Chapter 22
Her heart continues to beat in my palm as I am ripped from her dreamscape.
Nick stares at it in horror, his hand over his mouth, muffling a choked scream.
I did everything that Lussi told me to do—claim her body and then steal her heart.
Her soul would tear at the seams, allowing her to send the pieces back to those it was stolen from.
I fall to my knees, pressing her heart against my chest as my claws pierce my skin, the air in my lungs freezing over, and the room tilting.
The fire in the hearth blazes, leaping out and ready to dance as I cup her heart delicately in my hands, where it beats like a war drum, calling her home from battle.
The castle groans as the wind picks up, pulling the flames into the room as a portal opens nearby.
Nick stumbles back as Nicolette steps through before it swiftly closes behind her, sealing off whoever was on the other side.
She’s nearly translucent, her shiny red hair dulled, but her once-green eyes burn with fire, shining brightly.
Her face is streaked with tears as she looks at me, her gaze falling to the heart I now clutch in my hands.
She shifts her focus to Nick, placing her hand on her chest, with a soft blue glow illuminating between her fingers.
She closes the gap between them, stopping less than an arm's length away.
“This is for you,” she says lowly, her words devoid of emotion as she presses the ember of his battered soul to his chest. “Look at every memory and feel every emotion she ever had for you—the ones that drove her to madness. The ones she was willing to rip her own soul apart for. All for you.”
She roughly shoves her hand against him, causing him to stumble back before falling to his knees and clutching his chest, crying out in pain.
He releases sobs as a storm of emotions rages, raining down on him.
I hold my ground, protecting the heart in my hands as the roaring wind subsides and the electricity in the air fizzles out.
Nick heaves a deep breath, coughing and choking as he remains on the floor. He looks up with a pained expression, but with each blink, it begins to fade. “Nicolette,” he rasps, still clutching his chest. “Is she...”
“She’s no longer yours,” she says, her words ice cold. “Saint Nicholas is nothing more than a faded childhood fairytale—a vision that once sweetly danced in her head.” His head drops as she turns away.
Her gaze drops to the bleeding heart in my hands, its faint pulse echoing through the room. “My heart belongs to you now,” she says warmly. “It was always meant to be yours.”
I stare at her, the knot in my chest tightening as tears prick behind my eyes. I fall to my knees before her and raise the heart as an offering. “And mine belongs to you, Nicolette. If you’ll have it.”
She stares at me, her eyes bright like the fires of Hell—like mine. “Kryx,” she breathes. “What are you talking about? My heart is yours.” She looks around as if I would leave something so precious lying on the ground, as if I wouldn’t protect it with my life.
I hold my heart in my hand and tap my chest with the other. “My heart is yours, and yours is mine. We beat for each other until the end of eternity, little vixen. Two halves that will make us whole.”
She falls to her knees and extends her trembling hands.
I carefully place her heart into her awaiting palms as if it were a delicate baby bird.
A cool breeze flutters through the room, and her eyes widen, as if she's just been let in on a secret.
Gradually, she raises her hands to her chest, pressing my heart against it.
She gasps as a light, like a falling star, flashes between us.
The heart that was once mine no longer sits in her hands but beats wildly against her ribs, echoing as it settles into her.
She keeps her hands pressed to her chest as if she’s afraid it will escape.
With every beat, her firelit eyes burn brighter, her body solidifying again, no longer on the brink of disappearing forever.
I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close.
Her head rests against my chest, listening as our hearts beat in tandem—for one another.
My body thrums, and my veins heat up as the fire pulses through them.
Nicolette sacrificed her soul and gave her heart to the Demon of Christmas, becoming one herself.
She looks up at me, a smile pulling up the corners of her lips as her cheeks turn rosy. “Are you alright?” I ask, cupping her face in my hand and tilting it up further.
“I’m better than I’ve ever been,” she replies, her voice carrying a warmth I’ve never heard. “I’ve never felt this free.”
“This is everything I ever dreamed of, little vixen—in your dreamscape and mine,” I say as I kiss her forehead, breathing in her new scent of embers and vanilla.
She lets out a stifled laugh, emotion swirling in her once-sharp green eyes, now alight with a fiery glow. She gently holds my face and pulls it toward hers, her lips softly pressing into mine. “Mate,” she whispers, the sound sweeter than any song. “My very heart.”
I smile, feeling the urge to sink my teeth into her sweet flesh, causing my jaws to ache. That is, until Nick’s boots scuff against the floor as he stands. We turn to face him, his skin pale as he keeps clutching his chest, the glow finally faded, leaving his skin unmarred.
“I really did love her,” he says quietly, his voice pained as Nicolette stands, squaring her shoulders and looking him over with her molten eyes.
“And I hope in time, you can forgive me for the agony I caused her. I was naive to believe that my choices didn’t have any consequences for her and that we would be nothing more than two ships passing in the night. ”
Nicolette considers his words, giving him a nod.
“My mother is whole again. Now it’s time for you to fix what you broke with Clara.
She deserves your half-assed apologies more than I do.
Even if she did put my mother through Hell, two women shouldn’t have to suffer because of the actions of one pathetic man. ”
She turns and opens a portal, glances back at me, then steps through, holding it open just long enough for me to follow her to her cabin in the woods, leaving Nick all alone.
We stand in her living room, the golden-hour light filtering through the curtains, illuminating the room brightly and making her glow even brighter. She looks like an eternal flame with her red hair and bright ember eyes, my heart pounding wildly in her presence.
She scans the room, noting the pile of snow at the front door left open by Jack and the fire still burning in the hearth. She lets out an exasperated sigh, her gaze flicking to mine. “Where do we go from here?” she asks. “Or are we to be condemned to a cabin in the woods forever?”
I chuckle. “Only if you want to, but I have a home of my own... a castle, actually.”
Her eyes widen. “An entire fucking castle? And we’ve been here the whole time?” She gestures around the small cabin, frustration apparent on her face. “You’ve been holding out on me, Kryx,” she says with a giggle, playfully swatting at my arm.
I can’t help the laugh that escapes from my lips. “It’s at the North Pole, but it’s far enough away from Nick and Clara that they don’t bother to visit, and I highly doubt they ever will now.”
She looks around. “I’ll miss this place,” she says quietly, running her hand along the back of the couch. “But maybe it’s time to let it go.”
“Little vixen,” I say as she turns toward me, leaning in and wrapping her arms around my waist, pressing her cheek to my chest, “we can keep it for you. It doesn’t have to go anywhere.
Use it as an escape when the North Pole becomes too dreary, and you want to feel the sun on your face.
Experience the other seasons.” I tilt her face up and lean down, nipping at her ear. “Another place we can fuck.”
She plants her hands on my chest, playfully shoving me away. “You naughty demon,” she says with a chuckle as her eyes catch the pile of snow again. “But what about Jack Frost? What will happen to him?”
The mention of Jack softens my hardening cock, and I exhale sharply.
“I believe he will face serious consequences from Nick, and Clara will probably suffer as well.” I brush my knuckles across her cheek.
“But you are his daughter and my mate, so if you want to harden the punishment, I’m sure he will listen. ”
She shakes her head. “As fucked as it is to say, if it weren’t for his act of adultery and her act of envy, I wouldn’t be here... with you.”
As fucked as it is, she’s right. Fate knew what it was doing in bringing a demon like me—one who was born to inflict pain and suffering on the naughtiest humans—to someone like Nicolette, whose heart was almost as dark.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” She cocks her head to the side, studying my face.
My chest pounds as my primal side presses against my skin, making my mouth water as my desire for her takes hold.
“Your heart burns for me,” I say roughly.
“An eternal flame in my chest.” I rest my palm over the thundering heart that rattles her ribs.
“But that’s not the only thing that’s heating.
And now that you are a demon queen, I want your blood and your cum on my tongue, to see if they’re both still just as sweet. ”
Her eyes blaze, flames matching mine as she backs toward the front door, my instincts on high as I track her every move.
“You’ll have to catch me first.” She flashes a devious smile and turns, her legs carrying her out the door and dashing through the snow—sending a wild thrill through me as I give her a head start.