Chapter Twenty
The next morning I woke up in my bed at Carley's house, coming to awareness slowly out of a dream of flowers growing in the snow. For a few moments I wondered groggily if the whole thing I thought I remembered - the party, the fight, and for that matter the whole ridiculous idea that there were tribes of Fairies living in Maine - had been a dream. As I turned over to get out of bed my aching muscles and my bruised head said: No. Not a dream, just the new reality of your life.
That realization sent me back under the covers; I needed to stay there for a little longer to collect myself and get my bearings before I started my day. It seemed funny that even though I had been in Castleton for barely two weeks, being back at Carley's house after everything that had happened felt like coming back home. Or at least, a home away from home.
Fully awake now, remembering everything, I knew what the Solstice Party meant, to me at least. It meant that my life would never be the same. I'd come to Castleton two weeks ago a normal girl, but this summer had already changed me. Even if nothing ever happened with Holt, I wasn't the same girl I had been when I stepped off the plane. I felt different, more alive. When I'd thrown my body into the Winter Queen, simply because there was no other option, I was a new Autumn. The old Autumn wouldn't have done that. The old Autumn would have waited for someone else to fix it, for someone else to help, but I had known that I had to be the one to do it. When it had come time to confront Samuel's mother, it had to be me.
Samuel came to see me the next day. I was still busy relaxing. Carley and Nick had gone to the beach, but I had decided to stay home. I was still tired and shaky and I wondered how long it would last. He called to me from beneath my window, and as soon as I saw him standing there I felt the old familiar thump in my chest. I wondered how I could still feel that when I had felt so good in Holt's arms, but ignoring the worry, I raced downstairs.
Holt had told me that it was Samuel who had stopped the Winter Queen. After I'd thrown myself into her with such abandon, Samuel had joined the fight. His mother wouldn't fight her own son, and in the end a truce had been called. No one knew how long it would last. Already, in the light of an ordinary day, the vivid memory of the fight was fading more and more from my mind. I wondered if by the end of the summer I would forget it completely. Seeing Samuel again made me doubt it.
Samuel was standing on the porch surrounded by dusk. He looked good, better than he'd ever looked before. It looked like something inside him had relaxed. Maybe he finally didn't hate being in my presence.
I gave him a timid smile.
"How are you?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.
"I'm fine," I told him. "I wasn't hurt."
He sat on the porch and I sat next to him. Not touching, but almost. I couldn't even feel his usual cold.
He paused, unsure how to start. "I wanted to come see you," he finally said, "but I wanted to give you some time. I wasn't sure what you'd think after my mother . . . did what she did."
"You aren't your mother," I pointed out, wrapping my arms around my knees and looking at him sideways.
He laughed ruefully. "No, but I should have known better. I thought she'd just give you and the Roths a talking to. I never thought she'd act on her anger the way she did. I'm not saying she doesn't have a right to be angry. Part of me thinks she has every right. Holt should have left you alone until you and I had a chance to figure something out. I knew he couldn't do that, though. I knew from the first time I saw him looking at you . . ." He trailed off.
I repeated what I'd been saying the whole time. "If you don't want me you shouldn't care who I'm with."
He nodded. "But I do," he said. "I do care." He wasn't looking at me. Instead he was looking out at the ocean. "As stupid as it sounds, I expected bad behavior from Lydia and Leslie. Especially, I knew they'd threatened you. But I didn't expect it from my mother. She's the Queen and she's supposed to set an example."
I could tell Samuel felt bad, and I knew why. It was tough realizing that your parents weren't perfect, no matter how old you were when you realized it. "She could have hurt you," Samuel continued. "And I don't know that I could have forgiven her for that."
That sounded strangely like he cared about me.
"I'm fine," I said again. "I truly am fine. The Roths took good care of me."
Samuel nodded. "No one ever accused them of slacking," he said, grinning. "They are good Fairies. That's the problem."
I could see his reluctance. Samuel didn't want any of this. No one had asked for it. It was the first time I realized that I wasn't the only one who was confused and hurting, and it felt good to see that I wasn't alone. Samuel always seemed so strong and confident and to have no interest in me at all, but now I could see that I was wrong about that, at least a little. Samuel was interested, and some part of him, maybe a small one, did care.
"What now?" I asked. Now that my world had been turned upside down I wanted to do my best to deal with my new reality. And my new reality seemed to involve Fairy princes and queens. In the little town of Castleton.
"Now," said Samuel, "we take time to figure it out."
"Your family is furious," I warned him.
Samuel almost laughed. "Don't worry," he said. "My mother is the Winter Queen. It's not like I can never speak to her again, but she has to know this is wrong. As her heir, I have to stand up for what I believe in, and what I believe is that you and I can work this out without her attacking you or the Roths. That goes for Lydia and Leslie as well. I'm sorry about them." He sounded so serious and he looked so worried that I had to believe him. He'd been cold to me all summer, but somehow it made more sense now. Somehow it almost sounded like he had been trying to protect me.
After Samuel left I sat on the porch for a long time. I found myself wishing that I could have seen him in action. I knew it was silly, but I had it in my head that Samuel was a powerful Fairy, and it would have been interesting to see him challenge his mother. I figured that for members of their own Court it would have been terrifying, but there was something graceful and strong about Samuel that I liked. It was probably because according to Fairy lore, I was destined for him.
But destiny or not, I couldn't help thinking about Holt.
The summer night was warm and the sky was every beautiful pink and purple and blue you could imagine. I was enjoying the evening when a familiar silver car came into view with Holt at the wheel. I felt my heart skip. Just seeing him made me smile, even more so because I knew what had happened with the Winter Queen.
As usual, all the flowers around Carley's house reached for him. I could feel their excited humming whisper past my skin as he came closer. They were happy to see him. He was like the sun shining, all warm goodness, feeding their life.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, coming toward me. Instead of sitting in the place where Samuel had been, he perched on a lower step. I wanted him next to me, but I kept my seat. There was something sad about him. He wasn't the same bright Holt I'd gotten used to, but I stopped noticing that while we talked in our usual lively way.
"I'm good," I told him honestly. I'd been feeling fine all day. I knew that tomorrow I'd feel back to normal, as if I'd never gotten into a fight with Fairies.
He reached his hand out to me. I took it, then scooted down a couple of steps until I was sitting next to him. He put his free arm around my shoulders, and I found myself smiling. I knew without a doubt that it would be easy to get used to this, to get lost in his touch. I already had several times, like at the Solstice Party when I'd danced with him all night. I'd forgotten that anyone else was even there, let alone watching.
Now, remembering it, I felt a twinge of guilt. Of course that had been what had set Mrs. Cheshire off. She'd been angry that Holt and I hadn't listened to her and left each other alone. It was just that I found being with Holt intoxicating. I was left a little uneasy at the thought of my reaction whenever I saw Samuel, but when I was with Holt I quickly forgot it.
"Holt,"
I asked, looking up at the stars, "would the Roths have lost that battle if it hadn't been stopped?"
He was quiet for a long time. Finally he said, "I don't know. Not in the summer. In the summer we are more powerful than the Cheshires. We are in our element, with the warmth and the flowers. Plus, we were at home. The Winter Queen was foolish to attack us at our own home."
I felt like there was a but coming, but it took him a long time to say anything else.
"But, if the circumstances had been different? If they'd been more even . . ." He stopped again and shifted his arm so that he held me more tightly against his side. "Yes, I think there's a good chance we would have lost."
I inhaled sharply. "Was she trying to kill you?" I didn't think I could take being responsible for anyone else's death, particularly Holt's. Even if I didn't have any control over what was happening, no one should die because of me. "Because Holt, if you're in danger, maybe we should . . ."
Holt shook his head. "I wasn't one of the ones in danger," he said bitterly.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "You were one of the ones fighting." I remembered walking out the front door and seeing the chaos. Involuntarily, I shuddered. He squeezed my shoulders reassuringly.
"I just mean she wouldn't have tried to kill me, since I'm the heir to the Summer Kingdom. She would have tried to kill you or Susan if she tried to kill anyone."
I felt cold. It had been all well and good talking to Samuel about the attack as if it hadn't been very serious, but now, listening to Holt, it finally came home to me that real damage could have been done, damage that might even have been fatal.
"We were all lucky," I said. "I'm glad it won't happen again."
Holt didn't say anything at all. The next day I realized that had been a sign, that if I hadn't been so happy in the circle of his arm I would have noticed how quiet and troubled he was.
But at the time, I didn't. He stayed for a long time, just sitting with me on the porch. We chatted. I'd called home that day and talked to my mom for a long time. She'd been in good spirits, planning a visit to see me with Dad. Apparently the two of them were doing well, and hearing that had put me in a better mood. Even though I knew nothing would ever be normal again, I didn't mind. Despite the stress of the past couple of weeks I was happier than I'd ever been. Besides, it seemed like I just might get my first boyfriend soon. In fact, I thought I might already have one.
"How are your mom and Susan?" I asked, realizing that we hadn't talked about them.
"They're fine," he said, smiling a little. "Mom's trying to figure out how to best spend the rest of the summer."
"What are her options?" I asked.
"Well," said Holt thoughtfully, "she wants to avoid any more trouble with the Cheshires, so she's thinking of more ways to make peace. She has to work in the garden, and she calls both of my brothers little hellions and thinks they need to be closely looked after."
I laughed. "Logan definitely could cause trouble."
Holt snorted. "He already does."
"Susan is going to spend this summer like she spends every summer: shopping."
We talked until well on into the night. After Holt walked me to the door and drove away I went up to bed. I fell asleep smiling.
Carley woke me the next morning. She was yelling up the stairs, telling me to come down. I threw off my covers and hurried downstairs. It was already warm out and it looked like it was going to be a brilliantly sunny day.
"Hey," she said, grinning. "Feel better?"
"Yeah," I answered. I could smell bacon simmering on the stove. My stomach rumbled.
"My parents are coming home today," Carley commented. She said it very carefully, glancing at me sidelong.
"Does that mean we have to spend this gorgeous day cleaning the house?" I asked, grinning.
Carley smiled at me and threw her arms around my neck. "I knew you'd understand."
"What about Nick?" I asked. "Does he want to spend the whole day cleaning?"
Carley scoffed. "Nick will do whatever we want," she informed me. "He knows you're supposed to let the ladies choose."
I helped Carley finish making breakfast. She already had most of it done, so all I really had to do was set the table. Right when we were sitting down to eat, Nick showed up. As soon as he walked into the kitchen he grabbed a plate and started piling it with food.
"It's a good thing I made extra," Carley muttered. "Didn't you eat breakfast before you came over here?" she demanded.
Nick grinned at her as he sat down. "Of course, but I'm a growing boy. I can eat twice."
Carley was so surprised, she laughed. I laughed too. I looked from one of my friends to the other. I was really looking forward to the rest of the summer.
The End
~
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By Maddy Edwards
Paranormal Public Series
Paranormal Public
Elemental Rising
Elemental Shining
Elemental Dawn
Elemental Fire
Elemental Air
Elemental Earth
Elemental Darkness
Elemental Light
Elemental Omen
Elemental Havoc
Elemental Fate
Elemental Rivalry
Paranormal Public Omnibus: Books 1-3
Paranormal Public Omnibus: Books 4-6
Paranormal Public Omnibus: Books 7-9
Paranormal Public Omnibus: Books 9-12
Darkness Rules
(Elemental Darkness from Lisabelle's point of view)
Spiral Series
Spiral
Spiral of Silver
One Black Rose Series
One Black Rose
August
Autumn
Solstice Sea
Rose Sea
Sun Sea
One Black Rose Omnibus (Books 1-3)
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