Page 39 of Of Wind and Terror

The Forest of the Damned…

I sift through my meager knowledge of what I know of the forest that borders the Fall and Summer Courts.

It’s rumored to be filled with monsters, right? Horrible, disfigured beasts?

Icy trepidation swirls in my chest.

“What exactly will we face in this forest?” I ask, my hands shaking ever so slightly as I sign.

“Our worst fears,” a dry voice remarks from off to the side.

Both Blaze and Aleksander tense automatically, the former shoving me behind his massive body, while the latter holds his sword out in front of him. I peer out from around Blaze and feel my mouth drop open at the sight of a familiar male leaning against the wall of the largest hut.

His pink hair stirs in the slight breeze, the color striking against his tan complexion. He looks exactly as I remember him, albeit a little rumpled, as if he hasn’t slept for a few days. Dark shadows underscore each of his eyes, making the blue irises almost appear black in the bright sun.

“Treyton?”

15

KASSANDRA

Prince Treyton of the Spring Court pushes away from the wall, looking, for all intents and purposes, like a lackadaisical animal prowling through a field. He stalks towards me like a man possessed, and neither Blaze nor Aleksander relax.

“Kassie,” Treyton breathes, shock evident in his tone.

Shock…and something I would almost describe as reverence if I believed Treyton was capable of such a thing.

“Isn’t this fun?” Aleksander claps his hands together and tosses me a beaming smile over his shoulder. “It feels as if it’s the start to a bad joke. An elf, a Fall Prince, and a Spring Prince travel through a monstrous forest…”

Treyton tears his gaze off of me to give Aleksander a passing glance, his eyes focusing on his strange ears a tick longer than polite. I wonder if Treyton recognizes him as San from the marketplace. They look eerily similar, the only differences being Aleksander’s height and ears.

“And who are you?” Treyton stills and continues to assess Aleksander with narrowed, icy eyes. His lips thin and tighten, compressing into a perfectly straight line.

Aleksander extends his sword like it’s a hand he intends for Treyton to shake. “Aleksander, elf extraordinaire, at your service.”

I wave my hand in the air to capture Treyton’s attention and then begin to sign. “Treyton, what are you doing here?”

His expression softens. It’s an abrupt transition. One tick, all of his facial muscles are rigid in a way that almost appears uncomfortable. Narrowed eyes. Downturned mouth. Scrunched nose. A furrow between his brows. The next, his eyes widen, his lips lose their haughty sneer, and relief sparkles in his blue eyes. He looks like an entirely different fae.

“When Calan took you…” He takes a shuddering breath, darkness momentarily clouding his expression, before he forces himself to relax and finish speaking. “I looked everywhere for you. You have to know that. One of my spies spotted you near Gaia’s temple. From there, it was just a matter of finding fae willing to talk.”

The Spring Prince left the safety of his castle and crossed into the Summer Court—enemy territory—to find me? Me?

A strange, buoyant feeling bubbles to life inside of me. I can’t put a finger on what this elusive emotion is, but it makes me feel one hundred pounds lighter. Weightless, even.

When I traveled with Calan, it took us days to arrive here from the Spring Court. Treyton must’ve ridden nonstop this entire time.

To get to me.

Me.

Blaze growls low in his throat and shoulders his way in front of me once more. His biceps flex as he crosses them over his chest. I can’t read the expression on his face, not with his back to me, but Treyton’s eyes turn penetrating and flinty, his lips curling in a sneer.

“Leave, Spring Prince,” Blaze hisses harshly.

Treyton hefts his chin into the air imperiously. “You know I can’t do that, Blaze.”

Another rumbling sound echoes through Blaze’s chest. “I don’t know what made you so damn delusional, but?—”

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