AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The fae swallowed the distance between us in two huge strides, his grey, feathered wings unfurling to their full length. He was like a bird of prey, dark and feral and entirely too swift. I staggered back, unsuccessfully trying to stumble out of his reach.
Ice popped beneath my stockinged feet, spreading outward over the hardwood floor in a frosty layer. I slipped and crashed in a heap, my elbow slamming painfully on the ice’s hard surface. My entire arm went numb, and the knife fell uselessly from my limp fingers.
Seizing me by the throat, the fae laughed, his eyes a red so deep they were nearly black. My teeth chattered as he lifted me, opening his mouth still wider. Ready to consume.
I reached for the magic rippling through my veins. Chill wind whistled as it tugged at the man’s feathered wings. Thrashing, I tried and failed to wrench his hand off my neck, to punch his leering face and knock him away. Snowflakes fell in a flurry into the cabin, churning around us in a furious white blanket.
Again, the man merely laughed, digging his fingers in harder, until his nails bit into my skin and warm drops trickled down the back of my neck. His nostrils flared and a terrifying gleam shone in his eyes as he inhaled the tang of my blood. “Snow won’t stop me, worm.”
I screamed as his head dipped lower, his fangs brushing my flesh. Their points stung as they began to pierce the place between my neck and shoulder.
Black ice climbed up the man’s arms and devoured his booted feet, rooting him in place. Snarling, he lifted his head to glare at me, his fangs dripping with my blood. His hands could no longer hold me in place, and his trapped legs couldn’t chase me.
“Starlight!” My heart leapt with hope at the sound of Garrick’s voice.
Not even pausing to seek my coat or knife, I stepped into my unlaced boots and launched myself across the slick cabin floor, skating along the ice and charging into the night. Warmth and pain pulsed in my neck, and I lifted a hand to where my attacker’s fangs had pierced me, grimacing.
Outside was a whirlwind of snow, frigid and painful. The sensation of a thousand needles pricking my bare skin consumed me, cutting through the fabric of my clothes. I shivered and charged toward the sound of Garrick’s voice, still calling out to me. No matter the risks of the storm outside, I couldn’t linger in the cabin, couldn’t trust that my unpredictable magic would keep the winged fae bound for long.
Pines rose ahead of me, but otherwise, it was difficult for me to make out clear shapes in the snow. Flakes coated my hair and dusted my eyelashes.
“Ren!”
Garrick couldn’t be far.
A stronger gust tore my hair free, letting silver strands whip against my numbing face. “Garrick?” I shouted. “I’m here!”
“Starlight.” His voice was warm and relieved, and when I spun around, he was there.
Heedless of how he might react or what the world I’d left behind might once have thought of me, I threw myself into his arms. His warmth enveloped me instantly, thawing the cold in my veins. I buried my face in his coat, snow melting against my face and mingling with the tears stinging my eyes.
Before I could speak, the storm ended as soon as it had begun. Quiet descended as Garrick hesitantly threaded his arms around me. My heart ached. He wasn’t returning my embrace, not really. “You’re bleeding,” he murmured, but his voice sounded strangely distant.
I lifted my head, and he dropped his arms and stepped back, leaving me to the cold. The cool light of stars bathed the trees in silver, and I could just make out the cabin and its fading glow a short distance away. Footsteps approached from the forest behind me.
“There you are, Snowflake,” called an unfamiliar voice, grating on my ears.
When I met Garrick’s gaze, the usual warmth of his golden eyes had vanished into something cold. Foreboding lurched through me.
“Thought you could run and hide from us forever, did you, Miss Florentia Cantwell?” came an amused feminine voice.
I spun to face two approaching figures, the silver light tracing their sharp features and taunting grins. Both stood tall and slender with rich brown hair and deeper, darker eyes. Their high cheekbones and pointed chins appeared chiseled from marble, and their pale skin seemed almost luminescent. Crowns of white and yellow gold engraved with snowflake detailing and sparkling diamonds gave them away.
The Silverfrosts.
Garrick dipped his head deferentially and addressed the royal siblings by name. Or perhaps he spoke their names for my benefit, in an awful, unwanted introduction.
“King Preston. Queen Nerissa.” His voice was low and deep, betraying none of his feelings.
A shudder rippled through my body.
“Well done, Garrick,” Queen Nerissa said as she sauntered forward, a self-satisfied smirk twisting her full, red lips. “See, Preston? I knew your hunters could never compete with my Garrick. Their tracking abilities could never compare to what a loyal dog can do.”
My breath caught and I staggered backward, as if I could outrun the immortal fae stalking toward me. I slammed into a solid chest, and muscled arms coiled around my waist. Garrick held me against him—but, though his warmth continued to envelop me, it was no longer comforting. He was confining me, preventing me from escaping.
“Let me go,” I hissed, the tears on my eyelashes freezing. I tried to glance over my shoulder, but my head was pressed too closely against him, his chin tucked against my hair.
The sting of betrayal slammed into me so forcefully I ached. How could I have been so foolish as to trust a fae? How could I have believed, because he’d talked of running away, because he couldn’t outright lie, that he wasn’t deceiving me? Had I truly been that starved for kindness? For companionship? I’d attached myself so quickly to the very first person to offer me an ounce of decency for the first time in a year. Shame consumed me.
