“He wants vengeance,” I said to her. “I can feel it in my visions; it’s as if his emotions are mine. He wants to . . .”
Lailah placed a hand on my shoulder. “I know. He wants to kill you for what your mother did to his father. It’s his revenge.”
She was right, but there was still something in my gut, a warning. “But he won’t stop there, will he? He wants to do as much damage as he can.” Which meant he’d probably go after others in my family.
Lailah sighed. “I don’t know, child. The Shadow fae are different from us.”
I’d never felt so much anger and hate in my soul, but something overpowered those emotions—my need to protect. No one was going to come into my land and hurt my family. My mother had defeated the evil once before, and now it was my turn.
Clenching my hands into tight fists, I could feel my magic vibrating through every inch of my body.
“He’s coming soon,” I hissed. “I don’t know how I know, but I just do.”
It was like I had a time clock within me, counting the hours and minutes before I came face to face with him.
“And will you be ready?” Lailah asked.
I averted my gaze to the white horizon. “Yes,” I answered. “I know what I have to do.”
Chapter3
Ella
Ispent most of the night thinking about the visions. I couldn’t get the Shadow fae’s gray eyes out of my mind. A part of me knew this would happen long before I had the gift of foresight. Evil doesn’t just get defeated and end for good; there will always be remnants, lingering here and there, waiting. And here I was . . . determined to meet it head-on. While some people might be afraid to know someone wanted to kill them, I was the opposite. I welcomed the fight and craved it to the point of obsession. I’d never felt like that before. All I knew was that it wasn’t normal.
A knock sounded on my door, and I heard it open. Soft footsteps pattered on the floor, drawing closer. I fastened my black vambraces onto my forearms and strapped on my belt, sheathing my dagger on one side and my sword on the other. The dagger was the same one my mother used to kill the dark sorcerer. She’d passed it on to me when I turned eighteen.
The footsteps drew closer, and I smiled when I heard Marin’s voice.
“Ella?” she called out. “Are you dressed? You’re not in bed with Iston, are you?” She tapped on my bedroom door and opened it just a tad, peeking through the crack. When she saw me staring at her, she pushed the door open and laughed. “I guess you aren’t.”
“And if I was,” I retorted with my hands on my hips, “don’t you think it’d be kind of rude to walk in on us?”
Marin smirked. “Probably. Although, it’s a shame you don’t indulge in the sexy Winter fae men you have here. They’re so much hotter than the guys in Spring.”
Giggling, I held out my arms and closed the distance. “There is nothing wrong with Spring,” I said, hugging her tight. “Your men are quite damn sexy with their shimmery golden skin.”
Marin gushed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Marin was my best friend, but she lived in the Spring Court. Her parents used to be part of the Winter Court but switched allegiances when my uncle Kalen and aunt Meliantha formed the Spring Court. We spent so much time together when we were younger, but our duties to our courts kept us apart much longer than I liked.
“I’m glad you’re here early,” I said, breathing in her spring and flower scent. “I’ve missed you.” I hadn’t seen her in over a month.
Marin let me go and rested a hand on the hilt of her sword. She was dressed in her warrior gear which consisted of warm green leathers, whereas mine was all black. Her hair was a deep brown, and her eyes were as blue as ice; we looked like complete opposites.
“I would’ve been here about an hour ago,” she said, “but your brother stopped me when I arrived. He wanted to catch up.” There was a twinkle in her eyes.
“Ah, I see. So that’s why you’re on this tangent about hot Winter men. You have a thing for my brother, don’t you?”
Beck was the leader of the Winter guard and just as fierce of a warrior as our father.
Marin waved me off. “Beck is very handsome, but I’m not into him like that. However, there is one of your warriors that caught my eye. Think you can introduce us at the ball tomorrow night?”
I nodded toward the door. “I’ll be happy to. Now come on, you can point him out to me.”
We left my house and walked across the palace grounds to the training field. My mother was already out there, surrounded by male and female warriors while sparring with my father. Out of all my years of training, I’d only bested my mother once.
“Which one is he?” I asked, raking my gaze over the guys. Marin pointed at a warrior who happened to look our way. He was tall with dark hair, muscular arms, and eyes just as bright blue as hers. I knew him well. “That’s Owen,” I said to her.