Page 10 of Jack Frost
"If it doesn't matter to you, fine." I shrug. "I guess this is goodbye."
"Is it though?" He winks.
"Yes. I told you we're flying out tomorrow. So good luck with your—supernatural war thing—that is somehow connected to the climate or the forest fires—" I bite my lip to keep from asking him an actual question. "Yeah. And thanks for—you know."
"For saving your life?"
"You make it sound so dramatic. You just gave me a lift out of your ice cave after I fell into it."
"Ice cave?" He presses one hand to his heart. "Now I'm hurt. Only a heartless harpy would call my carefully-designed, aesthetically perfect ice castle acave."
A twist of hot anger spirals through my chest. "Nice move, calling me a 'heartless harpy.' Now I'm even less interested in anything you have to say, or anything you do." I kick the couch as I stalk past it. Not a good idea, kicking solid ice. I keep my face impassive while I squeal inwardly at the pain. My boots protected me from the worst of the impact, but it still hurt.
"Ouch." There's an insufferable smile in Jack's voice. "See you around, Emery."
"You won't," I snap.
It's a relief, knowing I'll never encounter him again. The last thing I need is a cocky magical asshole messing with my head.
The first leg of the trip home is a helicopter ride. Then there's a voyage by boat, followed by a flight to the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. At last I'm on my flight from Paris, France to Charlotte, North Carolina. A two-hour drive to Asheville will bring me home to my little fifth-floor apartment. My own bed. God, I've missed it.
The seats on both sides of me are empty, but I keep my cloth mask on anyway—a precaution I take while traveling.
"I don't get sick, you know. It's a perk of being me."
My entire body jerks with shock, because Jack just appeared in the aisle seat beside me.
"Where did you come from?" I exclaim, way too loudly for our surroundings. As the words leave my mouth, I meet the eyes of the woman across the aisle from me. She gives me a suspicious glare and turns pointedly away.
I face straight in my seat and unlock my phone, typing a quick message which I then tilt toward Jack. "No one else can see you or hear you right now, can they?"
"No. You're special, remember?" He kisses his fingertips to me. "I can make myself visible, tangible, and audible if I want to—more normal-looking. I call it my human aspect. In human form, I can walk around cities and live like a normal person. But when I'm in stealth mode like this, only someone blessed with True Sight can perceive me."
"Blessed, or cursed?" I mutter. The woman across the aisle side-eyes me again. I need to shut up before she calls the attendant.
Jack reaches up and touches my hair lightly. "You're nearly as blond as me. I like this style. Short and fun. Like a Peter Pan cut, or something."
"It's called a pixie cut and why the HELL are you here?" I type into my phone.
"To hang out?" He smiles happily. Why are airplane seats so close together? His shoulder is brushing mine, and those blue eyes are overwhelming. He's wearing a cozy-looking sweater and dark jeans. If it weren't for the white hair, the feral smile, and the knife-sharp ears, he would look like your typical, average, run-of-the-mill male cover model.
"You're here. To. Hang. Out." I type furiously, hoping the glare I'm giving him translates over the top edge of my mask.
"I don't know, I just—I feel good after I talk to you. Happier. Stronger."
"Well, I don't feel happier. I feel very very unhappy right now. You were supposed to stay in Antarctica where you belong."
"Oh, you think I live there all the time? Not at all. I have a few homes, all over the world. And my work takes me literally everywhere—usually to the 'hot spots,' so to speak, but I can go anywhere I want."
"You have a family? Friends?"
"A handful of necessary acquaintances. I've only been in this role for a couple hundred years, and I've been fighting the Horae pretty much non-stop since I started, so that doesn't leave much time for socializing."
Frowning, I type more words. "The whore who?"
"No, theHorae. Beings from Greek mythology?"
I shake my head and type, "I never liked the old classic stuff. I usually read non-fiction. Sometimes a contemporary romance or web comic for fun."
