Solar Reign

X I I I

"THIS IS dangerous. Even for you." Kyle rubbed his hands up his arms, shivering in the clearing. His gaze was hard as it rested on Roseria. Even he knew how foolish it was to wander into the Winter Court without Prince Puck's blessing. Any moment now, Kyle envisioned the dangerous fae to arrive out of thin air. Even worse, he imagined Nohx arriving instead.

Stupid prick, he couldn't help but think. All of them.

"The enemy of our enemy is a friend," was all Roseria deigned to say in response.

Snow fell slowly in thick, fat clumps. It was beginning to gather on the forest floor, and no matter how much heating powers Kyle held, there wasn't enough to keep him warm. An image of a younger Andorra bundled in winter clothes passed through his mind. No wonder she was always swaddled in layers. Despite how idiotic it had looked, Andorra had merit for doing so.

"I'm not entirely clear on the reason you dragged me here." Kyle looked around the rest of the Woodland Forest. They stood on the edge of it, right where it bordered the Shadow Clan. Kyle was thankful it was far from the reaches of the Snow Clan, but his stomach twisted at the knowledge that Prince Puck's reign was held here in this very clan.

Kyle could have sworn shadows of all shapes and sizes were creeping up on them. They seemed to bleed from the trees and congregate underfoot, and Kyle's heart raced. He had never been much of an anxious child, but this was different from the human realm. Anlithamy had not been what he had expected.

The shadows were in fact gathering. Kyle and Roseria watched, one with wide eyes and one without, as the shadows began to clump together, building something, swirling together. Kyle almost choked on his sudden intake of air as Aihfie stepped out of the shadows.

"Roseria," she sneered. Her dark eyes cut from the pink haired fae and took in Kyle, a smirk curving against her cold, pale face as she watched the sun fae's reaction to her presence. "And what do we have here?"

"Leave it, Aihfie. We have business, you and I. Business against the Queen."

Aihfie was not known to leave anything. She stepped towards Kyle, reaching for him, letting her sharp nails trail over his cheek. Kyle didn't dare breathe in her presence. She was terrifying. Kyle felt his bones lock up in place as he realized that this was Prince Puck's daughter.

Royalty in the form of a cunning and ruthless blade. Her nails bit into his skin, just barely. "But look at his fear. So delicious. You're from the Sun Clan."

The way she said the words sun clan made him feel embarrassed. As if being a Summer fae was something to be ashamed of. A bolt of anger passed through him as Kyle made a connection between Aihfie and Nohx. Nohx too looked down on him, on Sun fae. Kyle jerked his face from Aihfie's grip.

"And what of it?" His tone now held some bite.

Seemingly bored now of Kyle, Aihfie turned back to Roseria. "What are you doing here, Rose? Am I to believe you've really been hiding from the Royal Court all this time? Or are you working with our sweet little Queen, here to stab me in the back? Like you did to Anders?"

Roseria scoffed. She jammed her own hands in the pockets of her fur lined jacket, clearly more prepared than Kyle was for this outing. "You're ridiculous if you think I've been working with the Queen. Even more so if you think I backstabbed Anders. No, I'm here to discuss something that would benefit the two of us."

Aihfie looked down to her nails. Acted as though she were picking the dirt from beneath them. "Oh?"

"Don't look so disengaged. I've been to see Kaeberon."