26. Dove

26

DOVE

T he cold is what wakes me up.

Someone must’ve forgotten to stoke the fire. Opening my eyes, I forget that I’m not in my room. Then, the memories of last night come roaring back as I feel the luxurious soreness in my muscles. My face heats at the pleasure Frosty pulled from my body.

I don’t hear him breathing beside me, and the side of the bed feels too cold. Sunlight streams in from the windows. Did he go somewhere? Maybe he’s checking on Glimmer. With a start I sit up, remembering my dear friend.

Something heavy pulls against the sheets resting against my chest when I do. Glancing to the side, my whole world shatters in an instant. Denial pierces through me at what I’m seeing. No. No. No .

This can’t be right—it can’t be happening.

A scream rips from my lungs as I stare at Frosty’s unmoving face. His whole body is ice, like the elves we saw in town. He’s curled towards me on the bed. His hands are outstretched as if he can capture me one last time. There is such love radiating from his unseeing eyes.

“Wake up!” I yell. “Please, wake up!”

Heartbreak erupts inside me, and tears spill down my cheeks. Why didn’t I tell him I loved him? Why didn’t I try harder to break this curse sooner? Now, I have lost him—my mate. He has been stolen from me forever. If I cannot have him and our family I glimpsed at the frozen lake, then I don’t want one.

“Don’t leave me. I just found you.”

My fingers touch his icy skin as sobs wrack my body. I remember every touch and every smile. The kindness he showed me, and the remorse for the male he had been. His heart was changed—how was that not enough to spare him?

I press my forehead against his. He was so alive last night. How could he possibly have turned into?—

“He used the last of his magic to save me,” a soft voice calls from the corner of the room.

Glimmer buzzes there on her gossamer wings. Her blue skin is rich, and her eyes glow brightly. I glance down at the King and back up to my friend. Tears blur my vision.

“There has to be something—this can’t be the end. Not after we only had one night together.”

The snow fairy dims, and sadness settles over her features. In the morning light, something is different about Glimmer. Her eyes, which always seemed childlike, are more mature. They regard me with unyielding certainty.

“He would’ve had more time if he chose not to save me—he would’ve broken the curse.” Glimmer shakes her head. “After all this time, he finally found you, only for it not to matter. I never intended for it to end this way.”

My mouth goes dry.

“Glimmer?”

The snow fairy doesn’t answer. She merely buzzes towards me on her wings. She glows brightly, nearly scorching my eyes. I watch her glittering form grow and sparkle as she approaches. Magic dances in the air and swirls around me. Glimmer’s small body gives away to another form—her true form.

The light dissipates, and standing before me is a figure I’d recognize anywhere. The sorceress. Her blue eyes sparkle with knowing. She glances at the Frost King, and I want to snarl. It was her curse that made him like this—that robbed us both of our future.

“I know you must be angry with me,” she says softly. “Allow me to show you the truth before you do anything rash.”

I swallow and stay perfectly still as Glimmer—the sorceress—touches my forehead. I’m sucked down deep into the familiar depths of a memory. The glittering ball from the night the curse was laid comes into view. I stand beside the sorceress as a bound Frost King kneels at our feet. I watch her lean down and press her lips against his ear.

“You will find your mate—oh yes, I see it now,” she whispers. “She will be beautiful. Can’t you see?”

The second vision I had at the lake swirls around us. My elven self and the Frost King sit on the loveseat surrounded by our child while his hand rests on my stomach. The Frost King’s eyes flash, but the sorceress merely chuckles.

“If you succeed in making her fall in love with you, the moment she says the words, all your memories shall return. You will remember the key to setting yourself free. All she needs to do is utter your name, and my curse will be lifted. The name you have blighted with your ignorance and selfishness will be your last hope for salvation.” A cruel smile curls her lips. “But she will not be coming for some time, young king. She will be born a human and left to wither in their frozen wastes. You will search the lands for her each year. I hope for your sake that she turns up before five centuries come to pass. If the curse is not broken by then, you will join all the others in their icy prisons.”

His skin turns pale, and he sags to the floor.

My heart flops in my chest as I watch her slam the crown down on his head again. Blighting his memory and making the curse impossible to solve. I’m slammed back into my body as I lie beside a frozen Frost King on the bed. Anguish burns through me as I stare up at the sorceress.

“He had to be punished for what he did. The Crystal Egg was not just a relic but a conduit of the snow fairies’s power. They had suffered once he became king, and as their protector, it was my job to punish him for what he did.” Her lips curl down. “But I am not cruel.”

I scoff. “You gave him an impossible task.”

The sorceress purses her lips.

“Difficult? Yes. Impossible? No.” She waves a hand. “I knew he would find you—knew it would happen nearly five centuries after he was cursed. It may seem far-reaching to you, but I was a mother motivated by the love of her children. I had to ensure the one who hurt them was properly dealt with.”

“I watched him as Glimmer for centuries. In the beginning, his memories had not yet begun to fade. There was time for him to return to the egg—to ask Glimmer for forgiveness after stealing from her people, but he never did. He only continued treating her like a pest until he forgot why he had disdain for the snow fairies entirely. If he had shown remorse, I would’ve put you on his path sooner, but it was clear he still had much to learn.”

I sigh and look down at Frosty’s still form.

“When he finally lost the memory of who he was, I knew there was a chance for him to start over. He befriended Glimmer, all the while ignorant of what he had done. Then he found you, just like I knew he would. When the memories of the past started to reveal themselves to you, I watched him show regret over his actions. He returned the egg and apologized to Glimmer. From how you two looked at each other, I knew he would break the curse in the nick of time.”

Her shoulders sag.

“The only thing I didn’t see coming was the storm. If he hadn’t saved us, I would have perished in Glimmer’s body.” Blue eyes burn brightly. “You truly changed his heart and turned him into a male worth forgiving—a male who would forsake eternity with his mate to save the smallest member of his kingdom. That is a male worthy of mercy, so I am giving you this final act of kindness.”

The sorceress waves a delicate hand, and magic coats my skin. A cold wind causes my ears to ache, and I cry out. Reaching up to touch them, I recoil at the feeling of delicate points. My sight has vastly improved, and I can see myself reflected in the polished stone wall. It is me from the vision—an elf.

“This is how you were always supposed to be. I took great measures to hide you amongst the humans. You’ve lived countless lives, Dove.”

The world around me tilts.

It’s as if I can see them play out before me. Sometimes, I was born rich, and sometimes, my family struggled as the one I’m with now does. All of them ended the same way. With me alone until I succumbed to old age. I’ve been cursed for just as long as Frosty.

“Save your anger and enjoy your future,” the sorceress says, touching my cheek. “Say his name and break this curse.”

A laugh puffs out of me.

I'm more irate than I ever have been in my life. The rage at what I’ve just learned—the lives filled with loneliness I’ve been forced to endure because of this sorceress. All of it boils out of me. My vision blurs with it as I bare my teeth.

“Your curse worked too well, sorceress. He forgot his name long before he ever met me.” I huff a humorless laugh. “There’s no way for me to break it.”

The sorceress’s eyes glow.

“Just because he may have forgotten it doesn’t mean you never learned it.”

“If I hear one more fucking riddle, I’m going to?—”

A breeze surrounds me, and my snowflake blazes hotly to life. I grip it in my hand to keep it from burning my skin. It pulses against my palm, demanding my attention. The wind around me kicks up again, only this time with a distinct scent of magic.

“ Let us show you ,” a voice whispers in my ear. “ Open your heart to us and feel. ”

Taking a steadying deep breath, I grip the snowflake and let go. Warmth envelopes me in a hug, and I’m shifted into another memory. It swims up from the murky dark as I stand in an empty room save for two marble statues. It is of a male and female, wearing circlets around their heads. Their hands are carved together.

On the floor before them is the Frost King, the silver crown glinting on his head as he pleads at the feet of the statues. Tears run down his cheeks, and my heart gives a painful squeeze.

“Please, mother and father, help guide my mate once I find her. I fear I will have forgotten what I need to do by the time she comes. I have left a clue for her queen’s rooms through the hidden passageway. If only you would help guide her to what I’ve left there—even now, I can’t remember. It’s all beginning to blur.” He shakes his head, and more tears spill over his cheeks. “ The truth is buried deep. When the moon is high, the three stars will guide you to the key. ”

From behind the statues, two figures appear—ghostly and pale. It is his father—the older male from the other memories—and his gorgeous mother. Their matching white hair is long, and their faces are pinched with grief as they stare down at their son. Their eyes lock with mine and glow brightly.

“ See ,” they say in unison.

I am pulled through another memory. This time, it is an amalgamation of every one I’ve seen while being here. Only now everything has been revealed to me. That first night I spent in my room, his father's ghost made the rock glow under my window. His mother was urging me down the corridor with a gentle breeze. They summoned the old door and placed the necklace in my path.

They were in the room with egg, looking disappointed in their son. They guided me through the corridor and the storm. His mother had been the one lifting my necklace last night to guide me toward the King to save Glimmer. They were there at every turn.

“ Remember what you saw. Save our son ,” their voices whisper in unison.

I try to shuffle through the memories of everything I’ve witnessed since getting here—they play over and over in my mind. The first vision, in particular, sticks out. Did his father say his name? I don’t think he did. There’s something else tickling the edges of my mind. A small wooden chest rests in the corner of the room. It was the same one in the second vision, only that time a sheet had covered it.

When I first glimpsed it, I thought it had been covered in symbols, but as my memory plays it back, I realize it hadn’t been symbols at all. It had letters strewn together to make a name.

A name my beloved Frost King taught me to spell.

With a gasp, my eyes fly open. I grasp his frozen face, not caring about the biting cold stinging my skin.

“Jack,” I whisper. “Jack, please wake up.”

There’s a stillness to the room for a moment before everything erupts. Ice cracks from his skin and melts in an instant. The silver crown shakes before splitting in two and sliding from his head. Power pulses against my palms as more cracking echoes around the room.

Finally, his warm, blue skin meets my fingers. A harsh breath leaves his lungs. Tears flood my eyes as I watch his flare to life before settling on my face. His hands cup the back of my head.

“Dove,” he whispers. “My mate—my love.”

A sob gets lodged in my throat as I throw myself down on him. His arms wrap around my back as we hold each other on the bed. His hard muscles cradle every one of my soft curves. I sob into his neck. All the anger I felt towards the sorceress melts away, and only happiness and love radiates from me.

I won’t let myself get bogged down by thoughts of revenge. Not when I have Frosty—Jack—in my arms and my perfect future laid out before me.

A soft throat clearing has us both looking towards the end of the bed. She looms there, glowing with her unnatural power. Her eyes are severe, but I see a slight curl to her lips.

“You did well, young king. Any lesson worth learning is always difficult.”

I glance at Jack, watching a million emotions flood his eyes. His gaze meets mine, and he pulls me deeper into his chest. I get the feeling that we both can’t be burdened with thoughts of retribution.

“I’ve learned my lesson, sorceress. I will be a better king with my mate at my side.”

The sorceress's face twists into a grin.

“Excellent,” she whispers before disappearing into a glittering breeze of fairy dust.

Jack rises from the bed with me still locked in his arms. Finally alone—and very naked, I’m realizing—the air around us turns heavy. His hand reaches up and traces over the curve of my ear. A delicious shiver runs through me, and Jack smiles.

“There are so many things I want to say to you,” he admits. “Paramount among them is that I love you.”

Tears burn in my eyes.

“I love you, too.”

His mouth finds mine, and it feels like our first kiss. Our souls seal themselves together as our hearts beat as one. His hand slides down my back, groaning as he cups one cheek of my ass in his large palm. A demanding hardness presses against my stomach, and I wiggle against it. He growls into my mouth as his tongue dances with mine.

“Need you,” he groans.

I open my mouth to respond when voices begin rising from the hall. Jack sighs before giving me one last squeeze and shifting away.

“All of that will have to wait. Hundreds of confused frost elves are waking up from a five-hundred-year nap that I should attend to.”

“That’s probably a good idea.”

His eyes rove over my naked body. “Once they are handled, you aren’t leaving this room for at least a week.”

I chuckle and playfully smack at his arm. He pulls me from the bed and lays another devastating kiss on me.

“You should come with me—you're their queen now, after all.”

Apprehension threatens to overwhelm me, but it quickly dissipates. There is nothing I can’t face when Jack is by my side. My lips curl into a grin.

“Breaking a curse and gaining a royal title in one day?” I shake my head. “Life moves quickly in your kingdom.”

“ Our kingdom,” he gently corrects with a wicked grin. “I promise tonight will be deliciously slow as I make up for our lost time together.”

A hot shiver runs through me.

“I’ll hold you to that, Jack,” I say.

Now it is his turn to shiver, his eyes falling shut.

“Say it again.”

“Hmm?”

“My name,” he pleads. “Say it again.”

Reaching up, I place my lips at his ear.

“Jack,” I whisper. “Jack.”

“You are a devious temptation,” he groans. “I need to find you some clothes before I give into my basic nature and fuck you senseless. I promised to be a good king.”

“Then we’d better not keep our people waiting.”

With a wave of his hand, we are dressed in matching royal apparel. My light blue dress is adorned with a fur trim, highlighting the snowflake around my neck. Jack’s pants and shirt are made of the same blue material with a silver thread trim.

He extends his hand towards me, and I grasp it. Together, we take our first step towards our shared future.