Page 60 of Gifted to the Frost King

We love each other and the family we’ve built with everything we have. After living through so much pain and heartache, we owe it to ourselves to enjoy each moment. What is life without love? I wouldn’t know—there is so much of it here I wonder if we will all drown in it one day.

A flurry of movement at the door catches my eye. I watch our other two children appear—our eldest, with his dark hair and sparkling blue eyes. Then, there is our soon-to-be middle child. With his curling white hair, he looks especially like his father today.

“We smelled cinnamon,” Jackson announces, claiming a plate of bread while Mama kisses his fair head. Jacks follows suit, devouring his slice in an instant.

“Save some for your aunt and uncle,” I gently remind them.

As if my words summoned them, Sophia appears with her elven husband at her side. Their matching blue eyes sparkle as they walk into the living room. Plume had met my sister when he came to work in Mama’s bakery. One thing had led to another, and well—their beautiful halfling daughter, Emmeline, floats into the library behind them.

Everyone takes a slice of the excellent bread, and my heart fills with joy. It overflows and spills from me. Tears prick my eyes as I look up at my mate—my everything.

“Thank you for choosing me,” I whisper so only he can hear. “My life is the better for it. There would be none of this without you.”

Sparkling tears glimmer in his eyes as he brushes a kiss against me.

“Thank you for breaking the curse—for seeing the male I could be and loving me through all of it. Without you, I’d have nothing.”

My hand rests on my stomach as I take in my family. Love wraps around each of us—tethering us with its golden thread.

“Together, we have everything,” I declare. “Forever.”

His hand settles atop mine, and I breathe in his pine scent.

“Forever,” he agrees.

Warmth pours from his body and into me. Our souls knit together, and I feel the completion only he can give me.

Our ever-lasting love is more powerful than any curse.

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