Page 65 of A Bride for the Winter King
He rises to his feet, but the tip of an ice shiv presses into the hollow of my neck. “And you just happened to be at the right place at the right time? It’s too convenient. Give me one reason not to kill you.”
Elio’s platinum mask prevents me from seeing his eyes, and I shake from head to toe. “I’m not with him. I’m with you,” I breathe.
“Or you’ve been lying through your teeth all this time.”
“You have pretty fucked up trust issues, you know? I’ve told you a million times. I’m not here to kill you or help anyone steal your crown. If you still don’t trust me after what I just did, then by all means—” I press my neck further into his blade, ignoring the sting of pain.
He lets the ice shiv fall to the ground, harsh breaths rushing from his lungs as he curls a hand around the back of my head. His lips brush against mine, and a pained, half-mad chuckle bubbles from his throat. “Thank you.”
Elio kisses me hard under the endless blue sky, the frosty taste of his blood sweet on my tongue.
Chapter 27
Avalanche
LORI
The remaining enemy soldiers scatter. The horned warriors jump on the back of their sleighs and steer their wolves forward right along the ice bridge, heading toward Daisy. I move to chase after them, but Elio wraps a hand around my upper arm and points to the peak.
Three white flumes of snow are visible far in the distance, near the top of the mountain. The deafening thunder signals the start of an avalanche. The leather-clad sleigh drivers speed down the bridge leading off the snowy mountain and disappear between the trees.
“Nothing can stop an avalanche of this magnitude once it’s started. Not even me. We have to take refuge in the mine,” Elio says.
“If it wasn’t for the stupid barefoot-in-the-snow challenge, all the girls would be safe. This is on you.” I shake him off and turn to face the sleigh’s escape path, searching for Daisy, but she’s no longer there.Fuck!The soldiers must have passed her by and captured her. “We have to stop them and save Daisy!”
The mountain continues to tremor beneath our feet as Elio marches over to the captive white dragon. “That bridge will shatter before you can cross it.”
The unstable ice bridge veers toward the trail Daisy and I had hiked earlier, leading away from the mine. Beyond it, deep imprints from the sleigh runners weave between the trees, marking the soldiers' escape route. I head toward the forest.
“Winter is going to swallow you whole!” Elio shouts.
“I can’t just let her die!” I answer without looking back.
My legs burn as I run. The ice bridge hugs the side of a steep cliff, but before I can reach solid ground, deep cracks spread around me, and the ice creaks as it breaks apart.
The bridge crumbles beneath me. I bend my knees and dig the balls of my feet into the snow, but there’s nowhere left to run. The last inch of crust finally gives way, and I plunge, feet first, toward the black abyss below.
This is the end. I couldn’t run fast enough. Not today.
It takes me a moment to realize I’m not falling. Not impaled on the ice shards I’m sure to find at the bottom. My feet dangle above the chasm, and a hard hand grips the flesh of my upper arm.
Elio’s nostrils flare as he pulls me to solid ground and snakes an arm around my waist, crushing me to him. A new ice bridge has formed to replace the broken one, the fresh ice sturdy and smooth.
The Winter King’s brows pull together like he can’t quite believe what he’s done, before his gaze settles on the forest behind me. “Let’s find her.”
“Okay.” The solid hold doesn’t relent as he tucks his index finger and thumb between his lips and whistles.
The ice dragon has been freed and lands beside us. A loud huff escapes its snout, its nostrils flaring as it leans in to sniff Elio. Smoke billows from its nose, forming a murky veil betweenus. Intricate white antlers extend from its head, but their bases appear to have been prodded and cut, as though someone tried to saw them off. Scales are also missing from its side.
Poor beast.
Elio raises a hand to the formidable creature. “Easy, Mistress. I know you’re hurt, my friend, but I need to ask too much of you.”
The dragon blinks and extends its neck in greeting, its nose nudging Elio’s uninjured side before its reptilian gaze shifts to me.
“This is Lori. We kind of like her, so we can’t eat her—at least not yet.” A smile escapes Elio as the beast nuzzles his outstretched hand, and he caresses it with a loving whisper, “Good girl.”
Shivers rock my body when the majestic creature bows its head. Elio proceeds to boost me up onto the back of his ice dragon like it’s the most natural thing to do, and I grab a fist of the beast’s long white mane not to topple right over to the other side.
