Page 18 of Frost
I roll my eyes. “We need to work on your explanation skills, Jack. Magic can’t be the answer for everything.”
“Nonetheless, it’s the only true answer.” Jack pets Págos’ side as a soft expression crosses his face. The hair on the horse’s mane twinkles as the animal shakes its head and nuzzles Jack’s face. Upon closer inspection, I see the hair is actually strings of ice crystals. “How do I fly? How do I shoot ice from my hands and blow snow into the air? Magic. You don’t have to understand it for it to be real.”
“Wait, you blow snow into the air?”
Jack sighs. “There’s so much you don’t know, little light.”
“Tell me, then.” I step closer to him, then jolt back when Págos stomps his front hoof at me. “I want to know you, Jack. The real you, not the myth.”
Caution clouds Jack’s eyes as he meets my stare. It’s the first time he’s ever looked at me that way. “I’ve made a mistake. There’s a reason I do my work at night. People aren’t supposed to see me. This—” He motions to me and back to him. “—it shouldn’t happen. When fire and ice collide, neither can prevail.”
“Why are you trying to push me away?” I ask, making no move to approach him, mainly because Págos is watching me like a hawk. That horse probably wants to eat me for a midnight snack. “You said I was like the sun.”
My chest cracks wide open. I’m not ready to say goodbye to him, and that’s exactly what this feels like.
“You are.” Jack averts his gaze to the sky. “Yet, it changes nothing, for the sun and the moon can never be together.” He hops up and slides onto Págos’ back. “Can I trust you to find your way back to the cabin without injuring yourself?”
“You’re leaving me out here? Are you crazy?”
Jack frowns but urges Págos to rise in the air. I stumble back as the horse’s wings begin to flap, the sound heavy and powerful. “If you need me, just whistle. Wherever I am, I’ll hear you.”
Págos lifts them higher in the air and over the treetops.
“But I can’t whistle!” I shout up to him, but it’s a moment too late. He’s already gone. “Asshole,” I mutter, glaring at the night sky. “If I end up frozen to death in these goddamn woods, I’m comin’ back to haunt you.”
As I find the trail we walked there on, I make my way through the trees, cursing Jack’s name with each step. He’s like a stray dog. Clearly, he wants to be loved. He accepts my touches and even initiates some of his own, but then he gets overwhelmed by the affection and either snaps at me or runs off.
It’s hard to stay mad at him when I think about it like that.
How many years has he been alone? He said he’s had lovers, but how long has it been since he’s actually allowed anyone close to him? He’s skittish and untrusting beneath the playful laughs and light-hearted mischief.
“Damn you, Frost,” I grumble as I hike through the deep snow. I may understand why he’s hesitant to be around me, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Coming to a fork in the path, I glance around, unsure which direction to go, and then I veer right. A gust of wind comes out of nowhere, knocking me backward. I try to step that way again, and I’m met with the same icy blast of wind. When I change direction and go left instead, there’s not even a light breeze.
“I get it,” I say to the air, smiling despite my irritation at a certain silver-haired man. “I was going the wrong way.”
Even when out of sight, Jack’s watching over me.
With the wind occasionally pulling at my coat and dragging me in the right direction, I make it to the cabin in twenty minutes. Immediately, I add logs to the fireplace and change out of my heavy coat and winter gear before taking a hot shower and putting on sweats, thick socks, and an oversized hoodie. I make a cup of hot chocolate and sit in the living room to warm up by the now roaring fire.
I don’t even remember falling asleep.
Last thing I recall is finishing my drink and setting the empty cup on the coffee table, then closing my eyes for a brief moment. I wake to something soft pressing to my temple. My eyes snap open, and Jack is in front of me. The fire burns low behind him, the flames weak. Shadows dance across his sharp elf-like features.
“Jack?” I ask in a croaky, sleepy voice.
“Why are you here when you have a perfectly comfortable bed in there?” He slides an arm around me and lifts me from the couch. “Come on.”
I let him guide me to the bedroom, my mind a bit fuzzy from having just woken. Once at the bed, I collapse on top of it and grumble when Jack shifts me around to pull the comforter up over me.
“You remind me of a sleepy child,” he says with a small chuckle, running his hand over the blanket on top of me.
“Go away.” I crack open my lids and glare at him. “I’m still mad at you.”
“Fair enough.” Jack withdraws his hand, but he sits beside me on the mattress. “I apologize for leaving you in the woods. I was just…” He shakes his head as he trails off.
“Scared?”
