Page 31 of A Bride for the Winter King
Elio freezes. “What are you doing?”
“You don’t want our first time to be in front of my aunt and fucking Paul Snow, do you?” I say.
Iris’s voice is nothing like mine, I realize. She doesn’t have the same pitch, cadence, or accent, and the jaded way she breathes the words irks me.
“N-No,” he stammers.
I slide the sequin dress’ strap off my shoulders to expose my breasts. “Then make love to me now.”
Oh my gods! I don’t want this vision to go on, but Iris is quite in charge, here.
“We should talk this through, first,” Elio rasps, echoing my sentiment.
“Why—” I search his gaze, and my voice melts to a soft, brittle whisper. “You’re going to choose me, aren’t you?”
“Of course!”
“Then why does it matter?” Blistering tingles warm my palms as Iris shoves a wave of lust towards him.
Whereas the shadows I’m used to commanding are slick and inviting—often arranged as a blanket to protect me—this new sensation registers as both sultry and destructive.
Elio looks me up and down, and a wolfish smile blooms on his lips. The air becomes charged with electricity, and his eyes no longer skirt the shape of my bare breasts as he slides a hand to the nape of my neck and reels me in. “I guess you’re right.”
Chapter 13
Something that Feeds in the Night
LORI
Iwake up in a cold sweat, tangled in the bed sheets.Holy shit!I press a hand to my lips. The memory of the kiss Elio gave Iris in that maze is vivid and raw, and I forget where I am for a moment. Not in the maze about to have sex with a younger version of Elio, but in a dorm room full of women.
I just know it really happened. The leftover taste of magic in my mouth is too clear and powerful for it to be anything but a glimpse of the past. My mother used to get visions all the time, according to my dad. Maybe I’ve finally unlocked her legacy as an oracle. What if the power laid dormant, and seeing Iris’s body finally unlocked it? Maybe I look like her for a reason, but that’s scary as fuck.
Ice beats on the dark windows. Aster is sitting alone on the large windowsill with her duvet wrapped around her frame and a pillow propped behind her back. Her nails click along the glass as she observes the castle grounds below.
A high-pitched moan reaches my ears. I look around the room, but we’re all here.
“Argh, there they go again,” Aster whines as she tightens the duvet around her body.
My brows furrow. “Who?”
“Seth and those two dumb Winter seeds from the ball.”
I press the heel of my hand to my forehead, annoyed beyond belief that Seth decided to have a threesome after the night we’ve had.
“You look wretched, Sixteen,” Daisy chimes from the cot on my right. She rolls to her side and plays with the pink scrunchy holding her long braid in place. “Did you have a nightmare? Cause that shit’s not natural.”
“Of course not.”
“Sure seemed like you did?—”
“There’s someone out there… by the entrance of the maze,” Aster breathes.
Daisy frowns from her bed. “Are you nuts? Anyone standing in this storm would freeze to death inminutes.”
Aster shoots her a nasty look. “Not the king. Or one of his reapers.”
Poppy slides out of bed to check on her friend’s claim, and I dangle my legs over the edge of the cot, feeling groggy and numb. My long black hair falls over my shoulder, full of knots and wavy from the sweat.
