Previously on "A Court of Fear and Ice"

The four weeks that Lexi spends in the mountain residence give her a chance to think about her current situation. She knows she must go back home and only Rhysand can help her. Though isolating herself from the Night Court fairies, she befriends Sweetie, a black cat she finds in the kitchen, that later turns out to be Rian's cat. Still longing to go back to her world, Lexi accepts Cerys's invitation to go to a birthday party in the Summer Court.

Chapter 25

The salty hot air in Adriata was suffocating.

Taking a breath and closing my eyes, I was glad as hell that I decided to make a hair bun and wear a loose yellow dress; otherwise, I would have been dying a slow death. The burning sun was heating my face and bare shoulders, leaving roasting hot kisses on my skin. By the end of the few days we were supposed to stay in the Summer Court, I would be as tanned as if I visited the Canaries. Smiling slightly, I let my mind drift off to thoughts about beaches, warm sand and waves breaking on the shore.

A loud noise coming from the harbour down below the palace made me open my eyes. Leaning across the balcony railing, I touched my forehead with a hand to protect my vision from the sun and looked in that direction.

Crowded and noisy, the enormous harbour reminded me of a supermarket just before Christmas. Fairies were going back and forth, bearing heavy boxes and crates of various sizes. Boats, merchant ships and ferries were travelling through the water, either transporting goods or carrying passengers from one place to another. Yelling seagulls were flying high above the harbour and looking for scraps of food, often leaving unpleasant souvenirs on fairies' heads and clothes. Though I didn't see the whole city, I suspected Adriata was all the same – full of boats, fish, seagulls and busy fairies.

"You look like a youngling who got their very first toy," I heard Cerys's voice coming from the inside of the bright living room. "You keep staring and staring at it."

"Well, this is freaking amazing," I said, not looking over my shoulder. "The sea, the harbour, even the ships and boats. I've never seen anything similar to your city, Marella." Turning around, I flashed her a smile. "Anything so amazing."

She laughed quietly. "Well, thank you, my dear, that's very nice of you."

"Oh, come inside, Lexi," Cerys added, motioning me to sit next to Marella. "Your ice cream is melting. Besides, I'm sure it's getting hotter out there."

Wiping drops of sweat from my face, I entered the living room and said, "You have no idea, girl. It's like a damn jungle outside." I sat on the sofa and fanned myself with my hand. "You should really have air conditioning installed."

"And what is that?" Zareen asked with curiosity, sipping her lemonade. "Does it help with the heat?"

I nodded. "It creates cool air during hot days."

"Oh, excellent." Cerys smiled. "We should definitely tell your sister about such a thing and convince her to have it installed in her house. Just imagine the cool air during lunch and dinner. Oh, my. It would be perfect."

Laughing, I reached for my hazelnut ice cream. "Good luck with that. And with inventing electricity. That would be fun." I put a spoonful of my frozen dessert into my mouth. Delicious.

"You're a peculiar young woman, Lexi," Marella said, fixing her green eyes on me and leaning towards me. "So different from the people I've known over the years."

I smiled. "I take that as a compliment, High Lady."

She nodded politely.

A whole head shorter than me, Marella was a petite fairy. She had short white hair, big green eyes and an incredibly wonderful laugh which was the very first thing I heard after arriving at the palace with Cerys and Zareen. It was as lovely as the dark-skinned fairy that greeted the three of us and immediately snatched into her chambers.

At first, I didn't know who the short fairy was. From what I could tell, she was friends with Cerys as they were both holding hands and blabbing about fairies I had never heard of, completely ignoring me and Zareen. Only after a while did they realise we were in the same room, and Marella called for some refreshments.

It was Cerys that explained the green-eyed fairy was the High Lady of the Summer Court, Tarquin's consort, and the mother of his three daughters. The youngest of them, Morwenna, had been born three months ago and was now sleeping in a white cradle next to Marella.

"How many guests have you invited to your birthday party?" Cerys asked, crossing her legs. She was wearing a long blue dress that made her look like a princess, though there was no crown on her head. "More than last year?"

Marella frowned. "No, unfortunately not. This year there will be just a couple of friends and our family. My mate insisted on inviting no more than one hundred guests," she sighed and went on, "so I had to agree with him."

"That's still a lot of people if you ask me," I murmured.

"Considering you have ten sisters and over fifteen nieces and nephews," Cerys broke in.

"What?"

Marella laughed. "You seem shocked, my dear, so let me explain. My father was married three times, one of them was obviously my mother, and he had at least two mistresses. I'm one of his eldest legitimate daughters and I'm High Fae like him. My four younger sisters are lesser fairies who took after their mothers."

I straightened up on the sofa. "You're shitting me." When the three girls giggled, I added, "But that's impossible. I thought fairies can't have so many children."

"Well, that's true." Marella hesitated for a moment. "Apparently, my father got more children than he deserved."

Cerys whispered loudly, "And the rumour has it that he's looking for another mistress."

"No way." I didn't know why but I had completely lost my appetite. The delicious hazelnut ice cream didn't taste as delicious as it used to. "Sorry for saying that, but who would want such an old guy?"

"Oh, Lexi. You would be surprised," Zareen said, flashing me a smile. "Sometimes, young females prefer the company of older males."

Marella stood up and looked at the sleeping baby inside the cradle. "But there are still those who want the young ones." She glanced at Cerys. "Isn't that true, Cerys?"

"How should I know?" She shrugged, somehow seeming uneasy.

The High Lady caressed the baby and then sat next to me. "I've heard that Taranis will be at the party," she said, suddenly fascinated by her golden bracelet. "Alone."

Genuinely interested, I asked, "Who's Taranis?"

Cerys opened her mouth but it was Zareen who answered my question, "He's a young male from the Dawn Court."

"And he's in the Peregryn legion," Marella added.

"He's really handsome."

"And well-built."

"He likes singing songs."

"And playing his lute."

"He–"

"Will you stop doing that?" Cerys shouted angrily and stood up, catching me off guard. "He's not even interested in me."

Marella frowned when the baby made a quiet low-pitched sound and approached the cradle. "But, sweetie," she said, looking at her youngest daughter, "we didn't mean to upset you."

Cerys crossed her arms and glared at her, probably not sure whether Marella was addressing her, or the baby.

"Besides, none of us said anything about you and him," Zareen said, biting her lower lip. "We were simply explaining who Taranis was."

"And you're making a mountain out of a molehill." Marella looked up from the cradle. "Lexi didn't know the name so we had to provide more information."

"Enough!" Cerys raised her voice again, and, to my huge surprise, there were flames on her hands. "I've known you since we were younglings, and I know what you're both capable of. Stop hiding behind Lexi. I've told you so many times not to make a sport of me, but here we are again, aren't we?"

Not waiting for Marella and Zareen to reply, she quickly approached the door and touched the handle. But suddenly, she turned around and said with a resigned look on her face, "And to think it was going to be a fantastic meeting."

Then she disappeared.

The only sounds I heard in the living room were the yelling seagulls flying over the harbour and a baby bouncing back from a nap.

"So…" I said after a while. "Cerys likes him very much."

Marella smiled. "Oh, no. She's in love with him, but she doesn't want to admit it."

"That's why we're going to help her with that," Zareen whispered. "Tonight."

Pronunciation guide

Marella = [me - re - lah] (meaning: shining sea or star of the sea)

Morwenna = [mor - when - ah] (meaning: waves of the sea)

Taranis = [ter - an - iss ] (meaning: thunder)