“Yes.” There is no hesitation in my voice, and I continue to breathe slowly despite the thrum of Jolie’s pulse within me, calling me to her. I wonder if she’s waking up. If she’s gotten my messages. I want to be there to tell her everything, but I can’t do that without doing this first.
“Show me.”
14
LAST FEBRUARY
The harbinger speeds through the trees, draping icicles along barren maple branches. He flies lower, spreading shiny verglas atop each rock in his path, the frosty breaths of two lovers bundled up in layers and kissing in the snow drawing his attention. Tiny mismatched flecks spring from his palms in shades of white and blue before he waves his hands. They drift down toward the couple, catching in her red waves and his dark beard. They laugh between kisses, their exhales painting the air white as they gaze in wonder at the flakes flurrying around them.
Admiring his work, the harbinger spins and skates off across the lake, water thickening into ice beneath his feet. Fifty winters finished, he’s weeks away from earning more frost marks—
The wind is knocked from him, and a sharp, searing pain lances between his ribs. He shreds away his shirt, spotting ridges forming, carving line by line deep into his chest. This isn’t like the frost adorning skin. It’s an endless echo of terror.
Anguish.
A shocking pulse riots through him, vibrating so fiercely it sends him staggering. Silver streaks glow from his sternum, andhe presses a hand there, hoping to alleviate the discomforting throb. Even just a little.
Not once did he imagine this would be how it happened. The sensations are nothing like his friends described. The only thing he knows is he must follow its tug.
He clutches his chest, closing his eyes, begging to find his mate, but when he looks again, he’s not back home in Nivea. He’s still earthside, just somewhere further south.
Something’s wrong.
He tries again, channeling the frantic rhythm overtaking his rib cage. His mind clears, wholly focused on finding them. While he doesn’t understand this new connection fully, he knows his mate needs him. He scans the park. It’s empty minus a few other Frosts doing their usual duty. None pay him any mind.
It’s not one of them.
The bridge he sits on is covered in sheets of ice, blackened markings veering off toward the lake. The beat within his chest becomes less hurried, slowing…and slowing…
Panic claws through him, sparking every nerve as his gaze whips around the park.They must be here. They must be.Moving closer to the bridge, he peers down into the ice-covered lake below. Shards of broken ice bob in a gentle current, floating within a dark, gaping crack.
His heart seizes in his chest. That crack could swallow him whole…
There. My mate’s down there.
This can’t be right. He should be back home. His mate should be waiting for him with open arms. Finally finding each other thanks to Fate. He glances down at the stinging mark that’s still forming a half-whirled semi-circle at his sternum.
None of this is as it should be.
Not wasting another moment, he jumps, moving through the thick layer of frozen water like its air.
To him, it is.
He’s found a home in the cold. Its chill runs through his veins, coats his flesh. He freezes, coming face to face with his mate.
It’s her.
He searches her wide eyes, focus dropping to her parted lips just beyond the cracked glass. Dark strands trail out from her, her vacant, pale stare gazing straight past him.
This is wrong.
She’s leaving just as quickly as he’s found her. Body floating next to the woman in the driver’s seat. Silver starts to glow from her chest, and he’s certain that beneath her clothes are swirls etching into existence that match his own. He brings his hand over his mark, already missing the poundingthud, the frantic beat that drew him here.
Never interfere with the affairs of mortals.
The harbinger creed rings in the back of his mind, but he’s already using his icy power to shatter the window. The flutter between his ribs and the searing at his chest fades, and now the beat that drove him mad to get to her is the only thing he wishes for.
Please beat.
