The same name.
As crazy as the situation already seemed, she didn’t want him to know she had dreamt about him.
Scarlett dropped his hand and stepped back. Her pain returned, like a punch to her gut. She breathed deeply. The way he controlled her feelings—like a drug—wasn’t natural.
Her intuition had always been her strongest asset. The one time she’d ignored it, she was nearly taken advantage of in a car. Since then, she trusted her gut. Always. And her gut told her Cade wasn’t just a vision, he was real, and she should be careful.
“Thank you, Cade, but I should go home,” Scarlett said.
“Of course.” He bowed. “My offer still stands if you change your mind, Scarlett.” After her name left his mouth, he vanished.
She hadn’t told him her name today.
What if she was wrong and he was nothing more than a hallucination—her grief driving her mad? He had just vanished. Was Scarlett going crazy like her mom?
After his encounter with Scarlett, Cade’s magic buzzed. Emotion was fuel to fae power. When he consumed it, the magic in him grew. Like food energized a body, emotion, among other things, invigorated fae magic. Cade had breathed in Scarlett’s emotion like the scent of a candle; invisible but no less potent for its transparency.
He should feel sorry for the girl. So much pain couldn’t be pleasant. But the more magic he had, the better he could prepare. Magic gave Cade strength. It helped him enter dreams. Helped him appear invisible and move things with his mind. With enough emotion, they could create energy into a weapon. Magic made the fae superhuman. Humans played their part. Their emotions refueled the fae. An angry man in a check-out aisle. A jealous girl at a high school dance. A grieving woman on the hillside of a cemetery. Each could feed Cade the sustenance his fae self needed. The stronger the emotion, the quicker he refueled and the more powerful his magic was.
Grief poured from Scarlett, a monsoon of pain. Gloom clouded around her as she fought the storm within. Cade couldn’t vanquish her pain forever, but he could temporarily remove it from her mind as if it didn’t exist. She’d have to deal with it again someday, but that would be her problem, not his.
Humans longed for a quick release from pain. It made them easy to lure into Faerie. Never bring humans in against their will—the rule of the Summer Court his father had put into place before Cade was born. Anyone found guilty of violating the rule would be killed. It was the highest law of the Summer Court.
There were six different fae courts, each with their own set of regulations. Four of them—one for each season—lived in Faerie. The other two wandered the mortal realm. Cade had learned about them all in his studies, but only bothered himself with Summer Court dealings. If he became king, that would have to change.
The fae weren’t immortal, but many lived for centuries. Unlike humans, the fae had the blessing of good health. No colds, no measles, no cancer. Usually. Eventually, old age would catch a fae. Or a soldier might die in battle. But if careful, fae could live a long time.
The biggest risk of death for Cade was the upcoming battle.
To win, either he or Raith must defeat one another. By death or surrender, one of them would lose. To make the battle more intense, a surrender didn’t have to be granted. It would be the champion’s decision to spare the loser’s life or to take it. With so much magic and emotion, many had killed their opponent without a second thought.
It was a danger Cade would face. What would the Summer Court become if Raith was king?
After Cade returned from his trip to the mortal realm, Kassandra was waiting for him outside of his bedroom.
“Mother,” Cade greeted her.
Dressed in a long scarlet gown, Kassandra curtsied. The gold crown covered in rubies on her head didn’t budge. Perfect posture, the sign of a true lady. Kassandra may have been raised outside of the castle, but her etiquette was very much that of a queen. Her days of working as a seamstress ended the moment the king took her hand to dance.
“It’s time to step up your training. I’ve found a soldier from the army who is ready to leave as captain and return to the castle. An accomplished fighter that will serve as your trainer.”
“Is a trainer necessary?” Cade asked. The magic inside him yearned for release. He’d never felt so full. Although he’d already practiced today, he was ready to go again.
Kassandra’s eyes narrowed into a glare. The look of annoyance. Cade had seen it many times, usually when he snuck around the castle as a boy, getting into things he shouldn’t. “I would not have wasted my time finding this soldier if I didn’t think it was necessary.” She sighed and relaxed her forehead. “I know I ask a lot of you, my son. But I do not have royal blood, and if something happens to the king, the Heir will be given control of the realm. I fear what would happen if Raith were given this power. It’s you who should be king.”
Cade grabbed Kassandra’s hand and squeezed it. Once rough fingers were now as smooth as the satin of her dress. “I’ll win.”
“Don’t be overconfident. No one expected Kaelem to become the Unseelie King, but it’s he who now sits on the throne.”
That cocky bastard didn’t deserve to rule anyone. Then again, his brothers were arrogant jerks, too. But they were Unseelie fae, so what else would anyone expect?
“I’ve found a human who fills me with magic like I’ve never felt before,” Cade said.
“Who is this human?”
“I don’t know, but with her to feed off of, my magic will thrive.” Cade cupped his hands together. A small orb of green light grew inside, blazing hot in his hands.
“Summer energy.” Kassandra’s eyes gleamed.
Cade nodded. It wasn’t much—yet. But he was confident by the time the battle began, it would be a fierce weapon.
“Most don’t gain that gift until years into adulthood.” Kassandra’s mouth shifted into a smirk. “Bring the girl here.”
Chapter Four
Scarlett wandered around town after Cade had scared her away from the hilltop. Zigzagging down blocks. Swinging in the park. Anything to pass time. She was in no hurry to get home. Would she and Ashleigh be okay? Would they just shake off their fight? Forget it happened? Or were they headed down a path that would tear them further apart than they already were?
Sweat dribbled from Scarlett’s forehead—the summer warmth in full effect, its thickness pressing into her. Her dry mouth begged for a drink of water, but she ignored it. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been gone, but eventually her stomach grumbled and reminded Scarlett that she hadn’t eaten since lunch the day before. Most of the time, she didn’t even notice her hunger. Her thoughts were always elsewhere now. But the reality that she was human and needed food to survive caught up to her every so often. Scarlett checked her pocket for money, hoping to go to Paula’s Cafe to get some chicken and fries. She didn’t want to go back to her house and would avoid it as long as she could. But there was no money in her jeans, so home it was.
The sun dropped slowly in the eastern sky. Scarlett had been gone all day. It didn’t feel like that long. Time had changed for Scarlett since her mom died. Some moments seemed to last forever, while others flew faster than a shooting star.
When she came through the front door, Ashleigh was curled on the couch watching TV.
“Hi,” Scarlett said. She could be the bigger person.
“Hi.” Ashleigh’s gaze didn’t budge.
“We okay?”
“Yep.”
“Then why won’t you look at me?”
Ashleigh’s head snapped toward Scarlett. “Happy?”
“What can I do to make this better?” Scarlett and Ashleigh had never been close. But they were all the family each other had anymore. Scarlett didn’t want to be alone.
“I’m going back to school tomorrow.”
“You don’t start for another month.”