Betrothed To Jack Frost Box Set

by Alex Gedgaudas

  Elle ignored her and went into a lengthy explanation as to how Khione was about to stab her heart. She told of how she turned on the gas to the stove before setting the cabin on fire. Hermes looked impressed as she finished, but Elle spoke before he or his siblings could.

  “We need weapons,” she declared, standing on wobbly legs.

  “I have not seen Khione fight, but I know Loki is very talented at dueling,” said Artemis gravely. She bowed her dark head respectfully to Elle. “I will fight with you, Princess.”

  Both Elle and Artemis looked to Apollo and Hermes. The latter merely scowled at Elle. “Of course we fight with you. Speaking for both my brother and I, we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  While looking at Apollo, Elle found he was grinning. “We should bring Lucy with us. She could easily bore someone to death while discussing global warming.”

  Elle smiled grimly. She could not spend her time thinking of the people from home. She now had a mission.

  “Are we fighting to place Princess Khione under royal arrest?” inquired Artemis.

  “No,” said Elle with certainty, “we’re going to kill her.” She raised a brow at the goddess. “Still in?”

  Artemis merely snorted. “It will not be a simple task to kill a goddess thousands of years old.”

  “Then I’ll do it without you.”

  The goddess raised a dark brow. “Khione will have many comrades. This is obviously a very well-thought-out plan of hers to take her father’s throne. Clearly it has been thought out centuries in advance.”

  “Then I’ll do it without you,” repeated Elle.

  Artemis merely laughed. “No, you won’t. I will not miss this. It will be the most fun I’ve had in two hundred years.”

  Apollo ignored his sister to watch Elle with uncertainty. “Are you sure you are up to the task of killing your almost sister-in-law?”

  A reproachful look from Elle was enough to make the god sigh. He nodded while his twin vanished after promising to call in reinforcements. It was obvious to Elle that Loki and Khione would put up one strong fight. But it did not matter. The normally docile Elle knew it was time for payback, so only the rightful heir of Boreas could claim the throne—Jack Frost.

  Chapter 15

  By the time Apollo and Hermes brought her back to Winter’s Kingdom, Elle was ready to fight. Khione had gotten away with every act of cruelty she had committed for hundreds of years. Not anymore.

  Apollo seemed to sense Elle’s slight hesitation as he halted further advancement toward the throne room. He instead transferred them to a place Elle recognized, the weapons armory below the sparring arena on Olympus. Only Hermes was with them. Artemis had her own arsenal of weapons at her own temple.

  Hermes provided Elle a hooded cloak in a half-hearted attempt to conceal her identity as he blathered on about finally gaining vengeance for Matthew’s death. He was also speaking some nonsense of Khione making a fool out of him a very long time ago. As Elle put on the cloak, she felt she was having second thoughts about taking a life even if it was someone as truly awful as Khione. She was a murderous woman who deserved to go to hell, but two wrongs didn’t necessarily make a right.

  “I maintain this is a terrible idea,” said Apollo again, looking exasperated. Out of the three of Zeus’s children, he was the only one voicing reservations of going to war with Khione. On Apollo was a gloriously long sword attached to his hip. A long bow was in his left hand. Golden arrows sat in a quiver on his back. Hermes held a mighty staff of a caduceus that could control the minds of beings lesser than gods. Elle’s godfather claimed he did not need much else weapon-wise when he could control the minds of merfolk and nymphs to do his bidding for him. Apparently, this was supposed to come in handy against any minions Khione had on her side. Hermes seemed particularly cheerful about gaining vengeance for Matthew’s death all those years ago. He waved around his staff while whistling cheerily.

  Apollo sighed once he realized Elle and Hermes were paying him no attention as they did a weapons check. Elle strapped a dagger onto a special holder that went onto her thigh and golden armor over her upper torso. Knowing she wasn’t talented at spear or knife throwing, Hermes took some spare daggers for her to hold in case things got sticky. He claimed if worse came to worse, no immortal liked a dagger to the eyeball. “We need Jack to know Khione’s a psycho,” said Elle firmly, accepting heavy metal gloves that would spare her fingers from being cut off from swords or knives.

  “We need to make sure Khione isn’t crowned,” corrected Apollo. “The moment she is, the protection of anyone holding the crown comes into effect. She and Loki will be untouchable.”

  The massive throne room was yet again decked out in a glorious display of winter-themed decorations that just might have put any other room Elle had ever seen in this castle to shame. Very large ice sculptures obviously showing off Khione decorated every corner reaching at least twenty feet tall. The room itself looked like a frozen tundra with its pale blue and sheer ice decorations all over. There was a large icicle chandelier at least five feet in length dipping down from the ceiling while all the floors looked to be made of sheer ice. It was easy to walk on given it wasn’t ice but a beautiful alternative flooring. There was even an incredibly large stuffed polar bear near the thrones. That one was odd, but Elle didn’t think twice about it. There were two sets of tall chairs overlooking the room; one was Boreas’s old spot with a very tall and very old throne. It was decorated with lovely decorations of ice and frost that was only suitable for a king or queen. Even though the throne beside it was smaller than the larger throne, it was just as grand.

  Elle recognized different gods and goddesses. Zeus and Hera were in attendance at the far end of the room, as were Poseidon and Amphitrite. There were many other people of different mythical origins that Elle mentally bet were of some type of royalty like Zeus and Poseidon. There were people from Chinese folklore, Norwegian, German, Irish, and others that Elle did not recognize from any of her previous reading of books or seeing at winter balls. An unfamiliar man stood off from Zeus’s left. He had jet-black hair and wore a rather fine-looking black suit made from what appeared to be top-notch material. The man’s long, shoulder-length hair was held back in a low ponytail, but it did nothing to take away from his strangely beautiful twenty-something face. His cheeks were thin and hollow, his eyes possessing dark circles under them from what appeared to be lack of sleep. Contrary to Jack’s naturally pale face, the immortal’s face looked pale due to lack of sunlight.

  “Johnny Depp?” questioned Elle stupidly.

  Hermes cackled to himself while Apollo shook his head and moved his lips to hover next to her ear. “Hades. Given it’s a coronation, all forms of monarchy must be present by the time Gaia passes over the crown. This law goes for the King of the Underworld as well.”

  Elle watched as Hades looked rather bored. He looked to be ignoring something the nearby Zeus was saying. “Where’s Gaia?”

  “Check the front,” said Hermes, grinning.

  Elle’s eyes narrowed in disbelief by what she saw. There was only a little girl in a dress made of fresh leaves at the beginning of the room. She had on a gorgeous forest-green wreath upon her head as her small body danced around to the music being played by the royal piano players. “She’s a kid?” Elle frowned.

  “For now,” Apollo answered with a nod. “She shall change her form momentarily. Watch.” Sure enough, the pretty little girl with vines for hair and leaves for clothes started to change. Suddenly, she was no longer a child of five but a young girl of ten. She wore an ankle-length dress of leaves. The beautiful girl continued dancing around to the music, oblivious to much else.

  “Ladies, gentlemen, and merfolk,” a lovely voice similar to wind chimes broke through the crowd of light noise. Elle stiffened as none other than her murderer was suddenly inside the room dressed to impress in a very beautiful ice-themed pale blue gown that draped at least two feet behind her. Elle nearly wanted to scream her head
off seeing Khione and imagining she was actually about to be queen after all the horrible things she had done to get herself there. Nothing could have prepared Elle for seeing Jack suddenly standing next to Khione after appearing out of thin air.

  “It was prophesied centuries before that my youngest brother would become our father’s successor,” began Khione, her voice magnified due to some type of magic. Her lovely voice echoed around the halls and captivated the audience of probably a couple thousand gods, goddesses, and other creatures. Elle’s rage was secretly boiling to an all-time high.

  “Jack Frost was scheduled to marry the gem of the fire coven,” Khione continued, her beautiful voice still echoing around the halls. “His marriage to the descendant of fire would and should have made him the rightful heir of Winter’s throne. Unfortunately, it is believed the Fire Princess will not awaken from her deep slumber. She and my brother will not become king and queen today based on my mother’s horrific treachery!” declared Khione, sounding so pure and full of false indignation. Elle could understand why so many people believed her words; Khione was great at public speaking. Many gods and goddesses nodded. Hera and Pele held hands as they softly cried. Jack had on his horribly familiar blank expression that caused Elle to see her near-husband was lost in deep thought. He was staring at nothing in particular, but it was the utter void behind his grey eyes that made Elle want to sprint to him and try hugging him again. She resisted.

  “Even though there is no possible way for my darling youngest brother to take his rightful place on our father’s throne, I do wish to possess his blessing as I accept the title of Queen under our father’s name,” Khione continued, sounding utterly professional, as if she were the lead speaker of a presidential debate. She had the audience giving a loving round of applause as if she were an amazing person.

  Jack was nearby, simultaneously staring at the floor and yet at nothing in particular. Elle’s heart skipped a beat simply watching him.

  “You have my blessing,” said Jack in a dull monotone, still staring blankly into space. He looked utterly void of any emotion, a simple shell of his usual self. What absolutely exploded Elle’s building rage was seeing Khione gently grasp the top of Jack’s shoulder and squeeze soothingly. She murmured some form of comforting words as if she were a dear friend and not a backstabbing psychopath. No amount of being held back from Hermes could stop Elle after that. Her hot skin accidentally burned her godfather’s hand as she wiggled away from him. She launched herself into the narrow hallway that led right to where Khione and Jack stood roughly fifty feet away.

  “Thank you, my brother,” Khione simpered. “I do promise to try my very best to be at least half as decent of a queen as you would have been a great king—”

  “Now that was adorable!” said Elle loudly, quickly gathering the attention of a grand majority of people in the hall. “Sibling love right there, people!” Hundreds of pairs of eyes to look to where she was. Elle calmly started walking, determined not to care about how nervous she was, given her heart was racing.

  “Tell us, Khione, did you tell your youngest brother that you murdered his entire family and then framed Zetes and Calais for it?” Elle approached closer. “Did you tell Jack that you murdered Boreas? Did you tell him you stuck a dagger in my chest and blamed Oritya for it?” Elle shrieked.

  “Who is this imposter?” Loki, disguised as a sea-nymph, shouted in outrage. Jack suddenly watched Elle with a very strange look on his face. It seemed to be utter disbelief. Elle ignored the protests of Apollo and Hermes to move closer to where Khione and Jack were.

  “I’m not the imposter, Loki!” Elle shouted angrily, causing a few of the audience to gasp aloud.

  The pretend sea-nymph did not blink. He instead shot her a murderous glare.

  “What’s the matter, Khione? Cat got your tongue?” Elle mocked. “That’s funny. There was no shutting you up when you tried to kill me.”

  “Who are you to be impersonating my brother’s near-dead love?” Khione cried in fake outrage as Pele and Hera both caught sight of Elle and gaped in shock.

  “There’s no impersonation,” said Elle coldly. Khione’s eyes narrowed as she started muttering low words to Jack as she kept her gentle squeeze on his shoulder. “What’s wrong, Khione?” Elle growled. “Should I have worn the wedding dress I was in when you tried stabbing me to death?” She roared in frustration as she generated a strong looking fireball in her hands. She next whipped it in Khione’s direction.

  Elle could not explain how she managed to create the ball of flames or how she came to have such strong accuracy to bowl Khione over. Perhaps it was only surprise from the goddess that Elle was able to perfectly execute such strong force behind the fire. Khione toppled over to the ground, groaning in discomfort as Loki in disguise assisted her.

  People started yelling, shouting, and even demanding explanations as others began to protest, deeming Elle a liar. Elle, meanwhile, did not care as all hell broke loose.

  Immortals roughly argued and even some random fighting escalated. Guards of Winter’s throne charged for Elle as even a couple of mermaids watched her angrily before running for her. Hermes suddenly appeared, waving his strange weapon that caused the nymphs with the mermaids to start turning on all the merfolk rather violently. While he controlled their minds, Apollo came out of nowhere and took out an approaching winter guard who seemed to be trying to take off Elle’s head.

  Apollo’s arrow roughly struck through the guard’s throat. A random black cat next came sprinting out of nowhere to attack a small snake that had come out in a bid to get to Elle’s feet.

  “Jormungand!” Apollo shouted loud enough for Elle to hear through the ruckus. “Loki’s son; watch it, his bite is venomous to anyone not immortal!”

  “What about the cat?” Elle asked as the black cat hissed violently. Elle was wrong to assume the animal wished her harm. The cat sprinted for the snake. It threw a mighty paw out to scratch out an eye of the lovely green and blue scaled serpent. The snake hissed in pain and writhed on the ground as green blood emitted from it.

  “Never doubt my twin sister’s abilities.” Apollo grinned as Artemis in cat form happily swallowed her victory eyeball.

  More violent fighting took place where Elle was not incredibly certain whether everyone knew Khione was the bad guy or whether tons of immortals just wanted a good fight. Whichever it was, it seemed Team Khione consisted of the Norse, Chinese, and French members of mythology and a few members of the Greeks and the mermaids. Team Jack consisted of everyone else who wasn’t too afraid to fight. Elle in flame form burned the arm of a mermaid trying to bite Hermes with a mouthful of fanged teeth. Triton and Ajax seemed to be in happy spirits across the room, spearing people with their mighty silver and green-gemmed tridents.

  The regal Amphitrite and her husband Poseidon did not seem to be up for a fight as they watched their sons from a corner. They quietly conversed with Zeus and Hades, as if there was nothing abnormal about the fighting and bloodshed taking place. It was as though they were merely spectators at a youth soccer game. Hera seemed to be the most violent of the group as she took a dagger that seemed to be hiding on her thigh under her dress. She happily slit the throat of a nymph who had broken out of Hermes’ trance and tried attacking him.

  “I have missed you, my precious goddaughter!” Hera happily laughed before hugging Elle. She was seemingly oblivious that a gory display of blood had splashed on her own gorgeous dress upon her kill.

  “Same.” Elle smiled, watching in awe as Hera transformed her gown into lovely golden armor before kicking a hideous-looking creature down with her foot. She would have never known the queen of the gods was down for a fight. All the immortals nearby started transitioning themselves to body armor as the awful fighting began to take place.

  “Oh, look at that…my stepsons, the titans, have arrived,” Hera murmured in disbelief. “Husband…” she called, causing a massive display of thunder and lightning to echo outside of the castle. Zeus w
as suddenly transformed into matching golden armor similar to his wife’s as the pair began a violent display of messy fighting as more strange creatures and people came to fight apparently to the death.

  “This is insane!” Elle loudly yelled to Apollo as he shot three arrows easily into the skulls of three different targets. She was casting fire and scaring even immortals out of the idea of attacking her.

  “This is war!” Apollo laughed before Ajax’s trident whizzed through the air to strike what appeared to be a fairy against the opposing wall. “Just be thankful the giants haven’t made an appearance!”

  As a ferocious roar ripped through the cold air outside of the castle, a nearby Ajax rolled his eyes at Apollo’s words. “You bloody well had to bring them up, didn’t you?”

  As more rough, violent fighting began to escalate, Elle made a run to try and get to Khione across the room. Before she could, she was tackled. She had not seen or heard anyone approaching before she was roughly pushed onto what appeared to be a couch. She was no longer in the throne room, but her old bedroom in the castle. Frightened over the idea of the cold hands belonging to Khione, Elle allowed her skin to literally fire up and start to burn the couch and hopefully her attacker.

  “It’s really you,” Jack’s voice whispered hoarsely. His skin started sizzling the harder he held her. Elle worked to contain her flames as Jack’s cold arms wound tightly around her torso. Before she was even aware of what he was doing, he pulled her into a mighty crushing hug that made Elle gasp. She wiggled her arms loose to turn around and hug him back.

  “It was believed you would never wake up,” he said, almost as if it were a harsh accusation.

  “I almost died,” Elle admitted in a small voice as she began to cry. There was no denying it; she still had the odd body shakes as if she were still adjusting to being awake after sleeping for a long time.

  “Don’t cry,” Jack ordered quietly, inhaling her scent deeply. “I just want to relish this moment.” Elle said nothing as his cold lips pressed atop of her head and then next on her forehead and tear-stained cheeks. “I didn’t think you were coming back,” he said, his eyes weary while his body remained slightly tense.