Page 37 of A Secret Crush Valentine's

Something clicked inside Damon’s head. “That attack, back in the woods. It was… you.”

“Guilty as charged. I gathered as many other Collectors as I could on short notice. To be honest, I hoped I was wrong. But then she,” he said, jabbing his finger at Julia, "chose that moment to shift. It turned out you’d been traveling with the snow leopard this whole time. You’d already found Grim Jim’s prize, but you weren’t going to take her to him, were you?”

Next to him, he heard Julia gasp.

“You shouldn’t have done this,” Damon said.

“I did what I knew to be right.” Jan lifted his chin, his shoulders tensing. “You should have done as you were told instead of believing you could defy the Ice Melter and somehow get away with it. And now, I’m sure you know what fate awaits you.”

He glanced toward the pit, and Damon swallowed. “I couldn’t let him have her.”

“And now he has both of you. I can’t believe you, Damon. After so many years, you were willing to abandon the Collectors? After all Grim Jim did for you? After allIdid? You wouldn’t be sittinghere if I’d let you drown in that river. You certainly wouldn’t have tried to defy the Ice Melter.”

Damon started to get to his feet. “Jan—”

The sound of footsteps echoing through the cave interrupted him. There was a collective gasp, and all the Collectors, including Jan, dropped onto one knee. Damon stared ahead, watching a tall man saunter into view.

“That,” Grim Jim said, his voice booming throughout the cave, “is enough.”

***

Damon had stared death in the face many times before. And some of those times, that face also belonged to the Ice Melter.

Grim Jim looked amused, which was in stark contrast to his name. The immortal Ice Melter was slightly taller than Damon, with a more muscular build and an overgrown beard. His dark eyes seemed to be receding into the back of his skull.

“You’re… you’re him,” Julia said, staring wide-eyed at him. “You’re Grim Jim.”

“I am him,” came the reply.

“Your beard could use a trim.”

He chuckled, which was the second most terrifying sound Damon had ever heard. The Ice Melter drew nearer, making Damon’s pulse pound violently in his ears.

“You know,” said the Ice Melter, “when the war ended centuries ago, and the witches imprisoned us here, that was all I believed Frost Mountain to be: a prison, a cage for wild animals.” His grin widened. “And for the first hundred years or so, I continued to believe it was. But as I learned to adapt properly to this place, as I learned to thrive, I realized something.”

He stopped 10 feet away from Damon and folded his arms across his bare chest.

“Frost Mountain is no prison,” he continued. “Not for me, at least. This place is a paradise, teeming with infinite possibilities.What more could I ask for? Those witches who cursed me and put me here had no idea what they were doing.”

Damon held his breath. The Ice Melter’s eyes were focused on him. Even the other Collectors looked trepidatious. At this close range, he could lash out at anyone, and no one wanted a surprise tour of the pit today.

“Whatever I want, I ultimately get,” Grim Jim said. “But you, Damon, tried to take my prize from me.”

His gaze flicked toward Julia, who gasped and seemed to shrink away from him.

“Ah,” he muttered. “The snow leopard shifter. I have waited weeks, and now I finally have you.”

He stepped closer, reaching out to caress her chin, and Damon heard Julia whimper again. She looked even more terrified than ever. Seeing her like this made Damon’s heart feel like it was trapped in an icy grip. She shouldn’t be here. She didn’t deserve any of this, not at all.

And it was his fault. He should have come clean to her earlier. If he hadn’t kept his secret for so long, they wouldn’t be here now. Perhaps they would already be in Caprichor. Instead, they were trapped in a place he wouldn’t wish for his worst enemy. Damon was minutes, if not seconds, away from death. And Julia? Hers was an even worse fate, trapped in this cave to suffer as one of the Ice Melter’s treasures until her last breath. He’d seen the way Grim Jim treated his other living treasures. The thought of Julia going through that made his chest ache.

“You defied me, Damon,” Grim Jim said, turning back to him, the smile slowly fading from his face. “I’m not happy about that at all. You should have known better. Youused toknow better.”

“I did what I had to do,” Damon said as defiantly as he could, with death staring him in the face. “I refused to bring her to you.”

“Why, because after nearly two decades, you’re suddenly horrified at the things we stand for?” The Ice Melter chuckled, his eyes full of hate. “Or perhaps, by some chance, you have strong feelings for this woman?”

Damon’s breath faltered for a second, but the triumphant look on the Ice Melter’s face told him it was long enough.

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