Chapter 14
Istand firm between Nicolette and the door, watching as it rattles on its hinges, the bitter cold seeping through the cracks.
The air shifts as I try to light the fire, snuffing out every attempt.
While there are plenty of people who would seek revenge for Nicolette's crimes, no mortal is out there.
No one would be foolish enough to come this far out in a blizzard like this, and we are deep into the night, hours from dawn, giving the monsters a chance to emerge.
I take a step toward the door, but she grips my arm. “Kryx,” she whispers, fear tinging my name. “Wait.”
I glance at her over my shoulder, pressing my finger to my lips, hoping she can see me through the dark and step away.
I sneak through the cabin, careful to keep my hooves quiet as I approach the door.
I catch a glimpse of someone outside and lean closer for a better look, the glass covered in a thick frost.
Fuck.
I look back at Nicolette, motioning for her to hide as her eyes widen. She turns and rushes into her bedroom, leaving the door wide open. I open my mouth to protest, but hear the soft click of her closet door as she shuts herself inside.
Taking a deep breath, I curl my fingers around the door handle, the cold immediately seeping into my skin, causing steam to rise from between my fingers.
I yank open the door and wrap my clawed hands around the neck of the man on the other side, throwing him into the snow.
I launch myself out the door, landing on the ice with a loud crunch.
My fiery rage pulses through me, heating me and causing the snowflakes to sizzle on my skin as I look down at the last motherfucker I would ever allow near Nicolette.
Jack fucking Frost.
“Hello, Krampus,” he says slyly, voice edged with menace, as I tighten my grip on his throat.
I straddle him and lean forward, meeting his gaze and baring my teeth. “What the fuck are you doing here, Jack?”
He grins a Cheshire smile, his blue-tinted lips stretching ear to ear. “Nick wanted me to see where you’ve been disappearing to lately, and I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty fucking curious myself.”
I tighten my grip on his throat, allowing my claws to sink into his snow-pale skin until his once-crimson blood bleeds as blue as an icy sea. “I don’t believe for a second that Nick sent you. What do you fucking want, Jack?”
He lies in the snow as the arctic wind howls around us, assaulting my exposed skin that even my hellfire blood can’t entirely fend off.
It curls around my arms, trying to pull me away from him.
He traded his soul to become Nick’s malevolent guardian, wielding ice and snow as his weapons, but he will never be stronger than me.
I was born a demon, with the darkness of Hell ingrained in every cell of my being.
His command over winter weather is strong, but he has no chance against me.
I summon my own power, shadows curling around him like a cocoon as I pull my hand away, slicing his skin.
His smile falters, and his eyes go wide as they lock him in tight, cutting off his magic and forcing him into a deep sleep.
The blizzard winds around us roar, the storm a monster of its own, as my shadows tighten their hold like a vise, keeping him exactly where I want him.
As my eyes flutter shut, I step into his dreamscape.
The icy tundra he has created in his mind is a vast white landscape, scattered with a few holly bushes, and a distant forest of snowcapped evergreens swaying in the wind.
I turn to see Jack sitting on a throne of glassy ice in the middle of the valley, with streams of frigid-blue water winding around it.
He watches me, his pale blue eyes darkening as I approach.
“You’re a fucking coward,” he growls. “You can’t even face me in the real world?
You have to force yourself into my dreams to do what?
Teach me a lesson?” Branches snap around him, Nightmares lurking in the woodland that surrounds us, waiting for the right moment to overtake him and drown him in his own fears.
“Nick would never send you to check on me, so tell me, Jack, why the fuck are you here?” I growl. His eyes widen slightly as my shadows rise behind me in a silhouette of wings, flapping wide and sending a swirl of snow and wind around him.
He shifts in his throne, swinging his legs over the armrest as he lets out an exasperated breath.
“Because, Krampus, you’ve been spending way too long in this neck of the woods.
” He chuckles at his failed attempt at a joke.
“And I intend to see what has taken your attention away from the work you seem to love so much. Is it a pet, perhaps?”
My shadows curl past me and strike, yanking him up into a sitting position and binding him to the chair.
My whips crack through the air as they appear in my hands, ready to deliver a well-deserved lashing as I take a step toward him.
But instead of cowering in fear, he looks at me with a heated gaze, as if this is playing out like a dark fantasy.
“I could smell their desire from a mile away and watch it rise like steam through the cracks of the cabin. If you’re trying to be discreet, you’re doing a terrible job.
What would Nick think if he knew you were playing with a broken toy?
One that he would love to bring back to his workshop?
” His tone is cold and cruel, and I can see the cogs in his mind turning as he attempts to outsmart me.
My rage pulses, shaking the ground and sending a crack through his throne.
Shadows pull him from his seat and bring him to his knees at my feet.
Chains replace them as they turn him away, anchoring him to the ground.
He looks over his shoulder, his eyes filled with rage, baring his teeth.
I flick my wrist, and my whips crack against his icy skin, shredding it.
His screams echo through the valley, shaking the snow from the pines around us.
The Nightmares back away, retreating into the darkness as they realize who the real monster is tonight.
His blue blood drips down his body and pools beneath my hooves, crystallizing in the snow.
I reach down and grip his hair, yanking his head back and forcing him to look up at me.
“You’re going to stay out of my business and far the fuck away from anyone on my list. You’ve crossed the line, and next time, I won’t be so fucking nice. ”
“I’ll fucking tell Nick,” he growls as he takes in sharp breaths through his nose, pain swirling in his eyes. “I’ll tell him all about your little toy, and he’ll make sure to take them for himself. And you know he loves to break things.”
Leaning down, I snap my teeth in his face, causing him to flinch.
Pathetic. “You seem to forget who’s a demon and who isn’t,” I say coolly, my breath clouding between us.
“And the only reason you’re still breathing is because you let Nick sink his dick into you, and I’m not about to take that pleasure away from my oldest friend. ”
I lean closer and lower my voice further. “But if I find out you were anywhere near this cabin again, I will find you and break you. Then, I’ll find someone shiny and new for Nick, and you will be forgotten—nothing more than a cheap throwaway. A stocking stuffer.”
I release his hair, and he slumps forward into the snow, groaning in pain. “This isn’t over, Krampus,” he spits without even bothering to look back at me as he slowly crawls toward his throne. “You'd better watch out.”
I step back and watch as he loses consciousness, falling face-first. I turn around, catching a glimpse of the lone Nightmare staring back at me from the tree line, waiting patiently for me to leave.
I give it a nod as I tear open a door and step out of Jack’s mind, leaving the Nightmare to its feast.
The warmth of the fire seeps into my skin as I step back into the cabin, the only sound the clicking of my hooves against the hardwood.
“Nicolette?” I call out her name, but she doesn’t answer.
Panic rises in my veins, and I send out my shadows, having them search every corner of her home.
Jack is a trickster, and he could have easily used himself as a distraction for something else to come in and take her, stealing what’s mine.
I burst into her bedroom, the door flying open and the handle nearly lodging itself as it bangs against the wall. I flip the light switch, and a lamp in the corner turns on as the fire in the wood burner crackles. Everything seems in its place, with the closet door still closed.
I grip the knob, turning it slowly, then pull open the door, the hinges quietly squeaking. It’s dark, the rod filled with clothes for every season. I crouch down carefully and catch sight of a pair of long legs, shifting and pulling in closer to the body attached.
The panic in my chest fades, replaced with a flicker of amusement as I part the clothes, revealing Nicolette. Her eyes are wide as she examines me, terror still lingering on her face. “Kryx,” she breathes, her muscles easing.
“Little vixen, why are you still hiding? I called for you,” I say softly, holding out my hand, but she doesn’t reach for it; instead, she pulls her robe tighter around herself.
“I thought it might be a trap,” she whispers, her gaze shifting past my head as if she’s expecting someone else to be there. For Jack. “Who was that at the door? What happened?”
I growl as her fear floods my senses, weighing heavily on my skin.
I should have slayed the bastard when I had the chance.
But then I’d have to explain to Nick why I slaughtered his little spy, and I’m not sure how he would respond.
Plus, it could put Nicolette in even greater danger, and I’m not willing to risk her over a pathetic guardian.