The Faerie Curses

Chapter Four: The Summer Prince

"THREE...TWO...ONE..."

I glared at Glen, my eyes shooting daggers at him. I was aware of Noel in the crowds, covering his eyes.

"FIGHT!"

Before I continue, there's something you need to know about Glen. If his attitude wasn't bad enough, he also happens to be the crown prince of the Summer Court itself. That's right, Queen Titania of all the summer faeries is his mother. So once Titania's reign ends, Glen basically inherits the throne.

Summer Court is definitely doomed.

I remember on my first day at Winter Academy I was just twelve years old, but I knew immediately that Glen and I weren't going to be best friends. I had to work and perfect my combat skills, a task that took endless hours of training. Spell casting came naturally to Glen, and he practically breezed through his classes with ease. He never had to fight to be the best, he was just simply Summer Academy's most gifted caster.

He was also the biggest trickster out of all the students combined. Glen had pulled off every prank from setting an army of rabid squirrels on the instructors' banquet to dropping a bucket of glue and leaves on my head at the Academies' student formal dance. Even years later I still can't live that one down. I can also still smell that glue.

We've spent years battling to determine who is ultimately the most powerful faerie, so this fight is just one of many. Although I would never admit this to Glen's face, we're evenly matched when it comes to our skills. A fact that I terribly regret.

Lightning fast, Glen shot rays of light from his fingertips, blasting me in the face. My vision filled with sparkling gold, and blinded, Glen was able to pin my arms behind my back, hard. My sword fell from my hands and clattered to the ground. Blinking desperately, I kicked him hard in the kneecap and his grip lessened slightly in his pain. I took that moment to open my wings, and I began to beat them fast. They slapped against Glen's face, and I spun away from him gracefully.

I snatched up my sword and charged at him with it, but Glen closed his eyes and whispered words in an ancient language foreign to me. In a blast, a staff made from an oak tree materialized in his hands. He held it out in front of him fast, and my sword met his scepter with an echoing clash!

"Not fair," I hissed as ice scraped against wood.

Glen gave me a devilish smile. "Feel like giving up yet, Marissa?"

"In your dreams," I snapped, thrusting my weight against his. My ice sword was stronger than Glen's staff, and he knew it. I was able to shove him off balance, and Glen pointed his oak staff at the ground. My stomach dropped.

The whole room began to shake, and I took a step back uneasily. Before I could even move, tree roots erupted from the floor and laced around me like snakes. Glen had the roots of the Gathering Tree itself under his control, and they wrapped around my body, squeezing me.

The onlookers went insane. Their voices filled my head until they formed one unanimous scream, and some faeries were even hanging over the ring, shouting.

Glen studied me as I thrashed against the huge tree roots, my fingers struggling to get a good hold on my sword that was still in my grasp. His wings fluttered with confidence as he leaned against his staff, looking almost bored.

"I have to say, I was expecting more of a fight," he said to me, his eyes glittering.

"Oh, you're gonna get a fight," I seethed.