Page 170 of Dare

Jeryn trailed my gaze toward the butterfly flapping wildly in our direction. My little companion had been acting as our messenger between Summer and Autumn, though we hadn’t been expecting her yet.

The prince and I hastened toward the creature. I crooked my finger for the female to land upon, her wings fluttering rapidly.

“What is it, my friend?” I asked. “What’s the matter?”

Jeryn hissed, bothered by something else I couldn’t sense. “Flare,” he warned, drawing out my name in a low baritone.

Glancing the wild’s edge, I scanned the mesh of leaves, searching beyond its depths. Then I felt it—a presence. More than that, an intrusion. The offshoots rustled and shuddered.

Snarling, the prince snatched my waist. He whipped me behind him and ripped out his scalpel knife. We halted, arrested inside a shocked second, then two seconds, then three.

A gust swirled through the foliage. Then an athletic form cut through the underbrush, his movements familiar. Ashen blond hair and blue eyes materialized, along with the flash of two broadswords.

“Aire!” I exclaimed in confusion while scrambling from behind Jeryn.

“What the fuck?” the prince muttered, disarming his weapon.

The knight’s bulk shoved through the bushes. Striding into view, he stalled, relief and urgency contorting his face. “Your Highness. Flare. We—”

“I said, what the fuck?” Jeryn seethed. “I almost impaled you.”

The butterfly landed on my shoulder as I rushed to the warrior’s side. “What—”

Aire held up his hand. “I cannot explain.” He flung his chin toward the southeast. “We docked a skiff on the other side, but it’s not a story for now. We must leave. Now.” A grave look dimmed his features. “They’re coming.”

“Who?” I shook my head. “Leave where?”

Despite the lack of quill and parchment, my gesture and confused features communicated enough. Grasping my meaning, Aire opened his mouth, but I swerved toward Jeryn, too agitated to remain still.

Except my bafflement was cut off by the haunted expression carving through his face. The prince’s eyes flashed as he stared into the distance, his features blanching as if he’d just encountered a ghost.

Following his gaze, I saw it. Blasting through a curtain of fog, the massive Winter ships smashed through the ocean like bulldozers.

51

Flare

When I was little, I used to imagine ships were wooden whales, gentle giants who ruled the sea. These vessels appeared small from afar, but their sails told me better. From here, I made out the swollen bellies of their hulls and the spearing bowsprits. These were no gentle giants on a peaceful expedition. These were monsters beating aside the waves, their silver figureheads aiming for the shore.

Then a second armada followed, this one hailing from Summer, their golden masts lancing into the sky. I stumbled backward, the scent of brine stinging my nostrils. It couldn’t be real. I had to wake myself up from this nightmare. Now.

Except Jeryn and Aire saw the ships too. But how? How was this happening? The rainforest couldn’t have summoned this legion as it had me.

A shrill noise gutted the sky, the ships’ horns tolling. The cacophony scattered a flock of macaws from the ferns, because they saw the enemy as well.

Soldiers clamored, hollering and pounding across the decks. They were too far away to see our shapes, but if the naval vessels were real, they would anchor soon.

I thought of their mainstays smacking the ocean floor, the iron weights breaking off a hunk of coral and crushing kelp. Skiffs would paddle the rest of the way, drive across the sand, and make track marks in the cove.

The butterfly launched off my shoulder and flapped into the trees. I charged toward the sea, to defend this land. An arm clamped around my waist and heaved me back.

Furious, I swung my fist at Jeryn, but he caught my knuckles. “Flare,” he cautioned.

His complexion hadn’t regained its color. From the sight, a new thought seized me. If we weren’t dreaming, Winter was coming to get him.

His pupils darkened. I stared at those black pits, his gaze confirming there were too many of them to fight. And if they were searching for him, that meant they were also looking for me.

Protectiveness sharpened those eyes, which clicked over my shoulder to the forest. He calculated, then his gaze snapped to me. He nodded, and I nodded back. Then his hand seized mine, and I strapped my fingers with his.

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