Page 67 of A Bride for the Winter King
“Hang on. I’m coming.”
“It’s almost over. Just stay put.” His eyes dart to the snow below him and back to me, a shard of danger or wrath or perhaps even capitulation gleaming inside of them. Like he might just…give up.
“Don’t you dare let go, or I swear, I will plunge in after you!” I shout, terrified by the keen pulse of shadow in his gaze.
I wrap one leg around the chain and hook my other foot in the narrow space between the two wood panes that form the handle of the steering shaft, slowly leaning over the bow until I glide down to the front of the sleigh. A strap of my dress gets stuck and tears right off, but I finally manage to extend my hands toward Elio, quite literally hanging upside down. “Here!”
His lids screw shut. A grunt tears out of his throat as he releases one hand from the sleigh’s curved extremity to reach for mine. His hard, steady grip fills me with a blinding sense of relief.
My arms burn as Elio pulls himself up, but I don’t dare to relax my muscles until both his feet are secured on the front shaft bow.
He stands tall, trembling all over. “You silly spider. Why would you risk your life like that? All the ice in the worlds couldn’t kill me?—”
I wrap my arms tightly around his midriff, burying my face in his stomach. His proximity wards off the chill, offering a welcome shield against the cold. “Stop complaining. You’re safe now.”
A deep, crystal-clearcrackechoes near my ears as the tree's trunk succumbs to the dragon's weight. The beast flaps its wings, sending a frigid gust that numbs my fingers and toes. The ice chain wrapped around my thigh tugs painfully, and I release my grip on Elio to avoid being torn apart as it wrenches me upward.
For a moment, it feels like I’m flying—but I’m not. I’m plummeting head first toward the ground, and the tide of the avalanche sweeps me into a dark void. Snow swallows me from all sides, as soft and suffocating as spider silk, filling my ears, nose, and mouth until I can’t breathe.
Chapter 28
Frozen
ELIO
Water slips inside my mouth, and I cough it out, slowly stirring back to life. I’m surrounded by a warmth I haven’t known in decades. Rocks dig into my back and hip, and my lids flutter. White and teal stalactites hang above my head and reveal my location. I’m in the heart of the Ice City, immersed in the magical hot springs beneath the mountain. Its powers have already repaired most of the damage I suffered during my fall. Sara must have found me at the foot of the Blueridge cliffs and decided to use desperate measures to patch me back together.
She shouldn’t have bothered. Maybe I should look how I feel and become as monstrous on the outside as I am on the inside.
“Good morning.”
The water sloshes around me as I struggle to sit up.Lori. She’s alive.Sara’s swift and thorough rescue isn’t so disappointing after all.
“Or evening? Or night? I can’t tell,” Lori adds. She waves her arms in the water and rests her head against the natural stones lining the rim of the basin.
“It’s night. We’ve probably been in here for a day—maybe longer,” I say, my magic always in tune with the sun. “How long have you been awake?”
“About twenty minutes. Why?” Her eyes wrinkle at the corners. “Are you worried that I casted some dark spell on you while you were sleeping?”
She sounds way too amused for my taste, and my brows pull together. After the tree cracked, I pushed and pulled and used every single ounce of magic I had left to find Lori in the avalanche. I waded through tons of crushed ice and branches until I washed over the cliffs and fell to the valley below, the impact breaking about every single bone in my body. I passed out from the debilitating pain and figured Lori had about no chance of survival.
I rub the water from my eyes, frozen in place. Why the fuck did Sara bring us heretogether? There’s at least a dozen basins in the caves. I should leave, but the magic water is still working the knots out of my stiff muscles and healing the deep cut in my side.
Despite the lingering pain, I haven’t felt so alive in decades. The scent of lemongrass and rock salts mingles with the humid air of the hot springs, infused with a mystical quality.
I scan the cavern for signs of life, but we’re alone.
Where are those annoying little eyeballs when I need them?If cameras were around, I wouldn’t dare to touch her. The spring’s water is murky, full of glacier sediment, but I can still make out the alluring shape of Lori’s breasts under the surface. Her long black hair is all wet and beautiful, a few strands sticking to her shoulders and neck.
I’ve got to find something to talk about, and soon.
“How are you even alive?” I croak, the question rough and unrefined.
Lori’s clear gray eyes pierce the darkness, her brows pulled together. “Don’t sound so disappointed.”
“I’m not. Just surprised.” I clear my airways again. “Are you alright?”
She immerses herself completely with a low sigh and emerges a few seconds later. “Yes, but I really thought I was done for…” She draws concentric circles in the water, her gaze fixed on the patterns formed by the shifting sediment. “I was sure death had finally come for me this time.”
