“Well, now that you can, I accept this challenge.” I grinned wickedly and welcomed her playful slap on my shoulder. “Now then, I’m sure we have a very disgruntled polar bear and stag we left in the cove wondering if we’re ever coming back.”
Sylvie’s eyes widened. “Winter’s curse, I feel terrible.”
“I’m sure they’re fine. I left them in the protection of the ice giant’s cave.”
“Ice giant?”
Wincing, I snapped my fingers, entirely forgetting there were still so many things Sylvie had yet to learn about winter folk. “Yes, you’ll meet him. He’s an okay guy, honestly.”
“Right,” Sylvie answered in a skeptical tone.
I held my hand out to her. “Might I suggest we take a frigid dip into the kingdom’s lake as a means of travel back to the Cove?”
Sylvie’s wings fluttered. “I thought you’d never ask, mate.”
That singular word had my cock twitching, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Sylvie, whose gaze snapped straight to it. She arched a mischievous brow.
Despite every bone in my body yearning to fuck my new mate for days on end, the ancient duty in me tethered me back to reality. I held a finger up. “Soon. First, we need our companions back.”
“You’re such a good king,” Sylvie mused, kissing the tip of her finger and touching it to my nose.
Soon, we stood on the lake’s edge, its chilly waters lapping at our toes. Sylvie curled against my side, hugging my arm and smiling at the northern lights dancing colorful patterns in the sky.
“Whatever you do, don’t let go of my hand, sweetheart. Understand?” With our fingers interlaced, I kissed the back of her hand.
Sylvie wrapped her hand around ours and smiled. “Never.”
Fintanand I had never been separated this long. It had my heart thudding against my chest when we approached the cave. An overwhelming impatience to see him, to know he was safe from the previous blizzard, seized me. Jack and I conjured clothes once we reached the lakeshore, and I squeezed his hand to reassure him I wasn’t running away.
“Fintan,” I shouted, sprinting into the dark cave, turning circles to search for them. There was no one or anything to be found. They were a troupe composed of a huge polar bear, a stag, and a literal frost giant that’d be almost impossible to hide.
“Sylvie,” Jack called out. “They’re out here.” Amusement bounced in his tone with a light chuckle.
Trotting outside, I gasped at the sight of the frost giant rolling a large snowball back and forth with his feet, making Fintan and Nanok chase after it. Fintan paused, leaning forward with his bushy tail poised skyward, wagging. His large, glossy eyes tracked the ball before pouncing on it, clipping the edgewith his hoof. Nanok was in a full charge toward the ball, not having enough time to stop, and barreled into Fintan. They both toppled and rolled.
“Fintan,” I calmly called out, biting back a smile.
His head popped up, antlers and nose covered in snow, Nanok’s dark gaze appearing from the pile beside him. They blinked at us, almost as if confused, before scurrying forward and tackling me and Jack into the snow.
Laughing, I welcomed the outpour of love from my stag and chuckled more when he furiously sniffed me, Jack’s polar bear mimicking the same actions beside us. Our scents had changed since completing the mating bond, his icy earthiness mixed now with my sweeter aroma.
Once the animals settled, Jack pushed to his feet, dusting his pants and hair of excess snow, a broad smile plastered to his handsome face. “Thank you for watching out for them, giant.”
I’d seen the giant playing with the snowball, but it was another matter entirely when he calmly walked toward us, his gait slower than a sloth. His height challenged the trees, and he sank to one knee, bowing his head at Jack. “It was an honor, your majesty.”
My stomach fluttered. I was to be queen.Jakzair’squeen. The idea of it was still hard to wrap my brain around fully. “Thank you from me as well,” I added.
The giant lifted his head, the ice above what would be his eyes shifting upward like arching brows. “Is this her?”
“Yes,” Jack replied, his warm smile melting into a gooey one. He held his hand out to me, helping me to stand. “And she’s to be made queen very soon.”
Everything had transpired so rapidly due to Jack’s dwindling timeline. Diedre’s curse had robbed us of precious hours, making panic and urgency commonplace. Gasping, I clutched Jack’s shirt. “Diedre, we need to do the coronation before she?—”
Jack silenced me with a chilly kiss, his full lips gliding over mine, that devilish tongue lapping at mine. “Is it that hard for you to slow down, Sylvie?”
Fintan and Nanok sat next to each other, tilting their heads as if trying to understand our conversation. I glanced at them for answers I knew they couldn’t give, but wished they could all the same. “What do you mean?”
“I have time now, Snowflake.” Jack clasped his larger hands over mine. “We can stay in the Cove for another three sunsets, the original full timeframe given to me before Diedre’s curse. Then we must return toourkingdom, where you will be crowned queen. Diedre doesn’t possess the power to come here.”
