Page 34 of Frost
“Sleep well, my sweet Luka.”
I open my eyes and link our fingers together. “Off so soon?”
“The world awaits.” He brings our joined hands up and kisses my knuckle. “But I’ll return to you as soon as I can.”
“Promise?” My voice is sluggish, and my eyes close again.
“I promise.” He softly kisses my cheek before getting out of bed. Clothes rustling reaches my ears as he dresses, and then his lips press to my forehead. “Sweet dreams, little light.”
I dream of the moon.
It glows brightly in the night sky, shining down in shades of silver. However, while everyone who sees it enjoys the gift it brings, the moon can never be part of their world. It gives and gives but is forever alone.
The scene shifts then, and instead of the moon, I see Jack sitting atop a tall tree, smiling down at a couple as they walk hand in hand through the snow he created for them. But they don’t see him. They never do.
Once his job is done, he leaps from the branch and soars to a new location. Beneath the smile, his eyes glisten with unshed tears.
I wake up with wet cheeks and an ache in my chest. I wipe at my face and roll over to check the time. Nearly seven in the morning. After rolling out of bed, I start the coffee machine, then take a shower while it brews. I can’t shake my dream. More specifically, the loneliness I felt during it.
Is that how Jack’s life is?
Once dressed, I pour a cup of coffee, then sit at the desk to work. I respond to a few book-related emails before opening up my Word document and picking up where I left off in the chapter. My character Jack has just received news of an attack planned for New York, so he rushes there to find it overtaken with shadow creatures.
And then he sees Varik, son of Hades… the boy he’s fallen in love with.
I choke up a little as I write the scene when Jack confronts Varik.
“I trusted you!” Jack shouts, grabbing Varik’s shoulders.
“That was your mistake,” Varik responds, shaking off his hold. His dark eyes hold no signs of the boy Jack sat in a tree with just the other day, the one who kissed him softly as they sat on the branch. “Trust, just like love, is for the weak. Consider it a lesson learned.”
A gasp sounds from behind me, and I jump out of my skin before whirling around. Jack’s so close that our foreheads bump together.
“Ow!” I rub at the spot and squint at him. “What the hell, Jack?”
“I should be asking you the same question.” He points to my screen. “Fix that right now.”
“No. That’s how it has to be.”
“Says who?” Jack huffs and snatches my coffee cup off the desk and peers inside before taking a sip. “You’re the writer. Now write it to be happy.”
“Patience.” I stand up and snake an arm around his lean waist. His sweater is cold from being in the snow, but his skin is warm. “I told you. Everything’s going to work out okay in the end. They just have to hurt a little first.”
“You’re a cruel, cruel man, Luka Summers.” Jack takes another drink of my coffee. The little thief. “I must say, it’s very like the son of Hades to betray someone, though. Even if it does make me sad.”
“Weren’t you the one who mocked the idea of a happily ever after between them when I first told you about this book?”
Jack blinks at me. “I don’t recall such an incident.”
I move closer to him before brushing my lips along his jawline. “Liar.”
He shudders and presses his head to mine. “Okay. Perhaps you’re right. But opinions can change… just like people can.”
“I didn’t expect to see you here so early,” I say, holding him a little tighter. My dream left me feeling off, and his presence helps take away some of that unease. As his scent of pine and berries tickles my nose, the knots untangle in my gut.
“Would it be cheesy to say I missed you?” Jack tangles his fingers in my shirt.
I grab hold of his chin and force his eyes to mine. “Not at all. I missed you too.”
