Page 73 of Winter's Scorching Kisses
“Well, I was dropped in the snow, and the cold surrounded me. I thought I was going to die.” Jasmine shivered as her hazel eyes took on a haunted note. “I never thought I would be lucky enough to have someone come to my rescue.”
“Thankfully, Dryden wandered across me. He found me there in the snowy mountains and took pity on me because he knew I wouldn’t survive. I made his life a bit more difficult, but eventually, I learned to trust him and told him about Lord Gothar’s plan for you.”
Adorra’s hands fidgeted in her lap, and she felt her palms begin to sweat because she knew they were about to get to the part of the story she was dreading.
“I asked him for help, but Dryden had no idea how he could help me. That’s when I came up with an idea, and together we devised a way to get Lord Gothar out of your life before he could bring any harm to you.”
“Are you trying to blame Lord Gothar for these turn of events? For his own death?” Adorra scowled at her sister.
“Haven’t you heard a single word I’ve said to you?” Jasmine asked.
“I have.”
“Then how you can you believe he was an innocent man? He planned on killing you.”
“According to you.” Adorra wanted to believe her sister, but she couldn’t see Edmund doing something like that. He was such a sweet man, always seeing to her needs. “What if you were wrong?”
“Wrong?!” Jasmine looked flabbergasted. “I know what I heard. Not only did he attempt to kill me, but I heard him plan your death.”
“You’d been drugged and left out in the cold. Maybe your memory is wrong. This could have been done by just Keir with no involvement from Edmund.”
“Adorra, I know what I saw and heard. Lord Gothar was there. It wasn’t just Keir.”
“I want to believe you Jasmine, but I knew him.” Adorra shook her head as she leaned away from her sister.
“Adorra, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I’m so thankful for that. I may have had to endure some things that seemed horrible at the time, but if I hadn’t been there, you wouldn’t be standing here now.” Unshed tears sparkled in Jasmine’s eyes as she pleaded with Adorra to believe her.
“And Edmund’s death? I suspected it was an ice giant, but you haven’t said.” She felt a lump stick in her throat as she waited for Jasmine’s answer.
“I know.” Jasmine sucked in a long breath and then continued. “I asked, no, I begged Dryden to save you. I had fallen for him, but I couldn’t stay with him without knowing you were safe. So I begged him to make sure you were safe. Dryden only had one warrior he could send to the manor that would be able to get in and out without anyone noticing.”
“Mathar.” Adorra breathed his name hoping her sister would tell her she was wrong and that Mathar was innocent.
“Yes.” Jasmine closed her eyes. “We sent Mathar to take care of Lord Gothar.”
Adorra raised a hand to her mouth as a sob overtook her. Take care of Lord Gothar. All the memories of that night rushed back, but this time the shadow had a face, the face of Mathar stared back at her. “No!” She cried out. She had been giving herself to an ice giant who killed her husband. It had to be a sin!
She was more upset about Mathar than her husband’s death. He’d been with her for how long, knowing he was the killer, but never telling her. Even when she’d accused him of being her husband’s killer he hadn’t said a word. And that would have been the perfect opportunity for him to come clean to her.
“You need time. I understand.” Jasmine placed a hand on her thigh, but Adorra quickly shifted on her chair, pulling away from her sister’s touch.
“No,” Adorra whispered, “No, you don’t understand.”
They sat there in silence and watched the crackling fire. Neither of them knew what to say to the other. They loved each other, but Jasmine had ordered the execution of Adorra’s husband.
Why couldn’t life be simple? Anything that could go wrong was going wrong. Her sister had brought her pain, she’d lost family members, had them brought back only to know what they’d done, and a lover who was a killer.
It wasn’t fair, but that was life.
“You know I can’t stay here.” Adorra broke the silence.
“Why not?”
“Who would take care of the manor? If I don’t go back, we will lose the manor, and I will never be able to get it back once the king gives it to another nobleman. We were the only heirs left to that land.”
Jasmine met her eyes once more. “Can’t you stay here? With me?”
Adorra sighed as she leaned back in the chair. “I wouldn’t be happy here. I couldn’t be happy here.” But that might not be the truth. She could be happy here. She’d have her sister, and there was nothing humans had that giants didn’t appear to have.
