He shut his eyes and pictured Aria with her long hair blonde, wearing an ice-blue gown with a sheer lace shawl draped over her shoulders. A tiara made of diamonds sat over her forehead in a V and she looked down, her dark lashes touching her cheeks. She would become queen of the Chanted Kingdom and everyone would live in peace. The thought gave him the fuel to step forward and drive the sword deep into the beast’s heart.

  A monstrous shriek ricocheted off the walls of the castle, followed by the squeal of a wounded animal. Jack staggered back, and the ice sword shattered into a thousand pieces, falling to the ground. The dragon slumped onto the frozen lake and exhaled its final breath.

  Jack was empty. The snow stopped falling, and the dark clouds faded, giving way to the weak sunshine high in the sky. He turned and tried to smile at Aria as she stumbled toward him. But he couldn’t. Instead, his knees buckled and he fell hard on his back. He felt no pain. No fear. Just peace and calm, like a cool spring morning.

  “Aria,” he whispered as she fell at his side and pulled his head onto her lap. Her tears landed on his cheeks, but in his peaceful state, he could not understand why she was crying. The Evil Queen had been defeated. Aria could return to her castle and take back the throne. All was well.

  And with that final thought, Jack closed his eyes and took his last breath.

  Aria

  “It’s Aria. Our young princess.” The hushed whispers spread through the crowds like a wave. “The Evil Queen is dead.”

  Aria was barely conscious of the people gathering around her as she cradled Jack’s lifeless body in her arms. “Jack…” She choked on his name. Her chest was so tight, she could barely breathe.

  There was a shift in the air beside her as someone knelt down and gently placed a hand on her good shoulder. She looked up and spotted her sister with eyes full of tears. Her aching heart panged with a mixture of relief and sorrow to see her sister.

  “When we saw the dragon and all the fire, we had to come back. I’m so glad you’re alive,” she said, her voice shaky.

  But Aria wasn’t glad. She was supposed to be the one to kill The Queen and save the kingdom. All she had done was run away. She had become so wrapped up in her mission to escape, she didn’t take a moment to stop and think about Jack. Until it was too late.

  “He’s gone, Snow!” Aria cried, her voice raspy. “He’s really gone.”

  “He saved our kingdom,” Snow whispered, and the heroic image of Jack slaying the dragon filled Aria’s heart with pride. He really was a hero. Her hero. She focused on his peaceful face through her blurry vision, and memories of all they’d been through together flooded her mind like a beautiful dream.

  She ran a hand through his soft brown hair. “I should’ve told him,” she whispered to her sister while keeping her eyes on his peaceful face. “Now he’ll never know just how much he meant to me.”

  “I’m sure he knew.”

  Aria shook her head, her heart squeezing in her chest. “You don’t understand. Everything about him was kind. His thoughts... his eyes... his heart.” She rested her hand over his chest, but when there was no movement, her heart ached and she broke down again. “I loved him, Snow.”

  Aria didn’t have to look at her sister to know she was crying too. But then a wave of sorrow filled the air, and Aria looked up to find her maids with their faces buried in their hands, also weeping.

  “Aria.” Snow’s eyes stretched wide. “I have an idea.”

  Aria looked into her sister’s hopeful eyes. “What?”

  “True love’s kiss.” Snow looked at George, who’d been standing across from them that whole time, then shifted her attention back to Aria. “It’s the only thing more powerful than death.”

  Aria’s shoulders sagged. “Oh, Snow… that wouldn’t work with me.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because…” She looked at Jack again. “We don’t have a story like everyone else.” She mumbled the latter because she didn’t expect anyone to understand.

  “You could at least try…” George chimed in with a hollow voice. His face had turned ashen gray as if he was still reeling from the shock of losing his mother. “It’s not like you could hurt him. And if he freezes, he’d just be preserved until the funeral.”

  Snow glared at him for his bluntness, but he wasn’t wrong. Aria looked at Jack, a sliver of hope rising in her chest.

  Could this really work?

  She loved him, it was true, but did Jack love her back? The memory of him cradling her in his arms and smoothing her hair with his hand sent tears leaking out of her eyes again.

  If their roles were reversed, Jack would’ve tried it. In fact, he would’ve moved heaven and Earth if it meant there was a chance to save her. She owed him that much. “Okay…” She sucked in a nervous breath and her heart began to race.

  She cupped his cold cheeks with shaky hands then closed her eyes. “Come back to me, Jack,” she whispered only to him then leaned in and touched her icy lips to his.

  She pulled back with her heart pounding in her chest. The silence around her was deafening. Then particles of ice began to cover his lifeless body like a wave covering the shore.

  Aria gasped, her eyes filling with tears as she watched the ice cover him completely. Nothing happened. She threw herself onto Snow’s lap, sobbing. Her sister’s arms wrapped around her so tight, as if she were trying to keep Aria together through sheer force.

  Aria’s heart burned as she continued to cry. Even though The Queen was gone and the kingdom would finally be restored to its rightful ruler, none of it mattered without Jack. She couldn’t bear the emptiness.

  “Aria…” Her sister’s voice was barely above a whisper. “Look...”

  Aria sat up slowly, and when her eyes landed on Jack, she gasped.

  His frozen body began to glow white, the light growing stronger until she had to shield her eyes.

  “Is this supposed to happen?” Aria whispered to Snow, who looked just as confused.

  Aria turned back at the sound of ice splintering. A gust of cold wind encircled Jack’s body and lifted him in the air. Millions of tiny ice fragments broke from his body and shattered like glass on the ground.

  Aria’s heart raced as she stumbled to her feet and stared at Jack, who was so bright she could barely see his face.

  Snowflakes fell from the sky above Jack’s body and swept around him, picking up speed, and the white glow faded just enough for Aria to see Jack’s body covered in snowflakes. They fused together and sank into his skin. His muddy brown hair lightened to the purest shade of white.

  The whirlwind lowered him to his feet and he opened his eyes. Aria stepped back, shaken. His eyes were gray with flecks of silver and his gaze settled on her. The snowstorm evaporated and the sun peeked through the clouds. Its rays landed on Jack. Aria hardly dared to breathe.

  He’d transformed into the most beautiful being she’d ever seen. And for a long moment, there was nothing but silence.

  “Aria…” Jack breathed her name, and the sweet sound of his voice sent her emotions reeling. Before he could take another breath, she leapt into his arms, and without warning, her mouth was on his. She felt his jolt of surprise, but it didn’t take long before his arms were tight around her waist and he was pulling her against him. When his lips parted, a rush of ice-cold air flooded her senses, refreshing the deepest part of her soul. He kissed her back, completely unyielding, and an electrifying sensation spread through her so quickly, she ceased listening to her brain entirely. He lifted her up and spun her around, cinching her to him, then deepened the kiss in the most delicious way. She buried her hands in his white hair, feeling the silken strands between her fingers.

  Someone cleared their throat, and Jack’s lips suddenly softened as her feet found the ground. Aria pulled back with her eyes still closed, reveling in the taste of this man who had just claimed her heart.

  “Jack…” His grandfather’s voice came from behind the crowd, and they both turned to look. The people stepped aside to make way for the old man to approach.

  “Grandfather, you’re here!” Jack’s face lit up, his hands still entwined with Aria’s.

  But Aria dropped Jack’s hands and shot his grandfather a look so fierce, she was surprised icicles didn’t shoot out of them.

  How can he show his face here? After what he did.

  She stood silently seething as Jack and his grandfather embraced, patting each other on the back. When they broke apart, his grandfather looked around at the crowds of people, still staring at them.

  “Is there somewhere we can go, to have a talk?” he asked quietly. Jack looked at Aria, his face hopeful, and her heart leapt. But part of her wanted to order the guards to take the old man to the dungeons.

  “Sure. This way…” she said through gritted teeth. She led them to the library. It was the quietest place in the castle, which offered them much needed privacy.

  “Jack,” his grandfather said softly. Aria looked up at him, startled at the tears in his eyes. They both took a seat while Aria pretended to peruse the books, looking for something to read. She got the impression this was going to be an intimate conversation, but she didn’t trust the old man to be alone with Jack.

  His grandfather pulled out a hand mirror from his pocket and held it out for Jack to look into. Aria tried not to stare as Jack peered into it and raised a hand through his white hair.

  “Woah. I look so different,” he said in awe. He glanced at Aria before he looked at his grandfather again. “I feel different too.”

  His grandfather handed him a small book, Jack looked down and his brows knitted together.

  “Jack Frost,” he said blankly. Then he looked up with wide eyes. “You’re telling me…” He didn’t finish, but his grandfather nodded along, following his train of thought.

  “Your grandmother was from this kingdom. That is why I came here.” He took out a white handkerchief and dabbed his eyes. “She wanted her ashes to be brought back to her land. But I got stuck here, and I thought I could be helpful. But I only made things worse.”

  Jack stood up and walked over to the window, rubbing the back of his neck. He glanced at Aria again and held out his hand. She didn’t hesitate. Feeling his skin against hers was addictive. And part of her was still wondering if this was just a dream. As if reading her thoughts, Jack gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

  “I’m from here,” he whispered. Then he turned to look at his grandfather again and pulled Aria to stand close to him, his arm wrapped around her waist.

  “Jack,” his grandfather said, rising to his feet and tears running down his face. This time he didn’t even attempt to dab them away. “The reason I have been cold and distant with you all this time… I needed to prepare you to come here. And I couldn’t interfere with your story. Or none of this would have happened.”

  Aria frowned at the sight of the old man becoming wracked with emotion.

  “But did you really need to be so… sterile? I was just a child, and I had no other family. You made me feel unloved.”

  “My heart is frozen. I’m deeply sorry.”

  “Frozen?” Jack echoed. “How come?”

  His grandfather smiled. “That’s a story for another day.”

  They embraced again and his grandfather wept quietly into Jack’s shoulder.

  “But you have to know, I did everything for your benefit. Because I do love you. I always have.” Jack’s grandfather sniffed and stepped back as Jack nodded thoughtfully.

  “A frozen heart. Well, I suppose I can believe that.” He laughed softly. “Will you have to go back through the portal? We've only just been reunited.”

  His grandfather planted a hand on his cheek and smiled sadly. “If I don’t, there’s going to be a little boy without any family, who will never discover the mirror that will take him back to his true home.”

  “What else do you know about my heritage? How can I learn more about my powers? Do I have family in this kingdom?”

  Jack’s grandfather nodded. “Go to the Ice Mountains. You will find answers there.”

  Aria swallowed uncomfortably. She had heard tales about the Ice Mountains. That they were treacherous and the few people who ventured there never returned.

  Jack nodded and held the book to his heart as he shared a silent look with his grandfather. It was as if the two of them finished their conversation telepathically. Then his grandfather broke the silence.

  “May I speak with Aria for a moment?” He put a hand on Jack’s shoulder, and Jack hugged his grandfather one last time before walking out of the library. But not before he flashed Aria a smile that made her heart flutter. When he left, Aria turned to the old man.

  “Why did you lie to him?” Aria asked, giving him a skeptical look. “You said your heart was still frozen, but if that were the case, your emotions wouldn’t have overwhelmed you just now.”

  “Beautiful and smart, I see.” The old man smiled. “And you are quite right. My heart thawed the moment I saw Jack die.” He took a deep breath as if bracing himself for a blow. “It takes a lot to be a villain, Aria. More than we may bargain for sometimes.”

  “We?”

  The old man watched her for a long moment, then he pulled another book out of his pocket and handed it to Aria. It was entitled The Snow Queen.

  Aria looked up to meet his eyes again. “Is this…?”

  “Your story, yes.”

  She looked at the book again with eyes wide. “But Jack said he never read about me.”

  “Oh, but he did. He just never knew who you were.”

  When the old man said nothing else, she finally understood what he was saying. “I’m a villain.”

  “You weren’t always,” he clarified. “But with The Queen dead, someone has to step up and take the role.”

  “Why?”

  “Because that’s how the happy endings are restored,” he explained, and Aria looked up at him. “Without evil to be conquered, true love won’t blossom. Princesses won’t need saving. And Princes won’t rescue. Take your sister, for example…” He came to stand next to Aria by the window and they both turned to look at Snow in the castle grounds. “George is not her prince charming.”

  “But they love each other.”

  “For now…” he said, his voice just as crushed as Aria’s heart. “But it won’t be strong enough to weather the storm because he isn’t her true love.”

  “Then who is?”

  “A brave soul that won’t be afraid of his mother.”

  The old man had a point. George could have stood up to his mother all this time, but he never did. He allowed Snow to live by hiding in the castle, but never actually freed her from that prison.

  “So back in your cabin, when you said I would be the one to restore the happy endings… you knew it would be like this, didn’t you?” When the old man didn’t respond, she turned to face him. “You knew Jack would kill The Queen, and that I would have to take her place.”

  “I only hoped,” he confessed. “But I couldn’t interfere.”

  “But you did.”

  “No, I played my part,” he corrected. “It’s different.”

  “How so?”

  “If I had told you what needed to happen, you would have been driven to save him out of knowledge, not love. And when Jack killed The Queen, that solidified his love for you. If neither of you had made those decisions on your own, driven by love, then that kiss wouldn’t have transformed him because it wouldn’t have been true love’s kiss.”

  Aria looked at the book she was still holding, and her heart squeezed. “Jack will never be okay with this.”

  Grandfather placed an encouraging hand on her shoulder. “You are the queen now. And being a good leader means forgoing your own happiness for the sake of your kingdom. You have the means to restore your kingdom to its purest condition, and to help your people find true love. The question then remains… how much are you willing to sacrifice?”

  A tear slid down Aria’s cheek and landed on the book. “Do you really think I have what it takes to follow through with this?”

  “If ever you need any guidance,” he said, offering her a soft smile, “just ask the Mirror of Reason, and you shall find your answers.”

  Aria lifted her head and looked at the old man with eyes full of tears. “Will I lose Jack?”

  He smiled, wiping away one of her tears. “You will never lose Jack. He’s your true love.”

  She sucked in a breath then hid the book under her garment. “I guess it’s time for you to go then?”

  He nodded. “There is one more thing I need to ask you.” He reached for Aria’s hand, and she looked at him, confused. He stole a quick glance toward the door to make sure Jack hadn’t returned, then placed her hand over his chest. “I need you to freeze my heart again.”

  “What?” Aria tried pulling her hand away, but he firmed his grip and peered into her eyes.

  “Aria…” His jaw clenched as his eyes filled with tears. “I already lost my wife, and when I go back, I will lose my daughter. If I have to bear that pain, I will not be strong enough for Jack. Please…” He softened his grip, but kept his hand over hers. “Freeze my heart.”

  More tears slid down her face as she released her power onto his chest and into his heart. He grimaced as the ice particles hardened his heart, but within a few seconds he was able to breathe again.

  Aria pulled her hand away, recoiling from what she’d done. Jack would grow up without warmth and affection, and she would be responsible for that. Again.

  “Thank you,” he breathed, rubbing his chest. “You will make a great evil queen. I’m certain of it.”

  Aria pulled him into a hug. “I will try my best.” She pulled back and wiped her tears away. “How will you be getting home?”

 

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