Page 19 of Our Dark Winter Wish

‘You’ll have to wait and see. But I think you’ll like it.’ She rests her hand softly over my crotch and stands on her tiptoes. ‘Very. Very much.’

She grips me. I lose my balance. And we fall onto the ice in a heap, her body landing on mine as she lets out a beautiful giggle.

We skate for hours and eat our picnic under snowfall. When the sun starts to set, we head back home and gather around the fire to warm ourselves.

Dorian reads in his armchair. Archie is in his wolf form on the floor by the fire, curled around Pixie. The pair are fast asleep. Her face is lost in the length of his fur, and her head rises and falls as he breathes.

My pencil sweeps across the parchment, and it’s peaceful in every sense of the word.

Until the walls start to groan.

Dorian and I both look up at the ceiling. The vines that cover it slowly turn black. The leaves rot and die, replaced with protruding thorns growing inches in length.

We slowly look to Pixie. Her eyes dance behind her lids, and her breathing has become jagged and sharp.

The house shifts, and the wall of bark cracks.

We’re both up and on our feet in a second.

‘Shaw…’

‘I’m on it,’ I reply.

With an exhale, I slip into the dream world, finding her nightmares quickly.

Blood. There’s nothing but a sea of blood and black mountains. The endless ocean holds endless souls, all clawing at it in desperation, trying hard to reach the shore.

Pixie stands at the shoreline, her feet in the wash as blood laps on the black sand.

She reaches out to those souls. To the damned.

Chains shoot up from beneath her and wrap around her body. Her screams as they start to drag her into the sea are filled with terror.

I run towards her as she claws at the sand. She sees me and screams for me.

‘SHAW!’ she cries as those chains pull her into the sea. ‘SHAW HELP ME!’

I leap to reach her, but she slips through my fingers and is dragged into the sea of blood.

Seconds later, before I have even stood up, the sea explodes and out comes a giant form of my Pixie. There is a chain around her throat and manacles around her wrists as she screams in rage and fear.

The souls come for her.

For their new blood goddess here in hell, trapped and confined to be used by blood witches for her power.

Her gaze lands on me. And there is such malice in them. My Pixie isn’t in there. None of the goodness. The kindness. The forgiveness.

She is evil incarnate.

Her hand reaches out for me, ready to crush and kill me.

I wave my hand, taking control of this nightmare of hers.

Hell fades. A beach replaces it. A wintery shore of snow and ice with a sky full of silver stars that shimmer and shine. The moon is full, and the air is warm.

She enjoys the snow. But she likes the warm, too. The great thing about controlling her dreams is that I can give her the impossible.

Pixie falls to the floor and screams, clutching her heart as she expels it all into the world I have given her.

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