Previously on "A Court of Fear and Ice"

Lexi gets an invitation from the High Lady of the Summer Court to sightsee Adriata. Together with the fairies, she visits two parts of the city, Mallastrina and Dorlido, which reminds her of an Italian town. There, she ends up in one of the biggest bookshops in Adriata and meets the infamous Torianna.

Chapter 32

After lunch, while I was chilling in a deckchair near the pool and sipping lemonade with some juice in it, I heard that someone called my name. Having turned my head, I noticed the Night Court fairies who were standing on the stairs and flashing me smiles. As it happened, Cerys, Zareen and Rian decided to go on a trip to the Crystal Waterfall earlier than they planned to and wanted me to come with them.

Even though I refused politely a couple of times and went back to sipping the lemonade, completely ignoring the three fairies, they didn't want to go away. They kept convincing me to join them and before I knew it, I was walking at the back of our small group to the Forest of the Setting Sun, admiring the views. On the way, we were accompanied by Ciaran and Conri who were late because of some unforeseen difficulties that required their presence. Sadly, they didn't want to share any details.

Almost as old as Prythian itself, the Forest of the Setting Sun was made of enormous deciduous tree. All I could see were slender silver birches, branchy oaks, and sweet-smelling lindens, which had always been my favourite because of their scent. The forest was one of the most visited wooded areas in the Summer Court, and stretched around the outer parts of Adriata, offering a pleasant respite from the dense population of the city and the ever-present heat.

Indeed, the moment we entered the wilderness, I could have sworn that the temperature dropped significantly and made the whole trip enjoyable, at least in the beginning. But the further we went, the more exhausted I got.

"Have I already told you that I hate walking in a forest?" I asked no one in particular as we were following a wide well-trodden path between the trees, inhaling the smell of damp moss and wet tree trunks.

The only answer was the sweet melody of birds that were singing all around us.

"Well," I added, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and getting past a quite big rock that was poking out of the ground, "I really hate walking in a forest."

Holding a wicker basket in one hand, Rian looked over his shoulder and gave me a look. "Can you stop railing, please?" he asked.

"Finally," Cerys groaned. She was walking ahead the group with Zareen and Conri at her side. "Finally, someone is going to end her whining."

I shrugged. "But I do hate walking in a forest and I want the whole world to know about it." I sighed loudly and noticed that Rian looked at me again. "Can't we just winnow there? Or fly?" I asked him.

Stopping, he faced me and I noticed there was a frown on his face. "I thought that you're afraid of the heights," he said.

"Well," I started as he caught up with me, "I am ready to sacrifice myself, if need be, because I'm too lazy to walk there."

"Don't tell me that you want me to lift you again and throw over my shoulder," Conri chimed in, turning around and grinning. "I'll just hand the basket to Ciaran and I'm all yours, sweetheart."

The other fairies laughed.

"Ha, ha. Very funny," I murmured. "That was the worst flight I have ever had, and I don't want to repeat it ever again."

Smiling, Rian asked, "So how do you usually get around the place you live in? Do you ride a horse?"

"I drive a car," I said, getting past another big rock. "Or use a bus. It's way quicker than walking. And for your information, I can't ride a horse and I don't want to learn it."

"That's a shame." He sighed. "I wanted to give you a little lesson on riding a horse, and take you for a trip one day," he added, looking at me and flashing a smile.

I smiled too and then opened my mouth to thank him, but, all of a sudden, Conri and Ciaran laughed very loudly.

"I've heard that," Rian said quickly, giving his brother and cousin a look of disapproval.

"What?" I asked, frowning. I glanced at the four fairies ahead of us who were now whispering and giggling at something.

He shook his head. "Never mind, honey." When I kept staring at him, inaudibly demanding an answer, he said, "Someone over there has a rather strange sense of humour, that's all."

Crossing my arms, I asked, "It was something dirty, wasn't it?" When Rian didn't reply and tightened his lips as if he wanted to hold back a smile, I heaved a sigh. "Adult men can be worse than children, especially when it comes to stupid ideas."

"Oh, my lovely Alexandra," he whispered, leaning close, "you can't even imagine all the stupid ideas adult males can have."

"It's a good thing they are all hidden in their heads," I said in a hushed voice, and he just smiled. "Speaking of adults, where is Meleri? I haven't seen her in a while."

Rian sighed and I noticed that he suddenly got upset. "Melly is in Velaris with our parents. I asked her to join us and promised to bring her favourite chocolate cookies," he went on, "but she didn't want to go to the Crystal Waterfall. She said that she's a bit busy and would come with us another time. It was odd, but I didn't press on her."

"Busy?" I asked, frowning. "What can a twelve-year-old child be doing that consumes so much time?"

Shrugging, Rian replied, "Honestly? I don't know. Maybe she has started painting and busied herself with creating a masterpiece. And that may take some time." He got quiet for a moment. "But between you and me," he added softly, "I suspect there is something bothering Melly, and she wants to deal with it on her own."

"If I were you," I said, feeling worried about my little kidnapper, "I would simply ask her."

When Rian looked at me, I saw concern in his blue eyes. Suddenly feeling uneasy, I started staring at the ground beneath my feet.

"I've heard that you're the best eldest brother in the world, which I seriously doubt, but never mind," I went on, still avoiding eye contact, "and that your siblings can rely on you. That's why I think you should do what you do the best and show Meleri that she can trust you. Show her that you'll be there for her. That with your help, she would be able to solve her problem, whatever that may be."

Lowering his voice and getting closer to me, he said, "That's the nicest thing you have ever told me, Lexi."

"Don't get used to it, you handsome muppet," I murmured, blushing.

A second later I realised what I had done.

Oh, shit, I thought and I looked at him with terror in my eyes, but Rian just laughed.

"Handsome muppet?" he asked with amusement in his voice. He laughed once again; this time way louder. "What's a muppet? Because I'm not sure whether I should be flattered or offended by that expression."

"Err… A muppet is a puppet character from a story for children," I explained. I knew my cheeks were red as a beetroot and my heart was pumping very loudly. Oh, good God. I am so stupid.

"But I'm guessing there is also a second meaning." He flashed me a smile.

"It's… it's another way to say… fool," I whispered, looking at the ground. Fuck it.

"I see."

Glancing at him, I came to realise that I offended him. He wasn't smiling anymore and kept looking ahead, deep in thought. Well, I knew that calling him 'handsome muppet' in my head was one thing, but telling it right to his face was really, really bad. Especially considering his unusual abilities.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, making him fix his eyes on me.

Rian shrugged with a small smile on his lips. "I've been called many names. Yours was at least funny."

"I'm sorry," I repeated and touched his arm, forcing him to stop and look at me. When he finally did that, I said, "I didn't mean to offend you, Rian. It was a name that came to my mind during our very first meeting when you were nasty to me. I've kept using it every time you said something mean to me. But I've never said it aloud. Until today."

Exhaling loudly, I realised that I felt really bad about calling him 'handsome muppet' in his face, yet it was too late to take it back. Me and my big stupid mouth.

"I'm sorry," I repeated one more time, not letting go of his arm.

Rian fixed his eyes on me and kept staring at me for a while. Then, he leant closer and whispered, "Apology accepted."

"Hey, you two lovebirds!" Ciaran shouted, making me look in his direction.

Immediately, I took my hand off Rian and drew away from him. I hadn't realised that the rest of the fairies approached us and listened to every word we said. And judging by Cerys and Ciaran's cocky smiles, they had enjoyed our conversation.

"If you had put your shield around the two of you," Cerys said, "we would all have thought that it was a lovers' reconciliation after a huge argument."

"But you hadn't, so we've heard everything," Ciaran added. "You handsome muppet."

I groaned, wishing the ground would swallow me up.

Putting the wicker basket on the ground, Rian broke in, "First of all, it's impolite to eavesdrop on someone's conversation. And second of all…" He crossed his arms and eyed him up and down. "Fuck off, you little shit," he said.

Ciaran laughed quietly.

"Well, well, what a rude handsome muppet." Cerys rested both hands on her hips. "If I didn't know better, I would say that you're getting old, brother. It's not like you to let someone be, even though they called you, the heir to the Night Court, a fool. Back in the day, you would have unleashed hell on earth and beat the shit out of them."

Still crossing his arms, Rian flashed her an unpleasant smile. "Then it's a good thing that you know better, Cer," he said as shadows started swirling around him. "Otherwise, you would be in big trouble as I would be forced to demonstrate that hell on earth and beat the shit out of you. And your twin brother."

"Would I, you handsome muppet?" Cerys smiled.

"Of course," Rian replied. "I would even grant you a special audience in the sparring ring atop the House, and spend a lovely quarter with you and him."

Ciaran frowned. "It's just an empty threat," he said.

Rian gave him a look and asked, "Have I ever made an empty threat in my whole life?"

This time, it was Conri who laughed quietly.

"Consider yourself invited, too," Rian added, not even looking at him.

Frowning, Conri pointed at himself and asked, "Me?"

Rian nodded, still staring at his sister.

"You know that's not fair," Conri murmured. "Cerys started it, so she should be the only one invited," he added.

Cerys glanced at their cousin and raised both eyebrows. "Unbelievable," she said. "Since when are you so afraid of sparring with him?"

"Since the last time he almost cut my balls off." Conri crossed his arms.

Cerys burst out laughing. "Mother above."

"I've said it was an accident," Rian chimed in, the shadows around him gone, "and I've apologised at least a hundred times."

The Illyrian rolled his eyes. "Good luck with explaining to my mother why she might never have grandchildren." He huffed and went on, "That's why I will never spar with you. Ever."

And to think that it all started with me calling Rian a 'handsome muppet,' I thought, sighing loudly and wishing the ground could really swallow me up. You're stupid, Lexi. Really stupid.

"Don't mind them," Zareen said, walking up to me and leaving the four fairies exchange words. "This is their odd way to show affection towards one another."

I sighed again. "Rian would really hate me from now on."

"I don't think so." She frowned. "He's sometimes the one who starts such conversations, and takes pleasure in arguing with the three of them, especially with Cerys who is his favourite." Zareen smiled.

"You don't understand. He will now blame me for giving her and Ciaran another offensive name to use." I hung my head.

I knew it was all my fault. Had I not called him 'handsome muppet' in front of everyone, the fairies would have never started arguing, and our trip to the Crystal Waterfall might have looked differently. To make things worse, I suspected that they would later blame me for preventing them from having fun and ruining their perfect day.

I'm so stupid, I thought, listening to the four fairies who were still trading barbs. I fixed my eyes on Rian who stood silently opposite Cerys and seemed very focused on what she was saying. There was a frown on his forehead, so he probably didn't like it.

Surely, he would be the most pissed off. Hell, I would have been if someone had called me a fool and caused an unnecessary argument with my family.

"I think I will go back to the palace and let you have a nice trip to the waterfall," I said to Zareen and then turned around. "See you tomorrow."

"Wait. No!" she exclaimed and quickly blocked my way. "Please, Lexi, don't go. First of all, it's too dangerous for you to wander around the forest on your own. You might meet someone or something nasty, and got into trouble. And second of all, we want to spend some time with you."

Suddenly, the voices behind us got quiet as if the fairies were listening to the two of us.

"We brought you to the Summer Court to enjoy yourself," Zareen added, smiling. "Though there have been some unpleasant and foolish moments, like when Cerys and I abandoned you at Marella's party and pretended we didn't know you, we want you to have fun and feel good in Prythian."

She took a step back and glanced at the fairies behind my back.

"I'm sorry that I left you alone in the ballroom and didn't say anything," Cerys said quietly as she approached me and Zareen. "I should have explained everything about Torianna and face her at the party, not hide and pretend that you didn't mean anything. I want you to consider yourself a welcome guest of the Night Court. I want you to feel a part of our group. I want you to be our friend. To be my friend." She exhaled loudly as if she wanted to calm herself. "I'm sorry, Lexi. I really am sorry."

I kept staring at her, mulling over her words.

It was true that I still felt upset about the party and their behaviour. That I still didn't understand the reasons behind avoiding Torianna and punishing me throughout the evening. That I still couldn't forget that awful feeling I had felt when none of the Summer fairies wanted to engage in a conversation with me because of Rhysand's order. It was all true.

But maybe feeling angry at her and Zareen wasn't worth it? I was soon going home, wherever that may be, and making enemies had never been my intention; neither here, nor at home.

That's why, deep inside, I knew that since she was the first one to reach out to me, I should give them at least another chance, but it was entirely up to them to use it wisely.

"Thank you, Cerys," I replied softly. "It means a lot to me." And I really meant it.

She flashed me a small smile.