Page 5 of Frosty and the Reaper
It took severalminutes of exploring before Kami discovered the first clue to freedom.
When she noticed one of the dark walls didn’t have crystals embedded in it, she thought it was odd. It was another wide alcove in the bedroom that she had first assumed was simply a blank space. But as she moved closer, she felt a noticeable temperature difference.
Thinking it might be a way out, she pressed her hand against the stone and sensed a hum of familiar magic. Since she was good friends with Devon and her mate, Braxton Lightbringer, she’d spent a lot of time in the Hell Realm with them at their home, Guardian’s Gate. She even had her own suite to stay in whenever she visited, since she was there so often.
Guardian’s Gate was a sprawling castle that had been a gift from Braxton’s father, Lucifer, the King of Hell. Unbeknownst to them, Lucifer had added secret rooms all over the castle, some of which were traps while others were filled with hidden treasure. She had been lucky enough to discover one of the treasure rooms attached to her suite. She had been thrilled to find it, but she’d had to call for reinforcements to let her out after she’d gotten trapped inside.
Kami felt that same kind of enchantment in the rock wall. She enjoyed figuring out puzzles, especially ones that uncovered other people’s secrets. Using her magic, she tried to move the wall and grinned when it actually worked.
Once the wall was opened, she was almost blasted back by the roar of the waterfall in front of her. Not only had her mate built his private residence in the middle of a mountain with some of the strongest magical wards protecting it, but the onlyphysical entrance was hidden behind an enchanted door and a freaking waterfall.
Talk about paranoid to the max.
It might be overkill, but that kind of preparation had to be respected.
She realized there was another magical barrier that kept most of the wind and water from coming into the cavern. Only a light mist and faint breeze blew in, and it felt good on her exposed skin. Parting the water like a curtain using magic, she stepped out onto a rock ledge and into the unknown.
A cloud of mist rose up from the base of the waterfall, creating a mystical aura that separated her from whatever was on the other side. At first, she couldn’t see anything beyond a few feet in front of her. Then the wind blew the mist away and gave her a spectacular view of the floating island she was on.
The entire island was suspended mid-air, hovering gracefully between pale pink, purple, and blue clouds below and a dark sky spattered with stars above. Most of the land was covered with lush greenery that cascaded over the dark rocks in vibrant hues of emerald and jade.
Below the cascading waterfall was what looked like an ancient manor made up of several pavilions and pagodas with vibrant gemstone roofs that were connected by covered walkways. A glowing river that looked like molten gold flowed from the waterfall and ran beneath the walkways. The surface of the river sparkled like liquid diamonds as it flowed toward the edge of the island, spilling over the side in a giant waterfall.
There was a soft, dreamlike haze created by the glowing flowers growing around the base of the structures, and more blooms littered the landscape with color and light. Towering trees with black bark and glowing silver and gold leaves were spread out around the island, with more foliage growing around the rocks.
Using the droplets of water in the air to create a small platform to step on, she floated down to the closest walkway. She’d always had strong fae magic that allowed her to easily manipulate water and ice, so it was instinctual to use that instead of her new god magic.
Her feet landed lightly on a small deck attached to one of the wooden walkways. Since there was no sign of her mate, she decided to search the buildings for food. While she had decided to be a good little captive for the time being, she didn’t consent to starving.
Her stomach grumbled in agreement with her thoughts. Conjuring up food with her new god powers was an option, but it wasn’t a skill she had mastered yet. At least, not enough to risk poisoning herself unless there was no other option.
Glancing around, she realized the place was a lot larger than she’d first realized. She took her time walking around, following the pathway and admiring the view. It was the most beautiful place she had ever seen, and she felt strangely comfortable considering she had been brought there against her will.
Okay, that wasn’t technically true.
But she’d been brought there before she could even utter a protest, so that still counted as her being there under duress.
A sound from her pocket had her scrambling to pull her phone out. The text she’d tried to send earlier had finally gone through now that she had left her mate’s lair. She wasn’t the least bit surprised when the phone automatically rang in her hand. Seeing her sister’s photo on the screen, she quickly answered.
Before she had a chance to say anything, Jackie growled,“Where thefuckare you?”
Uh oh. That was a very un-queen-like tone her sister was using.
“I’m fine, so don’t freak out.”
“Don’t tell me not to freak out. Why can’t we locate you? We thought your damn mate killed you! It’s like you were completely gone,”Jackie shouted, her voice cracking with emotion.
Trying for a bit of levity, Kami said, “If I were dead, Braxton would have found my soul, right? That’s kind of his thing now as the God of Souls.”
“Don’t even joke about that. It’s the only thing that stopped me from starting a fucking war with the reapers. Tell me where you are, and we will come get you. Your mate is dangerous, Kami. None of the fucking reapers are stable right now, but your mate is…you can’t stay with him.”
Kami knew her sister was concerned for her, but hearing her insult her mate immediately put her back up. He was obviously dangerous. There was no doubt about that. Her mate might be a psycho, scary reaper, but he washerpsycho, scary reaper.
That meant no one could insult him but her.
A few minutes ago, she had been ready to leave the island. But now, she was determined to stay. Damn her contrary mind. It had gotten her into a world of trouble before, but she couldn’t help it. She really didn’t like people telling her what to do. Besides, she should probably have an actual conversation with her mate before she made any decisions.
“Relax. Give me some time to—”