Page 58 of A Bride for the Winter King
I cup his cheek, the tension between my ribs easing. “Without a doubt.”
He offers me a small, secret smile. “Never mind Ezra—or my father. They can’t hurt us, now.” He grips my hand, eyes full of devotion and love. “You and I, we’ll be happy. I promise.”
I stand on my tiptoes to kiss him, and as our lips brush, the scene melts into darkness.
Chapter 23
Something that Bites in the Dark
LORI
The kiss catapults me back to the present and into my rightful body, just as it did the last time. I’m already growing accustomed to the sluggish ache in my bones that accompanies my forays into Iris’s past and feel more certain than ever that it’s real.
I’m not only identical to Iris, but also forced to relive specific events of her life.
A big question mark sticks to my face. Iris is Fae, so she couldn’t have lied to Elio, and yet, nothing about the way his brother interacted with her—or her with him—sets me at ease.
I gasp out and try to press a hand over my frazzled heart, but I’m… stuck.
The chafe of rope digging in my skin pulls me out of my musings about the vivid scenario I’ve just witnessed. My wrists are tied behind my back—a terrible feeling I’m all too familiar with.
Daisy’s voice comes into focus. “Be cool. I’m not with her. She took my sister’s place. I hate the girl. Let me come with you.” Thethick fear breaking her usual snark sends a wave of adrenaline through me.
“Nope,” Wendy answers.
I blink. The striking freckles from one of the Reds are inches from my face, but the woman lets go of me with a start. “Wendy. She’s conscious.”
“Good thing we didn’t dawdle,” Wendy says with a satisfied nod. “Here. The weeds will be gone for good.”
I force my eyes to remain half closed and keep my posture groggy, taking stock of the situation. Two long imprints in the snow and the footsteps surrounding it tell a straightforward story. Daisy and I have been dragged from the center of the clearing to the trees and tied there with a few scraps of rope.
One single row of maple trees creates a perfect circle around a tall podium with a glass cloche. Beyond them, thick evergreen trees flourish. Pines, spruces, firs, and junipers create a canopy of needles and scale-like leaves. Both of my wrists are pressed flush against the rough bark of the pine tree at my back, but Daisy has still got one hand free, her restraints loose and tied hurriedly like she put up a fight. “Take me with you. I’m not a threat,” she pleads.
Wendy looks down her nose at the Spring seed. “I don’t want any flowers—except for the torn-off rose petals that’ll pave the way at my wedding.”
Sarafina mentionedSurvivor, but this is more likeNaked and Afraid. True, the cold doesn’t affect us, but we’re still a bunch of girls in the middle of a moonlit forest, barefoot and without food. It’s every woman for herself, and Wendy and her two Winter friends apparently teamed up with the Reds to take me out.
I fake a nonchalant yawn. “You shouldn’t count on it, Frost.” I offer her my best asinine smile and look at every single one of the Reds in turn. “Do you really think your deadly little palswon’t turn on you? If I were them, I’d get rid of you as soon as possible.”
“They can’t find their way in a snowstorm without me,” Wendy replies.
“What about when the Ice City becomes visible in the distance? Will you still trust them then?” I taunt her.
She inches closer to ram a snowball in my eyes and mouth, and I take advantage of her mistake to trip her up. Just as I’m about to kick her shin and hopefully snap her leg into two separate parts, her allies drag her out of the fray by the shoulders.
“You little snake! You’re dead now,” Wendy says before she spits on my bare legs.
“Don’t push me, Frost. I’m tied to a tree in a flimsy cotton white dress—and growing increasingly pissed.”
“What are you going to do? Throw roses at me?”
The brides chuckle between themselves as they leave, confident that two Spring seeds couldn’t possibly get out of this without help, and my eyes narrow. No more Miss Nice-Flower. They’re going to feel the wrath of a Shadow huntress before the day is over.
The cameras follow the other brides but for one, clearly not expecting much action from us.
Daisy tugs at her restraints like a wild stallion. “Enjoyed your nap? If you had deigned to wake up at the same time as everyone else, we wouldn’t be stuck here!”
I keep my cool and observe our surroundings. “Settle down and keep your energy. You’re going to need it.”
