She was ready to lift herself up, but she struggled when pain shattered her vision. She must have sprained her ankle, or worse, because excruciating pain shot through her foot when she tried to stand.
Suddenly, the huntsman started backing away, panic enveloped his features, and Yanni had no idea what was going on.
“No, no, please. I was only doing my job, master. I don’t deserve to die!”
Then she felt a cold draft and the icy energy started to close in around him. Yanni inhaled deeply, thinking that he was most likely losing his mind. There was no one around for miles, and yet she felt a great sense of ease blossoming inside her belly.
“I’m so done with betrayal, Patrick. Maybe in any other circumstance I would have spared you, but after all, Yanni is a woman. You disrespected and hurt her and now you’re going to pay for it,” the deep voice said.
Yanni had no idea who her saviour was. She didn’t recognise his voice at all. Maybe it was another huntsman or a highwayman. Some kind soul who came to her rescue, but she couldn’t figure out the ice that suddenly appeared all around her.
“Please, my King. I’m begging you. I have a wife and children. They are waiting for me at home. It was the gold… please!” the huntsman continued to beg, falling on his knees.
The heat immediately seeped into her and she felt his presence. She was going to live after all, because her Ice King had found her.
She glanced back at the huntsman, the wave of ice finally reached him and he started to stiffen. The icy magic crept over the upper part of his body. Yanni watched how James was turning him into an ice statue. The magic started to crackle along her arms.
It was extraordinary magic and his energy balled deep in her stomach. Seconds dragged and finally her stepmother’s servant stopped fighting for his life. He turned into an ice statue and James’s magic slowly began fading away, retracting back. Yanni was breathing in, aware of James’s presence.
The warmth that rolled off him and trailed down her back made her smile. He approached her and when he embraced her in his arms, Yanni was relieved. There was so much she wanted to tell him, so much she needed to explain, but at the same time she was overwhelmed with emotion. He saved her when she truly believed that it was all over.
“Darling, are you all right? Did he manage to hurt you?” he asked, as tiny sparks of warmth lanced down her numb limbs.
“Yes, I’m fine. I gave up, James. I thought that he was going to kill me,” she admitted, a little ashamed of herself. She should have fought harder.
“That’s understandable. You were lucky that I left Sybil an hour earlier. I can’t imagine that you would still be alive now otherwise.”
“What are you? The Ice King or a magician?” she asked, trying to stand up, but her ankle was most definitely sprained. She could hardly put her foot down. James noticed and he wrapped his hand around the injury. Warmth poured into her veins and the pain slowly began fading away.
Was it possible that he had healing abilities too?
“I’m a bit of both, my dear. Is that better? Does it hurt anymore?”
Yanni shook her head, and then she placed her foot on the ground. The pain was gone and she could hardly believe it.
“I was on my way to the Ice Castle when I sensed you in the distance.”
“I was traveling to meet with you, and I was scared that we were going to miss each other. There is something really important that I have to talk to you about,” Yanni explained, thinking about Ruth’s letter.
James was watching her with the same intensity as before and her cheeks heated even though it was silly for her to feel embarrassed about it. She wanted to kiss him badly, taste him again, but they couldn’t stay here. The temperature kept dropping and it was getting colder.
Yanni had never felt like that before. Other men were passionate and kind, but the Ice King changed her. She wasn’t the same reckless and immature girl anymore.
“You can explain everything in the castle. Now we have to leave. The storm is approaching and we don’t have much time. It changed direction again an hour earlier, and I can’t seem to control it. The huntsman was stupid; he should have known that the two of you were in danger. No one should be traveling in this weather,” he told her and Yanni wondered if he was able to control the weather too.
“What about my stepmother? She’s in the castle,” Yanni said, worried about Ruth’s magic. It was much more powerful than James’s. She had done something to the huntsman, and now she was expecting him back. She didn’t think that it was safe for them to go back to the Ice Castle.
“I have a feeling that she might vanish as soon as she senses that we are near,” James told her.
Yanni didn’t want to underestimate her stepmother, but right now she wanted to get back to the castle with James.
The two of them started to climb back towards the main path, leaving the ice statue behind. After another half an hour, she finally located her horse. The poor animal was cold too, but the Ice King used his energy to warm its body.
Soon, they were both riding back towards the winter land. Yanni knew that there was so much that they needed to talk about. She was still anxious about what happened between them in the carriage.
She told herself that there was no point overthinking it. He came back for her and now they were reunited. Nothing else mattered.
Several hours later, exhausted and freezing, Yanni and the Ice King arrived at the castle. She didn’t remember much of what happened after she tried to get off the horse. James must have lifted her up at some point and then carried her all the way back to her chamber. She felt so tired, her muscles were tender and achy.
When he laid her on the soft and comfortable sheets, she told herself that she needed to open her eyes and tell him what she found out about Ruth.
“Just sleep for now, beautiful, and don’t worry about anything else. I’m going to take good care of you,” he told her when she tried to speak.
She stopped fighting with her exhaustion, enjoying the warmth from the blazing fire in her chamber. She had never felt so relaxed and slowly began drifting.
Yanni woke up refreshed in the morning and ready to conquer another day. She had a feeling that things were going to change for the better now that she was reunited with James. She was still a little worried about Ruth, but now that James was back, she was certain that her stepmother wouldn’t try to attack again while Yanni was with him.
“Morning, beautiful, how are you feeling today?” his voice startled her a little when he walked into her chamber with a tray filled with food.
Yanni’s stomach growled. Riding through the winter land must have burned her energy, now she was starving.
“I’m fine, and so happy that I didn’t go out drinking the night before,” she admitted and then realised that she was supposed to act like a Queen, not a pleb. Talking like that was appalling, but James didn’t seem to care. He smiled, scratching his beard.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“No, I have to apologise for that night when we were riding back to the castle. I felt so embarrassed and I wanted to explain myself, but you left,” she said, aware that she was only wearing a thin nighty and James was glancing at her cleavage.
He placed the tray of food on her thighs and sat next to her. He was handsome and Yanni was slowly losing her head for him. She was pretty sure that she had already fallen for him.
“Seriously, don’t worry about it. I encouraged you to drink and that didn’t help. Some things happen for a reason,” he said. “Come on, eat up, then we will talk.”
Yanni took a few bites of her toast and then tasted the coffee. Everything was delicious, but she sensed that James was a little distant. He was watching her with heat in his eyes, but there was something off. They ate in silence, but ten minutes later, she couldn’t take it anymore and needed to know what happened and why he left so soon.
“Did I do something? I’m sorry, James, but I won’t be able to swallow another bite
until you tell me what is going on. Why you left without saying goodbye.”
He stiffened his posture, tightening his jaw.
“I decided to leave straight after I had a little chat with your stepmother, Ruth. She showed up in the castle early in the morning wanting to take you home. She said that your fiancé was expecting you back in Tyndil,” James said, sounding bitter and suddenly, Yanni understood everything. She was ready to scream with frustration.
Of course, Ruth lied. Yanni shouldn’t have been surprised. Her stepmother was jealous of her and she was ready to do anything to sabotage her new relationship with James. It was time to tell him everything—the whole truth.
“James, I’m not engaged to anyone. I have never been engaged to anyone. She lied to you,” she explained, looking down at her hands. She wasn’t sure what else Ruth had been lying about in the past. Ruth used her own poor father who had no idea that she never truly loved him.
James stood and started pacing around the room. He looked disturbed, dragging his hand through his hair. This wasn’t over yet. Yanni needed to tell him about the letter, about his ex-fiancé.
“I shouldn’t have believed her, but she planted doubts in my head. I’m sorry, Yanni,” he admitted. “I should have spoken to you first.”
Yanni put the tray away and got up. He wasn’t a fool, and he shouldn’t blame himself for what happened. She was the one that got drunk and ruined the evening. He had every right to have doubts about her.
“You believed her because you have kind heart. Ruth has manipulated everyone around her. She’s blessed with magical abilities like you.”
“I know, I could sense that there was something off about her, but still. I made this hasty decision about the ball. I wanted to keep you in the castle for a bit longer, but then I couldn’t bear to be around you knowing that you belonged to another man.”
She went around the chamber, looking for the coat that she wore yesterday. She needed to show James the letter. He had every right to know that Ruth ruined his relationship. Yanni might be in love with him. She knew that it was too early for that, but it was up to him to decide what he wanted from her.
“There is something else that I have to show you. Yesterday, I saw her with the huntsman who tried to kill me in the forest. I got suspicious, so I asked one of the maids to open Ruth’s chamber. I was trying to search for something, anything that could tell me what she was up to,” Yanni explained, thinking about the magical mirror.
She handed James the letter right after she ripped the envelope apart.
He was a little confused, but started reading it. His pupils dilated and Yanni’s heart started to thump faster.
“Unbelievable,” he whispered when he was done, clenching his fists. “She was the one that made her leave. Now everything makes so much sense.”
Yanni bit her bottom lip, watching as the vein in his neck throbbed dangerously fast. It was obvious that James was in love with that woman or had loved her in the past. Maybe she could never expect him to change for her, especially when he was supposed to be with another woman.
17
“So, the two of you met before?” Yanni asked, but her voice was small, wondering if she could live without him.
She felt vulnerable, hearing about another woman. This wasn’t the ending she expected.
“Yes, your stepmother cornered me on the terrace in Tyndil while your father was inside. It was several years ago, and I can hardly remember it. Even then, she tried to use her magic in order to seduce me.”
James was still angry about Ruth’s trickery, and Yanni’s own emotions were running wild. Everything that Barbra had said about the Ice King was true. Ruth used her magic mostly to hurt people. Yanni believed that she wanted to get what she wanted regardless of the cost. Yanni remembered a day when her father was very anxious. He was waiting to greet several important people the day she left to go to boarding school. If she’d stayed, she would have met James too.
“We missed each other even then. I must have been away,” she said, wanting to ask him about his ex-fiancé.
Yanni just needed to know what he was planning to do about Ruth’s spell.
“Maybe we weren’t meant to meet until now,” he said, taking her in. “Jessica was kind like you, funny and bubbly. I suspect that your stepmother’s charm must have faded away by now. She betrayed me years ago, and left the castle when I confronted her. I wonder if she ever realised that she never truly loved that man she ran away with.”
Then the silence fell between them and Yanni knew what she needed to ask next.
“You still love her, don’t you? That’s why you were involved with so many other women?” she asked, aware that this was pretty much it. The end of her romance with James. She couldn’t have his heart because it would always belong to someone else. She couldn’t live like that; this wasn’t fair or right.
He stared at her with the same intensity, like he was trying to read her thoughts. Her mind was racing .
She was trying to figure out her own feelings. Maybe it was too soon to admit that she was in love with him.
“Love? No, Yanni, I don’t love her anymore. She broke my heart and even if it was possible, I wouldn’t take her back. At the same time, she deserves to know the truth,” he said walking up to her. Yanni couldn’t move, her thoughts were a jumbled mess.
She wanted him for so long, and now she was afraid to make a move.
“So what are you going to do? Ruth isn’t going to give up. She is much more powerful than you think,” Yanni said, biting her lip. Her breath shuddered and tension rolled over her entire body.
“I’m going to do something that I have been meaning to do for a long time. Something that I have been waiting for since the moment I saw you,” he said, and before Yanni could ask him exactly what he meant, he pulled her into a kiss.
Yanni was too shocked to respond, but her body melted the second he was touching her again. James captured her lips in the most amazing and passionate kiss. He started devouring her mouth urgently like he was afraid that something might pull them apart.
Heat rose from her toes moving upwards, spreading to every nook and cranny of her body. Yanni was breathless when he finally pulled away and began kissing her neck. She was used to his slightly cool mouth.
She began sensing his magical energy hovering over her system, creating goose bumps over her arms.
Flashbacks from her erotic dream returned, and she was instantly drenched.
“I’m going to fuck you now and you will want it,” he told her, but she barely registered his voice. She was lost in a swirl of desire. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. James bit her neck gently and she moaned. Seconds later he was moving his mouth down her cleavage.
His hands wandered beneath her nighty, touching the bare skin of her stomach. Her nipples hardened and she moaned loudly when he moulded her breasts.
“Yes, like in my dream,” she whispered. It was her little secret and she didn’t mean to mention it. James was this dangerous man who was going to punish her because she had done bad things. She thought about it many times before in the past.
“You talked about this dream before. Tell me more. I’m curious and it turns me on. The fire in you is melting my ice magic,” he said, removing his shirt.
Yanni lost all ability to speak when she was staring at his perfectly sculptured chest. A muscle twitched along his jaw and Yanni was so desperate to touch him. James said he was done with sleeping around with other women. He said didn’t love Jessica anymore and even when the truth was to be revealed, he wouldn’t be with her again. Yanni’s stepmother could go to hell. She was the true Queen, and she was prepared to lock Ruth in prison for attempting to murder her.
Then she remembered that James asked her about the dream. Even the memory of it made her wet. She felt a little ashamed considering being in pain during their sexual act. Sometimes too much was too little.
“We don’t have to talk about it now. Kiss me, I’m so wet for yo
u,” she told him, but he laughed grabbing her hands.
“No, I want to hear about your dream. You made me curious, Yanni. We have plenty of time to enjoy each other. The ball is in the evening and I’m planning to keep you in the chamber for a very long time,” he told her with a stern voice that a sent shiver down her spine.
Then Yanni had no other choice but to share the intimate details of her erotic dream with him. She started explaining that she saw him leaving the castle one evening, so she decided to follow him. She had to confess that she watched him making out with Sarah in the tavern sitting only a few tables away, then later on, she discovered that Sarah was actually her stepmother. James looked disturbed, but he quickly got over it when Yanni started giving him all the spicy details. Suddenly, she was very much turned on and once she began talking, she couldn’t stop.
He quickly removed her nighty and she yanked his trousers down. Soon enough they were both naked in the bed. Their bodies were burning up, causing vibrations of magic all around the chamber. She didn’t think that it would matter, and yes, she always had this fantasy, but never thought that it would ever be fulfilled.
“So, that night I dreamed that you came to my chamber and ordered me to get naked. Then we were making love until you to tied me up to the bed…”
James ordered her to describe everything that happened in her dream. She was talking, aware of the building pressure between her legs. She was so aroused, but luckily, he didn’t let her finish. They were kissing again, and his hands were everywhere, hovering over her sensitive skin.
She felt his erection prodding against her stomach when he was devouring her mouth, kissing her like a man starving for air. She felt dizzy with desire when he took her nipple into his mouth and sucked hard. She moaned loudly, gripping the edge of the sheets.
“Tied up, huh… no one ever asked me to do something like that but you, my dear. Maybe we should play for a little while,” he said, and then he wasn’t kissing her any longer. She missed his mouth. For a moment, she watched him looking for something in one of the drawers.