Page 9 of A Heart of Winter (Fairy Tale Retellings #4)

Have a Ball

E dwin’s beak tapped at the glass of the crystal ball, as though he could pick at the eggs left on the plate. Or as though he was pointing something out.

He gave an annoyed caw and turned to me, his beady black eyes almost glowing in the low light. “It’s reaching critical levels,” he said, dissatisfaction in his tone.

Fucking ravens, the most judgmental of familiars.

Perfect for me, I supposed.

I reached out and rubbed my fingers over his glossy black head. “I know. The magic either needs to be removed or anchored soon, or it’ll kill him.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Edwin demanded, his croaky cawing voice echoing back off the walls.

I stared for another moment at Johannes, kissing the handsome young lawyer.

He’d always been . . . well, not precisely irresponsible.

More like . . . distractible. He’d put his studies first, just as I had.

But a beautiful face and a few kind words had always been able to turn his head, at least for a while.

Like twenty years wasted on that vapid braying jackass, Michael.

I waved a hand over the crystal, and there he was, sitting in a cafe somewhere in New York. Long beige vicuna coat, navy cashmere sweater and merino wool slacks. Shiny dark brown boots with detailed decoration in the leather. All designer. All no doubt paid for by Johannes.

Johannes had always been weak to a pretty face, and if he kept going, it was going to kill him. And possibly a lot of other people at the same time, with the wild storms that formed around him whenever his love life was screwed up.

In the crystal, Michael was staring at his phone, lips pursed in annoyance. The little bastard never had been able to be satisfied, no matter how much he got that he didn’t deserve. He was the kind of man Johannes fell for too damned often. A pretty face that hid a selfish, self-serving asshole.

And then the people all around suffered for it, because of Johannes and his uncontrolled snow powers.

It was time for that to stop.