Page 39 of Frost
Warmth coils through my chest and gathers low in my stomach, chasing away the prickling of anxiety. Comfort. Safety. It’s what I felt nineteen years ago when soaring with him through the air.
I open my eyes to an endless night sky shining with stars, like diamonds caught in a large net. Below us are treetops, snowy hills, and forest as far as the eye can see.
“Jack, it’s…” My breath hitches in my throat. With exhilaration. With awe. “It’s beautiful.”
He releases a small laugh and grips me tighter, resting the side of his face on my back. “It’s just a glimpse of my world. When I’m soaring through the sky like this, feeling the wind blow through my hair, I feel…”
“Alive,” I say.
He nods. “Yes.” It’s hard to know for sure because of my thick coat, but it feels like he kisses the top of my shoulder. “I’m usually alone, though.”
“You don’t ride Págos?”
“Sometimes, I do. If I’m traveling far, we fly together. Mostly I fly beside him.”
“So you don’t view him as a pet?”
“Gods, no,” Jack answers. “He is, and always has been, my companion. My closest friend.”
The snowy world below us looks like a dream as we soar high above it. Now that my eyes are open, I’m not closing them again. We fly for a while, and I take in the sights, no longer afraid. I see why Jack loves flying so much. It’s pretty damn magical.
As Págos makes a slight decline toward the ground, Jack grips my waist and keeps me from sliding forward. The action seems impulsive, as if taking care of me is second nature to him. In a way, that’s true. He’s always watched over me, appearing in the nick of time to save my life not once, but twice.
He’s saved me in other ways too. He’s made me believe in magic. In love.
Págos takes us to a clearing surrounded by evergreen trees on one side and a rocky hill on the other. In the center is a frozen pond. Before reaching the ground, he heavily flaps his wings to slow our speed even more, and then his hooves touch the snow. Jack slides off the horse first before grabbing my hand and helping me off too.
My legs are a little stiff—and my ass is numb—but it gets better as Jack leads me through the snow and to the edge of the pond.
“What are you doing?” I ask as he steps onto the icy surface.
He smiles as he gently pulls me with him. “Haven’t you mortals ever heard of ice skating?”
“Jack, no,” I say, trying to plant my feet in the snowy grass, to no avail. My boots touch the pond, and then I’m on top of it.
“Didn’t you say you played hockey, little light? This is much easier.”
“Yeah, but it’s been forever since I’ve skated and I’m out of practice. I’m gonna fall and bust my ass.”
“I won’t let you.” Jack slides up behind me and wraps one arm around my waist while linking our fingers with the other.
“If you say so.” My skin tingles from his proximity, and I turn my head to the side, touching my cheek to his. “Wait. What if the ice is too thin and we fall through?”
“You forget who you’re talking to, silly mortal. Do you think I’d let that happen?”
I smile. “No.”
Jack moves us forward on the frozen pond, and even though my boots are clunky and I’m far from graceful, with his help we manage to skate a lap, then another. I laugh as he spins me outward from him, keeping hold of my hand, and then he tugs me back to his chest.
Jack presses a kiss to my nape and tightens the arm around my waist.
A pang goes through my heart at the intimacy and tenderness of the moment. I drag in a shaky breath and try—again—not to think about the future, of what might happen in two days when I leave.
I’m pulled from my thoughts when he whirls me around to face him and grips my lower back to steady me.
“I wanted to see you,” Jack whispers before leaning forward to nuzzle my nose with his. Where mine’s ice-cold, his remains warm. His pale blue eyes faintly glow in the moonlight, as do the snowflake designs on his skin.
“Beautiful,” I say, sliding my hand up the side of his neck and to his cheek.
