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“Drop the act,” he insisted. “We both know Hunter means nothing to you.”
“I spent the past decade searching for him,” Odin said. “Would I have wasted all that time and all those resources on someone who didn’t mean anything to me?”
Isa’s expression turned stony. “You’re taking this ploy too far.”
“I haven’t gone nearly far enough,” he disagreed, turning his palm over. A fireball flickered to life, there faster than it took to blink.
Odin had always been powerful, always had impeccable control over his ability, and Hunter had admired him for it.
He hadn’t been the only one.
Isa’s gaze dropped to the flames and lingered. He didn’t appear to be concerned, however, utterly unaffected by the threat of having that tossed at him. No, something else entered his icy blue eyes…
Something a lot like lust.
Odin took another step closer to Isa.
At the same moment, some of the warm air finally made its way into Hunter’s lungs, melting the frost there and he coughed. It was a deep, hacking sound that completely disrupted the room's mood.
One second, Odin was standing in the center of it, holding literal flames, and the next, he’d snuffed the fire out and was at Hunter’s side, cradling him close.
As if they were actual lovers.
“I’ve got you,” Odin told him, pressing as much of his body against Hunter’s as he could, pushing that heat forward so that it seeped into him and ate at the cold.
It hurt, having all of that ice melted away, and he ground his teeth against the pain and tried not to allow any sounds to slip past his lips.
Odin noticed, though, hushing him softly, pulling his head down so that his face was buried against his chest.
“Enough,” Isa stated darkly, and a wave of cold rushed over them, licking at Hunter’s back.
He shivered and instinctually buried himself deeper in Odin’s arms, not even caring about what that looked like right now. He just knew he had to escape that ice. Knew he wouldn’t survive torture like that a second time.
“I’ll set this whole place a blaze,” Odin warned Isa, and he sounded like he meant it. “Back off.”
“This is our family home,” Isa reminded tersely. “You think I don’t know what it means to you? You wouldn’t—”
“Try me.” Odin held out his hand, keeping one arm tight around Hunter, and another fireball burst into existence just as the sound of pounding footsteps reverberated outside.
Three Frost Brumal entered with their guns drawn, aimed directly at Odin and Hunter.
“This is meant to be a Blank Zone,” Odin reminded, “and yet you’ve not only attacked my date, your men are also now turning their weapons on me. When my father ran this event, the breaking of this rule was unheard of. If you were going to take a crown that didn’t belong to you in the first place, the least you could do was wear it correctly.”
The door at their backs swished open, and Loni and Corbi appeared, stepping in front of Odin and Hunter, drawing their guns defensively.
Now that they had company, Isa collected himself, reeling his power in and settling his features into a false calm. He adjusted his white suit jacket and hummed in apology. “Things got out of hand. Everyone, drop your weapons, this is nothing more than a minor family dispute. Brothers fight sometimes.”
Isa risked a step closer, even though neither of the twins had listened to him and still held their guns up. “You know, you’re welcome back anytime. Come home, little brother. Perhaps we’ll fight less in closer proximity.”
“Or maybe I’ll lose my last string of patience and burn you in your sleep,” Odin said, ignoring the way that caused the Frost Brumal members to twitch. “Hold until we’re gone,” he told the twins, and then he backed out, bringing Hunter with him.
He didn’t give his back to the room until they were out in the hall, and then he took Hunter’s hand in his and led him down into the darkness. No one had bothered to turn on the lights, but he knew where he was going even without them, leading them through the long corridor and then to the right to a set of stairs.
Neither of them spoke as they went, Hunter still trying to shake the last bit of cold even as Odin continued to push his power into him through their clasped palms. It wasn’t enough contact, though, and he had to bite his tongue to keep from begging the other man to hold him again.
Hunter had always known to be afraid of Isa Frost, had witnessed him freeze more than one man to death just like that in the past. But it was different experiencing it himself. Vastly so.
Chapter 14:
