Page 6 of Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

River’s face got even more beautiful as it relaxed into a happy, relieved smile, as if that had been his wish too. That smile made her heart leap—and speed up.

He wrapped an arm around her, and pulled her close, so that she was sitting right beside him, her legs to the opposite side as his. It felt so good to be this close to him, to feel his touch. There was still a blanket around him, but it no longer covered his arms and chest. He turned her towards him, so that they were facing each other, then caressed her hair slowly.

Her heart pounding in her chest, she closed her eyes. He smelled like grass and rain, but there was also something unique, mysterious, magical, and sweet. A reminder that he was not human. Naia sucked in a breath as she felt his lower lip touching her chin, then moving up to meet hers. Such a pleasant softness. He pulled her even closer, so that she felt his chest against hers, her thin nightgown the only thing between them. He opened her lips with his, and then his tongue was caressing the inside of her mouth.

Naia had no idea that a kiss would be like this; luscious, moist, thrilling. She would never have imagined that tongues would touch. Or that it would feel so good. She caressed his hair, then moved her hands down to his back, the pleasant feel of his lips and tongue like water reviving dry soil. And she was absorbing, absorbing, absorbing it, a thrill of life going through her. It was more than just the two mouths moving together, it was an energy moving down her body. She was kissing him back too, lost in the feeling of his lips. Was it seconds, minutes, hours? An eternity perhaps, if it could have been condensed in that moment.

Suddenly, he unwrapped his arms from around her waist, pushed her back, and stared at her, trembling, his eyes wide. Naia was trembling too, but there was something odd in the way he looked at her. Perhaps she’d done it all wrong? But it had felt real and powerful. It seemed that he had enjoyed it too, that he had wanted it as much as her. She had felt it in the way he had pulled her closer and closer, in his movements. Why was he looking at her like that? Why had he pushed her away?

A shiver ran through her body. “River?”

There was no mistaking the horror and shock in his eyes. “What have you done?”

Naia had no idea. No idea what to say or what to think. His face and hair darkened as she stared, unable to understand anything, unable to do anything. At first it was as if his body was emitting black smoke, but after a few seconds, only smoke was left where the fae had once sat. Only smoke remained in place of the lips she had kissed. Only black smoke, without even a smell. The scent of rain was gone.

“River?” she asked again, moving her hands around her, searching fruitlessly for something solid, for a sign of him.

There was nothing. What have you done? She had no idea.

---