Page 35 of Jilted By Jack Frost

The corridors feel colder than usual as I make my way back to Jack’s study, frost crunching under my boots. The guards block my path, but I lift my chin.

“Move, or I’ll start singing Christmas carols. And trust me, neither Jack nor you want to hear my rendition of ‘Jingle Bells.’”

They exchange glances, probably remembering my earlier threats to melt the castle. The taller one steps aside.

I push open the heavy doors without knocking. Jack stands at the window, his broad shoulders rigid with tension. The portal still swirls next to his desk, showing glimpses of the hospital.

“I told you to stay in your chambers.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve never been great at following shitty orders.” I approach his desk, setting the journal down. “You’re watching her suffer. Why?”

He doesn’t turn around. “The magic is beyond my control.”

“Bullshit.” I slam my hand on his desk. “Your father’s journal explains everything.”

Ice crackles across the windows. “You know nothing of my father.”

“I know he feared love so much he magically frosted your heart. And I know you’re letting his lies destroy not just us, but your entire realm.”

Jack whirls around, his eyes blazing arctic blue. “Get out.”

“No.” I plant my feet. “You’re so scared of feeling something that you’d rather watch an innocent people die than admit you might be wrong about us.”

“Wrong about what?” His voice drops dangerously low. “About the prophecy that says you’ll destroy everything I’ve built? About the warmth that’s already melting my realm?”

“Wrong about love being weakness.” I step closer, refusing to back down. “Your father was wrong. Gabriel is wrong. And you’re wrong.”

The temperature plummets, but I keep going.

“Look at that portal, Jack. Really look. That ice? It’s spreading because you’re fighting the mate bond, not because of it. You’re so determined to be cold and alone that you’re freezing everything you touch.”

Chapter sixteen

Jack

Iwatch Violet’s face contort as she sees her friend through the viewing portal. The snow in her town has reached dangerous levels, and Alana struggles to make her way through the drifts. My chest tightens at Violet’s obvious distress.

“I have to go back.” Her voice cracks. “She needs me.”

The thought of Violet leaving creates an ache deep within me that I’ve never experienced before. But the image of her friend fighting against the brutal winterIcreated...

“The journey between realms could kill you.” My hands clench at my sides. “We triedonce already.”

Violet turns to me, her soft green eyes filled with determination. “I don’t care. I can’t stay here while she’s in danger.”

She would risk death to help someone she loves.The realization hits me like an avalanche. The words punch me in the gut. Her determination, her willingness to sacrifice—it mirrors my own choices from centuries past. I too gave up everything, my mortal life included, to protect those I cherished. Even now, I serve countless humans who will never know my name, who curse the frost I bring while remaining ignorant of how it preserves their world’s delicate balance.

I would have done the same for my sister.The thought rises unbidden, painful and raw. Now here stands Violet, ready to risk everything for someone she loves, just as I once did.

Damn it all. We’re more alike than I wanted to admit. The realization makes my chest ache, the ice in my veins stirring with an unfamiliar warmth.

This is who she truly is. She is someone who puts others before herself, who fights for what she believes in. And I’ve been pushing her away, treating her like a threat when she’s anything but.

“There might be a way.” The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. “But it will weaken me significantly.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “What do you mean?”

I step closer, fighting every instinct that screams at me to keep her here, safe. Protected. “I can create a stable portal, but it requires channeling a massive amount of power. Power that normally maintains the barriers between realms.”

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