what the Queen had been talking about? I’d never created something like this, even back on Emain Ablach. It was like a nightmarish sister to my gentle, glowing tree in Annwyn.
A tree grown on blood, its pink blossoms stained crimson.
He let out a soft laugh. “No, they won’t. By the way… I have something for you.”
Robin reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a plastic card.
“Ooh.” I reached for it, glad for an excuse to quit staring at the rather horrifying tree. “Is it another fake ID? Are we on another super-secret mission to take down the Ghosthand?”
My heart thumped when I held it up. It was the blue iridescent card of a full Avilion resident, featuring my photo and name.
“It’s yours,” he said. “Permanent residency with honors. Turn it over.”
I flipped it. On the back, which on my yellow visa ID had been blank, there was a silver circle with an upraised hand in the middle. “Blessed. Fucking. Branches.”
“You have access to the Seelie Palace with that card.” Robin put his hands in his pockets, and a quick smile flitted across his lips. “Don’t abuse the privilege, though.”
“Me? Abuse power? Never.” I snorted and tucked the ID in my pocket reverently. “How dare you even imply such a thing, sir.”
Robin was standing much too close to me. I could pick out every different shade of blue in his eyes. “You can be pretty squirrelly when the mood overtakes you. Briallen, look… I wanted to talk to you about something.”
I blinked, not processing the second half of that. “Squirrelly? Okay, where is the real Robin and where did you hide his body?”
A cool breeze washed over us, ruffling his dark hair. Robin leaned in, his eyes gleaming. He was close enough that our arms were touching.
“I’m right here,” he said, only inches away from my lips.
I rose on my tiptoes… and felt the wind carry an icy cold kiss to my cheek.
I gasped and fell back to earth. Robin’s eyes darkened like a storm as he straightened up.
“Jack.” Robin grated the name out.
He appeared in a swirl of snow flurries that immediately melted into droplets on the Seelie Palace’s stairs. Jack was once again flawless in his white suit, smirking up at us, his pale eyes fixed on me.
“Did I interrupt something?” he asked smoothly.
I took a tiny step back from Robin, which Jack immediately noticed. His smile grew wider.
“No,” Robin said shortly. “Why are you here?”
Jack took a step up, frost spilling over the stairs. “I’m here to collect on what I’m owed.”
I crossed my arms. I’d tried to be nice to Jack the last time I saw him, and he’d brushed me off completely. “Can it wait? We’re busy.”
“No, it can’t wait, Briallen Appletree. You see, your employer borrowed something from me.” Jack’s gaze cut right through me. “A ring of shadows that was used to save your life.”
My breath caught in my throat. Robin had said it was a loaner, but he’d borrowed it from Jack Frost, of all people?
“And…” He took another step. “I saved Robin’s life.”
A muscle tightened in Robin’s jaw. “Out with it. What do you want?”
Jack rose yet another step, close enough to reach out and touch me. “I want to borrow your agent. I’ve saved two lives, and now I wish to borrow a mere fraction of her time. She will not be held against her will, and will be returned to Seelie territory and the safety of your home every night. I swear to this.”
I stared at him, completely nonplussed. What could Jack possibly want with me?
“Absolutely not,” Robin said firmly, but Jack held out his hand to me.
“Well, Briallen?” His smile hadn’t faded in the slightest. “You and your employer are in my debt, and I will collect in far less pleasant ways if I must. What do you say?”
I looked down at his hand, pale in the sunlight, but rough and warm despite his ice and suave demeanor. “What do you intend to borrow me for?”
He held my gaze like a snake. “That would be the Unseelie Left Hand’s business. Little ears are listening.” Jack cocked his head towards Robin.
“You don’t have to go with him, Briallen,” Robin murmured. “I can repay him in other ways.”
A sheen of ice formed on Jack’s palm and melted just as quickly. The sun sparked rainbows from the drops.
I exhaled. If not for Jack Frost, Robin wouldn’t have made it to the surface. He would’ve died in the darkness, and we all would’ve lost something that day.
“I can’t let him collect from you, Robin.” I reached out and laid my hand in Jack’s palm.
His fingers closed around mine, and the way he looked at me at that second felt so… intimate. Intense.
Despite myself, a frisson of excitement went through me. His ice was like fire, cold but burning. “I’m the one who asked him for help. It’s my duty to make up for it.”
Jack pulled me into a close embrace. A torrent of glittering snowflakes blew around us as he smiled down at me.
“Time to come home,” he whispered in my ear.
“What?” I met his cool gray eyes, shock surging through the strange desire I felt for him.
Robin reached out for me.
And disappeared as Jack and I vanished in a whirling storm of ice and snow.
* * *
The End
* * *
To Be Continued in Breath of Frost
About the Author
Hello reader!
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Cate loves all things passionate and paranormal, from sexy, hunky warlocks in haunted houses to shredded shifters under the full moon! She lives in the South with her family and pets, and loves every kind of coffee, horror and fantasy movies, and cats. Reading is her favorite hobby when she’s not writing.
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For more books by Cate Corvin, check out the links below!
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