Page 104 of Midnights
I slow my breathing and let my eyes drift close while I listen.
“They called her the Winter Queen, because her sadness lingered like the frost on the earth. She longed for love so desperately, but no matter how many men adored her, none truly saw her. They just saw her beauty and her power. Isn't it ironic that the one who could melt the ice inside her heart never came.”
I can feel her fingers continue their slow, soothing path through my hair, but the story itself carries a chill. Despite how warm the water is, I still shiver.
“In her despair, she swore to the heavens,” she continues, like she’s telling me a secret only meant for my ears.
“She pleaded with them. ‘Who do I have to speak to?’ she cried. ‘How can I break this curse? Change this, please!’”
Her words coiled around me, and I can only imagine how that must have felt.
“No matter how many times she found herself on her knees in the woods, pleading with the moon, nothing happened. It didn't even matter how many letters she burned, sending her words into the night sky in hopes that the Goddess Clea would hear, nothing changed.”
Her voice dips with sorrow.
“The years slipped by, one after another, and still… no sign of her soulmate. No promise of love.”
“The longer she waited, the more she withdrew,” my grandmother whispers.
“Her duties, once her pride and joy, slowly fell away as her hope dimmed, fading like the winter sun.”
There's a beat of silence before she speaks again.
“That’s when they began to call her the Winter Queen. Not for the season itself, but for the cold that settled around her, everywhere she went. It wasbecause of her loneliness, her despair… and the unbearable weight of her longing.”
A sudden flash of lightning splits the sky, and it rips me from the memory like a slap of cold air.
I gasp, and my whole body jerks forward while my vision reels. My breath gets stuck somewhere in my throat and the necklace slips out of my fingers, landing on the rug with a soft thud.
The vivid image of my grandmother fades, dissolving into the candlelight while my heart hammers in my chest. I feel disoriented by the sudden shift, so I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to hold onto the rest of the story.
What came next? What did she say after that?
Chapter 17
Lucky Me
Kane
Fuck.
I drag a hand down my face, exhaling through clenched teeth. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve muttered that word in the last twenty-four hours.
The second I shut my door, I just stand there, trying to get my head on straight.
Part of me wants to go upstairs, lock the door, and put some fucking distance between us. But then I remember what I told her, that I’m right next door if she needs anything.
Christ. That was a mistake.
I lean my head back against the door, staring up at the ceiling like it’ll fix this problem I walked straight into.
Then I hear a faint noise. Her voice is muffled, and I can’t make out what she's saying, but a small smile tugs at my lips knowing she’s talking to herself. I shouldn't find it fucking adorable, but I do.
A slow exhale leaves me as I rake a hand through my hair, willing myself to shut this shit down.
Too late to reel it back now.
The pressure straining against my jeans is unbearable. I'm still rock fucking hard.
