Page 6 of The King of Frost and Shadows

We tumbled towardsomething, but only one of us was fearing for our lives.

The wind turned cold, and a dark blob appeared below us, with glowing red places surrounded by what appeared to be water.

My heart raced as the wind pressed against my chest. I struggled to breathe, and my ears popped from the altitude change.

“I must admit, this moment is more exhilarating than I expected.” His gaze remained locked on me like my fear made dying worth it. “All these years, yet your horrified look is nothing like what I anticipated.”

“Are you serious?” I yelled, trying to glare at him.

I hated that, despite the morbid joy written across every inch of his cold face, he had become more breathtaking since I … well … fell. With my back against the trunk of a huge-ass oak tree, I hadn’t seen what had happened to me. “This is the first time we’ve met, so what the fuck are you talking about?”

The land underneath us grew larger, and I could see sharp, jagged, mountainous cliffs, numerous volcanos, and dry, cracked ground peeking through darkness and fog. I feared one of the sharp tips would deliver my death.

“Ah, we’ve met before.” He winked. “In fact, we spent much time together when we were younger.”

The hairs on the nape of my neck lifted, and I wasn’t sure if it was from that gesture or the below-freezing air. “I’d remember you. That’s not possible.”

“Don’t worry, sprite. You’ll remember soon.”

I had no idea why he kept calling me by the name of a soda, but dammit, I wouldn’t remember anything after we hit the ground.

Something exploded from his back, and before I could comprehend what I saw, he’d closed the distance between us, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me against his chest.

My body jerked with his as our descent slowed, and understanding crashed into me.

He hadwings.

I blinked, taking in his massive wingspan. The leathery onyx wings glistened magically, reminding me of the glitter on Eiric’s cheeks.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough, everywhere that my body pressed against his buzzed, feeling way too nice and chasing the cold away, his presence comforting me.

It sure as hell shouldn’t do that.

I placed my hands against his chest to get away from him. The last thing I wanted was to feel safe with a man who wanted me dead. “Let mego.”

He laughed, his chest rumbling against mine. The sound was deep and genuine and had my stomach doing flips all over again. “Are you saying you’d rather fall to your death than have me hold you?”

Was I? That did seem rather extreme. “Yes. Yes, I am. Let me go so I can get my suffering over with, short and sweet.” There was no telling what his sadistic ass had planned for me.

“Aw. Where’s the fun in that?” His arms tightened, keeping me in place. “I have plans for you. Your parents will answer for their crimes against mine.”

The fight left me, and I tensed, more confused than ever. “Myparents? My dad’s a security guard, and Mom works for an optometrist.” There wasn’t a damn thing they could have possibly done to this man … a man who had wings. Maybe sleep deprivation had caught up to me.

He laughed again, dark and hateful. “If that were true, you wouldn’t be here with me.”

A lump formed in my throat. Did he mean my birth parents? My parents had adopted me when I was ten years old, and I couldn’t remember anything from before I moved in with them. It was as if the first ten years of my life didn’t exist, and when I was younger, I’d wanted to know why. As I got older, I decided that the best thing for me was to let those memories remain forgotten. My mind had to be protecting me from something.

Clearly, that was the case, but now I wished I’d let the therapist my parents had sent me to look for those answers. Maybe then I’d understand why this guy hated me enough to save me one moment and kidnap the next.

“If my parents hurt them, why do you need me?” I lifted my chin, forcing myself to meethis eyes and ignoring the way the land underneath us moved swiftly as he flew … somewhere.

“You’re going to break them, sprite.” His slate eyes met mine, all warmth gone. “You’re going to bring them to their knees.”

I snorted, the sound like sandpaper against my throat. “If you think my sperm and egg donors care about me, you’re wrong. They gave me up when I was ten, and I haven’t heard a word from them since. I don’t even remember them. Your best bet is to take me back home or just kill me and get it over with.”

“Oh, death isn’t in your imminent future. That fate would be too easy.”

Terror dug its sharp claws into my chest, and even though the fall was no longer pressing the air out of me, I still couldn’t breathe. If thiswasn’ta nightmare, I could only imagine the terror and panic Eiric and our parents would experience when she came to find me after midnight.

---