Jack learned long ago to blacken out his emotions. If you displayed none, no one could see your innermost thoughts. In Jack’s case, he was able to block out his strong hatred for his family. His father Boreas referred to Oritya as his mother for centuries, even though the foul woman had never shown him an ounce of kindness. It was absurd the old man used the word mother and that viper’s name together in the same sentence.
“No,” said Jack honestly. “Oritya’s constant negativity toward my betrothed has caused all of these conversations of hers to mold themselves together. I’ve stopped paying attention to them.”
“Hold thy tongue when you speak rudely about my mother,” Zetes warned, his eyes flashing as he sent Jack a scathing look. “Your time is better spent fixing that fiancée of yours, littlest brother. She is but a pretty little thing with too sharp of a tongue.”
Jack flexed his fingers together as he gently shrugged. It wasn’t as though the moronic Zetes was saying something that Jack did not already know. That was one of the things that Jack found admirable along with irritating about Elle all at once: her inability to refrain from sarcasm. It was as though the mortal held herself a secret death wish. “I happen to like pretty little things with sharp tongues. I suppose my betrothed and I are a good match,” said Jack, flashing his brother a devilish smirk.
Jack personally loved agitating his eldest brother. It was a small piece of entertainment to anger the god. Jack could ignite such rage in him, yet the man wasn’t stupid enough to fight back. Zetes was intelligent enough not to cross Jack’s wrath when it was just the two of them alone. He spoke strongly in the presence of his father and mother, but Zetes learned long ago not to anger Jack in a private situation. He would have all of fingers and toes ripped off before being shoved down his throat rather violently. King Boreas chuckled wryly at Jack’s comment. “Seems you have your hands full with the youngest descendant of the fire nation, my son.”
“It is apparent he does not have his hands that full of her, Father,” said Calais in a toying manner, his innuendo clear. A knowing smile coated his lips. “She and the sun god seem to be hitting it off a little more than she and Jack have been.”
Jack gently shrugged his comment off, not showing how much it irked him. His innermost thoughts returned to watching the young woman laugh with the sun god, almost as if they were lifelong friends. Evidently they had been, but it did nothing to qualm Jack’s intense dislike of Apollo. That was the reason he marked Elle’s neck with a delicate bruising.
The look on Apollo’s face clearly showed Jack that the walking ball of hot air finally realized Elle Darrow was off limits. Jack saw it in his eyes; Apollo now understood Elle belonged to Jack alone.
Jack’s teeth clenched once more as he became angered by his own thoughts. He was mentally declaring the girl his. How he had gone from wanting her dead to wanting her kept alive was almost repulsive. The confident, sarcastic antagonist was simply too damn appealing.
“The sun god seemed to have a temper this evening at training,” Calais continued, obviously annoyed he wasn’t able to get under Jack’s skin with his earlier dig. “Was it because you stole the mortal right out from under his nose, little brother?”
Jack gently rolled his shoulders. “It’s apparent you spend too much time stalking my betrothed to know whom she speaks with. Obviously, you already know the answer, my dumbest of siblings.”
“What did you say?” shouted Oritya, her voice saturated with heavy hatred. Jack’s sister Khione, on the other hand, smiled softly at his comment.
“I believe you heard what I said or you wouldn’t have such a hideous look on your face right now,” Jack countered in a bored voice.
Suddenly, the long table erupted as it shook violently. Jack did not need to look in his father’s direction to know he angered the old man by insulting his precious wife. Finding himself in more of a bitter mood than usual, Jack decided two could play the who’s-more-powerful game. Jack set his entire hand on the gleaming white granite of the table and slowly allowed his abilities to manifest. Little by little, the entire table started to freeze over. It wasn’t just the granite; plates, food, and goblets took on a frozen appearance as his powers erupted and enveloped the entire table in a slick icy display. Turkey legs became frozen solid. Wine and juices turned to blocks of ice. The moment startled Jack’s family, along with the wives and concubines of Zetes. It never ceased to surprise anyone just how powerful Jack Frost truly was.
Boreas enjoyed putting Jack in his place by performing random doses of power to express authority throughout their centuries together. Being his heir, Jack found he was actually becoming far more powerful than his own father. The old man no longer frightened him like he had back when Jack was a newly turned immortal.
Growing among the gods the last couple hundred years brought a more confident approach to the forever-young man. There was now an otherworldly confidence to him. If he and his father were to engage in a fight to the death, Jack held no doubt that he could best his father. Boreas knew it as well, though he was too arrogant to ever admit it. Jack allowed his eyes to drift up to meet his father’s gaze, with a look that clearly but silently expressed four simple words: your move, old man.
Even though he didn’t particularly like his own father, Jack had grown somewhat fond of the last living family member of his he still cared for. Boreas could not spare his bastard child too much kindness without upsetting his wife, but Jack knew in his strange way the old man cared too.
Boreas sighed, gently shaking his burly white head in a disappointed manner. “Perhaps you should go forth and take a walk, my son,” he said quietly, his eyes watching Jack with what appeared to be even more unspoken disappointment.
This was a typical comment. A member of the royal family would purposely instigate a situation, and every time Jack would be the one sent away for throwing simple words in a challenging manner. Tonight, Jack was not in the mood for his temper to be tried. He was fine with leaving. Standing from his throne, he clapped his hands together. “I’m fine with that. But I will spare your family a warning; if I find out your wife or sons attempt to kill Elle Darrow while I’m away, my retaliation will make my battles on Fight Night look like child’s play.” He smiled wickedly, a hundred diabolical tortures coming to mind that would make even the strongest of gods cry.
Jack noticed how Zetes and Calais both looked rather nervous. Oritya scowled in place as Khione gently took a sip from her spoon a castle keeper held for her mouth. She was the one relative he did not need to worry about hurting Elle. King Boreas frowned, straightening his posture at once. “What are you claiming, my son?”
“A Nameon lion just happened to be in the hallway Evangeline was walking in alone,” Jack said, watching Oritya with a blank expression. “We all know whose wing of the kingdom possesses a lion as a safeguard.”
“What are you attempting to say, silly boy?” scowled Oritya, causing Jack’s jaw to clench tightly. How much it would please him to rip out her vocal cords and feed them to her own lion!
“I’m pointing out it was your lion that attempted to eat the girl,” snarled Jack.
Oritya pursed her lips but said nothing to contradict him. “Considering you tried to kill the mortal yourself, is it not hypocritical you care about our own actions, brother?” Zetes yawned, causing Boreas to scowl.
“SILENCE!” the King boomed, powerful authority echoing throughout the large hall. “The fire king, Alaz, does not want his grandchild in harm’s way. The very moment something were to happen to the girl related to the great prophecy, he has declared war on the culprit responsible. Evangeline Darrow will not come to any harm while inside my kingdom and definitely not while I live and breathe. IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?”
Every last person at the table slowly nodded. The wives of Zetes looked deeply aggravated, as were his concubines. Still, his words meant nothing. Boreas would not live forever; a couple hundred years from now, he would die. That meant very possibly his own wife and son
s didn’t hold respect for his command as king. Even being threatened, Jack didn’t trust leaving the sleeping mortal unattended while he was away. Too many people wished her dead to avoid the prophecy and to avoid her reign as queen.
Cell phones were a very interesting way of communication nowadays. Back when Jack was a mere mortal, he used letters and carrier pigeons if he wished to give someone or take information from another. Cell phones were simpler. You could find who you were looking for using simple numbers. Teleporting himself to Elle’s bedroom, Jack got out his phone to call one of the only individuals he knew would keep the girl safe while he was away. Even as the call went to voicemail, Jack did not have to wait long for a reply. Eight seconds later, the god of travel was standing before Jack with a half-eaten cheeseburger in one hand and some type of gaming controller in the other.
“Roo cawed?” said Hermes, his question muffled by the massive amount of food in his mouth.
Jack tried to resist scowling at the impish god. He personally felt Hermes was a waste of space a lot of the time. To this day, Jack was still uncertain how someone over three thousand years older than himself held the mannerisms of the millennial generation. Growing an icicle from his hand fairly quickly, Jack brought the weapon up to Hermes’ throat. “This door does not open. Evangeline does not get out, and no one goes in. Got it?”
Hermes’ hazel eyes widened, chewing slowly before swallowing his massive bite of food. He was afraid of Jack on a certain level, and they both knew it. Just about anyone of intelligence was, given they knew how very easily Jack Frost could take a life without a care. Hermes stood soundlessly for a moment, only further testing Jack’s patience. “You realize being mortal doesn’t make her an idiot, right? If Elle wants to leave the room, having me play guard dog isn’t going to stop her.” Hermes shrugged.
“Are you getting to a point, airhead?”
Hermes did not look offended as he took another bite of his food before nodding. “My point is Elle hasn’t changed much from her childhood years. She’s not a kid, but she’s still just as stubborn as she was back then—”
“For the love of the Styx, get to the point of your rant already, you overgrown child!”
“Elle’s not in her room,” Hermes finished, sparing him a shrug. “She’s with Apollo.”
Jack’s grey eyes narrowed as Hermes looked rather awkward. A careful session of listening proved to Jack he could not hear her heartbeat. “Why is she with the god of hot air, Hermes?” said Jack, his voice sounding near demonic.
Hermes looked only slightly frazzled by his anger as he gently shrugged. “She wanted to go out, so she called my brother. Pretty much she just had to say his name and he showed… What’s the matter with you?”
Jack barely noticed his abilities possessing full force of his clenched fist. His whole arm turned to ice. He watched the god of travel with a clenched jaw. “Nothing. Now get out of my face.”
Hermes did not need to be told twice. Within a split second, the young god vanished, still looking spooked. Jack took a deep breath, trying and failing not to become agitated. The girl wasn’t in harm’s way. If anything, Elle was far safer with Apollo than she was any other time she was walking the palace while Jack was working. Apollo didn’t want to harm her. The god wanted her safe; although he probably wanted to touch the alluring Elle as much as Jack did. Gritting his teeth once more, Jack transferred himself to the one place he figured he would find Lord Glowball on a weekend. It was a watering hole where anyone and everyone immortal went when they wanted to eat or drink.
Dionysius, being the god of wine, wanted a place where all creatures immortal or legend could come together to share a drink. He made Grape’s Wrath, a place that resembled a typical human version of a bar. Only this place of drink was far more exquisite than anything humans could come up with. Decked out with pillars of bronze and gold, statues of grape vines decorated the inside of the temple along with live grape plants that the God of Wine planted himself far below the temple floor. Drawings of great battles and warriors covered walls over booths and tables, some of the most popular fighters in all of history being displayed. Even Jack’s portrait had been hung over a booth, a reward for impressing Dionysius with Jack killing a ferocious cyclops using his abilities a very long time ago. That had been a proud day for Jack; not only had he taken a page from the Odyssey by blinding a giant cyclops, he removed the monster’s eye and made then made the beast eat it.
Jack glanced around the restaurant, noting not much had changed in the three months since he had been there. New additions were a large dart board and an even bigger pool table. Jack came to Grape’s Wrath every so often, usually to deal with a client who wanted a certain amount of frost bestowed on a certain area. Almost all the times Jack had found himself at Dionysius’ place, Apollo would be nearby, drinking in some corner while conversing with friends. The glow-ball was a magnet for the other immortals; everyone always felt compelled to radiate into his fun-loving orbit. Today was no exception. Past a giggling sea nymph and an overzealous Hercules, who looked to be wanting to gain yet another wife, Lord Apollo was seated at a stool on the far side of the place. Two other gods and a deity sat nearby as they briefly contributed to conversation. Sitting directly next to Apollo was Elle. She wore human clothing, a ragged hoodie, ripped and torn in certain areas, and pajama shorts that Jack found revealed a very nice view of her long, slender legs. To Jack’s great annoyance, he wasn’t the only one who was casting views at the attractive girl’s lower half. There were two nearby immortals who served Winter’s Kingdom that were ogling the girl. The God of Light kept diverting his eyes from his drink to glance at Elle with a lust-filled manner.
Being quite capable of overhearing their conversation a great distance away, Jack stood on the opposite end of the bar, flicking two drachmas on the table for a drink. He barely paid attention to the wench serving him a glass bottle of a bubbly liquid; his attention was solely on listening to the sun god elicit small giggles from Elle.
“Yeah, I suppose she will not be receiving a Mother’s Day card anytime soon.” The god laughed. “Are you saying you don’t wish to meet Pele?” asked Apollo, finally gaining containment of his laughter. He chugged from his own bottle, watching Elle intently.
“What would I say to her?” said Elle. “‘Hey, long time no see. I’m that long-lost daughter you sold to save yourself from an arranged marriage’?” She giggled, swiping a strand of her dark hair behind her ears. “I can’t even imagine how awkward that would be.”
The deity who was apparently conversing with the duo leaned in to stare at Elle in bewilderment. “But you are a princess. You hold the rights to the fire kingdom just as any other member of that royal family. Surely you must have some desire to learn of your royal lineage!”
Elle gently shook her dark head. “I have as much desire to meet Pele as I have to learn how to use a scallion fork.”
Jack’s lips quirked in a smile, remembering that small moment where the girl caused distress to her etiquette teacher. The deity she replied to didn’t quite understand the comment, but Apollo did. He started to snicker before he tossed an arm around Elle’s shoulders. His hand gently played with the loose strands of Elle’s hair, causing her to smile gently at him. A strange desire to break Apollo’s arm in three places pulsed through Jack, causing him to greatly contemplate this action. He had to take into consideration there were witnesses, no doubt ones who would inform Zeus or Mother Nature of his crime. After that, Jack would have far too much explaining or paperwork to file. It probably wasn’t worth it.
Hephaestus laughed nearby, using a dark hand to clap a hand against Elle’s back. “What I can say in Pele’s defense? Can you blame the woman after meeting Jack? I’m pretty sure absolutely anyone would sell their child or even their soul to Hades himself to get out of marrying that psychopath.”
A sudden gasp sounded as Elle dropped her glass bottle. The bottle crashed to the floor, shattering instantly. Elle’s hands had started afl
ame, looking completely unintentional. Jack quietly watched this moment, unsure of whether her anger had been ignited from mentions of her mother or that the god had insulted Jack. Either way, Jack knew it was solely anger that kick-started the girl’s abilities.
“I’m s-sorry,” said Elle, getting off the stool to pick up the shards. Apollo was quicker. With the snap of his fingers, the shards and liquid vanished.
“It’s okay, Ells,” he said quietly, using both hands to grab her slim waist to set her back on the stool. He smiled warmly at her, bringing his hand up to gently caress her neck. Elle gently stiffened her posture, looking quite unsure if she should allow the god to touch her in such an affectionate nature. It was watching Apollo’s index finger gently stroke the young woman’s skin that caused Jack to decide he didn’t care if he temporarily paralyzed the god. Apollo was now getting on his last nerves. Right before Jack could make a move to break his spine, someone gently grabbed him then shoved him.
Jack didn’t stumble as he found he was now on a large cliff overlooking the Bering Sea. Angel LaCosta took a seat next to the very edge of a cliff, holding a pack of ambrosia-spiced alcohol. “You’re welcome, amigo,” he said, popping the lid off his bottle with just his thumb.
Jack took a large sip from his own bottle, his grey eyes holding anger. “I don’t believe I thanked you, Candy-hearts.”
Angel rolled his blood-red eyes. “What did you think would come from breaking up their moment, Jack? You’ll scare her.”
“What the Styx are you talking about?”
Angel sighed in a tired fashion. “Honestly, man, do you really think bending Apollo into a pretzel will solve anything?” Jack resisted cussing out twenty different curses all at once. How bloody obvious was it that he loathed Apollo’s closeness to Elle Darrow? Angel could sense the tension in the air, for he threw a smirk Jack’s direction. “That’s not how you win a woman’s affections, man.”
“Ah, is this romantic advice from the one child of Cupid who shunned the opportunity to become his father’s heir?” drawled Jack, twirling his ice scepter in his hand.
Betrothed To Jack Frost Box Set Page 29