The Lonely King (Book 1 of the Shadows, Roses and Ice Trilogy)

Chapter Thirty-Three

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Amabelle's POV

I tiptoed in the snow, my bare feet numb from the cold. The icy wind pierced through me like a knife ripping through my backside. My shredded dress was not nearly enough clothing to do anything for me against the brutal, unforgiving weather of the mountain.

What sounded like a howl, screeched through the pine trees I was creeping through. I trembled, tears brimming in my eyes.

I didn't have time to cry.

Picking up my pace, I gave up on trying to be quiet and jumped into a sprint. The breeze stole my tears away as they came. I tried not to let the panic settle but the sound of multiple heavy footsteps made the terror all the more real. Left weaponless, I stood no match against him, or his men.

"Oh, white rabbit in the brush, please come out, my dear." Sang an unfamiliar male voice.

Then I fell.

My body toppled into the chilling snow that covered the ground. I winced, gritting my teeth as I tried to sit up. Fear caressed my skin, sending a thrill of desperation into my stomach. Sunken in the snow, my joints frozen, it felt like trying to climb out of quicksand. I sobbed, attempting to crawl out of the thick white powder that had turned my body into pins and needles.

Strangled.

I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Help!" I called out into the white tundra, begging for anyone to save me.

Then someone grabbed me, lifting me out of the snow. I was helped, but not by a friend or my much-needed savior. I began screaming uselessly as the stranger with no face hauled me up over his shoulders. The man laughed mercilessly, his large chest rising and falling.

"My white rabbit, caught by the wolf, did you really think you could escape me?" His thick Russian accent sent shivers down my spine, and it was not of pleasure.

"Please, don't," I begged helplessly as he dropped me onto a large wood stump, flat on my back.

A gasp left me, the air swirling into the atmosphere like smoke. A set of brown, nefariously gleaming eyes hovered over mine. They were so dark I could see my own reflection in them, which was even more horrifying. Replacing my own oak brown eyes were baby-blue curved ones. My skin was a pale peach color, and I had long locks of platinum blond hair.

Then I recognized myself.

"You belong to me, Bonny-Lee."

In the next breath, I was back in my own body, swallowed in the same flannel sheets I fell asleep in. I gasped, flying up out of Dante's arms and onto my feet. The wood floorboards whined underneath my feet as I fled to the bathroom. Once I was there, I didn't waste a moment and stood underneath the shower, turning the knob until it wouldn't go any further.

I needed to get warm.

The nightmare had felt too real, my own skin was iced over like a frozen lake. I didn't even flinch when the steaming water poured over me. I was so absorbed in my own head, that I didn't hear Dante enter the bathroom until I saw him mirrored in the shower wall. Of course, I had felt his presence before that. After being marked last night, I noticed our bond seemed stronger and more powerful than before.

"Mon amour?"

Turning around, I tried to smile, but I knew better. It was close to impossible to hide what I was feeling from him and harder now that I was officially marked.

"Good morning," I chirped, my high-pitched voice giving everything away.

"The water is scalding hot," Dante observed, stepping into the shower with me.