Page 23 of The Midnight Blizzard

Jack had fastened his own straps well and stood without any wobble in his stance. Each breath was visiblein the crisp night air, and I blew out a puff of air purely for the joy of seeing the steam swirl in front of me.

“Have you ever skated before?” I glided out onto the ice, the familiar scraping sound of pushing off bringing back memories of the hundreds of hours I had spent on the ice with my mother as a child. My blades cut over the ice, and the noise became continual and hypnotic. I hadn’t heard it in so long. Mother had always claimed that ice skating sounded like thin fabric tearing, and that the noise made her anxious that her clothing had torn somehow. In contrast, I loved the soft whisper of the ice, the way it sounded almost like it was calling to me. I came to a stop after marking a circle and held my hands out to Jack, inviting him to join me.

“I haven’t skated much,” Jack answered, accepting my hands and allowing me to pull him onto the ice. With the combination of both our weights, the ice let out an ominous cracking. “How do we know it won’t break?”

“We don’t,” I answered with a small smirk. “But luckily, I know this incredible mage who can control ice and snow, and I’m betting that he would be willing to make the ice thicker if we asked really nicely.”

“Oh, so now you’re taking advantage of this poor, innocent mage?”

My grin broadened. “Absolutely I am. Do you think he would be willing to help out a girl so destitute that she was reduced to sleeping with Cinder?”

“I suppose.” Jack’s smile could have lit up the sky as he stooped down and placed his hand against the ice. The opaque, pale blue ice condensed into a thick white, spreading out over the entire lake “There. Now we won’t go swimming tonight.”

“Good.” I tightened my scarf around my throat. “Now,here is how you push off.” I modeled the simplest technique then nodded at him. “Your turn.”

With a sly sparkle in his eye, Jack followed me then flipped around and skated backward in a circle around me.

“You little liar! You said you didn’t have any experience!” I couldn’t suppress the delighted smile that made my eyes crinkle into tiny crescent shapes.

“I said I didn’t havemuchexperience,” he corrected me. “But do you really think an ice mage would never have tried skating?”

“But now I still owe you because I can’t give you much of a lesson.” I watched Jack glide on a single skate, dipping low and executing a complicated spin. Was he trying to show off for me?

“Ah, but I’ve never had a partner while skating,” Jack told me. “No girls were ever willing to skate with a mage, but I have a hunch you might be.”

The idea of Jack holding my waist sent butterflies fluttering all around my stomach, and I felt a wave of shyness, an unusual sensation that wasn’t altogether unpleasant when it was coupled with the mental image of Jack touching me. “Your hunch is correct. Let’s try skating together so I can get a feel for your timing.”

We held left hands, and I directed his right hand around my back to grasp the right side of my waist. Our hips brushed as we lined up side by side. “Just don’t accidentally pull me in front of you,” I instructed him. “I’m sure the ice is thick enough not to break, but it would still hurt a lot.”

Skating with Jack felt more natural than with any other man I’d ever skated with before. It was almost as though I knew what he was thinking as we circled the lake. Without me saying anything, I knew when Jack was planning to spinme or switch positions, and I followed his lead, marveling at his natural talent on the ice.

“How was that?” Jack pulled me to a stop in the middle of the lake. The moon’s silvery glow cast a reflection on the ice’s surface between us and the castle. “Did I pass the first lesson?”

“I can’t believe you fooled me into thinking this was your first time. And you must have had a partner before; you are too natural not to have tried.”

“I had to attend all of Stephen’s dance lessons. I was always given any girl he didn’t want to dance with, and skating shares a lot of similarities with dancing. You follow very well.”

“Do you think you could lift me?” I asked breathlessly, acutely aware of him holding my hands. My heart was nearly about to explode with giddiness, and the idea of him holding me and being strong enough to support me was almost enough to cause me to swoon.

Jack looked at me for a long time, his astonishingly blue eyes even more pronounced in the night, before he quietly answered, “I think I can manage.”

“Try a waist lift first. Hold here”—I pivoted so he was behind me and placed his hands on either side of my waist—“and when we get up to speed, count down when you’re ready so I know when to jump.”

I placed my hands over his, and felt his fingers flex on my sides, sending thrilling bursts rolling all over my body. Devoutly glad that he was behind me and unable to see my face, I bit my lip. At least we could count this as an ice skating lesson so no one would suspect us of a courtship.

Jack pushed off, and we glided across the lake.

“Three…two…one,” Jack counted, and I leapt into the air. Jack kept me suspended for a moment but misjudged theangle when setting me down, and we tumbled down. Trying desperately not to land on me, Jack did an awkward dive roll over where I fell and spun across the ice.

Laughing, I got back up. “I expected to fall much earlier than that.”

“Ow.” Jack rolled his arm and held his shoulder as he got up. “I’m going to feel that tomorrow, aren’t I?”

“Probably.” I felt along his shoulder, but it was so padded with thick layers that I wasn’t able to determine anything besides the fact that I was trying to find innocent excuses to touch him, and that he didn’t seem to mind.

A loud snapping came from nearby and we broke apart, both with guilty expressions on our faces. A crowned head was bobbing toward us, barely visible behind the snow-covered shrubbery.

“Come on,” Jack urged, snatching my hand and pulling me to the lake’s edge. We darted for cover, crouching together behind a boulder. Had the newcomer seen us?

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