Chapter 17

T he ravenous wind tore at my hair and face, lashing against every bit of exposed skin it could find. I hated the sole remaining ice slipper that warmed my foot. They were wrong. Jack’s magic had chosen incorrectly. I didn’t love Stephen. We were friends, nothing more. I’d never resented a mage’s magic so much. It could have landed me in an unwanted marriage.

Every muscle screamed for relief as I pushed through the unyielding force of the blizzard, trying to find the dog yard in the blinding snow. My fur wrap fluttered like some tattered and useless flag, flapping wildly around me and making me struggle for balance. Snow drove down in sheets, a relentless curtain of white that swallowed the world around me and made it impossible to see the path ahead. I couldn’t even see the lighted windows of the castle anymore. How was I supposed to navigate my way across the castle to the dog yard if I couldn’t even tell where I was?

Shuddering from the cold and regretting my hasty flight, I turned back but to my dismay, couldn’t see anything. With each step forward the wind buffeted me two or three steps backward or to the side, disorienting me more than ever.

Fear clutching at my stomach, I tried to feel around for anything—a statue, a stone wall, a hedge—but found nothing. As I waved my hand, searching for anything to hold, the wind caught hold of my fur wrap and ripped it from my shoulders; it was gone within the second it took me to turn around.

“No!” I collapsed in the snow, arms wrapped uselessly around my shoulders, too numb with cold to go any farther. It didn’t matter if one of my feet was warm if the rest of me was frozen solid. If I couldn’t see, no one would be able to find me either. Stupid, stupid, stupid . I was going to freeze to death because I had been na?ve enough to think I could cross the castle’s courtyard during a whiteout. The longer I huddled in on myself, the fiercer the wind blew, until I was so cold I couldn’t think of anything else.

“Noelle!” The faint cry floated toward me, almost immediately snuffed out by the punishing gusts of wind.

I tried to find my voice to shout back, but each sound I attempted was swept away with the swirling snow. I squinted for the person who’d called me, but my vision was obscured by the frost that coated my eyelashes, and the cold bit through my dress as easily as if it’d been made of netting.

“Noelle!” It sounded like Jack, and he was getting closer. My heart leapt.

I struggled to sit up and did my best to call out to him, but each sound I made was closer to the noise a dying cat might have made and in no way resembled his name. Despite my inability to shout, a dark shape formed in the whiteness until the snow parted to reveal Jack. He held his ungloved hands outstretched, keeping the snow at bay as he ran toward me. “Noelle!”

I sank back down, energy spent. I was found.

For the first time since I’d known him, Jack looked truly angry. “What did you run away for?” he shouted, his voice loud enough to compete with the blizzard’s howling wind. “Didn’t you know it was dangerous?”

It proved impossible get my lips or jaw to work enough to give an answer. Frost coated my face, and each sharp breath burned painfully in my chest. Could this icy wind shred my lungs? It certainly felt that way.

“Whatever your reason, that was stupid,” he scolded. With a wave of his hand, a thick ice shelter rose around us, strong enough to block the wind. The domed ceiling was so low that I wouldn’t have been able to stand properly, but at least the wind was unable to sneak in and steal my breath. Stiffly, I did my best to rub my numb fingers together.

“You could have died!” Jack continued, glaring for all he was worth. “What if I hadn’t found you? People can freeze to death in less than an hour. If Stephen hadn’t found me and sent me after you…”

“I c-couldn’t marry S-Stephen. There was n-nothing left for me at the b-ball,” I stammered, still shuddering all over.

“What am I, chopped dog meat? I want you.” He didn’t look at me while he placed his hand on the snow that was almost knee deep. It instantly melted away, almost like it was being absorbed back into his palm. “I thought my feelings were clear.”

If I hadn’t feared that tears would have turned to shards of ice, I might have cried. “I didn’t w-want you to get into trouble. If p-people found out about us…”

“They already knew. We weren’t exactly hiding it very well. Besides, it’s legal now, or at least it will be in a few days, remember? There was no need to run away.” Once all the snow was gone from the inside of the shelter, Jack let out several long breaths and crouched next to where I was huddled.

“C-can you stop the blizzard?” If there was a break in the blizzard, we would be able to return to the castle and warm up.

Jack slowly shook his head. “I’m not that powerful. I can create snow and ice and make some disappear, but I can’t stop this much. Why did you run? I told you I would come and help you plead your case.”

“Stephen took me to see the king and queen and they were talking about marrying him. I got scared,” I admitted quietly. “I didn’t think.”

“That was obvious,” he grouched, then his tone softened. He hesitantly brushed his knuckles over my cheek. “Are you still cold?” The clear, icy blue of his eyes overpowered everything else and left me speechless. How could anyone ever look at him and not be rendered breathless?

“Only a….a lot,” I stammered, trying not to let my teeth chatter too badly or my breath escape in too ragged of a fashion.

“Here,” he offered, opening his coat and guiding my arms in to wrap around his warm chest. I fought against my shivering as best I could and failed spectacularly. I curled my numb fingers into the fabric of his shirt, burying my face against his chest as he wrapped the coat around my back, enclosing both of us in his warmth.

“Are you c-c-cold?” I stammered.

“I don’t get cold,” he firmly reminded me, tightening his arms around me. After a moment, he redoubled his hold on me, squeezing me so tightly I couldn’t breathe. “When I realized you were gone, I’ve never been more scared in my life.” His breath warmed my neck. “Don’t ever do that again.”

His body radiated heat in waves so intoxicating that I closed my eyes, the better to soak in the warmth. I breathed a sigh of relief and cuddled closer, burrowing against Jack and marveling at how perfectly we fit together. His fingers caressed my back, applying just enough pressure that I was kept locked into the coat with him. Secured against his chest, I felt safe. Jack would protect me from the blizzard. He would protect me against anything.

“This feels familiar,” Jack murmured.

“I don’t remember ever hunkering down in an ice house with you before,” I laughed shakily.

“No, but there was this one time when I was hiding in a closet with this beautiful woman. I was thinking of that.”

“How scandalous.”

“It was.” Several quiet moments passed as my shivering slowly subsided. “Why didn’t you stay?” Jack asked. This time, his voice was nearly a whisper. His warm, peppermint-scented breath was a welcome change from the frigid storm I’d been enduring.

“I don’t want to marry the prince,” I answered sleepily. The heat from Jack’s body was making me drowsy. “I don’t love him.”

“I know.” Jack’s comforting voice was the last thing I heard before I drifted off to sleep, but before I lost complete consciousness, I felt his lips press against my forehead.

I didn’t love the prince. I loved Jack. I loved him with my whole heart.

Jack held me all night long while I slept. He must have dozed off too, because when I awoke, we were curled together, wrapped in his coat as one. Jack’s back was against the ice wall he’d conjured, arms still wrapped tightly around me. The ice building had been sealed off completely, and without the snow on the ground, it felt surprisingly warm. I closed my eyes again and relaxed in Jack’s embrace, listening to his deep, steady breathing and wishing the moment would never end.

Slowly, the interior of the ice structure grew lighter. The sun must have risen, because the velvety darkness soon gave way to a thin, pale blue that made the ice appear translucent. Jack shifted, his arm tightening around my waist briefly before he let out a sleepy snuffle. I scrunched my eyes shut, clinging to the last moments of tranquility before he awoke.

“Are you still wearing the other ice slipper?”

His question wasn’t what I’d been expecting, and I looked down at where the lone slipper peeked out from beneath my gown.

“I…no,” I lied quickly, trying to surreptitiously kick it off beneath my skirts. If Jack discovered that they had turned warm for me… Breaking free from the warm embrace of Jack’s arms, I extracted myself from the coat then reached over and nudged the slipper away. “It’s been bothering me all night. It was so cold.”

Jack sat up and picked up the shoe, then stared at me. “It’s warm.” I couldn’t read his expression. Was he disappointed? Upset? From inside his jacket, he pulled out the other shoe. “Try them both on.”

I reluctantly slid my feet into the shoes. “They must have warmed up because their maker is here.” I held my breath, waiting to hear what Jack had to say .

“You love the prince,” Jack said in wonderment.

“No, I don’t!”

Jack met my eyes. “I think you do.”

“No, I don’t! I love you!”

There. The words that I’d so desperately wanted to speak were finally out in the open. They hovered in the air, drawing me to Jack. He had to know how strong my feelings were. “I love you, Jack,” I repeated, my hands rising to latch onto his face. My thumb stroked his jawline, and the brief contact acted as a catalyst, fanning my emotions into a bonfire. Unable to resist, I leaned in and brushed my lips against his. The second they touched, I knew one kiss wouldn’t be enough. I wanted so much more than a fleeting romance. I wanted a future with Jack.

He kissed me back, then pulled away and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Don’t you see, Noelle? I am a prince.”

I froze. “What? No, you’re not.” My brain had jammed, incapable of processing anything else.

“Only one who has feelings for a prince of this kingdom can wear the slippers without suffering frostbite.”

“But…you told me your mother died and your father left you.”

He shrugged apologetically. “That is the story I’ve been telling everyone my whole life, but it isn’t true. Stephen and I are twins.”

My mouth fell open. “But…people would have known.”

“Only the physician and the midwives knew, and my parents paid them handsomely to keep it a secret. With the laws the way they were at the time of my birth, they knew I could have been taken away. So instead, they put out the same story I told you, and everyone accepted it without question. My parents knew I’d never be accepted as a prince. They’ve worked hard to amend the laws to legalize magic since I was born, but the sentiment toward mages has been more difficult to change. It isn’t prudent for a nation to be governed by a leader whom no one trusts. It just made sense to have Stephen fill the role I could not.”

“But you said you were older than he is.”

“By seven and a half minutes, yes.”

Twins. Jack’s noticeably mage-like appearance had distracted from the other features that, now that I thought about it, did somewhat resemble Prince Stephen’s. They had similar eyebrow shapes, though Jack’s were white and therefore less visible than Stephen’s heavy black ones. They both had a dimple on the same place on their cheek and their heights were within an inch of the other.

“At least your parents never would’ve had any trouble telling you apart,” I joked, still in shock over the revelation.

“We have some familial resemblance, but we aren’t identical twins. One of us could’ve easily been a girl.”

“You’re a prince,” I said slowly, still unsure if I truly believed it.

“We planned to tell you last night. Stephen was supposed to bring you to my parents and I was going to do a grand reveal in front of you and the whole family, but it took longer than I expected to get the dogs put away, then you thought he was about to propose and ran away.”

I jabbed my finger into his chest. “In my defense, he certainly made it seem that way. If he’d wanted to keep me there, he could have just told me he wanted to hear about the school or something. I would have gladly stayed to talk about that.”

Jack laughed. “That would have been much more effective. If only he’d thought of that. He was in a full-on panic when he had to tell me that he’d scared you away. ”

“So you were planning a big announcement last night?”

“I was. My parents really are thrilled. The plan to find Stephen a bride doesn’t seem to have yielded much in terms of results for him, but at least it helped me find you.”

Jack melted the ice structure and I found that the storm had blown itself out. Looking around, I saw that I hadn’t gone nearly as far as I’d thought from the castle. If Jack and I had been able to see the night before, we could have easily returned, but we had both been so turned around that we also might have wandered for hours without touching anything. I could still see bits of the frozen lake through the trees, where naturally growing mistletoe was frosted with ice and snow.

“I love how everything looks after a blizzard,” Jack told me, staring around at the landscape. The castle, surprisingly close for how far it had felt the night before, was veiled in a soft blanket of snow, the stone walls and turrets dusted with white. Large icicles hung from the battlements, glinting in the pale blue light of the winter sun.

The delicate foliage in the courtyard was bowed under the weight of the recent snowfall, and a serene silence met my ears. Other than the occasional creak of the ice from the distant lake or the soft floomp of snow falling from one of the trees, the air was still. Each breath felt crisp and biting, and each exhale left a misty vapor in the cold.

“Thank you for saving me,” I told Jack, interlacing our fingers.

He grinned at me, then grazed his lips on my knuckles. “Let’s go tell my parents we’re safe.”