Betrothed To Jack Frost Box Set

by Alex Gedgaudas

  “I killed you!” she accused in a shriek, growling in terrible frustration. As her head whipped back to stare at the head she just decapitated, she found she’d taken the head of none other than Loki.

  Elle was happy the god was dead until she made the disturbing discovery that his eyes were still blinking. He wasn’t dead; his heart hadn’t been pierced. As she noticed the goddess Hel start to help her father reconnect his fallen head with his torso, Elle felt like vomiting. The scene was disturbing.

  Khione glowered as her hatred for Elle became quite evident given the hideous expression on her face. Jack had disappeared.

  “No more prophecies, no more fates, no more arranged marriages and bastard offspring, but most of all; no more being second best!” Khione sneered ferociously as she started to freeze positively everything in her path. Frosted ice expelled from her body as she howled with sickening anger. It exploded in every direction. As Khione made a sudden launch toward Elle given her rage upon realizing she just took off the head of her lover, Elle realized this was the last straw that broke the crazy camel’s back. Khione wanted blood.

  Jack was missing. Apollo was busy fighting a rather ugly leprechaun. Hermes was suddenly distracted as the goddess Hel started coming at him with a scythe in a bid to remove his head.

  Elle realized she was all alone against Khione. She scampered away while still attempting to bring her flames higher to keep launching them at the sinister Ice Princess. Khione laughed diabolically as Elle’s flames did nothing to match the amount of truly powerful abilities she was projecting.

  Khione had thousands of years of fighting experience while Elle possessed a few scattered months. The odds were incredibly stacked in Khione’s favor to win. Elle paled as she looked down at herself. The very worst part of this situation was the realization that she somehow lost the dagger of Delphi during all the chaos. It was no longer on her.

  Elle started running and diving as Khione launched a series of attacks of sending frozen icicles in her direction. The only thing that kept Elle alive and uninjured was that her entire body was engulfed by flames. The ice would melt by the time they even reached her. It was similar to Khione pelting ice cubes. It hurt, but not bad enough to do any lasting damage.

  “Will you just die!” Khione howled with hideous rage as she launched herself at Elle with full intent on killing. “You bane of my existence; I wish nothing but a lifetime of the utmost agony for you and your disgusting memory!” Khione screeched as she finally tackled Elle to the floor before smacking her head roughly to the ground.

  Elle’s head rattled with searing pain as black dots danced across her vision. Before Khione could deliver any other powerful blow, she suddenly paused as she took in a strong gasp of air. Her eyes bulged as her back arched itself up as she dropped beside Elle. A trickle of scarlet blood fell out of the corners of her pale lips. Khione’s eyes drifted down to her own chest at the same time that Elle’s did.

  Something was hurting her. At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Rather suddenly, Khione keeled over to reveal Jack was on his knee behind her, looking ragged from war. In his pale hand laid a heart that he just very violently ripped from Khione’s back as his hand plunged through flesh, bone, and blood to rip out the still-beating organ.

  Jack spared Khione a glance as held her still-beating heart in his hands. He glanced at Elle before looking back at his sister. “This is for our families,” he breathed in a venomous voice before brandishing Elle’s missing dagger. He stabbed Khione’s heart immediately.

  The result was unlike anything Elle had ever seen in her entire life. This was not simply dying; this seemed to be a very dramatic process that caused a strange black light to issue from the organ. All the light behind Khione’s evil orbs suddenly vanished. Her body soon slumped limply to the floor while blood pooled from her body. She was gone.

  There was positively nothing behind Jack’s eyes. Elle watched him with wide eyes as quite a few people started to drop their weapons once they spotted their fearless leader was now quite dead. Some members of Team Khione started running while others didn’t disappear fast enough. Spiteful individuals like Artemis, Athena, Triton, and Ajax killed the traitors near them.

  The great hall soon became a tad silent with the exception of a few individuals and some of the monstrous creatures still growling. Zetes looked shocked his sister was dead while Calais looked upon Khione’s body with little interest. He then looked at Jack, who still held the stabbed heart in his hand. People soon started to quiet down as they took in the tense scene. Khione’s followers of Winter’s Kingdom soon started to fall on their knees, both out of defeat and, also, respect for Jack.

  “Long live the king,” said Calais, bowing his head in what appeared to be only respect. Many others started to do the same, all signaling respect for Jack Frost.

  Chapter 17

  “This venue does not seem to be romantic for a wedding,” Elle announced as she watched herself in the body-length mirror. Getting married in a large room where a nasty bloodbath occurred just the day before did not come across as appealing. Elle’s wedding dress this time around was a very long mermaid-style gown with a lovely sweetheart neckline. It was decorated in gloriously clear crystals that made it seem like the dress was one beautiful icicle. This particular dress was spotlessly white with no red gems coating it. Instead, only iridescent crystals covered the design. For this, Elle was thankful. The very last thing she wanted to wear was a similar gown to the dress she wore the day she was nearly murdered.

  Even after a full day had passed since Khione’s death, Elle couldn’t find herself feeling homey in Winter’s Kingdom. The majority of the staff had seemed to be team Khione, for they still sent Elle steely glares.

  If it were up to Elle, she would have married Jack in a more romantic atmosphere. She also would have married him when there were not a couple hundred immortals watching them as well.

  There was still something off about Jack that Elle couldn’t exactly place her finger on. He was no doubt suffering with the revelation the only sibling he had ever trusted had betrayed him in every way, but there was something else bothering him. Jack was calm and even collected. Strangely, he even seemed very levelheaded. Elle figured it was most probably nerves given the last time they tried marrying, she nearly died. Given time and space, he would return to his usual self.

  Jack’s piercing grey eyes seemed to be swimming with unsaid words. Elle felt satisfied he no longer was treating her like porcelain, but she wished he would simply explain what was rattling around in his head.

  After being silent for so very long, Apollo finally raised his blond head to address her earlier comment.

  “Sorry, Elle. I think you two are going for more a formality than romance right now,” he said quietly. The god watched out the window overlooking the icy city, looking very lost in thought.

  Elle glumly nodded. Jack finally becoming king meant the wedding was being hurried along so no one else could make a claim on Winter’s throne. Once Jack was king, Apollo explained that killing Elle would be rather useless to everyone. The binding law once made by Boreas would still be in effect upon the marriage and Jack’s rule; Jack could not have the crown taken away from him once they were married. It was as simple as that. All of Winter’s throne, along with all of the North Pole, including subjects, guards, and even assassins, would belong to Jack once they were married. Hermes even went as far to explain that someone could quite literally stab Elle after the ceremony and murder her, and it would not matter, for the person could not take Jack’s throne from him. Upon the marriage, there would be practically no need to kill her anymore.

  It was very hard for Elle to believe all these past months of being forced to marry Jack before slowly falling in love with him was finally coming to an end. Apollo was suddenly watching her.

  “You look beautiful,” he said in a low monotone. Elle looked up at the sadness behind his eyes.

  “Thank you.” Elle nodded, w
atching her pretty dress trail behind her. It was feeling Apollo’s adoring gaze on her that caused her to gently shudder. “Why didn’t you ever get married, Lord Lightbulb?”

  Apollo laughed, shaking his golden head in amusement. “Lightbulb. I dare say Jack’s nicknames have rubbed off on you.” Upon Elle’s grin and raised brow to indicate that he purposely ignored the question, he sighed. “I once was wildly and passionately in love with a goddess far older than me. Over ten thousand years older.” He grinned.

  Elle could not imagine living for over nine thousand years. That was bound to make anyone an expert in any language and profession. Not to mention, such life experience probably provided a great amount of maturity. “And what happened?”

  “I proposed marriage, as did Poseidon. At that time, I was merely a boy with no real life experience even at eighteen mortal years old. Still, I felt I was in love. Hestia was everything you could want in a love. She was overwhelmingly kind and considerate; never once did she ever think of herself over anyone, even if she barely knew them. But Hestia wanted neither myself nor Poseidon; she claimed she needed to remain a virgin goddess to become skilled at magic. She could not allow something as simple as love to cloud her mind.”

  Elle near snorted. “Well, that stinks for you guys.”

  Apollo sighed. “What was worse was when Hestia and I spent an overwhelming amount of time together developing a friendship. We became as thick as thieves. Naturally, as the more time we spent together—a hundred years—romance between us slowly blossomed.”

  “But Hestia always remained a virgin goddess, right?” Elle asked, remembering this particular story. According to the myths, Hestia turned Apollo down flat.

  “Hestia, like myself, was a strong believer in prophecy, Elle,” said Apollo, his gaze shifting to the floor as his shoulders lightly slumped. “She believed her prophecy stating her death was needed to save humanity. She allowed it to dictate her very existence, never once allowing herself to be happy, for she felt it was simply not in the cards for her.”

  Elle felt sad both for Hestia as well as Apollo. “Whatever happened to Hestia?”

  He did not bat an eyelash as he spoke. “She killed herself well over three thousand years ago. She allowed her multiple prophecies to overrun her life,” Apollo finished grimly.

  “That’s not a happy ending.”

  “Indeed not,” said Apollo, shaking his head in dismay. “But the small moral of this tale is relatively simple, Elle; live your life the way you want to and not for how you feel anyone else would want you to live it.”

  Elle considered that. “Do you think my story has a happy ending?”

  Apollo looked back at her with a tight smile. “Who are you asking—your friend, Aiden, or Lord Apollo?”

  “Neither,” said Elle with a smile. “My friend Apollo.”

  He grinned as he nodded. “Normally, I believe in prophecy. But with you…” He paused as he slowly glided toward Elle. Seemingly wanting to test how close she would allow him to come in, Apollo stepped closer before stopping a foot away. He leaned in before gently placing a kiss on her warm cheek. The move was sweet, but the immortal pulled himself away to not make the moment more intimate than it was. “I believe that you’ll make your fate anything you want it to be.”

  Chapter 18

  Apollo’s words provided confidence to Elle for the next few hours. Everything was going to be more than fine. She knew what she wanted now, and she knew what she would want fifty years from now—Jack. He made her happy and vice versa. They were simply meant to be.

  Hera designed her hair and makeup, providing Elle a horrid déjà vu remembering Khione and Loki’s murderous attack. When it was finally time for the ceremony to begin, Elle was actually breathing a sigh of relief she actually made it to the throne doors without being harassed. That was a plus. Her bottom lip trembled as she sadly thought of the people she loved who would not be here today. Her grandparents, Lucy, her father…

  “You’re not going to die…you’re not going to die…” Elle mumbled to herself, taking a deep breath. Hera had to fetch Hermes while everyone was prepared inside the throne room already.

  “No one’s supposed to sound so very morose on their wedding day,” a familiar voice said lightly. Elle’s head perked up to stare at the corner of the large room she was in, recognizing that lovely voice anywhere. She suddenly grew very embarrassed, realizing Jack was looking at her before the wedding. To her relief, she saw he was merely standing in the far corner with his back to her. He was dressed in his strange navy attire that Elle was told symbolized winter royalty. Considering this wedding day was also a coronation for him, he got away with wearing navy clothes instead of powder-white attire. Elle knew he would still look handsome even if he was wearing rags, but wearing all-white was something Jack wasn’t fond of given his pale complexion and too-frosted hair color.

  “You’re not supposed to see me before the wedding—it’s bad luck!” Elle hissed in a whisper before remembering that every immortal had excellent hearing. If anyone was bothering to listen to her from inside the throne room, everyone could hear her words just fine.

  Jack chuckled gently, not turning around to face her. “I believe by now we’ve proved that nothing between us is traditional, firecracker.” It was Elle’s annoyed silence that caused him to chuckle once more. “I’m not peeking.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I just really needed to hear your voice,” Jack admitted quietly.

  “Are you getting—wait for it—cold feet?”

  He groaned uncomfortably. “Your puns are atrocious. Has anyone ever informed you of that?”

  “Are we counting you just now?”

  “No.”

  “Then nope.” Elle laughed softly.

  Jack chuckled as well, shaking his head. “I love you, Elle. Always remember that.”

  There was a certain edge to his voice that she felt sounded funny. “I love you, too, Jack. I can’t wait to marry you,” she said before shaking her head at the absurdity these last few months had brought. She never would have believed when she first met this strange frosted man she would love him as much as she did.

  Chapter 19

  When the wedding commenced there was a very loud, musical wedding march to go along with Hermes escorting Elle down the aisle. It was a low-sounding piano that sounded magical.

  Elle did not recognize the massive throne room that had recently held a bloodbath in it. The mile-long room was an immaculate winter wonderland full of dazzling displays that seemed far too beautiful to even consider to be real. Snow lightly fell from the enchanted ceiling to give off the impression it was quite literally snowing on the inside. Frosted ice laced up the many white marble columns, creating an outdoorsy look. Light blue and white lighting illuminated the massive place from the tall ceilings to the length of the large throne room. Elle’s arm tightened around Hermes nervously as she took in the hundreds of individuals flooded throughout the large hall. Hundreds of sets of eyeballs watched her intently. The majority of the people were gods and goddesses from different sources of mythology. There were Chinese royalty, along with Egyptian, a few Norse, and a few others that Elle did not recognize. Every important deity was present, including Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. This wedding must have been of grave importance to the immortal world, for even their titan mother Rhea was present, looking as youthful and glorious as the rest of her immortal children.

  Elle could see her mother Pele and the goddess’s father, Alez. They were nestled in a certain area with what was explained were the royal members of the fire coven. Zetes and Calais were also in attendance, along with Oritya. She had apparently vowed vengeance upon the death of Khione, but after some sort of a diabolic act involving Hera torturing a favorite lover of hers, the old snow queen did not dare attempt anything foul against Elle or Jack. Scowling heavily was now the most harm she could inflict. Apparently, it was very well known among immortals that you did not mess with the wrath of He
ra.

  “Breathe, Elle, it’s all right,” offered Hermes quietly, his hand gently squeezing hers as they walked. Today, the god was dressed very strangely compared to his usual attire. He wore a black tuxedo that looked rather good on him. His usually unruly hair was slicked back to give him a more mature look than what Elle was used to seeing on him. Elle found the young-looking god actually looked quite the adult on her wedding day, looking not only mature but rather handsome compared to his usual boyish looks. She figured Hera was most probably the one to make him dress in such a way.

  Upon glancing into the distance at her soon-to-be husband, Jack stood with his back to her with Angel right beside him. Apparently in immortal wedding customs, the husband was not allowed to glance at his future wife until they held hands in front of the officiate. Angel snuck a glance back at Elle, a smile taking up his pretty face that reached his ruby-red eyes. He murmured something softly to Jack before he tossed Elle a soft wink.

  By the time Hermes and Elle reached Gaia on the far end of the very large throne room, the strange goddess was in the form of a small child who looked no more than six. She had on a long leaf-like dress as her hair was made up of leaves and vines. She looked adorable although perhaps too young to officiate a wedding.

  “Who gives this woman away?” she asked softly, her voice very soft and childlike.

  “’Tis I, Hermes, son of King Zeus and the Pleiad Maia. Stepson to Queen Hera, second youngest to the Olympians. God of trade, thieves, travelers, sports, athletes, border crossings, guide to the Underworld,” he finished. To Elle, his words felt like quite a mouthful. It was explained to her earlier this was custom to the person giving a bride away to her future husband.

  “Upon the locking of hands between husband and wife, this ceremony shall begin,” the now pre-teen Gaia said, her body constantly morphing. Even though she was still unnaturally beautiful, she looked twelve now.