Frozen Perfection (7 Kingdoms Book 1) Read online

  Frozen Perfection

  Rae B. Lake

  Frozen Perfection

  Copyright © 2017 by Rae B. Lake

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the author.

  Special Thanks!

  To My Husband, for believing and supporting me even when I didn't think I could do it. You are my everything and I love you forever.

  To My Brother, for being my first fan. You'll never know how your enthusiasm for the book and your, "Where's the next one," pushed me to keep going.

  To My Friends and Family who read and reviewed, and continue to support me in this weird journey. Thank you all so much!

  Finally, to My Piglet, you are my drive, my inspiration, and my will to push forward. I hope one day you find joy in a craft like I have found in writing.

  Table of 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

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Epilogue

  Up and Coming!!

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  This was the experience that I had been waiting for, but I knew that I had to give up my hopes of accepting it.

  Friendship; a concept that your average teenager would completely understand. Not only did I understand it, but I yearned for it with every fiber of my being. If I could befriend anyone I would have done so ages ago but even attempting to put down roots anywhere was usually frowned upon. Unfortunately, maintaining a friendship was close to impossible for my kind. Humans were completely mindless to the creatures that surrounded them, creatures that no doubt had a hand in the destruction of an area or a small town's mindless killing spree.

  I scooched down in my chair located in the back of the class, my usual area, where I was sure that no one would be any the wiser if I occasionally dozed off. It's not as if I was going to learn anything new, anyway. Even looking down at my hands, I could still see Darla staring at me. She was still waiting patiently for an answer.

  Her Question? How was my summer?

  The same question that I had been asked countless times, always with the same prediction from the one asking the question. Here is how I think the conversation plays out in her head. She would ask me about my summer. I would flip my hair and answer about some beach trip or Disneyland adventure or even better an overseas adventure with a handsome beau attached to my description. Then I would ask her what she did, and she would give me the whole spiel on how she went to one or another different location but would have had such a better time with anyone who wasn’t her family. We would giggle. She would expect me to be nice and forthcoming. She would expect me to be friendly.

  “Katherine, did you hear me? Did you do anything over the summer?” Curiosity is clear on her face, with a little bit of hope shining through. Darla is a kind girl; someone destined to be the homecoming queen, not because she bullies the unpopular kids, but because everyone genuinely likes her. She smiles whenever she enters a classroom. She wears just the right clothes for every engagement, from baseball games to the grand symphony. She befriends pretty much everyone in the school, and now she had set her sights on me - the loner. It was a shame to tarnish her good record of being everyone's friend, but I didn’t have much of a choice.

  “Nothing.”

  “What do you mean? Did you not go anywhere this summer? I mean, come on, at least you went to the beach or something?” she said nervously, blowing her hair from her eyes.

  “No.”

  In case she couldn’t decipher that I did not want to talk to her from the tone in my voice, I opened the book in my hands and beginning to read, while turning my back to her. Definitely got my point across.

  “Oh… Maybe I’ll talk to you later then.”

  She didn’t get a response; I just continued doodling in my book, feeling the rough lead grate against the paper. Internally, I was fighting a battle though. The loneliness was threatening to take over. It would have been nice to be friends with Darla or anyone for that matter. This isolated brooding persona that I had to adopt on a daily basis was quickly getting tiresome. I just wanted to be able to sit back and laugh with someone, smile so hard my cheeks hurt, give knowing looks at some inside joke. I wanted to have someone that I could tell my secrets to and vice versa. I wanted to be able to look back on my past years and not see just loneliness, except I could pretty much guarantee that the remainder of my time on this planet, no matter how long it would be, would be lonely. It was one of the pitfalls of what I was – it pretty much ensured loneliness.

  I look around at all the friends passing notes and chatting animatedly, before dropping my head back down to my book; that joy was not for me. I stared at the page, silently wishing again that I was normal, that I wasn’t different; I wished that I wasn’t what I always had been and always would be for the rest of eternity, a Fae. My people have been called so many different things over the years, Fae, Fairy, Siren, Goddess, Witch, Mother Nature, Gypsy… The list goes on and on. We are Fae.

  It's been only a short while that my family and I were allowed by our leader to attempt to mainstream with the humans. Joan is always harping on about the dangers that our kind could face in the big cruel world. As if a human would actually be able to harm us! How absurd. Just thinking about it made me want to roll my eyes to the heavens. With the power that coursed through our veins, we could eradicate the whole human species with the most minute amount of effort, as it stood right now, If I concentrated hard enough, I would be able to summon a hurricane to come and wipe this school clear off the block. Not that I would ever do that, of course, but it would surely give everyone something to talk about. Thoughts like those made it harder to keep my grin under lock and key, but those little fantasies were all I really had to keep my mind occupied.

  As if on cue, our new English professor walked in the door. I didn’t have to look up as I heard approximately thirteen heartbeats start to race, all twelve of my female classmates and one of my guys. Mr. Robert Fields was a wonderful teacher with a great passion for the written word. He always seemed to explain a Shakespeare play or a Robert Frost poem in a way that everyone could either relate to or understood. He never hesitated to help those who needed the extra assistance, and by everyone else’s standards, he was absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous. He was a large statured man, towering over six feet tall, classic inverted triangle, broad shoulders, small waist and short wavy cinnamon brown hair, just long enough for you to be able to run your fingers through. On top of that, he had green eyes that looked like they had seen the world. Yes, Robert Fields was a catch, to everyone else; to me, he was just my brother. A secret no one knew but us. I swiftly raised my eyes to meet his, and he nodded quickly and only once. We tried hard not to tip off anyone else and it was just our lit
tle way of saying, “hey.”

  I picked up my pencil, scrunched down even further into my seat and continued doodling. I didn’t really know what I was drawing. I think it started as some sort of horse now it was looking a bit like a demonic teddy bear. At first glance, it was kind of cute but looking closely, it’s kind of scary.

  Robert was just explaining further what demons Shylock must have faced and what he meant to the story in whole. I swear he has gone over these seven hundred times already, but for some reason, people still kept asking questions about the same thing. I couldn’t really be sure, but I thought the girls just wanted to hear him talk. It was sickening.

  The only option I had now was to look outside. The classrooms windows faced directly to the front of the property and had probably one of the best views in the whole school. The parking lot was surrounded by acres of big birch trees, with only three ways to get in and out of the school zone. Unfortunately for me, this was my typical distraction, and today the birch trees were just not as fascinating as they had been yesterday. Luckily, in the parking lot there was a shiny, grey Saab that I had not noticed before. It was very strange for me, I was usually highly observant. I could pretty much name every make and model of car that was driven in and out of the school premises. I began to write this off as one of the new sweet sixteen gifts one of the students had gotten from an overly generous parent, but there was something about this car that was making me pay attention. First of all, instead of parking the car off to the side where there would be a lesser chance of dings or scrapes, whoever owns the car had parked it right in the middle of all the other cars. I couldn’t help but think that if it was a new car then surely the kid who owned it would want to keep it from being damaged or dinged for as long as possible, right? I mean, do they not know how all teenagers drive? The person who had parked this car did not seem to care about the potential crashes that could take place, right dead center in the parking lot of a high school. I guess it didn’t really matter, but I found it a bit odd.

  Now, I was not your average chic. When it came to cars, I could talk shop with the best of them, and no, I was not a track bunny, but I had a strong fondness for cars and people that knew how to take care of their cars. So, I could tell from everything that I had learned throughout the years, that this was not a used car. In fact, I believed it had just came out, the Saab 9-3 Aero Turbo. This was not a car that the average teenager would have. Even though it was relatively safe, it was undeniably fast. I wouldn’t mind feeling that supple leather under my palms. Now I just had to find out who owned that car. Intriguing…

  Just as I was still lusting over the car in front of me, the final bell rang. Thank the Gods!

  I took my time to gather my books. Walking out of the classroom was a lot harder that it should have been because everyone had crowded the door for some reason. I began walking towards my locker, but the traffic of people was ridiculous. What was going on around here?

  Halfway down the hall, I was starting to hear some whispers, but I ignored them. It was none of my business. Going through high school, you grow so accustomed to the mindless babble of teenagers, it has gotten to the point that I just didn’t have time to pay attention to it, anymore.

  Great, some floozy was in my way, “You’re on my locker.” I knocked on the locker above her head and the metal clanking jarred her from her conversation.

  She had the nerve to roll her eyes at me. I couldn’t believe the nerve. She didn’t even walk away, she just scooted down one locker and leaned on someone else's locker. I had half a mind to throw the tasteless gum, I was chewing into her hair, but then that wouldn’t be nice.

  The girl was talking to another floozy, “I have no idea where they came from, but did you see the tall one. Oh jeez, take my…”

  Eureka moment. Her words explained why everyone was all bunched up in the hallway, why everyone was whispering. There was a new family in town.

  In any other town, a new student or two was probably normal. Maybe a little bit weird because school had started a few months back but still normal. Oh, but not here in the little town of Clarksville, New Hampshire. No, no, no, the arrival of new people was probably the most action many of the townsfolk would be seeing all year.

  Walking to the edge of the stairs near the exit was time consuming, but I had decided to do just that. I wanted to catch a glimpse of the newbies that were causing all the ruckus. All I could hear was them, they were too happy, too inviting. They were being polite, a little distant in terms of actual body space but friendly nonetheless. I did not want to believe what I was seeing; I could see four boys and a girl. They were all dressed in designer clothing. I could see their perfect skin, model good looks. I could see their black eyes. I had not exhaled since I realized what they were; I was looking at Palaens.

  Chapter 2

  Palaens to the layperson were vampires. For the vast populace, it was almost impossible to tell the difference between the average humans and the Palaens, but I could. They smelt different. Wherever they went there was a sickening, old mint candy smell. One whiff could make me gag if I didn’t hold it together. I looked them right in the eye, but none of them seemed to realize that they were not the only non-humans on site. They couldn't be more wrong, as I made my way down the stairs, taking extra care that I didn’t trip, I watched in almost slow motion as my brother made his way from the teacher’s area to his truck. I didn’t think I had ever seen my brother that scared before. He had every right to be though; Palaens were our first enemies. They were the main reason there were so few of our kind left. The last census put us at seventy-three worldwide.

  My observation of them continued, and I was a little annoyed by how quickly my life could be turned upside down just by their presence. The existence of Palaens so close to our camp meant we would have to leave or we would be massacred, here was no doubt about it. Unfortunately, that meant that we would have to start over in another area. Just the idea of that made me shudder. I'd have to complete high school again, walk down the same echo filled hallways, hear the same mundane droll, always the same. Great...

  I walked past them to my beat-up Mustang, doing my best to ensure that they didn't notice me but of course I was unsuccessful. I don’t know if it was fate or the fact that I really wanted to get out of dodge, but at that very moment, one of the boys lifted his eyes directly to mine just as I made it to my car. I looked down toward my keys, trying fervently to get the door open before he thought it necessary to come over and talk to me or drain me dry, which seemed more likely. I opened the door, banging my shoulder on the way into the front seat. I turned my key and heard the engine struggle to turn over. Crap. Sweat was starting to form on the back of my neck, little balls of fear wetting the collar of my shirt. I turned the key again, luckily my car decided to give me a break and start. I looked out the back window to make sure I didn't run over any of the drooling teenagers, instead, I was greeted with the eyes of one very intrigued vampire.

  ***

  My house isn’t far from the school, so it didn’t take me long to make it home, but as soon as I turned off the engine, the freight train of panic that was rushing through the house rang clear in my ears. It would seem that word travels fast, especially when you think that you may be undoubtedly on death's door. The sigh that I let out was actually rather cathartic; I already knew what I was walking into. Walking through the door, I could hear the click of Alexia, my sister and house worrywart, furiously tapping away at the computer, looking into different areas where we could move and still keep a low profile.

  I stopped to look over her shoulder, just to see where she was thinking of sending us. Utah? I could already feel the corn shucks slapping me in the face.

  “Kate, start packing up some things, so everything will be ready when we have to leave,” she had yet to notice that I was already scowling at the screen.

  “Why would I do that, and why would we be leaving?” Of course, I knew why but I just couldn't resist getting under her skin.
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  “Kate, don't be difficult. You know we can’t even attempt to cohabitate with those beasts,” I saw her nose flare, and her hands ball into little tight fists even though she was still looking at the computer. Very subtly the ground began to shake.

  “Ally, easy, I was just messing with you. I’ll get some stuff together.” I calmly put my hand on her shoulder before I smiled down at her. I could try to put her mind at ease, the last thing I wanted was for her to get into one of her vicious cycles before I even got my point across to Joan. I absolutely would be voicing my opinion; I definitely would not be going quietly. It was just so tiresome, always having to leave for fear of a fight. There had to be a better way, even if we as a people were yet to find it.

  Palaens had always been a cause of great angst among the Fae people. There was a time when Fae’s were abundant in the world but when the Palaens realized that there was no sweeter blood than fairy blood, it wasn’t long before they began to hunt us down and drain us for the euphoric high we would give them. A vampire bite effected Fae differently to the way it effected humans. One bite from a Palaen would successfully turn any human into a fellow Palaen, two to four days of transformation and then, hey presto, well-done, baby vampire. The outcome is quite different when it comes to a vampire biting a Fae. For starters, we cannot be turned. Instead the victim suffers, the venom courses through the body scorching everything in its path. Muscles and tendons contract in a permanent seizure due to the foreign particles in the body and finally bones begin to break under all the stress. This process goes on without end. The longest any Fae has lasted was three weeks before she begged to be put out of her misery. That is the only panacea for us. Death. My siblings have all seen devastation in one form or the other, caused by those wretched demons, but they have never considered confronting them. They never want to fight for our right to live. Why; I couldn’t tell you. As a Fae, I could say that I had always been very peaceful, one with nature. I had been taught to never disrupt the flow of the gods. Being Fae meant only fighting in the defense of others. I wasn’t even supposed to fight in self-defense. It was a teaching I had never quite understood. The Fae people were just as powerful as the Palaens. Yes, they were stronger physically, but we had our own talents and gifts. We had dominion over the elements; we could create earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes. We could perform an assortment of trickery and illusions. We could make people fall in love or hate us, we could read minds, and glimpse into the future. Yes, we were all powerful but for the most part we were punks. That was the crux of my hatred for the Palaens. They were not better than us, so I couldn’t understand why we tremored with fear each time they crossed our path! It was just sickening. Surely it was time for the tables to turn but I knew in order for me to even have a chance standing up to them, I was going to need my family’s support. The first person that I had to convince was Joan. Even though she wasn’t my blood sister, she was still family, the mother hen for all intents and purposes. No-one ever really made a move without her consent.