Fate Hollow Academy: Term 3, page 18
A short ice fae, who had no hair at all but looked to be a lot younger than both Thorn and me, stopped in his tracks as he walked past the table. “Prince Thorn, is this the mate that made all of those salves and medicinal herbs?”
A shy smile came over my face as I nodded.
“This is her,” Thorn confirmed, rubbing his hand in soothing circles at the small of my back. “Kit, this is the court herbalist.”
The man scrambled over and grabbed my hand before shaking it up and down about twenty times before letting go. “You are incredible. The herbs that you combine and just your magical energy mixed with them have helped this kingdom a great deal. Your burn creams have made it so our soldiers can keep fighting the Fire Kingdom when they're in battle. And to be completely honest, you are just divine.”
My cheeks were beginning to ache from all of my smiling, but I grinned and pushed myself more into Thorn’s side. “Thank you. I'm really glad that it was helpful.”
“Of course! You are going to make a great queen.”
My heart skipped a few beats.
“I'll run along now, but it was an honor to meet you, princess.” The court herbalist bowed before making his way toward new people.
Birch nudged me in the arm. “If your mate gave me the crown, you could still live in Kalista and not worry about becoming queen,” he muttered.
Thorn flicked an ice chip at his forehead, making Birch groan.
“What? I was just joking… sort of,” he grumbled.
Birch taking the throne would be Fate’s blessing to me because I was in no way ready to live apart from Thorn and have my mates live in two separate worlds.
“Don’t put thoughts into her head,” Thorn snapped. “You know Father wouldn’t go for that.”
Birch’s teasing smile dropped into a serious expression. “But would you?”
He shrugged, and my heart pounded harder in my chest. “My priorities have changed now that I’ve mated the love of my life. If I could spend my life by her side, I’d do it.”
A pained look flickered in Birch’s eyes as he nodded. “I understand. Though, I’m a little shocked, big brother. You never wanted me to become king. When we played as children, you never let me be the king.”
Thorn snorted. “You would always make me scrub the floors.”
“Because you were my subordinate, and the floors wouldn’t scrub themselves!”
“It’s an ice palace, we don’t scrub our floors, we blast magic over them,” Thorn grumbled.
Birch threw his head back and dissolved into laughter. “Oh, jasmine, that’s right! Father was so upset at you!”
“And that’s the last time you played king.” Thorn grumbled as his grip on my hip tightened.
Birch froze before coughing. “Oh, sunflower. Yeah, I’m not staying for this. You'll be fine.” Birch threw me two thumbs up before high-tailing it away from us.
My eyebrows furrowed as I looked up at Thorn, who had his lips pressed in a thin line and hugged me closer into his side.
I turned my head forward as a woman with beautiful flowing wavy blue hair and the notable ice fae blue eyes strode up to us with her arms wide open. She moved toward Thorn but paused as he kept me firmly tucked in his arms.
She blinked a few times before dropping her arms to her sides. “Thorn… Prince Thorn,” she corrected as she curtsied, wearing a beautiful deep blue ball gown with a very deep neckline and jewels on the long sleeves. “It has been far too long. I was hoping since it's the winter festival, we could spend time together like we used to.”
Jealousy stabbed my chest as I angled my head up to look at Thorn.
“Madison, with all due respect, you and I haven't spent a lot of time together since before I was five.”
A blush deepened from her neck to her face as she nodded. “Well, yes, we haven't spent a lot of time together since then… but we were betrothed at one point. And we used to be pretty close, I thought. I mean, we did share that one night before—”
“Hold your tongue.” Thorn’s voice was deadly as jealousy and anger crushes my chest.
Thorn had never said he was a virgin, but to hear it outright and see someone that he had been intimate with that definitely wasn't me, hurt.
“Excuse me, Madison, was it?” I wrapped my arm around his waist and rested the hand with his mate mark on his chest. “My name is Wren, and I'm Thorn’s mate. I would appreciate you not flirting with him right in front of me.”
The woman gasped and stumbled back, blinking a few times as if she had really just noticed that I was there. Her hands flew to her mouth in horror. “Oh, daffodils! I am so sorry, princess. I have heard the rumors that Thorn found his mate, but I didn't know that it was confirmed. I didn't even recognize you being there. I am so sorry for my disrespect.” She bowed her head to me, and Thron’s grip tightened.
Sincerity bled from her tone, but my frustrations reared up.
“You’re forgiven, but do remember that Thorn won't ever entertain anyone but me.”
“She speaks to the truth.” Thorn kissed my head.
Madison looked absolutely mortified as she nodded. “Of course. I'm so sorry. Again, I apologize. Please, excuse me.” She cleared her throat and stepped away before scurrying out of the ballroom with her head down.
Guilt snaked through me, but I pushed it down. I didn’t know why I felt so guilty. Thorn was my mate.
Thorn turned me around in his arms, and I moved my arms around his neck.
“You have nothing to be guilty for. I would have done much worse had the shoe been on the other foot.”
“You spent a night with her?” The question flopped from my mouth before I had control of it.
He leaned forward and nipped at my bottom lip with a sigh. Self-hatred flickered through the bond. “One time when I was seventeen and trying really hard to remember that I was just your friend. After it happened is when I knew I was too far in love with you and that there was no hope of any other woman holding a candle to you. I didn’t spend a whole night with her either.”
“I love you, and while I hate thinking of you with anyone else, you’ll never be with anyone but me again. That’s enough for me. We can’t change the past.” I pressed a soft kiss to his lips before we untangled.
The atmosphere in the room turned hostile, and my instincts amped up on high alert, telling me that there was danger near. “Kit.” His voice came out sharp, and he gripped my upper arm and pulled me into him. His gaze scanned the room, falling on a man, a woman, and another woman that looked our age with a small child on her hip. The child was maybe about two or three.
My face scrunched in confusion until I realized that they were not ice fae. They were fire fae.
TWENTY-SIX
Thorn
The queen and king of the Fire Kingdom sauntered into our palace with their daughter behind them. The princess had a toddler on her hip and an indecipherable look on her face, but that wasn’t what concerned me. What concerned me was that the child had red eyes with blue hair.
Ice fae stumbled away from them, clearing a path as the fire fae moved across the ice.
Heat palpitated from their magic, melting our ice that they stood on. A few of our soldiers rushed over to reinforce the ice as they walked. “We have our soldiers circling the palace,” the queen announced as they stopped right in front of my parents.
Mother and Father had icicles swirling around them in a protective barrier, but they contained their emotions well.
I held onto Wren tightly and did the same, a sickening feeling coiled in my gut. I’d only wanted Wren to have a relaxing night for once, and the Fire Kingdom had to come and ruin that.
Frayla stepped beside us, reinforcing my barrier with her magic.
“My son was murdered during the battle in Kalista, at that damned academy,” the queen spat, turning her head and narrowing her hate-filled eyes at me as if she already knew that I was the one who took his life. Maybe she did.
“Mom,” the princess hissed, stepping forward with the toddler.
A strangled gasp came from Birch, who stood a few feet away from us.
My eyebrows furrowed as my gaze flicked back and forth between the toddler and Birch. Everything seemed to click into place. The little boy had all of Birch’s features.
“The only reason that I am here is…” the queen trailed off bitterly, pulling her glare from me to my parents. “Because my daughter wanted to share the truth of why this war started.”
That sounded like a lie. My magic buzzed within me, warning me of some bigger purpose.
“You are the ones who started the war,'' my father said, his voice stern.
The king winced but stayed silent as his wife shook her head. “Of course we did. Your son committed an atrocity that ruined my daughter's life.”
“He didn't ruin my life, Mom. It was my decision as well, and it didn’t ruin my life.” The princess stepped forward again until she stood right next to the queen. She still looked like Fire Kingdom royalty, with a red flowing dress, but she wore a blue ornament in her hair that came from our royal family. An ornament Birch had claimed he’d lost a few years ago. “I came here because I wanted to end the war, and I wanted Forrest to finally meet his father.”
Gasps rang out in the palace as accusatory eyes fell on Birch. My chest tightened as I took in his shock and heartbreak. His eyes were wide with pain and betrayal. “Adele… You were pregnant?” His voice broke as he stared at her.
The small toddler in her arms gripped at her long red hair and stared at Birch as if he knew he was his dad. My brother had never looked so hurt and confused in his life, and it made me want to protect him.
“That's why they started a war. I had an arranged marriage with the prince of the Earth Kingdom. When my mom found out I was pregnant…” The princess stepped further away from her parents, toward Birch. “I wasn't allowed to tell you or say anything. I tried… so many times.”
“Forrest…” Birch whispered, staring at the two in shock.
I turned my head toward my parents. “Did you seriously know about this?”
Father nodded. “They declared war on us. We couldn’t refuse or we would’ve been attacked, regardless.”
“I knew they had a relationship, but I did not know that we had a grandchild,” Mother murmured, her hands cupping her mouth as she narrowed her eyes on my father. “How could you keep this from me, from Birch?”
Father’s gaze softened. “King Johnson reached out to me privately to tell me about it. If I had told… the child's life would be in danger,” he spat. “I would not take that chance.”
Birch swiveled on his heels at the same time the princess did.
“What are you talking about? You would kill your own grandchild?” Birch’s voice filled with disgust.
“What?” Princess Adele’s voice dropped to a broken whisper as she clutched her son closer.
The king shook his head. “Of course not—”
The queen placed her hand on her husband’s chest, cutting him off. “My daughter's purpose was to marry the Earth Kingdom prince so we could have an unbreakable alliance with them. But you ruined it! We had no choice but to start a war.”
The princess looked at her mother in horror and back peddled until she stood beside Birch.
“All this bloodshed between kingdoms over this?” Mother exclaimed, shaking her head.
Murmurs of the citizens rang out around us. Anger filled the room, and hatred hung heavy around us.
“How could you?'' Princess Adele’s voice wobbled as Birch stepped in front of her and his child.
“How dare you try to shield my daughter from me?” Resentment flashed in Queen Johnson’s eyes as she threw out a hand, and a stream of fire exploded toward Birch.
My mate gasped, and her shadow snaked out and broke through my barrier. She wrapped the tendril around my brother, the princess, and the toddler and pulled them toward us with a speed I’d only seen Damien use before.
My mate looked fearless, protecting our people. Birch had been so focused on Princess Adele and their child that he didn't see the fire until it was too late. If Wren hadn’t intervened, he would’ve been burned terribly.
They fell next to us with a thump, and Wren called her shadow back into her mark.
“Pay attention,” I snapped at him and put my barrier back up as he scrambled to his feet, helping the princess and his child back on their feet.
“Birch,” Wren murmured, reaching over and squeezing his shoulder. “You will have time to speak with her after this. Right now, there is danger.”
He swallowed hard and tore his gaze from the princess as Wren dropped her hand. “You're right.”
My mother stepped forward as her blue hair flew wildly around her. “How dare you attempt to strike my son!”
The queen of the Fire Kingdom stepped forward with her hair aflame. “How dare your son ruin our kingdom's prosperity?”
“Have you ever asked what your daughter wanted?” Mother clipped, pointing a frosted finger at Birch and the princess.
“It doesn't matter what she wanted,” the queen snapped, and the king continued to stay silent.
Birch threw up an ice shield, protecting himself, the princess, and his child.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of our soldiers get in a defensive position against the princess and the child who were behind Birch.
Anger flashed through me as I pushed Wren toward Frayla, who caught her and followed my gaze.
I phased in front of the soldier right as a spear of ice came from his palm.
The spear ripped through my shoulder. The ice froze the muscle and tissue as it stopped halfway through. Pain erupted as blood dripped onto my royal attire and slid onto the frozen ground. It was a perk of the enchanted clothing.
I hissed, yanking the ice out of my shoulder and throwing it back at the ice fae soldier, whose eyes were wide with horror at what he’d done.
The spear hit him in the stomach, and blood bubbled out of his mouth. “Why?” he choked.
“We do not harm children, and you attacked your prince,” I sneered as our palace shook.
The soldier dropped to his knees, and none of our men went to his aid.
Fire blasted into the palace, and the soldiers inside sprang into action, leaving the palace to go fight the soldiers outside.
Wren rushed to me with Frayla behind her. “Thorn!” she cried, pressing her hands into the wound on my shoulder.
“I'm fine. It's just ice. It'll heal, Kit.” I grunted, turning toward the princess. “I don't know what the king and queen’s plan is, but I can tell that this isn't your doing. If Birch is protecting you, then I will too. Plus, obviously, that’s my nephew.”
Princess Adele’s eyes widened with gratitude as she nodded. “Thank you.”
Our people stood their ground, forming a circle around all of us. They built an ice barrier, keeping us all contained within to protect our palace.
“Great work!” Father shouted, and determined expressions formed on our people.
We all stepped back, waiting to see how the king and queen wanted to approach it.
My mother stepped forward with anger pulsing around her, and my father stepped back, allowing her leeway. “How do you have such a lack of respect and love for your own child?”
“My child is dead!” Queen Johnson screamed, flames encasing her body. “Your son killed him!”
I winced. I had killed Nate, but I didn’t do so in cold blood.
“Is that what this is about?” Mother’s ice formed over her skin, glistening in the moonlight that came through the windows. “You’re right. Thorn did kill Nate. But he did so because Nate was working with the humans. He did so because he posed a threat to his mate. I've always thought this war was senseless, but we had to protect ourselves from you.” Mother stepped forward, her gown flowing behind her. “But the reasoning was more senseless than I ever could have thought.” She struck her hand out and catapulted a large spike of ice toward the fire queen’s heart.
“It’s not senseless!” She threw her hands up and created a firewall to block it, then shot eight fireballs in succession toward my mother. “Nate was going to bring your kingdom down by taking out your son!”
Mother blocked each fireball with a block of ice in front of her. “You were conspiring to kill my son?”
Gasps rang out through the palace, but we stood still. This was my mother’s fight, their queen’s.
Queen Johnson threw a couple more fireballs, and it nicked Mother’s cheek as she blocked the one that was aimed at her chest. “Of course! Why wouldn’t we go after the next king? We wanted to destroy the Ice Kingdom, and tonight, we will succeed!”
My magic flared, the ice crystals making up the barrier around us went into a frenzy. Wren’s grip on my shoulder tightened. The wound had already closed up.
“No, you will not!” Mother shot several ice arrows toward the other queen’s face and body.
She blocked the ones aimed at her face, but one arrow lodged in her stomach, making her double over. She heated her body and melted the arrow, clutching her wound.
“I will not let you hurt our people!” Mother shouted.
“Your people will be unprotected once your family is dead!” Throwing up a hand, Queen Johnson formed a large fireball and sent it toward Mother with force.
Mother blocked it with an ice wall, but the fire was powerful enough to melt it and singed a piece of her hair that had fallen out of her updo as it sizzled out.
“This ends now.” My father stepped forward and laced his fingers through hers as he held her hand.
Our people resonated their magical energy and pushed it toward their king and queen, as did Birch, Frayla, and I.
“We will end this war tonight.” Mother and Father raised their hands together and blasted ice magic towards the queen at the same time she shot a stream of fire at them.
I noticed that the king did nothing to help his queen or stop my parents. He just looked away from the scene, toward his daughter.
