Master of Frost

by Bolryder, Terry

  Master of Frost

  Terry Bolryder

  Copyright © 2019 by Terry Bolryder

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Author’s note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Sample of Awakened Sea Dragons

  Author’s note

  Hi! This is the second book in my Frozen Dragons series, and you’ll probably want to start with the first here:

  Lord of Winter (Frozen Dragons Book 1)

  Chapter 1

  “The lord of winter is moving.”

  Chelle looked up from her place on the couch between her two huge friends to see her roommate, Talia, and her new boyfriend, Alek, entering through the front door, still dusted with snow.

  It had been a long winter already and showed no signs of stopping. At times like this, Chelle was grateful she lived and worked on campus, as it meant she had a short walk to most places.

  Except for clubs, that was, which was fine because she took a cab to those anyway.

  She hadn’t really been going to any clubs in the past few weeks, though, with Alek, Luka, and Dmitri staying at her and Talia’s apartment. Sure, she’d thought it was a little odd when Talia had insisted on bringing part of her research project back to their home, but when she’d gotten more of the details, she’d been willing to help.

  She still didn’t understand much about Luka or Dmitri—where they’d come from, how they’d ended up frozen in Talia’s lab, somehow alive. But as someone who worked in academics, she did understand that sometimes there were things that couldn’t be explained and that needed to be protected from people who would treat them as oddities more than humans.

  Plus, Luka and Dmitri were her friends now, and she didn’t know what she’d do without their marathons cuddled up together on her big, comfy sofa. She hadn’t had to go out at night nearly as much to distract herself, and she’d taken for granted that she always had someone around when she wasn’t at work.

  Now everything appeared to be changing, and perhaps that was for the best. Dmitri and Luka were prime-grade hotties and probably were getting tired of being cooped up in an apartment with her now that they understood the modern world a little better.

  Dmitri didn’t look too pleased by it, though. He straightened from his slouched position, where he’d had his muscular arm resting over the top of the couch, sheltering Chelle.

  Despite his mostly easygoing nature, Chelle still had trouble being comfortable with Dmitri. From his harsh, masculine features to his buzzed head to his vivid, blue-green eyes, everything about him was just intimidating. Plus, he was tall, muscular, and much more outspoken than Luka.

  Though she liked him, when she was around him, she always felt a little on edge.

  Luka, on the other hand, always made her feel at ease. Possibly because he was usually buried in a book or calmly appraising things. He didn’t say much unless he really had something to say, and he tended to be very polite and keep his distance mostly. He didn’t get in her bubble like Dmitri did, though he tolerated Dmitri getting in his.

  And Dmitri often did get in Luka’s bubble, especially whenever he saw Chelle and Luka alone. If Chelle didn’t know any better, she’d almost say Dmitri was jealous and didn’t want her to be alone with his friend.

  It was sweet to see how close they were sometimes and how close to Alek. She hadn’t really ever met any men like them in the modern world.

  Though, most of the time she tried not to think about the fact that they were from another time… and Siberia.

  Dmitri ran a hand over his buzzed hair and leaned forward, frowning at Alek. “What do you mean moving?”

  Alek, who’d taken to putting his pale, gorgeous hair into a man bun, at Talia’s advice, gestured across the hall. “An apartment has opened yonder.”

  It was amazing to see the transformation in Alek. He wore a sporty blue puffy winter coat, dark jeans, and serviceable boots that looked stylish on his tall figure. He usually only referred to himself as lord of winter when joking, though his friends still seemed to defer to him quite a bit.

  When she’d asked them why, they mostly avoided eye contact.

  Talia looked at Chelle apologetically. “Can we talk?”

  Chelle sighed, feeling Dmitri’s and Luka’s eyes on her. She could tell they would rather she do this in front of them, but she didn’t know if she could.

  “Sure.” She stood, ignoring Luka’s curious, icy-blue gaze. With his dark hair and pale skin, he was quite striking and handsome, in a totally different way than Dmitri. But since they were both only her friends, she didn’t go much further in her perusal than that.

  Chelle led the way to her bedroom, wondering what Talia was going to propose. She’d always been grateful for Talia. She was the grounding one in their friendship. The one who bought toilet paper. The one who washed dishes. Chelle tried to always keep the place stocked with tasty things, support her friend emotionally, and pull her out of her shell. But in the end, Talia was the backbone of their friendship.

  Chelle wasn’t sure what she would do now.

  They sat on the bed together, and Chelle noticed with satisfaction just how happy her friend looked. Talia’s tanned skin was glowing, her hair was a little looser and more feminine, and her eyes seemed to hold a perpetual sparkle that probably came from consistently making love to a hottie like Alek.

  Chelle knew that Talia and others thought she was more of a partier than she was. She liked that image because it hid so many deeper, more painful things about her that she didn’t want anyone to know.

  Better the party animal that goes out and gets with a new man every night than what she really was.

  Afraid to actually live. Constantly trying to distract herself. Never able to move on.

  But even Talia wasn’t aware of those things, and Chelle had no intention of changing that. Especially now that Talia was happy and moving on.

  “I’m sorry,” Talia said. “But you know we’re crowded here. You know I love living with you, but—”

  “Yeah, five people is too much for this apartment.”

  “You’ll have your living room back,” Talia said.

  “Sure,” Chelle said easily.

  “And you know how rare it is for spots to open for on-campus housing for staff.”

  Chelle nodded. She wanted to show her friend that she would be fine here, but it was hard to hide the fact that she ultimately feared being left all alone. She’d taken for granted how safe she felt lately with her new friends around.

  Now she wouldn’t have them or Talia. At least, that seemed to be where this was going.

  “Um,” Talia said. “We do have a spare room, so we were thinking Dmitri and Luka could come with us, but if you’d like them to stay…”

  Chelle perked up slightly. “Do you think they’d want to? They’re pretty loyal to Alek.”

  “Sure,” Talia said. “I mean, we can ask them. Or maybe one could stay and one could go, since we each have a spare room. Plus, we’ll be literally just across the hall. I’m sure we’ll see each other a lot.”

  Che
lle warmed up at that. “True. But, hm…” If she were only having one stay there, would it be awkward? Definitely if it was Dmitri. Though there hadn’t been any trouble between them, something was just a bit… odd. He looked at her sometimes with an intensity that she didn’t understand. Especially when she was with Luka. Almost as if he were… angry with her.

  But he did help with things, whether it was getting something off a high shelf, blowing off her hot chocolate when she’d overheated it, or helping her up when she’d tripped or carried something too heavy.

  But then Luka could do some of those things, too, and he would be less of a risk to hang out with.

  She screwed up her eyebrows. What was the risk with Dmitri? Why did she feel vaguely odd at the thought of them being alone?

  Talia took Chelle’s hand. “It’s been so fun living together. I couldn’t have survived college without you. And I really appreciate your help and advice with Alek as well.”

  “I’m just glad you got things figured out,” Chelle said, squeezing Talia’s hand before releasing it. She was very affectionate, but not much of a toucher. “You deserve all the happiness in the world. And your own place with your man, for sure.”

  “And you aren’t mad at me?” Talia asked, pushing a dark lock behind her ear nervously.

  “Of course not,” Chelle said, impulsively grabbing her friend into a hug. “Things change, and we get through them. Sometimes it’s for the better.” She pulled back and took a deep breath. “So should we go see what the men think about all this?”

  “Alek is probably talking to them now about the same things, though we told them you would have the final say, obviously. Also, if the dra—I mean the men—stay here, they will be paying rent and helping with the house. They can probably get jobs soon. I’ve found someone who can help get them IDs.”

  “Is that legal?”

  Talia shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think there’s a set protocol for dealing with ice men.”

  Chelle laughed and nodded. “I suppose.”

  “Thank you for being so patient with all this,” Talia said, looking relieved. “I know it hasn’t been easy, and—”

  Shouts from the living room interrupted, and Chelle and Talia shared a quick glance of panic before hurrying out of the room to see what was going on.

  Chapter 2

  Dmitri stewed as Alek expounded on the details of his move with Talia and how they were going to go about it. He knew he needed to keep himself calm, but it was hard at this moment.

  Because they were thinking of moving him away from his mate.

  Sure, the move was only a few doors away and, in reality, walkable in a few seconds, but they didn’t understand. The emotional distance he hadn’t been able to breach with Chelle was already considerable, even when they were under the same roof. How was she supposed to progress if he left her?

  And then there was the issue of Luka. If given a choice to pick one of them to stay, Dmitri was sure she’d pick Luka. The two got along better, and Luka didn’t seem to ever make her nervous like Dmitri did.

  Dmitri tried everything he could not to. He couldn’t help being big and mean-looking. He’d been practically born that way. And he tried to be gentle because he loved helping her with little things here and there. His mate was a fairly hapless human, but lucky for her, Dmitri loved being the one to come to the rescue.

  Protecting things, guarding things, it was just in his nature. Just like it was in Luka’s nature to study things and make plans.

  Both could fight well, but it was a matter of how much either of them enjoyed it.

  As such, Dmitri had been Alek’s main guard, while Luka had taken on the role of mentor.

  They’d both been raised in the castle, taught to assist the future king of the dragons, but things hadn’t gone as planned. First, Alek had failed at ruling, and then they’d ended up frozen and transported to a different world.

  But in Dmitri’s view, it was all for the better because he’d met Chelle.

  There were other benefits, too, of course. The food, like delicious Hot Pockets and pizza that could be heated in a white box to perfection. The things to watch on the magic TV box. The stores with so many items and little storekeepers to assist him everywhere.

  Many people to talk to, though he hadn’t been able to do much of that yet, out of fear it would expose him and Luka.

  But he looked forward to getting out into the world. Getting a job. Talking with more modern humans.

  If he did that, maybe he would be a better fit with Chelle. She seemed to him to always be shining. From her soft blond hair to her clear blue-gray eyes, she was just perfection. He liked her ditzy ways and her soft body when she watched movies next to him, though he hated sharing the room with Luka.

  If only she could pick him to stay with her, it would be perfect.

  But he doubted it, because while she was fine when they were in the room with Luka, whenever Luka left, there was an awkwardness that couldn’t be hidden. And then she would usually go to bed as well.

  He scratched his head, listening as Luka probed Alek for more information about the reasons for the move and possible outcomes.

  All Dmitri knew was that he wasn’t leaving Luka and Chelle alone. He didn’t think Luka had any feelings toward Chelle, but he probably wouldn’t be above experimenting if he thought Chelle had feelings.

  Did Chelle have feelings? Dmitri knew she’d given her number to Luka, and when they’d gone out to find Alek, she’d worried over Luka first, making sure he’d had a hat. She probably knew Dmitri could take care of himself, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want her to try.

  He rubbed the back of his neck, wondering if he should just come clean to his friends about his thoughts that Chelle was his mate so they could know what he was dealing with.

  But for some reason, this was one thing he wanted to keep inside. At least until he was successful, which would be hard if they took him away from his mate.

  “If Chelle chooses me, of course I would be happy to stay,” Luka said. “It is hard to do research with you and Talia making noise at all hours of the night, though I understand being newly mated is intense for you.”

  Alek frowned. “Intense? It’s the best time of my life. But are we really that loud?”

  Dmitri let out a snicker at that. “Maybe.”

  Alek rubbed the back of his neck. “Perhaps it would be better for the two of you to stay here. But it’s up to Chelle. There is only one bedroom, and she may prefer to be less crowded. She may want neither of you here at all.”

  That would be better than her being alone with Luka. Dmitri fought back a growl as he shifted in his seat again, feeling more uncomfortable than ever before, as Luka and Alek went back to discussing how things would work.

  Most of the time he was easygoing, and he’d taken everything in stride since he’d awoken in this world. He even liked the changes he’d seen in Alek and the love his lifelong friend had found.

  But Talia had taken instantly to Alek, so Alek couldn’t understand Dmitri’s issue with Chelle. Dmitri had been instantly drawn to her, but she seemed to cringe subconsciously whenever he was around.

  He was used to people feeling safe around him, not the opposite. And if he disappeared to another apartment, how would she ever get used to having him around?

  Perhaps if she didn’t have Luka around, perhaps if she gave Dmitri a chance to see he’d never hurt her or whatever she was afraid of, perhaps he could make progress. At least in telling her that he wanted so much more than to be friends.

  But having watched TV starring humans, he knew the jump from friends to lovers was a hard one and not to be attempted lightly.

  Even though sometimes it didn’t seem like he and Chelle were friends anyway, since she didn’t like to see him when Luka wasn’t around.

  He slumped with his elbow on the arm of the couch and his cheek in his palm, thinking darkly about where to go from here. He wasn’t like Luka. He didn’t really know how
to make plans. Usually, he just swaggered around and women came to him.

  Now he finally wanted one, and she evaded being alone with him like a scared mouse.

  “So is it settled, then?” Luka asked. “I will be staying here, and Dmitri can move in with Alek?”

  Dmitri stood abruptly. “Now wait just one second. Alek said Chelle would decide.”

  Luka eyed him curiously. “Obviously, but from our experience, I think she would choose me. It will be interesting living alone with a human female.”

  Dmitri felt something snap inside him, and he grabbed Luka by the shirtfront. “Like hell I’ll let you be alone with her.”

  Luka gently took Dmitri’s hands and extricated himself, a displeased expression on his usually calm face. “I’m not sure where all this emotion is coming from, Dmitri, but it’s simply a matter of logistics. If Chelle would prefer one of us stay with her, it’s probably going to be me.”

  Dmitri took a step back, since he could feel Alek eyeing him intently. “It’s just… I don’t like it.”

  “I think Chelle and Luka make a good match as roommates,” Alek said. “They are both quiet types, and Luka might be a good help for Chelle with her more airheaded ways.”

  “Don’t call her that!” Dmitri said, his voice booming more loudly than he’d meant to. He looked nervously in the direction of Chelle’s bedroom, hoping she and Talia hadn’t heard.

  He hadn’t meant to lose his temper, but he couldn’t stand to hear the least criticism of Chelle, no matter if it was true. Just part of her being his mate and him being a protective person in general.

  “Dear gods, what has gotten into you?” Luka replied in a raised voice. “Chelle is fairly absentminded. There’s nothing wrong with stating it.”