Page 4 of Hunted in Holly

Nicholas nodded, as if agreeing with the assessment.

“I see.” He pushed off the wall and threw his hair out of his face with a flick of his head. He approached the bed on catlike steps. I didn’t want to visibly tense, but my body had already given itself to heavy heart beats, unsteady breaths, and strained muscles that anyone with predatory senses would pick up on. “Well, if you don’t want to talk, maybe we should try something else.”

He neared, and I took a nervous step back toward the fireplace.

“Stay away from me.” My voice shook despite my best efforts,

He shook his head dismissively, and I shifted back into a defensive stance, subtly hiding one hand behind my back to conjure a weapon. That hand was shaking too, but I couldn’t let fear stop me.

A few more steps, and he’d be walking right into my striking range. While he was looking down on me like I was a harmless pest beneath his boot, I’d shove my frozenblade through his heart before he had the chance to realize how wrong he was. I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity.

I waited until he was feet away, not wanting to tip him off even a fraction of a moment too soon.

When he stood before me, close enough that I could smell his chocolate and nutmeg laced cologne, I forced all of my energy into my right hand, and I swung my icicle on him fast, violent, and hard.

The cruel king caught my wrist like I was a child swinging on a giant. He tightened down his grip, squeezing the muscles in my forearm until my hand was forced to open. My weapon dropped from my sprawled fingers, and a bitter gasp escaped my lips before I could stop myself.

In his presence, while he was physically touching me and his power bombarded my space, my icicle melted before it even hit the floor.

“Was that for me?” He yanked my hand to the side, demonstrating exactly how effortlessly he overpowered me. His merry grin never faltered as he caged me in his gaze. “Were you going to shove that through my heart, mighty Queen Caroline?”

I yanked back on my arm, but he was squeezing me in a brutal vice between his long fingers. I didn’t try a second time, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of recognizing my subjugation.

“Do you even have a heart?” I said with a scoff, looking away, still shaking in his grasp. My brave front was crumbling, no matter how many times I told myself I was being tough and standoffish.

“Why don’t you find out for yourself, Sweet Noel.” Nicholas’ chuckle shook through our connection. “If that was what you wanted, you just had to ask.” Not loosening his grip, he sat on the bed, then with a single tug, he effortlessly pulling me onto his lap.

That single hand was all it took to turn me into his puppet, and I hated him even more for it.

“Go on.” He purred. “If that’s what will satisfy you, make another blade. Get your revenge.” He released my wrist and leaned back on his hands. He waited patiently for me to do as he commanded, turning my vengeance into another joke—one more thing that was his will and not mine.

It was a trap. It had to be.

But what else could I do? He already held all the cards. I held nothing.

Hewasunderestimating me. His arrogance would be his undoing. Trap or not, I had to take advantage of this opportunity.

I would show him not to mess with the South Pole.

“I’m waiting.” He drew a cross over his heart to taunt me again. I didn’t know what he was playing at, but I couldn’t afford to lose. In reluctant obedience and desperate rebellion, I formed a new icicle.

Kill him now. My thoughts urged me forward. I knew better, yet I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.Drive your blade through his heart.

I repositioned on his lap, so I was straddling his hips. He tilted his head back, the lift to his lips emphasizing how much he was enjoying this new position. At hissuperior height, even while I was on top, he managed to look down on me with undeserved confidence.

I clenched my blade, while my body reminded me that I’d never killed anyone before. That I was too sheltered to know what blood would feel like when it gushed down my hands. And that I couldn’t back down, no matter how much that nauseating thought terrified me.

I could do this. It was the whole reason I came here. If he could murder thousands for his own amusement, I could murder one for their justice.

While I fought with the morality and fear and desperation in my gut, he grabbed my wrist with impatience, and he directed my blade to his chest.

“Right here.” His whisper was low and husky. “Don’t hold back. Pierce me all the way through, Sweet Noel.”

I swallowed thickly, my hand still shaking as he started exerting pressure on my knuckles. He forced me to puncture his chest the first centimeter. The more he controlled the penetration, the more I wanted to pull back and abandon the mission.

His blood climbed up my icy dagger, freezing in a webbed pattern on the tip. He drew in another breath, almost sounding satisfied—no,arousedby my blade in his chest.

“Keep going.” The cocky king made every command without an ounce of fear. Maybe he thought I couldn’t really do it. I was nothing more than a mosquito nipping at a lion in his eyes.

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