Deep Kiss of Winter (24 page)

Ah, gods, she did love him. With all her heart.

Though the Valkyrie didn't have “fated mates” per se, they believed that one would know her partner when she realized she would always run to get into his arms.

If he came back now, I'd run right to him.

Which meant there'd be no bailing for Danii, not yet—

Her ears twitched. Even over the wind, she heard something moving behind her. Danii sensed she was being followed, but for some reason she didn't believe it was Murdoch.

Then who the devil would be out here?

When a footstep crunched in the snow, she whirled around, spied a male in the icy shadows. His breaths didn't smoke. He had pointed ears.

An Iceren. No, not again! Her eyes darted, scanning for the rest of the assassins in the blustery night. She'd been unwary; now she would pay for it.

And all she could think of was how she'd left things with Murdoch.

Yet the male raised his palms. “My name is Jádian the Cold.” His voice was deep-toned, raspy.

“How did you find me?”

“Actually, you found us. The cryomancy symbols you've been carving were about to unlock a portal. We learned you were nearing and merely awaited.”

Cryomancy? Portal symbols? “Now you've come to kill me?”

“Not in the least. I mean you no harm.”

She gave a bitter laugh. “Where's the rest of your battalion to back you up?”

“I've come alone.”

“Your mistake. Since the last batch you bastards sent didn't fare so well.”

“They were sent by Sigmund—before I assassinated him.”

“He was . . . killed? By you?”

This Jádian nodded. “I was a general in his army and led a coup against him.”

“Wh-why?”

“Because our people want their true queen back.”

Had he just said
our
people? True queen?
Stay standing.
“Why now?”

“First I had to find you. Then I had to determine whether you were strong enough to rule. To make sure you were worthy to be Svana's heir. You are.”

“This could be a trick, a way to take me prisoner.”

He frowned. “Nïx didn't tell you about me?”

Was this Icere male the “pressy” coming her way? The one Nïx had mentioned directly after
Danii had tried to explain the symbols and carving? “Uh, not in so many words.”

“She told me she would.”

He and Nïx had been
talking
?

“But then, your sister also said you'd be more accurate with your cryomancy.”

“What does that mean?” Danii demanded.

“You're one symbol off from creating a portal into our realm. But yours would have opened two hundred miles south of Icergard, amid the White Death—a frozen wasteland that even you would have difficulty crossing.”

“Then how did you find me?”

“One of your symbols was shattered tonight. It sounded like a cannon blast through the castle, and was a beacon for me.”

When Murdoch kicked my tablet . . . .

“I opened my own portal directly to you here.” He pointed in the distance, to an oval of diffused air that rebuffed the driving snow.

She shook her head irritably. “My shoddy cryomancy notwithstanding, this doesn't make sense. Why would they want me? My mother was reviled for attempting to kill Sigmund.”

“Not reviled,
revered
. But the Icere were too fearful of Sigmund to rebel. Especially once Queen Svana was gone and they knew of no one to replace her. They have a holiday in Svana's name now.”

“Oh.” Such a queenly answer. But to be fair, this was
staggering
. “Wait. They knew of no one to replace her?”

“It was forbidden to speak your name. After a few centuries, new generations didn't even know it.” He stepped closer to her, now mere feet away. “But they do now. And they await you.”

“Jádian, there have been too many years of suspicion and running. If our positions were reversed, you wouldn't just blindly accept my word,” she said. Yet even as she spoke, she realized she did believe him.

Danii knew men. And this one was telling the truth. Her previously twitching ears were still.

“You should contact Nïx if you have doubts,” he said. “Until then . . .” He pulled something from his vest.

“Oh, gods,” Danii breathed.
My mother's crown.
With shaking hands, she accepted the piece from him, staring down at it through watering eyes.

And as she held the crown, cold and right in her hands, fresh memories of the day her mother left finally surfaced.

“Never, never go to Icergard. Not until you're shown the way.”

“Who will show me, mama?” Danii cried. “When?”

“When the time is right, you'll show yourself.”

“How? How will I know?”

“You already know the way, my darling. You just haven't remembered it yet . . . .”

Danii exhaled a stunned breath. She'd been making her own way to Icergard, because the time was right. All of this was . . . real. Danii felt it, down to her bones, as pure as a chill. All those years of fearing the Icere soldiers and spies were over.

She could have a normal life. No more assassination attempts! She could be with her own kind. This was the solution to all her problems.

So why was she suddenly so depressed?

Because her first thought was that she couldn't wait to tell Murdoch. And because this new life didn't have a surly vampire in it.

“Jádian, this is a lot to take in.”

He drew nearer. “You only need accept what's yours.” The corners of his lips curled, disconcerting her. “What's been yours for so long.”

Is he flirting with me?
Brain overload.
I can't believe I'm in my nightgown . . . .

Jádian was kind of
sexy
. He stood as tall as Murdoch and had intense blue eyes, the color of glacial ice. Berserkr ravels tangled in his thick blond hair. His sleeveless shirt displayed muscular arms and the cobalt tracings of the Icere. But whereas her markings were delicate, his were wide and bold, designed to attract females like her.

And still, for Danii, the vampire won hands down. “Um, let me think about it,” she said. “You can just make another portal here, right? Let's meet at the same time tomorrow night.”

She turned to go—and felt fingers close around her bare arm. She stiffened. A split second later, comprehension hit her and she gasped.

No pain
. She turned back.

Again that sensual curling of his lips. “Maybe I need to explain the other benefits of coming back with me.”

Jádian was
very
sexy. “You're, uh, really devoted to your people. You'll resort to flirting to get me to return.”

“There's no hardship.”

“I'm not . . . yours or anything?” Could she be a vampire's Bride
and
a noble fey's lady?

“I'm not a big believer in fated mates.” Had a shadow of some emotion flickered in his blue eyes? “But I could kiss you to better tell.”

“K-kiss me?” She'd never been kissed. Her curiosity prodded her. Her head spun. What about Murdoch? Gods, she loved that vampire.

But he doesn't even want to fight for me.

Jádian took the matter out of her hands. “I think my queen would like a kiss,” he murmured, leaning down to her.

Danii tensed when his lips touched hers. She couldn't help the defensive reaction. Yet again there was no pain. Instead she felt the firmness of his lips, the delicious brush of his tongue.

So this is kissing.
If only she could do this with Murdoch, she'd never stop . . . .

“Murdoch used to say that women are like bottles of liquor—sample them, savor them, then discard
them,” Rurik drunkenly declared, his eye patch crooked.

More vampires had joined in the gaming, and they all laughed. Yet Rurik's words sounded hollow to Murdoch, hollow like the ache in his chest.
What a slavering jackass I used to be.

He remembered other men slapping him on the back over his conquests. They'd been so envious of his success with women. He no longer shared their definition of success.

Rurik quieted his tone, skewering Murdoch with a look. “I wonder if he still feels the same way.”

He's aware that my heart's beating.
At length, Murdoch answered, “Until you meet the one woman who's meant to be yours. Then you hold on and never let go.”

How well was he holding on to Daniela?
I'm driving her away.

She'd been so vulnerable when she suggested they sleep through five decades. And he'd been so busy raging over the unfairness of their situation that never once had it registered what s
he
had just offered to do for them—sacrifice fifty years of her own life.

He hadn't thanked her for her offer. He'd ridiculed her for it.

I've been such a fool.
What the fuck was fifty years if they were together?
She's my life now.

Clarity. His brother Nikolai had told him that love would feel different from anything he'd ever known. Murdoch concluded he was right.

I'm in love with her.

He pushed away the bottle.
Go to her . . . apologize.
He'd left her crying. He'd been such an ass, like the old selfish Murdoch who'd boasted about women being as expendable as liquor.

With that thought, the truth sank in.
I'm not worth her tears.

But he
could
be.

He stood unsteadily, donning his coat and the obligatory gloves, then traced to the lodge. When he didn't find her inside, he started out into the still-raging blizzard, following her fading tracks.

Finally, he caught sight of movement among the thick drifts. Just as he was about to trace to her, he spotted something that defied belief. He stared in drunken shock, squinting through the flurries.

There was another male, one who looked to be of her kind, with Nordic coloring and pointed ears. He was easily as tall as Murdoch.

And Daniela was up on her toes . . . kissing him.

Can't be real. I'm drunk. Can't see through the blizzard.
Somehow she was withstanding the male's touch, receiving his kiss. The bastard grasped her bare upper arms—with his ungloved hands. Murdoch gnashed his teeth.
Skin to skin.

A jealous rage ripped through him. All the frustration he'd grappled with for months roared to life. His fangs went sharp with aggression, his heart pumping with wrath. Just when he realized he loved her, she would betray him?

The words from his dreams echoed in his mind:
How badly do you want her? What would you sacrifice?

Anything, he'd do anything. . . .

Didn't she know that she belonged to him?
After tonight, she will.

•   •   •

This is nice,
Danii thought.
But it's not as I imagined it.

There was no loss of control or breathless wonder. No weakening of her knees. No
lust
.

Because it wasn't Murdoch.

Just as she began to pull back from Jádian, her ears twitched. Something was wrong—

Jádian went flying away from her into a tree. She blinked, struggling to get her bearings. Murdoch?
He's back!

And he was seething, staring at Jádian with deadly intent, his eyes flooding black.

“No, Murdoch!” she cried. “This is Lord Jádian. He's come to offer me my crown! He's killed Sigmund. Murdoch, are you hearing me?”

Nothing.

“Are you drunk?”

Finally he spoke. To
Jádian.
“You dare touch my woman?” He launched himself at the Iceren, who eagerly met him. They clashed in the snow and howling winds, throwing punches.

Jádian was fast, skilled, and in his element, but against Murdoch's tracing and palpable fury he was no match. Until Jádian raised ice in his palm . . . .

Oh, gods, Murdoch.
“Stop! Both of you, stop fighting now!”

Jádian immediately dropped his hands.
Following the order?
He gritted his teeth just before Murdoch roared and swung his fist, connecting with Jádian's temple like an anvil hit. Jádian staggered.

She rushed between them. “Jádian! Are you all right?” Never taking his eyes from Murdoch, he nodded. “Stay here, please.” To Murdoch, she said, “Vampire, come inside with me.
Now!
”

She couldn't believe she was talking like this to the drunk, infuriated vampire who'd just caught his Bride kissing a strange male. Yet when she strode toward the lodge, Murdoch did follow her, though he seemed to be getting more and more enraged with each step.

Once they were inside, she said, “This is not as bad as it looked.”

“He
kissed
you,” Murdoch grated, his eyes wild. “He took what doesn't belong to him.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your first kiss—it was mine to give you one day. But you let him.”

“I just wanted to see what it'd be like,” she said, repeating his words from all those months ago. “It's
trivial,
especially compared to what has happened tonight. Jádian has come to take me back to Icergard, to my people. They want to offer me my throne.”

“And
Jádian
”—he sneered the name—“had to kiss you to extend the fucking invitation?”

“You have a lot of nerve to blame me for kissing another, since you did it to me.”

“
Before
we'd become committed.”

“Committed?” she cried. “You don't even know the meaning of the word! You leave me here, avoiding me, and when you do return, you're distant and preoccupied.”