Faye and the Kingdom of Ice

Time is running out for Faye to break the curse and unbind the dragons’ powers.

But after months of searching, she’s no closer to uncovering how. Just as hope begins to fade, messengers arrive stating that the answers she seeks can be found in the Kingdom of Ice.

With Alec and their team by her side, they embark on one final journey where they have to decide who to trust and what risks to take as they tumble through a frozen world full of new races and unexpected magic.

Romance and tragedy intertwine as everything Faye has fought for builds to an epic conclusion of the gripping Faye and the Ether series.

The aqua of the ocean slipped over the black sands of the beach. Ferns fluttered, their fine leaves intertwining. They’d fade soon. Autumn threatened to creep into the world again. Storm season. The seas would churn and toss. The clouds hanging heavy over the sea.

“Did you hear what I said, Faye?”

I turned towards Telanes. His blue eyes sparkled, his arms crossed. His accent hung thick. He spoke my name like it had two syllables. He’d removed the Ether’s language translation. I dropped onto a couch, my gaze fixed on the scene out the windows. “Practicing English again?”

He eased down beside me and tucked his arm over my shoulders. “I am.”

I groaned. “Why? You’ve basically mastered it. You put me to shame.”

“Mastered.” He drew the word out. “What does that mean?”

I sighed and fiddled my thumb along my wedding ring, the pearl on it glimmering with hints of coral and aquas. “It means you’ve learned it all.”

He chuckled and leaned further into the couch, the fabric of it crinkling. “I haven’t.”

“Much further than any progress I’ve made with the dragon’s tongue. And why are you so eager to learn English, anyway?”

“We travel to the human world.”

“You know enough. Isn’t it a pain to practice all the time?”

Telanes blew out a breath. When he spoke, his voice returned to its usual cadence. He had pulled the Ether’s translation back. “I think it may be a good idea to have a shared language that we both speak.”

“But, why? Our world translates for us.”

Pictures of flowers behind him reflected his golden hair in their glass. “You’re irritable today.”

I turned to him, twisting my lips up. “And your response to that is to just blatantly point it out?”

He smirked. “Well, someone ought to.”

He kept his blue eyes trained on me, humor dancing in them. I laughed and then sighed again, pushing my hair back. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Why do you even put up with me?”

He kissed my nose. “Because I adore you. Now tell me what’s bothering you, love?”

I tucked into his arm. “I’m just worrying that we won’t be able to break this curse and unbind the dragon’s powers.” The magic soared through me at the moment, fizzling along my nerves, like a reminder that the powers belonged to the entire dragon race and didn’t like being restrained to just me. I often wondered why Zeus thought it was a good idea to bind them in the first place. “Months of looking for answers and so far we’ve come up with nothing. What happens if we get stuck here?”

“Well, then I get to spend a lot longer seeing you in your dragon leathers.”

I flipped around to face him and laughed, all the stress washing away from me. “Is that your favorite thing to see me wear?”

His eyebrows drew together, but his lips pursed and he whispered. “Oh, no. I have two favorite things I enjoy seeing you dressed in best, and neither is the leather uniforms.” He ran his eyes down me. “Though, they’re rather appealing on you as well.”

I lifted his wrist and kissed it. The glowing balls of light along the wall cast half his face in a wash of apricot that highlighted the strong edges of his jaw. “What are your two favorites, then?”

“My second favorite is your selkie cloak.”

“And your first?”

A smile slashed across his features. “When you wear nothing.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Is that so? Well, come to the bedroom with me and I will show you that one now.”

He laughed and followed me. 

Later, I lay on the golden comforter of our bed, the sun sinking into the sea out the windows. Telanes traced patterns along my bare back. “What is it you want, Faye?”

I clenched the blanket, creating a spiderweb of lines over its surface. “What I want more than anything is to go home.”

He stilled. “Do you mean the human world?”

“No.” I shifted my face towards him. The dusky peach of sunset filtered over him, the stretching posts of the bed, and the stately wood walls in a soft haze. “I said that wrong. What I mean is I want to find a home, somewhere we belong and love to be. If I’ve learned anything in the last few years, it’s that the dragon compound is not it. What about you?”

Telanes feathered his thumb over my jaw. “That’s what I’d like as well. We’ll find it. In time.” I snagged his hand and twined mine with his. He rested his chin on my shoulder. “May I offer you a thought?”

“Always.”

He chuckled, and it vibrated against my skin. “There’s nothing wrong with looking to the future and making plans and trying to find solutions. But there’s a lot of good happening right now too. Perhaps spare some of your energy to enjoy the moment you’re in?”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

And it did. But, still. All I could focus on was breaking this curse, unbinding the powers, and finding a life beyond all of this. Telanes kissed my shoulder, and I sighed, tucking in tighter to him.

✨ Magical Realm

🧚 Fairytale Creatures

🌹 Slow Burn

🔮 Prophecies

🔀 Twists & Turns