Page 12 of Frosty and the Reaper

She had to remind herself that he was just being honest. She couldn’t blame him for not being very pleased to be stuck with her as his mate because of what happened to him and the other reapers. However, none of that had been her fault. She hadn’t even been born when they were imprisoned, and she had helped free them. That had to count for something.

Huffing out an irritated breath, she said, “If you are planning to torture me or something, then let me just say, been there, done that already, and have the scars to prove it. Just so you know, I had nothing to do with the curse—”

“I know that,” he growled through clenched teeth. His glowing eyes burned brighter until they looked completely red. “Who tortured you?”

She regretted blurting that out. The memories were raw and painful, and she hadn’t intended to share them, especially notwith someone she barely knew. It wasn’t easy to admit that those scars were more than marks on her skin. They were reminders of every harsh lesson and moment of fear she had gone through. But since she’d brought it up, she decided to answer anyway.

“My birth mother, the Goddess of Illusions. The goddess you hate. Not that you’ll believe me, but I totally understand how you feel. No one could possibly hate her more than me. I’m glad she is dead, although I would have preferred to do it myself.”

He grunted, leaving her guessing the meaning of his response.

“So, about the—”

“Where?”

She blinked at him. “Huh? Where what?”

“The scars. Where are they?”

“Oh. Don’t worry about it.”

“Tell me, or I’ll strip you and find out for myself,” he said in warning.

She shrank back against her chair since she believed him. The way he spoke had been coldly monotone, but that was even more effective than if he had yelled it. There was a goblet of wine in front of her that she hadn’t tasted yet, so she lifted the glass and downed a big gulp before setting it back down again. She twirled the base in circles on the table. It was a small tell that showed how nervous she was, but that didn’t matter since he already knew.

“When I was young, she liked to use a whip or a thin rod to correct my behavior. When the scar tissue on my back got to be too thick, she switched to other methods.”

“Why didn’t you heal yourself?”

“I couldn’t. Neither could my sister or brother. We were all under a spell that prohibited us from doing so. It wasn’t until later that a friend was able to repair most of the damage, but I still have some scars. Once my sister started attending AegisAcademy, the goddess realized leaving marks on us wasn’t a good idea.”

“And the other methods she used?”

“Her favorite was the ice needle.” She sent him a wry smile. “It is a particularly nasty torture method devised to last for days. She would insert an ice needle into my arm, which would then travel throughout my body, causing indescribable pain until it finally melted. The worst part was I could never tell where it was or what organ it would pierce until it happened. I always wondered how she was able to stop us from telling anyone about it, but that became clear once we found out she was a celestial goddess instead of the real Winter Fae Queen.”

The thick wine goblet crumpled to dust in his hand, spilling the glowing purple contents onto his hand and down to the floor. The entire mess disappeared as if it had never been, then another goblet appeared on the table.

“A quick death was too kind,” he said in a soft, menacing tone. “I would have gladly repaid her for every second you suffered, multiplied a thousandfold.”

Kami thought that was sweet. A little dark, but the sentiment was sweet. “At least I never have to see her again. That is enough to satisfy me. About the Goddess of Illusions’ involvement with what happened to you—”

“I do not blame you for what she did, so stop worrying about that.”

The relief she felt hearing that was immense.

“Thanks. Umm, I noticed you appeared as black smoke earlier,” she said, hoping to change the subject. “Is that how you usually travel around? I mean, is that the same as teleporting?”

“It is basically the same concept, but my smoke form allows me to observe what is going on before I announce my presence.” He gestured toward her. “What is that you are wearing?”

Confused, she glanced down, then frowned when she noticed a faint glow coming from under her gray hoodie. Tugging at the chain, she pulled the amulet she was wearing out and saw that it was glowing bright blue. She remembered that it had started glowing seconds after Zander had woken up from his magical slumber, but she had forgotten about it after that.

“Oh, this? The amulet is supposed to glow whenever my mate is close by, so I guess this is proof that it works.”

He frowned. “Where did you get that?”

“I won this at the Winter Festival last year at Aegis Academy.”

“That doesn’t make sense. That is no normal amulet.”