside then waited for Demetria to do the same.

  After that, I kicked the door shut from the shore.

  I glanced at the woods ahead of us, then turned and smiled. “We’re free.”

  She clutched my hand. “Not yet. Come along, we need to get as far away as possible.”

  With that, we ran into the forest. At last, I’d leave Winter far behind. I couldn’t wait to get home…and away from this nightmare.

  My lungs burned, but we pressed on. Darkness covered the woodland except when pockets of moonlight pierced through the trees. In those moments, the ground sparkled like giant blankets of glitter, making me forget we were running for our lives.

  The wind picked up, whipping snow into our faces. My teeth chattered and I hugged my cloak closer.

  “We
should cross this stream.” Demetria pointed ahead. “At least then if they use hounds to hunt for us, they’ll lose the scent.”

  “Okay,” I said, out of breath. We splashed through the shallow water, and I prayed it didn’t soak into my boots. The last thing I wanted to do was die from hypothermia or frostbite. I hadn’t risked my life to escape the castle only to be taken out by a fricken snowstorm.

  We moved further into the thicket. Branches and thistles tore at my hands and cloak. I tugged free, falling to my knees. Demetria glanced over her shoulder and came back to help me up.

  “We’ve got to keep moving.”

  “I know. Sorry.”

  Swishhheshhhhhhh…

  The noise came from the forest around us.

  “It sounds like the trees are whispering.” Demetria’s head tilted as she looked up.

  Chills snaked across my skin. “Let’s not think about that. The last thing we need to do is get freaked out.”

  But even I couldn’t ignore the uneasiness clenching my gut. All I imagined were trees coming to life and attacking us, kind of like that scene in The Wizard of Oz.

  We stumbled onward. My muscles cramped, my entire body crying out for rest. The frigid temps sent tingles through my skin. I kept sight of Demetria’s form ahead of me. She was much better at navigating the woods than I was, although neither of us really knew where the hell we were going. What I wouldn’t give for my GPS about now. But since I didn’t have it, we just kept heading away from the castle.

  After hours of trudging through the deep snow, the sky lightened.

  “We need to find a place to rest for the day,” Demetria said. “They’ll find us too easily if we continue to travel during daylight hours.”

  “I don’t think there’s anywhere to hide.” My gaze took in the woodland.

  “Our best chance is to continue to follow this stream.” Demetria tugged me along. “We’ll need to start brushing our tracks away, though.”

  Too tired to argue, I turned to face behind us and swiped at them with my hand. My back ached from bending over. I dug my teeth into my lip to distract myself from the pain, but a whimper still sounded from deep in my throat.

  You can do this. Just think of how warm and happy you’ll be when you leave this shitty place.

  At last, Demetria came to a halt. “I’ve found us a place to hide.”

  I climbed to my feet, brushing snow from my cloak, and turned to see where she pointed. Up ahead, the stream emptied into a large river. On the other side of the river there were hills and formations of rocks, and above the crevices I saw several small caves.

  She dropped to her knees beside me and helped finish covering our tracks. Then we rushed into the freezing waters once more. We splashed over to the other side of the stream but stayed in the water so as to not create more tracks. When we reached the slippery rocks, we pulled ourselves up. My fingers dug into the icy stones, my skin stinging. Tears trickled down my face. My nose ran, but I hefted myself upward. Demetria picked a path along the rocks, and I trailed after her.

  Soon she found us a cave nestled behind thick shrubbery. It wasn’t very deep, but it went back far enough to get us out of the cold and keep us hidden from view. When we got inside, I collapsed on the ground.

  “We need to eat and drink something,” Demetria said beside me. She took her pack from her back and rummaged through it. “And change out of your wet stockings so you don’t catch your death.”

  Numb, I sat up and grabbed a roll, as well as a pair of woolen stockings. I could barely move my fingers, as I fought to tug my boots off. Shit. I’d never been so cold in my life. My teeth chattered. I cupped my hands together and blew on them. My breath warmed them some, but they still ached.

  “God, I wish it’d warm up.”

  Demetria snorted. “That isn’t likely, my friend.”

  I climbed to my knees and managed to get my stockings pulled down, then I fell on my butt and took them the rest of the way off. With a sigh, I tossed the wet garments aside, then pulled on the dry ones. Once I finished, I snagged my extra cloak from my bag as well and wrapped it around me. It warmed me some, but not much.

  I took a bite of my roll. It was hard, but food was food.

  “You need to lay down and rest.” Demetria patted the spot next to her. “If we curl up together, we’ll stay warmer.”

  With a nod, I crawled next to her and plopped down. She hugged me tight, reminding me of my mom. “Do you really think we’ll get out of here?”

  She squeezed me tight. “The hardest part is already over. We got out of the castle.”

  “Do you think they know we’re gone yet?”

  “Yes. They would’ve noticed at bedtime.”

  “Then they’re already on our trail.”

  “Perhaps. They might think we’re still on the castle grounds. They’ll check there first. They’re too arrogant to believe we’d ever escape.”

  We lay in silence for a few minutes. “Demetria?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “Are you scared?”

  She patted my arm. “A little. But for now, we need to sleep or we won’t make it far come sundown.”

  Fear coiled inside me like a snake, but eventually fatigue won out. My heavy lids shut, and I drifted off.

  I’m not sure how long we slept, but when I awoke, darkness covered everything.

  “Time to get up,” Demetria said, shoving her extra garments back into her pack. “Grab a quick bite to eat, then relieve yourself outside the cave.”

  “Um—you mean use the bathroom?”

  “Yes. We won’t have time to stop once we descend.”

  Great. I’d probably freeze my ass cheeks off. But I did as she said.

  When we’d both eaten and “relieved ourselves,” Demetria led me down the rocky incline. She picked a game trail along the riverbank. The moon peeked out from behind clouds, and the trees billowed beneath the gusts of wind. We fought through deep snowdrifts. My legs burned as I pushed forward. It was hard to run, but we sped along as quickly as we could. At last, we made our way back into the forest, where we’d have better cover.

  Pine needles crunched beneath my footsteps, while the branches above crackled with ice. The air nipped at my exposed nose and ears. My limbs numbed. Every step I took hurt, but we needed to keep moving. Shadows seemed to pour into the woods. Soon, I could barely see my hands in front of my face.

  Luckily, Demetria reached back and clutched hold of my arm. Together, we maneuvered between the shrubs and trees. From somewhere behind us, I heard horses whinny.

  We went still.

  “Run,” Demetria said, gripping a handful of my cloak.

  We bolted deeper into the forest. A branch scraped my face, nearly hitting me in the eye. But I continued to sprint.

  The sounds of hooves pounding the ground erupted behind us.

  “I don’t want to go back,” I cried.

  “Quick, get in the tree.” Demetria jerked me to the side. She leapt for a low hanging branch and hefted herself up. She offered me a hand and tugged me up.

  Heart pounding out of control, I climbed the snow covered branches, clutching hold of the rough bark for dear life. We managed to get several feet up when we saw the riders coming.

  I pressed myself as close to the tree as I could. My body quaked as terror thrummed in my veins.

  Please don’t let them look up.

  I wrapped my arms and legs tight around the branch.

  The horsemen rode past, but neither of us moved. I took a staggered breath, closed my eyes, and prayed. We sat still for a long time. By now, I couldn’t feel my hands, feet, or body for that matter.

  “Is—is it safe?” I whispered. My teeth chattered.

  “I think so.” Demetria lifted her head and scanned the tree line, or at least what she could see of it.

  Geez, what I wouldn’t give for a hot tub or a sauna right now. I was seriously beginning to understand why Salome hated winter so much.

  Demetria tappe
d my arm and pointed down. As quietly as we could, we climbed down a couple of branches, then dropped from the tree. My legs tingled like I’d landed on a porcupine. I bit my cloaked arm to keep from crying out.

  Demetria headed in the direction we’d come. “Come, we need to go back this way.”

  A twig snapped in the woods. We only made it a few steps before we were surrounded.

  Teodor rode into the moonlit clearing and blocked Demetria’s way. “I told them you grew up in the woods and that you’d take to the trees. We just needed to wait you out.”

  “Run, Kadie.” She glanced at me and we both darted toward the river.

  A large horse stepped in front of me, and its rider, Etienne, peered down at me. I turned to run, but in one swift motion, he bent to the side and swept me up in his arms, placing me on the horse in front of him.

  “So this is the repayment I get?” His harsh words came out. “Haven’t I kept you safe? Haven’t I found ways to keep the queen from harming you?” His fingers dug into my arm. “She’ll want her revenge now, and there’s nothing I’ll be able to do to stop it.”

  “I—I’m sorry.” I sobbed, watching as Teodor grabbed hold of Demetria’s hair and dragged her into the saddle. He tossed her onto her stomach, so she hung over the side of the horse.

  Horror washed over me. They’d found us—and now we’d have to go back. More blood. Bones. Death. Maybe running had been a bad idea. All I could hope for now was that the cold killed me. Then I wouldn’t have to face the queen’s wrath. But as Etienne held tight to me, I knew I wouldn’t be so lucky. Winter had won, and I’d be its next victim.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Salome

  Nevin reached across the table to pour me some more sparkling cider. For the first time in a while, it was just the two of us. He’d ordered a private dinner in my room tonight, which made me nervous.

  “How do you like Summer so far?” He smiled, setting the decanter back down.

  Other than almost being murdered?

  But instead of saying that, I cleared my throat and shoved my plate aside. “It’s beautiful. And warm.”