He wrapped his arms around her and she felt whole again.
A small part of Scarlett felt bad about leaving the party without saying goodbye. She could tell someone to let Ashleigh know she was leaving for good and was one less problem for her to worry about. Maybe even say goodbye to Teddy and wish him well. He deserved a goodbye. And Natalie, her best friend, would never know where Scarlett went. But as Scarlett walked, hand twined with Cade’s, none of it seemed important enough to bother with. Together, they walked through town. Past the neighborhoods. Down main street. To the outskirts of town where trees towered, blocking the starlit night above.
In the woods, the crisp night air dropped even cooler. Something flowed through her veins. Something that was anything but worry.
“Are you ready?” Cade squeezed Scarlett’s hand as they approached an out of place wooden door with floral iron accents around its edges. It stood alone in between two skinny trees. It didn’t connect to anything and seemed rather pointless.
“What’s that?”
“An entrance to Faerie, the world of the fae.” Cade put his hand on the doorknob. “Don’t worry, you’ll love it there.”
A door that led to another world. Surely, this was a dream. If Natalie hadn’t been able to see Cade, too, Scarlett would have sworn it was a hallucination. But somehow, it wasn’t. She wasn’t turning into her mom. Yet, at least.
The beer in her system caused Scarlett’s head to spin again. Or maybe it was something else. She should think this through. Was running away really what she wanted? Cade placed his hands gently on the side of Scarlett’s face and kissed her forehead and all her doubts vanished.
Cade opened the door. Behind it, Scarlett saw an empty room with stone walls. Cade held Scarlett’s hand and they walked through the door together.
There was no bang. No flash of bright light. No earthquake. Nothing out of the ordinary happened when Scarlett stepped through the door. And that was what made it creepy.
Yet, something changed inside her. Her skin tingled. Iciness swam through her veins, then warmth. For a second, fire exploded inside her. She thought her heart might rupture. Then it cooled and she felt normal again. Normal-ish, at least. She couldn’t place a finger on what had changed, but something had.
Once inside, Cade released Scarlett’s hand. Worry crept back in.
She opened the door, only to find a wall of stone on the other side now, not the forest they had entered from. “Where’d Silver Lake go?”
“The door leads to many places and to nowhere at all.” Cade grabbed Scarlett’s hand again. “Don’t worry, you’re safe here.”
A feeling of being trapped struck Scarlett, but, as if nothing more than a fleeting thought, the dread drifted elsewhere.
They left the empty room and entered a hallway. It was lit by white candles hung on the walls. Her feet clinked on the hard floor. The hallway seemed to go on forever, but before they reached the end, Cade stopped at a door. Inside was the most magnificent room Scarlett had ever seen. Crystal chandeliers lit by more candles hung from the ceiling. A canopy bed sat against the wall, with roses etched into its wooden columns and a sheet of velvet draped above. A large fireplace across from the bed lit magically.
“Did you do that?” Scarlett asked Cade.
“Yes.” Cade wrapped his arms around Scarlett. “There’s a lot I can do.”
Scarlett leaned into Cade. She wanted to know the things Cade could do.
As her nerves settled, curiosity took hold. Scarlett had always wished for her life to be different. She’d felt in her soul that there was more out there somewhere.
This place was just that.
Chapter Six
So, his baby brother had found a human magic fountain. No big deal. Raith didn’t need humans for power. Still, he couldn’t deny he was curious about this girl. Why was her emotion so potent? Raith didn’t have time to dwell on it, though. He was late for his first battle practice.
Raith had spent the night in the castle. He preferred the solitude of his tree, but since the battle was nearing, he worried someone would discover his spot. It wouldn’t surprise him if Kassandra sent one of her minions to spy on him. To protect her baby, Cade. Raith rolled his eyes at the thought. For as worthless as Kassandra made Raith think he was, he knew she was worried. In her mind, The Summer Court would simply fall apart if Raith were king. He chuckled.
At first, he thought he’d just train on his own. He didn’t need some soldier from the royal guard to teach him. If the soldier were so powerful, he wouldn’t be spared from his guard duties. Not that there was much threat to the Summer Court. It hadn’t been attacked by anyone since long before Raith was born. But you can never be too prepared, or so Kassandra always told the king. She made more of the royal decisions than he did.
After climbing three flights of stairs, Raith arrived at the training tower and entered one of the smaller training rooms. Weapons covered the circular stone walls of the room. Swords, staffs, bows and arrows. Any weapon the summer fae had ever known was in this room. There were no guns. Shooting something so fast and powerful from far away was for cowards, or so the War Council had decided when humans invented them. Guns, cannons, and bombs were banned. If any fae tried to sneak them into the realm, they would vanish. The realm had powers of its own. Sometimes a mind of its own, too.
As a child, Raith and Cade had fighting lessons. Cade always chose a sword, the typical choice. Their father’s preferred weapon. Raith favored daggers. Their versatility. Their stealth. The feeling of their slash through the air, sharp and quick. They’d be allowed one weapon for the final battle. Daggers would be Raith’s choice. He didn’t want Cade to know, though. So he would practice with all the weapons. One thing Raith learned long ago was never trust anyone. His trainer could be under the grasp of the queen—feeding her information about Raith’s strengths and weaknesses. Or maybe he would be on Raith’s side. It would be a first, though, so Raith would be careful.
He grabbed a sword from the wall, its shiny metal glistening in the sunlight sneaking through a window. It felt clunky in his hands as he waved it through the air. He twirled it behind him and it grazed his side.
“Watch where you’re swinging that thing,” a deep voice said behind him. “I’m Jaser, your trainer.”
This guy couldn’t be more than a few years older than Raith. He had dark brown hair, with chocolate eyes and caramel skin. Apparently, someone experienced was too much for Raith. Figured. At least he gave the whole trainer thing a chance. Raith hung the sword back up and made for the exit.
“Leaving so soon?” Jaser asked.
“I don’t need a trainer,” Raith said as he walked through the door. A whizzing sound passed his ear as a dagger flew into the wall in front of him and clinked on the ground.
“Your brother wouldn’t have missed on purpose.”
Raith snatched the dagger. “I wouldn’t have turned my back on him.” He tossed it to Jaser, who caught it in the holster attached to his pants. “Maybe next time you can enlighten me with your wisdom.” Raith turned away, heading straight for his tree.
Chapter Seven
A bright light shone through the window and into Scarlett’s eyes, stirring her awake. Her body sank into the mattress as she hugged the warm blankets covering her. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept so well. Lately, she barely even slept. Last night was a dreamless night. For the first time in a long time, Scarlett woke rested.
Her eyes blinked as they adjusted to the brightness. The first thing she noticed was the velvet, turquoise canopy above her head, accented with silver swirls, hung from a large, four-poster bed.