Page 5 of The King of Frost and Shadows

Eiric grumbled, “That’s what I’m worried about.”

I reached out and squeezed her hand, urging her to go. It would be four minutes. Nothing could possibly go wrong in that short amount of time.

“Fine.” She huffed, relenting, then leaned toward me and whispered, “You owe me. You better kiss him, dammit, and don’t disappear on me.” Then she said out loud, “I’ll be right back.”

Tavish moved closer to me, taking my hand again, and when my sister reached her friends, he tugged me off the brick path and under a huge southern oak tree. He pressed my back against the bark and grinned.

“It’s dangerous to go off with strangers,” he whispered as he touched my chin, his thumb pulling down my bottom lip.

He tasted faintly of winter air and the night, and my body warmed for more of him. I breathed, “After what you did, I believe I’m safe with you.”

His lips grazed mine, and if I thought my skin had buzzed when he’d touched me, now I jolted … and it wasn’t even a full kiss. I couldn’t imagine what I’d feel next.

He placed a hand over my head, trapping me.

I licked my lips, eager for his kiss.

Instead, he chuckled. “Oh, sprite, I’m the one you should fear the most.” His eyes darkened to a deep slate … the very eyes that haunted my nightmares.

The tree behind me disappeared, and I fell.

2

LIRA

Iridescent swirls circled my body as I tried grasping something. But each time, my hands came up empty.

What thefuck?

The swirls vanished, but I continued to drop. Cold air wrapped around me, and my hair blew into my face. A strangled scream caught in my throat as I realizedthiswas the moment I died.

That was what I got for hoping for a fucking New Year’s kiss.

Now I understood what true terror felt like.

My hair whipped my face, stinging my eyes, but I saw I wasn’t the only one falling. Tavish was right above me, dropping faster and catching up with me. Even though he was also tumbling to his death, he had a huge grin on his face.

His comment that I should fear him the most replayed in my mind like a tornado siren, but the red flag had come way too late.

“What’s wrong, sprite?” He laughed, reveling in the fall. “You scared of a little drop?”

Of course, the first guy I was attracted to would happilywatch us crash to our deaths. Now I wanted to go back to not feeling a damn thing for anyone.

I’d at least fucking die with dignity.

I spun so my back was to him, expecting to see the ground I’d crash into, but we seemed to be tumbling into an abyss. My stomach lunged into my throat, and I wanted to vomit. The anticipation of death had to be worse than the real thing. At this speed, death would be quick and painless.

Then hope sprang into my chest, clenching my heart.

Maybe this was a dream.

The same eyes I dreamed of each night and falling infinitely like this couldn’t be real life. I just needed to wake up.

I pinched myself, and pain shot up my arm.

Worse, I was still falling.

“Almost there, sprite,” Tavish teased as he caught up to me and fell beside me.

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