Found by Frost: Wings, Wands and Soul Bonds Book 1 Read online

  Found by Frost

  Wings, Wands and Soul Bonds Book 1

  Terry Bolryder

  Copyright © 2020 by Terry Bolryder

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover art by Yocla Book Cover Designs

  Created with Vellum

  For all the women who deserved better.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Also by Terry Bolryder

  1

  “A beacon lives here?” I ask, staring up at the rundown building in front of us that humans call an “apartment complex.”

  I, Boreas Everfrost, warrior prince of ice and defender of the frost kingdom, have my doubts about coming here at all.

  Earth is a lawless place. Savage. Unruled. Undefended for the most part.

  But that’s why we’re here.

  “Shut up,” Ivar—once prince of light, now given the utterly mundane human name of Ian—strides past me. He’s carrying enough luggage to blow our cover even with the suppressors we’ve been given to keep our magical appearance under wraps.

  Not that we’re much different. A little taller. Long hair, as befits a warrior, and of course, pointed ears and gigantic flaming magical wings.

  Nothing too intense.

  “Perhaps she wants to keep a low profile,” Flint the fire fae, now Flynn, says, cocking his auburn-haired head as he stares at the scenery with me.

  I frown in consternation at the faded brick exterior, the sign with its missing letters, and the lawn, which is littered with bare patches and weeds under clumps of dirty snow.

  After months in the human world, preparing for my mission, I long for the sparkling, frost-covered palace I call home.

  “Come on.” Tynan—once known as commander of darkness, now known only as Tanner—strides by with the rest of the luggage

  I glance at the different numbers on the doors as we walk down the hall, marveling at the tight spaces of human living conditions.

  Some of the numbers hang down at an angle, lending to the overall dereliction of the place.

  From what I’ve seen of the human world, I have no desire to stay here any longer than I have to.

  I listen carefully for resonance as I follow the others to our apartment at the end of the hall. If the beacon is as powerful as reported, I should be able to feel something.

  I wait, heart pounding, hoping to get a hint of some tiny wisp of magic that could indicate her presence, but nothing.

  I don’t even know why I care.

  I’m here to stop the chaos princes that have invaded and go back to my kingdom, nothing more. I care not for this world with its lawlessness and its chaos.

  Though we can fight off the chaos princes, the chaos infecting every facet of this place will never be vanquished.

  If only they had the order of my world.

  “Boreas—I mean, Brett—you pompous idiot, get in here and help.” Tanner has finally lost his patience with the luggage.

  “This is ridiculous,” I mutter, walking in to help move the boxes around. I sniff the air, scenting a mix of unpleasant aromas I can’t place. “I can’t believe we’re expected to be satisfied with these accommodations.”

  Flint shakes his head. “Not all of us live in a sparkling, lofty kingdom of order. This place isn’t so bad.”

  I glare at him but bite back the harsh retort on the tip of my tongue. Flynn and I have built a sort of friendship, despite the fact that our kingdoms have hated each other for a very long time.

  I walk to the window and look out at the scene as snow falls silently on the dingy streets and cars laden with ice struggle by on the uncleared pavement.

  Chaos.

  I wave my hand, gently clearing the snow from the walk so no one falls. I pull the snow from the parked cars so they aren’t trapped.

  When I see a car sliding helplessly on ice toward a parked car, I gently bring up a barrier of snow to cushion and stop it.

  Satisfied I’ve resolved a little of the chaos around me, I’m about to leave the window when something catches the corner of my eye.

  A woman has just pulled up to the curb, and she’s now getting out of her car to grab a shovel out of the back of the trunk.

  I squint as I stare at her, trying to make out more of her form, but the heavy winter clothing covering almost every inch of her hides her from my eyes.

  An odd feeling of frustration wells up in me, and I press both hands to the window as I get closer, staring so hard I can’t seem to blink.

  “You are going to look like a psychopath, staring out the window like that,” Ian says, walking up to the glass to look out.

  Somehow I feel oddly possessive of the scene and attempt to block his view. But soon, the other fae are joining.

  “What’s going on? Is that human shoveling out that other human’s car?” Flynn asks.

  “I think so,” Ian says, looking from behind me. “Ah, look, another is helping. Sometimes they can cooperate.”

  Tanner glances over darkly, then gets back to unpacking.

  He hasn’t been the same since our first fight against a chaos prince in this world.

  “Hm, there’s something about the one in the puffy clothing,” Flynn says.

  My heart rate increases, and I don’t even know why. I feel a tickling at the ends of my ears, as though my suppressor is failing. My eyes narrow in on the woman…

  And it hits me.

  Resonance unlike anything I’ve ever felt, ever expected, surges through me, strong enough to knock me on my back if I let it.

  I feel my wings break through and surge up just as Flynn jerks me back from the window and Ian curses and shoves the curtains closed.

  “Suppressor,” Flynn says, putting out his hand as Tynan throws it to him, landing it in his palm.

  I can barely feel the bracelet slipped onto me until the magic starts to abate.

  Now I can breathe. My wings retract. My ears go back in.

  “He’s going to be using three by the end of this, mark my words,” Tynan says moodily, relaxing against the counter now that the drama is over. His dark eyes glitter as he appraises me.

  “That’s just because I’m most powerful,” I say, once I’ve caught my breath. “I can’t help that. Besides, I just felt resonance.”

  Flint perks up. “Really?” His auburn hair is mussed from shoving me. “From the woman out there?”

  I nod, feeling as if my heart is jumping out of my chest, wanting to join with its match, to begin bonding ourselves to one another.

  “I’m going out to meet her,” I say eagerly, striding out into the hall before they can stop me.

  I’m in luck because just as I’m headed out into the hallway, she i
s making her way back inside.

  Her deep, fathomless brown eyes meet mine, and a wet lock of dark hair falls from her hood to lie over her forehead. The ridiculous puffy black coat she’s wearing hides her body, but that doesn’t matter to me.

  What matters is what I feel inside, the surge of magic, the pulse of my heart as my bonds reach toward my perfect match.

  And I’m certain she’ll feel this too. This amazing feeling. This sensation of soaring toward one another as if carried by clouds.

  I’m her ideal soul bond, and she’ll know it by the time she gets closer to me.

  Will she jump on me when the resonance hits? I prepare myself for the onslaught of her passion, opening my arms wide for her to use me as she likes.

  But she stops, taking a step back, eyebrows rising. As the whole world seems to slow around me, I blink, for some reason focusing in on the snowflakes on her brows and lashes.

  I can feel the other fae piling out into the hallway to watch my utter humiliation.

  She looks like she doesn’t know what to do and takes another step back as I slowly drop my hands, realizing there isn’t going to be any joyful union.

  I must look like a crazy person. But I didn’t think resonance like that could be ignored.

  One of the fae must have given her a wave, because she lifts a hand weakly in a polite response, then quickly turns around and takes the other stairway up and out of sight.

  She doesn’t even look back once.

  I, Boreas Everfrost, now known only as Brett, have had the unthinkable happen in this order-forsaken world.

  I’ve been rejected.

  * * *

  Avery

  I’ve experienced my share of weird things. In fact, my whole life has been a bit weird compared to others.

  But seeing the most beautiful man in the world standing in front of me, beaming, with open arms like he expected me to just run toward him?

  That doesn’t just take the cake. It takes the muffins, the brownies, the whole darn bakery.

  Maybe he was hallucinating or on something. I hope his friends get him some help.

  I shrug out of my coat, still thinking about how that snow pile just perfectly blocked Carl’s car from running into Susan’s. The manager doesn’t keep the place plowed, and it causes a lot of problems. Though, I suppose it was good there was snow there today.

  I take off the rest of my winter gear, shaking snow off my hair and face at the same time.

  The clock on the wall shows it’ll be dark soon, and I scan through the local news to see what’s going on in my world.

  Then I pull out my list, looking carefully through the names and checking locations and thinking about who I should visit.

  I’m a little like Santa, but I only keep track of who’s naughty.

  You don’t have to worry about me if you’re nice.

  As I plan out my night, I turn on the coffeemaker and throw a Hot Pocket into the microwave. Gonna be a gourmet dinner tonight.

  Just as I’m sitting down to eat, a knock sounds on my door, rattling the already creaking hinges. I groan, trying to decide if I should answer it.

  On the one hand, I just got home from a retail shift, and the last thing I want is to talk to other people.

  On the other hand, someone might need more help in the snow, and the people here know I’ll come if I’m asked.

  I stride to the door and look through the peephole, but it’s blocked by someone standing way too close.

  About to lose my patience, I jerk the door open, but I’m speechless with shock when I see the beautiful man from before, plus his army of hotties behind him.

  All of them are so tall they practically form a wall of perfectly sculpted muscles.

  Don’t they know the proper distance to stand back when they knock on a door?

  “Move back,” I say sharply—maybe more sharply than I mean to—as their eyes widen in surprise and they move into the hallway.

  The one in front, the one who had his arms open, eyes me with a cold gleam in the frosty blue depths of his gaze.

  For some reason, I don’t want to look away from him.

  His striking ash-blond hair is thick and tousled, and his pale skin is flawless like someone using filters in real life. His eyes are almost luminous, like there’s something lighting them from within.

  He’s a few inches over six feet, muscular but not like he’s using steroids. Like a fitness model. Or an actor. Or just anyone so beautiful you are utterly unprepared to meet them in person.

  Finally dragging my eyes away from him, I note that his friends are the same.

  “I’m Ian,” the one with white-blond hair says, moving forward to put his hand out. His features lean toward pretty, but the hard cut of his jaw lends a masculine edge.

  “I’m Flynn.” The one with auburn hair and golden-brown eyes shakes my hand next, and all I can do is gape at him.

  “I’m Tanner.” The last, a man with dark hair and dark eyes, dazzling against his pale skin, gives me a firm handshake.

  The blue-eyed one in front of me is still just standing there stiffly, staring.

  “This is Brett,” Tanner says, nudging him with his shoulder. “Brett, say hi to our neighbor.”

  Brett seems to snap out of it and glares down at me. I didn’t know blue eyes could feel so heated. “Why did you run away from me?”

  Surprised by his bluntness, I walk into the hallway, shutting the door behind me so we can talk in the open where people can see us.

  “Why did you open your arms for me?” I retort.

  Still, the handsome man glares at me like I’m everything that is wrong with his life, even though I’ve never met him before.

  Then he turns on his heel, broad shoulders swaying as he strides to the stairs and disappears down them, muttering curses I’ve never heard before in my life, leaving the rest of us in the hallway.

  “Sorry about that,” Flynn says, golden eyes soft as he runs a hand through his auburn hair. There’s a natural sensuality to his motions that I wonder if he’s aware of.

  The intimidating one with dark hair shakes his head. “Don’t even ask me to explain him.”

  I grin. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  “We’re your new downstairs neighbors,” Ian says. “Let us know if you need anything. We’re just going around to say hi.”

  Seems a bit weird that they started up here with me, but then again, I did see them earlier.

  “I’m Avery.” I lean against the door. “Where did you move from?”

  “Upstate,” Tanner says cryptically. “Have you lived here long?”

  I shake my head. “Only a few years.” I move around a lot.

  “What do you do?” Flynn asks.

  “Retail,” I say. “Right now, I work at a board game store.”

  Flynn cocks his head. “Interesting.”

  “Well, I’m off to eat dinner. It was nice to meet you all.” I turn with a wave because I’m really not good with people, and the longer this goes on, the more they’re going to see that.

  “So you don’t feel anything about us?” Flynn asks, and I stop to turn around.

  “Feel anything?” I cock my head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Never mind,” Flynn says cryptically, turning to leave. “Just let us know if anything happens or you need us.”

  The others wave and leave, following Flynn down the hall.

  Tanner looks back, almost as if he doesn’t believe what he’s seeing, but I just give him a wave, confused as to what’s going on right now.

  I go inside because I’ve never been interested in romance, and I don’t intend to start now, even if the four best-looking humans I’ve ever seen are living right downstairs.

  Instead, I go back to eating my Hot Pocket and studying my list, deciding on tonight’s activities.

  I make notes on my phone, then set it aside as I go into my room.

  Once there, I strip out of my work clothes, then pull on stu
rdy jeans and a tee shirt, followed by a tight leather jacket. I check that my daggers are secured inside on both sides before zipping it closed.

  I slip another knife in my right jeans pocket, then put on my combat boots—steel-toed of course. One more knife in my boot, plus a club in my outer coat pocket for easy access.

  Then I wait for the dark.

  2

  Brett (Boreas)

  I can’t sleep.

  I don’t know if it’s the hard, lumpy mattress or the fact that I keep acting like an idiot when I meet my soul bond, but my brain simply won’t shut down.

  I just don’t understand how the effect she has on me and the effect I have on her can be so different.

  She actually seems to despise me, finding it easier to look at the other fae, despite me being the most desired prince across many kingdoms.

  Perhaps she truly is human and not a latent fae at all.

  But that doesn’t explain my reaction to her.

  “Stop overthinking and go to sleep,” Ian mutters from his bed across the room. “We can deal with it tomorrow.”

  All of them had some kind of reaction to the beacon. Avery, as they said she was called. But none of them understand the way I’m feeling.

  Especially since the whole reason we were called here is because of intel that stated she already had a chaos prince on her trail.

  Chaos fae came to this world before we did and their suppressor technology is advanced, so they could be anywhere.

  The thought makes me want to go up to her room, throw her over my shoulder, and carry her off to my kingdom where she can be safe.

  But how, when she can barely stand to look at me?

 
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