Page 2 of Frosty and the Reaper

Their differences were a stark contrast, and it was clear that they belonged to entirely different worlds. They were bound to clash when it came to…hell, just about everything, and she worried there would never be peace between them.

Case in point, the fact he was currently strangling her.

From his actions, she wasn’t sure if he considered her a mate or a mortal enemy. One second, Zander had been laid out on a crystal altar where he’d been asleep for centuries, and the next, the crazy male had kidnapped her. He obviously recognized who she was to him, but he still seemed undecided whether or not he was planning on keeping her.

“Who are you?”

Zander’s deep, gravelly voice sent a shiver down her spine, but she did her best to hide her reaction. It sounded like he’d chewed on some broken glass and chased it down with a shot of acid. Perhaps that was a byproduct of not speaking for a few centuries. She couldn’t decide if she thought it was sexy or disturbing.

Okay, she had to admit it was a little of both.

Trying for a bland stare, she used a finger to point at the hand that was wrapped around her throat. He glanced down and blinked as if surprised to see what his own appendage was doing. Slowly releasing her, he took a step back.

Coughing a little, she rubbed at her throat. It didn’t really hurt, but it was almost an instinctive reaction to wipe away the lingering sensation of his touch.

It was dark in the room he had teleported them to after leaving the cave in the Realm of Illusions, but her enhanced eyesight was able to make out that they were standing in the center of a large space that looked like a cavern.

Of course, her ancient mate resided in a freaking lair instead of a normal dwelling.

She wasn’t intimidated by the dark, foreboding atmosphere, though the thought of hanging out in a bat cave was pretty fucking bleak. A lot of her powerful friends liked to live in dark places, while she preferred a lot of light, at least when she was drawing or painting.

His cave was definitely another strike against him.

Since he seemed to be waiting for an answer, she gave him one. “Your mate?”

She said it more as a question than a statement. When he let out a low growl of irritation, she fought the urge to laugh. Understandably, that would have been an inappropriate response.

At least, she was sure he would think so.

Most people would have fled in terror from his anger. However, she wasn’t most people. Her reactions were rarely normal, especially during stressful situations. She liked to laugh in the face of danger since defiance was far more palatable to her than cowering in fear.

Sarcasm and dry wit were her default settings, and she tended to overreact and lash out whenever she was upset. She had a wicked temper and could hold a grudge like nobody’s business. Highly emotional, she could also be dramatic as fuck. Of course, some would say that was pretty typical behavior for a princess, but Kami had never considered herself as high-maintenance as some of the other royals.

While most people saw her as a cheerful, bright young fae, she could be far more calculating, cold, and cunning than even Jackie, her older sister and current Queen of the Winter Kingdom. But that was a side of herself she kept hidden from the world since it was safer to keep up appearances.

She had to remind herself not to antagonize the surly dark god any more than was absolutely necessary. Even if it was amusing. She would definitely have a better chance of surviving this encounter if she played nice.

“I’m Kami Frost, Princess of the Winter Kingdom.”

He stared at her blankly for several heartbeats. “Remain here.”

After issuing the command, he simply vanished.

“Was it something I said?” she muttered.

Despite her bravado, she blew out a relieved breath as she was finally able to relax a little. His commanding presence had occupied the entire cavern, filling it with a shit-ton of tension. Now that he was gone, the room seemed even more empty and stagnant.

Remain there?

To hell with that.

When she tried to teleport back home to the Fae Realm, nothing happened. Instead, she felt like she smashed up against the most powerful magical wards she’d ever encountered. That wasn’t surprising considering who Zander was. Calling on her new god powers, she tried to bypass the block by entering the Realm of Illusions. Since she owned the damn thing, she should have been able to travel there with ease, but it still didn’t work.

She tried several more times, then finally gave up with a muttered curse.

Resigned to remain where she was for the moment, she glanced around. If she was going to have to stay put until her captor returned, she might as well check out her surroundings while she waited.

Using her magic, she created a few magical balls of light and tossed them into the air. The balls expanded and grew brighter as they slowly rotated above her head, illuminating the cavern so she could see everything. Rather than a single space, the cavern was actually a series of rooms connected by curved archways.