8. Jack
Chapter eight
Jack
I stare at Violet for a long, quiet moment in time that seems to stretch on for hours. Days. Weeks. Eons.
Her lovely green eyes flash with defiance, daring me to keep my silence. The air between us crackles with unspoken words and barely contained frustration. My jaw clenches as I struggle against the urge to tell her everything—about the prophecy, about what she means to me, about why I must keep my distance.
Really, it’s likely only mere seconds before she urges, “Well? Spit it out.”
I frown at her and turn away to look out the window, my shoulders rigid with tension. The words taste bitter on my tongue. “It’s not important. You don’t need to worry about it. ”
My chest tightens at the lie. Of course it’s important. She’s the most important thing in my entire frozen realm, and that terrifies me more than I can admit. But I can’t tell her. I won’t risk the consequences of what knowing the truth might bring.
The temperature drops several degrees around us as my control slips. Ice crystals form on the nearby furniture, spreading in delicate patterns that mirror my growing frustration. I can feel her eyes boring into my back, demanding answers I’m not prepared to give.
“Excuse the fuck out of me, Jack Frost, but if you’re going to go around with that stick up your ass calling me your anything, then I damn well deserve to know what it means.”
My lips curl with distaste. “Your mouth is filthy.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
I know she can’t possibly mean it how I take it—Violet is referring to all the foul words and phrases she conjures up like a necromancer would a corpse.
And yet I imagine her on her knees before me, her mouth open wide, jaw nearly unhinged as she tries to handle all of me so that not a single depraved thing might leave her mouth—including my cock.
Then I’m myself once more, remembering my place and hers and everything at stake, every little reason why fisting my hand in her hair and showing her the true meaning of a dirty mouth is the worst possible thing for my realm.
Though my imagination does have me wondering if it’s worth it, to tempt fate in such a way .
Not that I would. Not that I’d ever risk my realm for any mortal woman, much less the mate who is prophesied to ruin the kingdom I have spent my lifetime nurturing.
Violet is a summer storm.
I need to ice her out.
I turn back to her stiffly and straighten the lapels of the suit jacket I’m wearing. “I’ve had enough of you for today,” I say, voice hard. I head for the door without looking back.
“Where are you going?” she calls after me.
I pause, hands coiling into fists. None of your business , I want to snap. But I suspect she’d find a way to argue with me over that, which is exactly what I’m trying to get away from. Instead, I fight the urge to look over my shoulder as I mutter, “Away from you.”
I slip out of the library before she can summon a worthwhile response.
I stalk through the castle halls, my footsteps echoing against the crystalline floors. The temperature drops with each step, frost spreading in intricate patterns beneath my feet. My jaw clenches as memories surface, unbidden and unwanted.
The ancient scroll had crumbled at the edges as I unrolled it in my private chambers almost 3 decades ago. Gabriel stood beside me, his silver eyes gleaming as we read the prophecy together again.
“Beware the one with earth-bound soul,
Who walks through winter’s sacred gate .
The vessel’s power she’ll control,
And seal the kingdom’s final fate.”
My fingers had traced the words, ice spreading across the parchment. “What does it mean?”
“It speaks of your mate, my lord,” Gabriel said. “A mortal woman who will bring destruction to our realm.”
I pause at a window, staring out at the twin moons hanging low in the sky. The memory weighs heavy on my chest, like a block of ice that refuses to melt.
That same night, I’d witnessed the first signs. The great ice fountain in the courtyard began to crack, spider-web fissures spreading through its surface.
“It’s beginning,” Gabriel warned. “The mere existence of your mate threatens our realm. When she arrives, her presence will accelerate the warming. The prophecy is clear—she will be our undoing.”
My hand presses against the cold window pane. Violet’s face reflects in the glass, though she isn’t here. Those flashing green eyes that challenge me at every turn, that mouth that spews defiance with every breath. How can someone so small pose such a threat?
The fountain had shattered that night, sending shards of ice across the courtyard. I’d spent the next decade reinforcing the magical barriers around our realm, desperately trying to prevent the prophecy from coming true.
But she still found her way in.
I turn away from the window, ice crackling beneath my feet. The memory of the fountain’s destruction plays on repeat in my mind. It was the first sign, but not the last. Every year, the temperatures in my realm climb just a fraction higher. The ice grows just a bit thinner. And now that Violet’s here.. .
My fist connects with the wall, sending a spray of frost across the surface. I can’t let her destroy everything I’ve built, everything I’ve protected. No matter how much my body aches to be near her, no matter how her defiance makes something warm stir in my chest.
I have to remember the prophecy. Remember my duty. Remember the crack of ice and the spray of frozen shards across the courtyard that night.
I have to keep her away from me, even if it kills me to do so.
I’ve only just poured a glass of whiskey and settled into the lounge chair in my office when Gabriel finds me.
“Stopped by the library looking for you,” he says nonchalantly. “Violet sends her regards.”
“I’m sure she does,” I mutter.
“Fair enough,” Gabriel laughs. “She actually sends a ‘big fuck you’ and plenty of other curses I’d rather not repeat. A colorful girl, isn’t she?”
“Tell me, advisor, how wrong would it be to lock her in her room until I find a way to get her out of here?”
“It’s borderline kidnapping at best, I’m afraid. Not worth the scandal.”
Debatable.
I sigh and lean back in my chair, eyes closed as I run a finger over the rim of my glass. “I assume you’re here because you want something.”
“Not quite. I merely had a suggestion.”
I open one eye, looking at Gabriel carefully. “What?”
“Perhaps it’s useless to try, but what if you simply… attempted to take Violet back home?”
“That’s been the plan all along, Gabriel. I do not wish to keep her.”
“No, no.” He waves a hand in the air. “I meant to try to shift her through the realms with you. See if it’s possible to take her.”
“It likely isn’t.”
“But you don’t know for sure, right? Which means it’s worth a shot?”
I hesitate for a long moment. “Yes,” I say finally, opening my other eye and leaning forward. I take a small drink from my glass before setting it on my desk. “Yes, I suppose it is worth a try.”
When I stay seated, Gabriel raises an eyebrow. “Well? What are you waiting for?”
“I’m waiting for tomorrow.”
He balks. “Any particular reason why? You couldn’t wait to get her out of your hair two minutes ago.”
“Why? Because for now, she is out of my hair. I just walked out of the lion’s den, my advisor. I’d be a fool to go back in so soon.”
He blows out a long breath, but nods. “Very well. Tomorrow, then.”
“Sure.”
Gabriel doesn’t move.
I raise an eyebrow. “Is there something else?”
He shakes his head.
I flick my gaze from his face to the door, then back again. “Then you’re dismissed. No need to linger, Advisor. ”
His shoulders tense, but he nods and turns, leaving without another word.
I take a sip of my whisky and my mind drifts to picture Violet, her hair cascading over her shoulders, those eyes sparkling with mischief. My cock twitches, and I shift, suddenly aware of how fucking hard I am.
I imagine her lips, soft and full, whispering my name. Her hands sliding over my chest, tracing the contours of my body. I clench my jaw, suppressing a groan as I think about what those hands could do. What I could do to her .
I want to taste her, feel her warmth, hear her moans as I touch her. I let out a slow breath, my eyes closing as the fantasy takes hold. My cock strains against my pants, begging for release. Fuck, I need to see her. Now.
I sink back into my chair, releasing the air in my lungs until they burn before breathing in again.
And I keep doing it until I stop thinking of her.