An Ally in Summer by Brigid Collins

Author:Brigid Collins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: magic, faery queen, winter queen, modern heroine, modern day, faerie realm, WLW
Publisher: Frosty Owl Publishing
Published: 2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

THEY DANCED.

What else could they do? The summerlings spun all around them, creating a wall of color and fabric and music and dark laughter that Chelsea couldn’t have broken through if she’d tried. She couldn’t even look away from Alexa to attempt an escape.

Chelsea’s hands nested against her one-time fiancée’s, her head tilting to a familiar angle as they stared at each other, her body curving the precise degree that would allow them to step as one entity.

If she didn’t let herself think, it might seem as if the five years that had passed since their horrible wedding that never was hadn’t happened at all.

But it was impossible not to think, not to remember. Chelsea noticed her own trembling arms, and a bitter taste flooded her mouth at the realization that, without Alexa’s steadying arm around her waist, she would crumple to the dance floor.

“I’d heard rumors about the Winter Queen’s new Consort, but I never once thought it could be you,” Alexa whispered. Her breath ghosted past her silvery veil to brush against Chelsea’s cheek.

Chelsea could only gape. “You heard ... what are you even doing here, in the Realm, hearing rumors? You’re supposed to be...”

She stopped as she realized she had no idea what she thought Alexa was supposed to be up to. Living life wildly, looking for the next sucker.

“Oh, Chelsea, I’m so sorry,” Alexa said as she led Chelsea into a spin. “The past seven years, all I’ve thought of, all that’s gotten me through, is the hope that one day I’d be able to make it back home and explain why I never showed up for our wedding.”

The strange flow of time between the Realm and the mortal world had been even crueler than Chelsea had thought. For her, the almost-wedding had happened five years ago. “You’ve been in the Realm for seven years? What happened?”

The musicians shifted songs, and the steps grew slower accordingly.

The vague outline of Alexa’s face through her veil contorted with pain. “I was taken. I don’t know why, and I don’t care. All I care about is getting home.”

“Who took you? What did they make you do?” Chelsea couldn’t stop the questions tumbling from her lips. Her own experiences only fueled her imagination.

“I don’t want to talk about it!” Alexa hissed. Her hands clenched tight around Chelsea, fingers digging in painfully, and Chelsea gasped.

Alexa relaxed a fraction. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to throw anger at you.”

“What did you come here for?”

“I came to—” Alexa cut herself off as she pulled Chelsea in close in preparation for a dip.

Chelsea’s head whirled with the whoosh of gravity. When she was once again standing upright, her breath catching in her throat, Alexa was shaking her head.

“I came to the Duke of Summer’s ball to pass along a warning. I knew there would be someone in attendance from the Winter Court this year. I didn’t expect to see you.”

The sideswept curl of her voice matched Chelsea’s inner turmoil. How was she

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