The Summer Marked

Entangled Publishing, LLC

Salome

The white stallion ran around the fenced ring, tugging at the lead rope Gareth had tied around its neck. Sweat glistened on Gareth's brow, his billowy black tunic unlaced to reveal tanned skin beneath. With his shaggy golden hair tied back, he looked like a romantic hero straight from one of my mom's romance novels. And the galloping horse just added to the picture. I leaned against the gate and smiled. He was gorgeous even with the jagged scar on his cheek. The arrogant fae warrior was tall. Strong. Powerful.

And he was mine.

It'd only been a couple of weeks since I'd broken the Winter Curse and given up my life in the human world to join Gareth in Faerie. So far, I regretted nothing. Well, other than missing my family and friends. But I loved Gareth and wanted to be where he was. And his house on the outskirts of Faerie was perfect. Not too close to the danger, yet outside the boundaries of the human world.

I swallowed hard. My gaze traveled over his biceps, up his shoulders, to his way too kissable looking lips.

Might want to shut off the thoughts.

Too late.

Gareth glanced up from the horse. His mahogany eyes met mine. I knew then he'd heard every thought through our bond. Trust me, a blood bond sounded great in theory. At least until you realized there was someone inside your head, hearing and seeing everything you dreamed, thought, or saw. Okay, so it didn't happen all the time, just when I got distracted and let my guard down.

"I can't concentrate with you watching me like that, Salome." He grinned, then gave me a wink. "Maybe we ought to go for a swim."

The horse whinnied and charged at him as if he didn't like his flirting with me. I stifled a giggle, but Gareth only glared at the beast.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say the horse was jealous." He released the rope and stepped away from him.

I laughed. "Don't tell me you feel threatened by a horse."

He shut the gate, locking the animal inside. It snorted, pawing at the ground. "Hardly."

In two long strides, he was in front of me, backing me toward the house. I bumped into the stone structure. My heart thudded like a ball falling down the stairs. He propped his forearms on either side of my head then pressed himself against me.

His fingers brushed my cheek, his breath warm upon my skin as he leaned in.

"Have I mentioned what a distraction you've been?" he said inside my head.

"Several times."

"Why can't I get enough of you?"

"Because you're not trying."

"We'll have to fix that," he said, aloud this time. Gareth rested his forehead against mine, his fingers tangling in my hair.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. "Kiss me."

He wet his lips, his breath already warm upon my cheek. His mind opened to me, and I could feel his love and passion and need. My heart pounded so loudly in my ears, anticipating the moment his lips would touch mine. I stroked the back of his neck, letting my fingers dance across his skin, drawing him closer.

"You have no idea what you do to me." He drew nearer, until his mouth brushed mine.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything." A familiar voice ruined the moment.

I glowered when I saw my kind of ex-crush, Nevin, standing behind Gareth. To tell you the truth, there'd always been something missing with Nevin that I still didn't understand, which all went to say that I didn't have feelings for Nevin, and I was pretty sure he didn't have feelings for me. But that didn't mean there wasn't still a little tension between him and Gareth.

"You are. Maybe you should come back later." Gareth didn't unlock his gaze from mine.

Nevin's blue eyes hardened. "Is that any way to talk to your king?"

Gareth released me, his smile fading as he turned around.

"He was teasing, Nevin." I rested my hands on my hips, glaring at Nevin.

He stepped closer to me, grabbed my hand, and raised it to his mouth, placing a kiss along my knuckles. "Ah, Salome — as beautiful and outspoken as ever."

"And you're still arrogant." I jerked my fingers free from him. Just because I once thought I loved him didn't mean I wanted his lips on me. We'd shared one kiss the whole time we'd been together. And that one kiss had killed me. Literally.

If it wasn't for Gareth and our blood bond, I'd still be dead. Drifting in a sea of ghostly bodies. Though it was hard to blame him since my death broke the curse on Nevin and his people, allowing him to return to the Kingdom of Summer and take up his throne once more. But I'd never forget the fact that he'd used magic on me to try and make me fall in love with him. Almost like I'd been drugged. So yeah, Nevin definitely wasn't my favorite person.

His mouth twitched. "You'd do well to teach your girlfriend some manners, Gareth. If she says that to the wrong person they might not be as forgiving as me."

Manners? I'd teach him some. He might be Summer King, but that didn't mean he could just barge in whenever he pleased. Okay, so it did. Ugh.

Gareth shot me a knowing glance. "Don't let him goad you."

"As much as I'd love to stand here and banter with Salome — I've actually come here on business." His brow furrowed, while his grin melted away.

When I stared closer, I saw the dark shadows under his eyes. The worry that lined his features. Something was wrong.

"Why don't we go inside? We can talk in private." Gareth led us to the back door with the high stone arch.

Cool air caressed my skin as I stepped over the threshold. We came to the hallway filled with paintings of battles and tapestries of dancing couples. Deep crimson colors interwoven with gold, blue, and black.

Our footsteps echoed off the hardwood floors, the flames on the candles flickering as if a great wind blew through the house.

When we came to the library door, Gareth glanced over his shoulder at me and Felipe, his butler who'd joined us. "We should only be a few minutes. Felipe, bring in the pomegranate wine."

The dwarf bowed and scurried toward the kitchens. Nevin followed Gareth into the room, his dark hair falling across the back of his neck. I waited for Felipe to return with their drinks and watched as he disappeared inside the library. Moments later he came out and hurried toward the kitchen. The library door started to swing shut, but I caught it with my foot, leaving it ajar.

I pressed myself against the cherry wood wall, listening intently.

"What news from Summer?" Gareth asked.

"Grave tidings," Nevin said. "I wish I was here under happier circumstances."

The sound of a glass being slammed down echoed from within the room. I jumped, heart skittering against my ribs.

"The Winter Queen's poison is spreading," Nevin said. "Everywhere we look, winter leaves its mark. Trees are dying. Plants aren't growing. Our people grow weaker every day as this desolate season spreads." His voice faltered. "Gareth, I know I owe you so much already for all the time you spent keeping our kingdom running while I was imprisoned in the human world, but I must ask one more favor of you."

Gareth grunted, but he was a loyalist. I already knew that whatever Nevin asked, he wouldn't turn him down. And that terrified me.

"What is it?" Gareth said.

"You need to come back to the Summer Palace. Perhaps go into enemy territory and search for a way to defeat our foes. I trust no one else with this matter. All around me people are turning against us."

"No!" My thoughts came through loud. "You already ran his kingdom for three centuries because of his foolishness."

I couldn't believe Nevin would ask this of him.

"Salome, he is my king, I need to hear him out. Regardless of how we feel about him, I owe him my allegiance." Gareth peered out the door then shut it behind him. "I promise we can talk about this later, but for now I need to give him my undivided attention."

"But it's not fair for him to ask this of you." My fists clenched at my sides.

"You must understand the position I'm in. I'm a warrior of Summer, Salome. When called on, I need to do what I can."

Furious, I marched down the hall and out the back door. If I was Kadie, I'd tell Nevin to shove it up his ass and leave me and Gareth alone. No way she'd take his crap. But I also didn't want to get Gareth in trouble with Nevin by running my mouth. And deep down, I understood why Gareth would do what Nevin had asked. He cared for his people and would do anything for them. That was one of the things I loved about him. If only Kadie was here so we could gush about him together.

Kadie. How long had it been since I'd seen her? I ticked off the months. And it'd been several weeks since we last spoke. I never got to tell her that I'd moved in with Gareth.

A sudden bout of homesickness washed over me. Maybe I shouldn't have come to Faerie. No matter how much I wanted to fit in here, days like today made it clear I wouldn't. There were always private meetings or talks that I wasn't privy to listen in on, although, Gareth usually told me what was going on. He didn't like keeping things from me. So even though he had a duty to Nevin, he trusted me enough to keep me informed on all things Faerie or Summer.

It just sucked that we always had to drop everything for Nevin. That he could come in and interrupt us at a moment's notice. I thought living on the outskirts of Faerie with Gareth would alleviate some of that, but apparently Nevin could magically poof himself to our house whenever he wanted.

With a sigh, I made my way to the training ring where the stallion stood. He eyed me a moment, then trotted over.

"Hey boy." I reached between the wooden planks to pet his head. "I'm beginning to think you're the only friend I have here besides Gareth."

Wow. Was I really talking to the horse? He sniffed my hand then bowed his head. The trees danced beneath the breeze. The scent of honey swirled around, making me heady.

Without another thought, I hefted myself atop the fence, throwing first one leg over, then the next until I stood inside the circled area. Once again, I held my fingers out to the steed.

"Steady boy. I won't hurt you."

Odd. He wasn't freaking out on me like he did with Gareth. Instead, he trotted right up and nudged my shoulder.

God, I might live to regret this. But I was sick of Nevin always butting into everything. He used people to get what he wanted — he'd used me to break his curse and he'd used Gareth to keep his kingdom running, and here he was again, trying to make Gareth go back out there and risk his life. And if Gareth got sent away, I didn't know what I'd do. He was my lifeline out here to understanding Faerie, to staying connected to my humanity. Right now, all I wanted to do was ride the horse. To get away from Nevin and his superiority complex. Because even though I understood why Gareth had agreed, Nevin never should have asked him to do this in the first place.

"Okay, I'm gonna climb on your back." Please don't let him trample me. He knelt down before me as if to help me up. Well this is kinda weird.

I took a deep breath and slung my leg over. Unsure of what to hold on to, I tangled my fingers in his mane. The movies always made riding bareback look easy, but I was certain I'd slide off any minute now and land in a pile of horse crap.

I gave his flanks a light tap with my feet. The animal walked slowly around the circle and I tightened my knees against his warm sides to keep from falling. It gave a toss of his head then pawed the dirt. Unfortunately, I didn't speak stallion, so I had no idea what he wanted.

After a second he picked up his pace. The small circles made me dizzier with each pass. Suddenly, I understood what he needed. More room to run.

"If you promise to be good we can open the gate."

I hoped this wouldn't tick Gareth off, but I couldn't stand to be around Nevin, and if I stayed here, I might say something to get us both in trouble. Besides, I wasn't a prisoner here, and if I wanted to go for a ride they sure as heck weren't going to stop me. Back home — well, what had once been home — I'd learned I couldn't go practically anywhere without worrying about being attacked. But here, there were so many guards and magic spells warding the land that I couldn't help but feel safe. As long as I didn't go far, I'd be okay.

Well, assuming the horse didn't kick me off within the first five minutes ...

"Don't make me regret this," I muttered.

The horse whinnied and moved alongside the fence. I leaned over and unlatched the gate, opening it wide enough for us to get through.

I expected him to charge into the woods, but instead he took slow, hesitant steps forward. Once I settled myself back in place and held tight to his neck, he dashed toward the wood-line, galloping down the tree lined path.

We zipped by ancient oaks and maples, their green canopies blotting out the sun. Tiny wildflowers dotted the trail like a burst of rainbows. I ducked beneath low hanging branches, watching butterflies flit out of the way. My hair whipped behind me. What a rush — kind of like riding a motorcycle.

Beams of sunlight kissed my face as we raced wildly through the foliage. I smiled and tightened my grip when we neared a bend in the path. All of a sudden the horse came to a jarring halt. With a screech, I flew from my mount, landing on the ground a few feet ahead of him. I groaned, staring up at the sky. Crap. Had I even made it five minutes?

My head hurt. The horse let out a loud neigh and came to hover over me.

A frigid wind snaked around me like icy tentacles brushing my skin. I stilled. Goosebumps puckered my arms. Puffs of condensation escaped my lips as I breathed out.

What's happening?

I heard several crackling sounds. My gaze swept over the woodland as I attempted to sit upright. I gasped.

This can't be.

Panic gripped me, squeezing until I thought I might pass out. Ice crept across the ground, leaving a layer of frost on the plants and flowers; much like a slug leaves behind a slimy trail.

We need to go.

But before I could get up, a woman stepped from behind a great white oak. Her hair was white as a January blizzard. She wore robes of such a deep blue it made me think of frozen waters. A crystal crown sat upon her head. Her lips had a bluish-purple tint to them, reminding me of a drowning victim. Severe blue eyes narrowed as they took me in. Even though I'd never met her before, I'd seen enough drawings of her to be pretty sure this was the Winter Queen.

A slow sardonic grin spread across her pale face. "Ah, the human who saved the Summer King — alone in the woods at last. You can't imagine how long I've been waiting and watching you. They must not care enough to protect you."

I sat straighter, my pulse quickening as I slid closer to my horse. "I don't need their protection."

"Is that so?" Her mouth twisted. "Because of you I lost my stronghold on Summer. And for that, I want you dead." She moved closer, gliding across the fern covered ground. The once green fronds snapped off in her wake. "This time I won't send a petty witch for the job."

The horse moved up further like he wanted to protect me from her, convincing me even more that we had to get out of there.

Maybe if I asked her questions I could stall her long enough for me to get on the horse and ride away.

Yeah, that'll work. Just like in the movies.

"Kassandra? She worked for you?"

"And she failed me."

I bit my lip, trying not to think about the gnarled monster who'd nearly killed me in the human world. The witch who'd cursed Nevin and his troupe and had wreaked havoc on my family line for centuries. Until I'd broken the curse, destroying her.

My blood went cold. My body numbed as the queen's magic crept around us. Soon, all that remained green was the small patch of grass the horse and I were on. I sucked in deep breaths, my chest tightening. But I couldn't stop the images flashing through my mind of my childhood self. Drifting beneath the icy waters of the pond. Darkness. The cold. Death.

The queen raised her hands above her head. "I'm the one who gave Kassandra the means to set the curse in place — such a feeble girl couldn't even handle you." In one swift motion, she brought her hands down.