Page 16 of Wicked Prince of Frost

I can’t possibly imagine what I could do for a fae that he could not ask of a thousand others, far more capable, but I don’t intend to waste this opportunity.

“What must I do to fulfill my end?”

He steps back, and warmth fills the space between us. “You will find out once you are bound and obligated. The details are too important to speak before then.” When I don’t answer right away, he adds, “So, what will your decision be? Will you bargain or die where you stand?”

“Does it count as a bargain if I’m forced into it?”

“You were the one who wanted to bargain in the first place,” he says flatly. “I am merely providing you with…motivationto decide.”

“Still, death threats are a bit much from someone who didn’t even need my help five minutes ago,” I mutter.

“Would it help if I offered to kill everyone you know and love?” he quips.

My eyes dart toward the second floor before I can stop myself, and he catches it.

“Who else is here?” he snarls.

“No one,” I say.

He’s already moving toward the stairs. I try to block him, but he pushes past. I race after him. He has already opened the doors to the other rooms and is striding toward my parents’ room.

“Wait—”

He opens the door and pauses on the other side of the threshold, giving me time to catch up.

The fae continues further in, though I cannot bring myself to follow. He stops a few feet from my parents, their bodies frozen and trapped within enchanted ice. The tension slipsfrom his posture, shoulders sagging.

They, like countless others over the years, are among the brave who volunteer to protect their town from the dragon who brings winter storms throughout the year, terrorizing the innocent people of this empire by turning them intothis.

“If I succeed, then I will break this curse on them all.”

The way he says it makes it sound like a small, insignificant thing. That promise tells me what I have failed to realize before now—he is no ordinary fae, but the wicked fae prince who commands the Winter Dragon.

No one else has the power to free its victims.

The prince crosses to the mortal lands once a year, and for one reason—the Choosing.

The depth of the obligation he demands crashes down around me. It is far more than servitude—I would be his wife.

At least until he sacrifices me to his monstrous beast, as he had his six wives that came before me.

It's no wonder he didn’t want to give me details before I agreed.

My hands ball into fists at my sides. I cannot afford to lose my temper now—especially not with the most powerful fae Arum has ever known. The one who is the reason, I’ve been alone for the past three years, never knowing if I will get the chance to hear my parents’ voices again or hug them one more time before my heart ceases for good.

“Why not now?” The question slips unbidden.

He glances over his shoulder. “You cannot expect payment without having done the work first,” he says, though not unkindly.

The cruelty is gone from his face. There is something so sorrowful in his features when he is not delivering threats.

Is this nothing more than a facade to disarm me, or is he a tormented soul using his claws to keep the world at a distance?Isqueeze my eyes tight to shove away the absurd thought.Of course it’s a trick.

He turns and strides past me, moving so fast that I barely manage to catch him as he reaches the front door.

I can’t let him leave. Not yet.

I may die at the end of it all, but if there’s a chance my sacrifice can help the people who have suffered for too long under him, then I will have done more than I ever dreamed possible.