Summer's Revenge

For a moment, Roisin felt like she couldn't breathe. Her eyes were fixed across the clearing on the fae she had spent the last 100 years running from. That haunted her nightmares and the darkest reaches of her mind. She hoped that she would never see him again, and here he was.

Rian.

He smirked at her, lifting his chin slightly. Roisin didn't realize she was shaking until Paul wrapped his arm around her and warmth ran through her. She looked up at him, trying desperately to latch onto his strength, but finding herself failing miserably.

"We won't let him take you," he assured her, glancing over to Sean.

"Kindly remove your filthy arm from my betrothed," a cold voice called out. Roisin looked over, her eyes meeting Rian's as another spike of cold shot through her. He was seething at Paul, his eyes narrowing. "She belongs to me."

"Over my dead body," Paul growled, his grip on her waist tightening, though Roisin barely noticed.

"Oh, that can be arranged," Rian replied, his lips curling up into a sadistic smile.

"Stop it," Roisin said, her voice sounding pathetically weak to her own ears.

This only encouraged Rian as he took another step forward, his eyes now fixed on Roisin again, a possessive glint in them.

Roisin looked to the ground, her heart pounding as the temperature around her continued to drop. She could hear and feel people behind her, and she knew without turning that everyone at the party had made their way over, sensing something was wrong. She only hoped that they got the mortals out of there quickly.

"Do we have a problem?" Sam shouted sternly, getting Roisin's attention. He was now standing next to Paul, a stern frown etched on his face.

"Stand aside, mortal. This doesn't concern you," Rian said, still as ice, though his cruel eyes had shifted over to him. "I'll only give you one last warning."

"Fuck you," Paul shouted back, now bristling as he narrowed his eyes at Rian, obviously fighting to maintain control of his anger. "You don't have any claim on Roisin and we're not about to let you take her anywhere."

Roisin swallowed, trying to muster up strength from somewhere. Though she knew that this day would likely come, she knew she wasn't ready. Not now. Even standing on the opposite side of the field from him, she could feel his cold sinking into her bones. Memories threatened to take over and reduce her to a sobbing mess. But she couldn't fall apart. Not now. Not here. Not in front of him.

"How did you find me?" Roisin asked, hating herself for the quiver in her voice.

"I've been looking these last 100 years. And, I would have found you on my own, eventually, but I will admit I had help from the most unexpected of sources," Rian said.

His eyes moved to someone behind her and Roisin turned, part of her already knowing who he was looking at. Her heart seized and then splintered. Not her best friend. Perhaps she should have told her the truth.

Mae walked through the group, a sad, yet determined look on her face as she stopped a few feet away from Roisin.

"I had to do it, Ro. You wouldn't listen. And nothing else worked," she said solemnly.

Roisin swallowed, feeling tears pricking her eyes as she shook her head, not wanting to believe that Mae would betray her like this.

"What did you do?" Sean growled, suddenly at her side, glaring down at her.

Mae whimpered as she stepped back, overcome by whatever nightmares he was drawing from her mind, but Cara was already there, stopping her. Mae looked back and forth between the two Shadow fae.

"I just wanted Ro to see that we don't belong here! That we would go back to the Fae world!" Mae shouted. "No one was supposed to get hurt!"

"But someone did," Cara said, her voice full of menace.

"And can't you see what this is doing to Ro?" Sean added.

Mae met Roisin's eyes, who was now shaking uncontrollably as Paul wrapped his arms around her, attempting to warm her up, but this time it wasn't working. Even though she could feel the heat radiating from his body, it couldn't seem to penetrate her skin.

"Don't hurt her," Roisin whispered. "She doesn't know."

"It doesn't matter. She knew that you didn't want to marry him!" Sean roared, inching closer to Mae. "As her best friend, you should have understood!"

Mae yelped in fear, cowering away from him.

"So this is the Winter prick," Jacob said, his eyes fixed on Rian.

"Yes… the foul Winter prince," Niamh said, glaring across the field.

Another bout of cruel laughter got Roisin squeezing her eyes shut a moment before she looked over at him.

"Haven't you heard? I'm now king. Unfortunate accident with some of Cathal's people," he said, seeming rather pleased. Roisin was fairly sure whatever had killed King Fionn had nothing to do with Cathal, nor was it an accident. "And it's time for me to collect my queen. It's what's owed me." His eyes flashed silver.

Paul immediately positioned himself in front of Riosin as she wrapped her arms around herself, feeling far too cold. As though the sun inside her was being snuffed out. She couldn't stop shaking. Then the memories flooded her mind and wouldn't stop. Roisin gripped the sides of her head, her eyes squeezing shut again.

"Ro?" Mae said, her voice full of worry.

"You don't get to be worried," Sean snapped.

"Make it stop," Roisin whispered, feeling Rian's hand around her neck. The ice spreading through her veins, freezing her from the inside out. Her legs began to shake and she nearly buckled and collapsed.

"What happened?" she heard Mae asked. "Let me go to her!"

Roisin could hear people talking around her, but all she could focus on was Rian's voice in her head. And she felt cold. So, deathly cold. She just wanted it to stop, but it wouldn't.

"Ro, come back to us," she heard Sean say, but it sounded like he was coming from far off.

"Shit… hold onto our voices, Ro. You're okay," Paul said. "It was in the past… come back…"

But Roisin wasn't in the clearing. She was in the room at the Winter Palace, cowering in the corner as Rian stalked towards her, an evil grin filling his face as he pulled off his shirt and tossed it to the ground, then cracked his knuckles.

You are mine and no one else will ever have you…

The biting cold of his touch. The ice skating across her skin, at first painfully cold but then numb.

"Stop," she sobbed. "Make it stop, please!"

Her fear was whipping up into a frenzy inside her like a blizzard, as her chest tightened and she struggled to drag air into her lungs. But just under that, there was something else. Anger. Anger for what he did to her - for what he was still doing. For spending years broken and terrified. The anger began to grow, flowing through her like lava, chasing away the cold and melting the ice that was starting to encase her heart. Roisin latched onto it like it was her last lifeline.

"STOP!" she shrieked.

Everything fell still. After a couple of quick breaths, Roisin opened her eyes, finding Paul and Sean now standing a couple feet away from her on both sides, the ground around her scorched. She then looked up, seeing a look of mild surprise on Rian's face.

She lowered her hands, finding herself no longer afraid to meet his eyes as she stared him down. Taking a deep, measured breath, she lifted her chin slightly as she squared her shoulders.

"I'm not going with you," she said, her voice stronger. "I don't belong to you."

Rian regarded her a moment before sighing and shaking his head.

"I knew you wouldn't make this easy," he said, his voice light. "But... suppose that makes it more fun. More worth it when I claim my prize in the end."

Abruptly, tons of Winter fae stood just behind him, materializing from the trees with their eyes trained on the group. Sean and Paul quickly moved closer to her sides, their eyes fixed on the now large group across from them.

They were outnumbered, that was clear to see. But Roisin knew there was no turning back at this point. One way or another, this was all going to end today.

"We take out Rian and the others will stop," Roisin said softly, her eyes drifting along Rian's soldiers. "You guys with me?"

Sean grinned, his shadows starting to grow around him.

"You know I am," he vowed. Roisin then looked at Paul. A wicked smile slowly spread across his face.

"Let's end this."

In a split second, everyone erupted into action. Roisin's wings spread out behind her, flames coating them as she, Paul and Sean launched forward. Just another half second later, Paul smoothly shifted, his wolf erupting out of his clothes. If Rian or any of his were shocked, they didn't show it as they started towards them as well.

She could hear the growls and rumbling of the rest of the packs behind her, as well as shouts from the fae.

In the next second, Roisin's fist connected with a Winter fae's face, launching it through the air and into a tree as she heard the battle pick up around her. With Sean and Paul still at her sides, they started fighting their way towards Rian, who was grinning maniacally at them through the fray.

"Oh, this will be fun…"

OOOO

All Paul could see was red as he chomped down on another fae, easily tossing it aside as he kept pace with Roisin and Sean. Flames were dancing in her eyes and hair as she fought, Sean's shadows moving around them, stopping fae in their tracks. He could hear the roar of the fight behind him, hear his pack in his head shouting out directions to each other. While he worried about them, Paul had to stay focused.

They needed to get to Rian. It was the only way to end this.

Even without being able to communicate with them, he could tell that Roisin and Sean shared the same thought, the three of them easily fighting their way through the Winter fae until finally the three of them came to a stop in front of the Winter king, who looked as though he had been casually waiting for them.

"This is an improvement," he said, his eyes raking up and down her body, taking in the flames spreading through her wings and hair and dancing around her hands.

"Yea, new thing," she said, her eyes narrowing.

Before anyone could say anything else, Sean's shadows had wrapped themselves around Rian. Sean narrowed his eyes at him, though Rian only raised an eyebrow in return.

"Really, Sean?" he asked as the shadows froze and then fell to the ground in pieces.

Paul snarled as Sean's glare deepened and everything about him grew darker. But it had no effect on Rian, who merely appeared just in front of him, grabbed the Shadow fae and tossed him aside as though he was a rag doll.

Not giving himself time to be stunned - Paul had seen Sean fight before and knew that Rian must be much stronger - Paul lunged towards the Winter king. He then stopped abruptly when he painfully collided snout-first with a wall of ice that formed out of nowhere. With a high-pitch squeal of pain, he hopped back and then shook his head, feeling a bit disoriented.

Roisin bellowed in rage, sending a blast of heat that had the wall splintering and then bursting apart. Almost before Paul or Sean could recover, she was on Rian, the two of them locked in a fierce hand-to-hand fight.

For a moment, Paul almost couldn't follow them, they were moving so quickly. But he then looked over and met Sean's eyes, who nodded at him. Rian was strong, that was certain. It was going to take all three of them working together to take him down.

Paul launched forward, managing to latch onto one of Rian's arms as he shouted in pain. While he was distracted trying to shake off Paul, Sean grabbed hold of the other as Roisin glared at him. But before she could reach him, Paul felt painfully cold ice fill his veins. He tried to hold on, but found himself flying back through the air and hitting the ground hard.

For a moment, he wasn't sure where he was as he looked around, seeing wolves, vampires and fae fighting. Ice littered the ground, as did bodies, but he wasn't sure who was who or who was dead. The only obvious thing was that they were losing. They were outnumbered and the Winter fae were stronger fighters than the Shadow fae had been. Paul lifted up to his feet, but then stumbled, falling back down. He needed to get up. He needed to get back to Roisin. But for a moment, he couldn't move as he watched Sean get launched through the air and hit a tree, not moving once his body was on the ground. Looking over, he saw a Winter fae shove a dagger of ice into Niamh's stomach, the tree-like fae's face frozen in shock as the ice spread over her body quickly.

Shit. They were losing. He needed to get to Roisin.

Out of nowhere, there were three new people standing still in the middle of the fray. Paul immediately recognized Darraugh and he assumed the other two must be Roisin's parents, considering the red hair. He breathed heavily, shoving himself up to his feet, but staggering a bit as Darraugh met his eyes.

RO! WE NEED TO SAVE HER! he shouted in his mind, even though he knew the fae couldn't hear him. In an instant, more fae flooded the clearing and Paul was almost joyful even though he had no idea how they knew what was going on. Summer was here and they were helping.

He then turned his head, looking over to see Roisin still fighting with Rian. She was beginning to struggle, the flames starting to retreat from her wings and hair. No. She had to keep fighting.

Paul began lumbering towards them, unsure of where the strength was coming from, but not wanting to give up just yet. He began to pick up speed, seeing a bloodied Sean doing the same thing from the other side.

There was a resounding boom as Rian slammed Roisin to the ground that nearly had him back prone on the ground. She gripped Rian's hand around her neck, struggling against him as ice began to spread across her body.

No… no! NO!

Paul forced himself forward.

Fight back, Ro! FIGHT BACK!

It was as though his legs had turned into blocks of ice, slowing him down. As the cold spread through his body, Paul knew that it wasn't his imagination. He came to a stop a few feet away, struggling against it, seeing Sean in the same state just a few feet to the other side.

A manic grin came over Rian's face as he looked down at her, watching as Roisin slowly stopped moving, her lips turning blue.

"This could have been so much easier for you," he said, stopping the ice. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you… but I am going to kill them and make you watch…"

"RO! NO!"

Paul, still struggling to try and move forward though he was becoming more lethargic, looked over, seeing Darraugh already moving towards them, a sword drawn. But suddenly, a wall of ice cut him off. It was just him, Sean, Roisin and Rian now.

"Stop, please," Roisin gasped. "Don't kill them…"

"Too late, darling. Can't have any potential rescuers coming to your aid," Rian said. "Maybe if you concede defeat now, I'll let the others live."

Roisin looked over at Sean, who could barely keep his eyes open and then over at Paul, finally meeting his eyes. He could see the flames starting to die out as she reached for him.

Ro… I love you, Paul whimpered.

"I… I love you too," she said, her voice raspy. Her eyes then widened in surprise. Had she just heard him?

"How touching," Rian said dryly.

Paul was vaguely aware of someone pounding on the ice wall as he fought to keep his eyes open and locked on Roisin's. The flames returned as she took a deep breath. She then squeezed her eyes shut. Rian laughed, but it was cut short as he stared down at her in shock.

"What are you doing?" he hissed. Steam began to rise, the ice coating Roisin melting with a loud hiss. Soon Rian shouted in pain, his grip on her loosening. Roisin's eyes then flew open.

"Ending this."

Suddenly, there was an explosion. Paul felt the ice break away from his body as he ducked his head. When he looked back, his eyes widened in shock as he somehow found the strength to jump back to his feet.

The ice wall was gone and Rian was on his back a few feet away, his eyes wide in fear, fixed on a fiery tornado that had appeared. And in the middle of it was Roisin.

OOOO

She wasn't sure just what had happened, but Roisin felt different. For a second, she had been close to giving up. Of admitting defeat. Rian was too strong. She would always be weaker. And he was going to force her to watch as he killed Paul and Sean.

Paul.

Hearing his voice in her head, it somehow helped clear up the cold fog that had come over her. She loved him. And she couldn't let him die. Rian could hurt her all he wanted, but he couldn't kill Paul. Or Sean. That was the moment that something deep inside her had snapped. Like a door flying open and floods of power and heat and fire coursed through her.

Now, Roisin felt strong. Stronger than ever. For a moment, she closed her eyes, allowing it to roll over her. But then she opened them and looked down, seeing Rian cowering in fear. Of her.

A grin spread across her face as the tornado of flames disappeared, all of the fire sucked into her, clinging to her body as she lowered herself to the ground. As she landed, Paul and Sean appeared at her sides. She looked at Sean, who was smiling in relief and then over at Paul, who was growling at Rian.

She then looked back at the stunned Winter king. Sure, she could probably take him on all on her own now, but what was the fun in that?

Take him out, Ro, she heard Paul growl in her mind. It was a bit disorienting, but she was willing to go with it. Imprint thing.

We'll do it together, she replied.

She reached out, one hand tangling itself into Paul's fur as the other gripped Sean's hand. The flames quickly spread to them as all three became alight in a fiery blaze. She wasn't sure just how she knew how to do that, but it didn't matter at this point.

"Never mess with the people I love," she uttered, her gaze fixed on Rian, who managed to scramble to his feet, his look now defiant.

With a shout, the three of them descended on him. Rian barely had a chance to fight back. Anytime he tried to use his ice, it was dissipated by Riosin's flames or Sean's now fiery shadows. Paul then leapt forward, sinking his teeth into Rian's shoulder and dragging him forward as the Winter king screamed in pain, burns started to appear on his pale skin.

As Paul held him in place, Roisin glared down at him, years of anger flowing through her. She wanted to kill him. And she should.

"Please! I'll leave! I'll never bother you again!" the Winter king pleaded. Roisin grinned.

"Give me one good reason why I should let you live," she said.

"I have no heir!" he shouted.

"Not my problem," Roisin retorted.

"I renounce my claim! On you! I'll, I'll keep the peace accord!" Rian shouted.

Roisin stopped for a moment, stunned. She nearly couldn't believe the blubbering idiot on the ground before her was the fae that had terrorized her for most of her life. It almost didn't feel right to kill him. Not like this.

"You're pathetic," she said, staring at him.

It wasn't worth it, killing him, she realized in that moment. She decided she would let him live. Let him spend eternity or how ever long he got living with his shame. Knowing that she had beaten him. That he no longer held power over her.

"STOP!"

Roisin's eyes widened as she looked to Sean, who was staring back at her in confusion, the ground shaking beneath their feet. The three of them then slowly turned around, seeing a woman standing in the middle of the now silent and still field, her eyes fixed on Roisin.

Oh shit.

Every fae instantly dropped to their knees, all bowing towards the woman - everyone except Roisin who only glared at her. The woman didn't seem upset by this, merely curious. She took a step towards her, her long silver hair flowing effortlessly down her back and her lilac eyes bright. She exuded youth and age at the same time. Calm and wisdom.

Who is that, Ro? she heard Paul ask in her head.

It's her… Clodaugh… the goddess who delivered my prophecy...

"You do not bow to me," Clodaugh stated, speaking slowly as she tilted her head to the side.

"Forgive me if I don't feel the need," Roisin said, not even bothering to hide her anger. "This is all your doing. You and your fucking prophecy."

Slender, elegant eyebrows rose as the woman looked around the field at the various fae, wolves and vampires. Some grimousing in pain. There was blood staining the grass. And just behind Roisin she could feel the chill of Rian. For a time she wanted to paint the ground with his blood. But even if that's what she had decided to do, it seemed it wouldn't have happened anyway.

Clodaugh chuckled, a soft melodious sound.

"This is not my doing. I merely stated what I had seen. This… is your doing, child. They fight… for you," she said. Roisin frowned. "For centuries there has been unbalance and unrest among the fae. Between the fae world and this one. The creatures that dwell here. My sisters and I long sought an answer to this problem. A way to bring peace to the children we have created. And long it has evaded us… until you."

"I won't marry him," she said, now glaring as she felt Paul move to her side, now growling at the ancient fae. Clodaugh laughed, this time much louder.

"Marrying the Winter King will not fix what was broken," she said. "That is not what the prophecy meant." She cast a disappointed glance towards Roisin's parents, who she hadn't even realized were there until now. When had they shown up? "Think, my child, what did it say?"

"A child of summer shall be born on the most sacred of days," Roisin recited instantly.

"And…"

Roisin sighed in frustration. They had been over this thing a million times.

"And through her power, shall there be peace. Worlds once broken shall be reunited and under her reign shall they prosper," she said.

Clodaugh smiled and looked around.

"Have you not done so already?" she said, motioning around. Roisin frowned and looked around in confusion. She hadn't done anything. "A child of summer that has embraced Shadow." Roisin looked over at Sean. "Befriended mortals. Drawn solitary to her. Aligned with vampires. And… is destined to be with a wolf." Roisin looked to Paul at her side and then back at the goddess. "You have united peoples who otherwise would have not. To fight for what they believe is right. Some for freedom. All for peace. By standing here today, you have embraced who you truly are… a queen in your own right."

Roisin's mouth dropped open. A queen of her own right? She hadn't created her own court. Taken a crown. How did any of this happen? Clodaugh chuckled, obviously entertained by her confusion.

"No one shall tame you, but one has enhanced you," she looked towards Sean. "And another has captured your heart. Bound you to the land of the wolves, mortals and vampires." She looked at Paul. "Both have given you strength. And together you shall rule the sixth court - the Court of Dawn. For with this court, a new day has come for our kind. For all of our kinds." She looked around the field again before settling her gaze on Roisin. "You will bring balance and peace."

"But I'm not a queen," Roisin blurted out. Clodaugh smiled and in an instant she was in front of her.

"Yes… you are… you were the moment you embraced all of you," she said softly before kissing Roisin on the forehead.

It was then that she fully realized what had happened. What she had done. Just when she thought Rian had been about to kill Paul and Sean, she had let go. Stopped fighting her power. Allowed it to take over.

That was the moment she had become a queen.

But just as quickly, she remembered that Paul wasn't fae. Once the vampires left, he would stop shifting. Would age. And eventually die. She turned to look at him, finding he had shifted back and was now staring at Clodaugh in confusion.

"You saw me?" he asked. The goddess smiled and nodded. She glanced at Roisin.

"I saw you… together," she said. "That your souls would bind together."

"But… I'm not like you," he said, a small flash of pain in his eyes.

"And that is why you need each other," she replied. "But I come bearing a gift… a way for you to never leave each other's side. For you to rule for all time."

Roisin's heart began pounding as she realized what she was saying. She was going to give him the fae's immortality. They could be together. Forever.

Paul's face was not so happy, though. It was contorted in pain. Why was this a bad thing? Didn't he want to be with her forever too?

"Can I… can I think on it?" he asked. Roisin was a bit gobsmacked. But Clodaugh smiled as though she expected this answer.

"It is no easy decision, this I understand. Yes, you need only call on me when you have made your decision," she said sagely. She then turned her eyes to Roisin. "But in the meantime… may I present… the Queen of Dawn, for you are no longer a child of Summer."

Roisin looked around the field, watching as one by one, all the solitary fae bowed to her, Cara grinning as she did so. She then looked over to her family. Her mother's eyes were full of happy tears as she too bowed, quickly followed by her father and brother. She looked back to her side, seeing Sean down on a knee, a grin on his face as his shadows danced around him in a lively jig. Her eyes then found Mae, who was bruised and bloody, but was also bowing, a small smile on her face.

Finally, Roisin turned, seeing Rian gaping at her. He then turned to the goddess, but suddenly seized a moment. Roisin took a step back, but finally, he too, took a knee.

"What about him?" she asked, turning back to Clodaugh.

"He shall be dealt with," the fae said, a smile on her face, but her voice cold. With a wave of her hand, all of the Winter fae disappeared. Okay, that was a neat trick Roisin wished to learn. "You no longer need to fear him. He cannot touch or harm you. Whatever deal was made is now null and void."

Roisin gulped and nodded, looking around again. The wolves and Cullens were all bowing as well, though she wasn't sure why. This was all… a bit too much. Too overwhelming. She wasn't sure what to do.

Suddenly, Clodaugh was right in front of her again.

"Do not doubt yourself. You are strong enough, my child. And you are not alone," she said, smiling warmly at her. Then suddenly, she was gone. Almost as though she had never been there at all.

"It's over," Roisin whispered.

A sudden, freeing feeling coursed through her. No more running. No more betrothal. No more worry about a prophecy that she hadn't understood.

Of course, now this meant the real work began. Setting up and then running a new court wouldn't be easy. But she knew she could do it. She had help after all. A delirious grin spread across her face as people began rising, mostly starting to look after the injured, but some starting to make their way towards her.

"Holy shit… it's over."

OOOO

First of all, battle/fight scenes are hard to write. Super hard. I don't know why I keep coming up with stories that involve them – I really should write a story that doesn't have them at all, I think. While the ones in this story were a bit easier to write than the ones in "Siren's Call" (seriously, how on earth do you come up with a fight scene underwater? Still think I sucked on that one – watching clips from the TV show "Siren" didn't even help all that much…), I still struggled with it massively, especially as I was incorporating fae and wolf fighting styles and had to find a way for them to mesh together. But for me, it was super important to have Roisin, Sean and Paul fighting together – especially Roisin and Paul. However, I think this has been one of the most heavily edited chapters just because I'm still not so great at describing action/fighting as I'm not a fighter. In prior battle scenes in other stories, I spent hours on YouTube watching battle scenes and analyzing how people fought with swords and all, and there is plenty for me to watch for vampires and wolves, but it's not like there are a ton of YouTube videos on "fae fighting skills", so apologies if it's a bit… not good or vague. I did my best.

Next, despite that, the one thing that I had stuck in my head for AGES was the part where Roisin embraces her full powers and explodes into flames. I thought that would make a super cool visual and I only hope I did the image in my head justice.

And lastly - sarah0406, as you can see, you were spot on with your assessment of the prophecy.

Thanks everyone for reading and following! I'm on to finish edits on the next chapter and hope to get it up shortly!