With both animals huddling under my arms, we braved the winds, and all I could do was wait. Not only for the storm I had no control over, but for the sun to set. Sylvie would either come running to my arms or I’d be met with nothing. It was an unsettling possibility I’d have to come to grips with. She built a life in Arcane Cove and found a place that made her happy and accepted her after being cast out by her own people. It was a lot to ask for her to whisk off to live as a queen in a winter wonderland castle. Though the selfish part of me couldn’t fully understand that last part because I’d always had the amenities, the life.
At least the universe had a sense of humor. It took me decades of ethereal life with the promise since my creation that I’d meet my mate. When year after year passed and decades turned into centuries spanning over a thousand years, I molded this icy shield around my heart. Whether it was to protect it or more to protectmefrom the overwhelming disappointment that it could never happen, I still wasn’t certain.
I thought my heart would still be guarded when I met Sylvie. That I’d be brazen and cold, if need be, to protect my kingdom at any cost. But the funny part was, when she touched me for the first time, parts of that shield melted, inviting her right the fuck in.
It started as a smirk, transmuted into a chuckle, and, before long, erupted into uncontrollable, maniacal laughter. Nanok and Fintan turned their heads toward me simultaneously, eyeing the barrier I kept up for them, probably wondering if braving the storm was safer than being trapped in a small space with a madman. I laughed so hard that tears pushed from the corners of my eyes, freezing once they reached my skin.
Sucking in a breath, I calmed the chuckling and sighed, rubbing my knuckles at my eyes. A few laughs still fluttered from my chest, but eventually I stopped them altogether. “Sorry, boys, I was just having a little go at the irony of all of this.”
Nanok stared at me unenthused, smacking his lips together. If he were a humanoid, I could envision his large eyes rolling profusely into his skull.
“Oh, shut up, you overgrown, furry—” I started, but froze when I felt it—the discomforting pang at the back of my head, similar to the day I met Sylvie. “No,” I breathed out, fanning my palm at the barrier to move with me as I stormed further into the woods.
“Sylvie?” I shouted into the snow.
Fintan went on alert, sniffing the air furiously around us and whimpering. I joined him, smelling for that distinguishable scent and detecting it a moment too late. No sooner had I sensed her presence than it was yanked from my gut by an enchanted, invisible rope—somethingtookher.
“Winter’s curse, no,” I roared, grabbing my head and pacing around the two animals.
If it wasn’t enough that someone took Sylvie, it was the gut-wrenching realization that I knew precisely where she was and the risk it meant to go after her. She was in my realm. It created a very, very short list of possible places she could be. What was worse, given the time constraint, I couldn’t be certain where the lake portal would take me, or if I’d be able to get back.
Frowning, I turned to Nanok, who was sitting with his hind feet sticking out. His held his head low, and his ears drooped, already knowing what was about to happen. “Nanok, friend, I don’t want to risk you not having a home. I have to go after her. Can you understand that?”
Lifting his chin, Nanok closed and opened his eyes with a huff.
“Thank you, boy,” I squeezed out, ruffling Nanok’s head and ears. “I’ll take you both to the frost giant’s cave. You keep each other safe until the storm clears. That goes for you, too, Fintan.” Pointing at the stag, I waited for him to bow his head.
With my and my mate’s animal companions in tow, I led them to the icy cave, finding comfort in having a sanctuary in the blizzard. They were both magical winter beings, but I didn’t care to test their resolve againstothercreatures taking advantage of the blinding snow. After kissing Nanok’s head, praying it wasn’t the last time I’d see him, I made for the lake.
Anger fueled my steps, squinting against the flakes collecting on my lashes and ignoring the snow making my shirt damp. Once I reached the bank, I pressed my fingertips to my chest, making the clothes disappear, and slid my feet into the water.
“Leaving already?” A familiar voice croaked.
The same shorter being with the long, bushy, black beard from when I’d arrived sat on a stool on the ice, fishing. Only this time, they sat underneath the shelter of a small tent, with something steaming and wrapped in a blanket resting on their lap. Unlike before, they appeared unperturbed by my nudity.
“I’ll be back,” I proclaimed. “There’s something I need to take care of first.”
Diving into the water, the freezing chill coating my skin and relieving my aching bones, I let the cold power my movements. My mate was in trouble before we’d had the chance to claim one another, to bond to each other fully. There was onlyonepersonwho wished to see us fail, andshewas about to feel the true wrath of Jack Frost, the wrath of King Jakzair.
Sylvaria wasmy queen.
The first fewseconds were like falling through an endless black hole before I landed in a pile of something fluffy and white. Sputtering from it, collecting on my lips and scattering my hair, I scooped some into my palm. It looked like hundreds of tiny Styrofoam pieces. When I tipped my palm to discard them, they floated away rather than falling, and some stuck to my skin. Squinting skyward, I expected to see clouds mixed into gray or blue, but an ample distorted light was there instead.
“What in the—” I started, slumping forward and halting at the sight of a snowman—the perfect kind, with three proportionate snow balls, a carrot for a nose, coal for eyes, and buttons, red hat, red scarf, the whole deal. Next to it was a cozy cottage, but it wasn’t mine.
Swallowing a coarse lump forming in my throat, I reached for the house and gasped, recoiling my hand. It wasn’t wood or stone, it was smooth likeplastic. With a shaky arm, I stretched my fingers toward the snowman next, expecting it to be wet andcold. Tears blurred my vision when the generic material pressed to my skin. It, too, was plastic.
“Oh, good, you’re finally here,” a woman’s voice boomed, thick with a British accent.
I covered my ears from how loud she sounded. It was almost as if she were standing on a ladder, using a megaphone pointed down at me. Turning circles, kicking the fake confetti snow around me, I fell back on my ass when a giant face appeared, distorted like the sky.
The woman cackled at the sight of me falling, and a humongous finger tapped the distortion, shaking the ground beneath me. I grabbed the ground for purchase, terror wrenching my spine.
“Isn’t it ingenious?” The woman asked, her face disappearing, but both hands appeared on each side of me now, and sheliftedme.
No. I wasn’t. Am I in a fucking snow globe?
“I thought it fitting considering what we all are,” the woman added, laughing as she turned the globe upside down.
