STEEL IN THE WINTER REALM
CLARA
In one breath I went from comfort and joy to death and despair. Honestly, that seemed pretty on pointe for life in the Winter Realm. One minute, I was filled with the magic of discovering this whole new world, falling in love, finding my mission in life, and getting the best orgasms from four of the hottest men to ever be born under the Christmas star, and the next someone was trying to kill is.
Yesterday felt about a million years away. I think time might move differently here in the realm than in the human world. Only a day had passed since Nuss dragged me through the portal between our worlds in our Stahlbaum family Christmas tree as we were chased by mice. But so much had happened since and I wouldn't trade even a second of it.
Well, maybe a couple of the seconds when I was being eaten alive by those horrid mice. But the rest? Good times, good times.
I gasped because, a horse jumped into our path from behind an outcropping of rocks, and my heart that had been flying sunk like a crashing Christmas bulb into the bottom of my stomach. There was one particular person in my life who liked to ruin anything I had that was even slightly nice. Of course, he would try to ruin this for me too.
"Hello, little sister." Fritz looked from my Viking, behind me on our horse, to Nuss, and back to Zucker and Tau. His mount side-stepped and jostled about as if it was uncomfortable, but my brother didn't seem bothered. "I always knew you were a whore."
He curled his lip the same way I'd seen him do when he had to help look after father. "You should have married Herr Drosselmeyer when you had the chance, if only to save the family's reputation."
Older brothers were the worst. Mine especially.
Here I was, excited about the adventures ahead of me, filled with love and magic, then Fritz had to come along and try to break my toys. A couple of days ago, his words would have burned into me and hurt. I may have only been in the Winter Realm a brief time, but this world, and the men I'd connected to in it, were more my family than Fritz ever was.
Family was what I was making here, not the blood bond Fritz and I shared. "What are you doing here, Friedrich?"
He hated when I called him that. It was an old Stahlbaum family name and he wanted to be more modern and sophisticated than that.
"I've been sent to bring you home. Cleaning up your little messes, just like always." Fritz flicked his hands over his pants, as if wiping away some kind of dirt. He was trying his best to appear like this conversation was boring and beneath him. That was always his superpower back home. Made everyone else around him feel little and stupid.
"You will watch your mouth when speaking to the princess." Leb's voice boomed, and I got more than a thrill from knowing he had my back, figuratively and literally.
Fritz's eyes snapped to evaluate Leb and I could practically see the calculations he was doing in his head to assess the threat. "You have no say in this, peasant. I am head of the Stahlbaum household and ClaraMarie is my responsibility."
Ooh. Someone who hadn't known what a scared little shit Fritz was, might have missed the way he sunk back in his saddle before he struck back. But I saw. With each jab in this battle of wits between us, my vision grew sharper, and my strategy whirred. Both were new sensations in my dealings with my brother. He knew he was outnumbered and out manned. This was a rare turn of the tables.
Welcome to my world, big brother.
Nuss looked to me, communicating with a simple look that I was in charge here. He waited until I nodded, then put himself between us and Fritz. "But we aren't in the human realm anymore, and any authority you thought you had over our Clara ended the moment you came through the Christmas tree portal."
Fritz's hand hovered over the scabbard at his side. When had he learned to ride or use a sword? He must not be greatly confident in his skills, because if he was, he would have drawn. It was unusual to see him unnerved. I was happy to take advantage of it.
The men were making it clear, I was the general in our army, and that gave me a rush just the same as when my magic had risen up last night.
I gave Nuss my thanks with a soft blink of my eyes, and he backed his horse up a few steps. There was something new inside of me and I was guessing it had something to do with my bond with Leb last night and the fact that he came from a race of warriors in a matriarchal society. With every move one of my men made, I felt more empowered, not less. That gave me the courage to call Fritz out on the real betrayal. "Not to mention that you joined the wrong side of this fight when you got cozy with the Mouse Queen."
The entire mountain went silent. I gave Fritz the smiling smirk her deserved. "Didn't know I found out your dirty, little secret, did you?"
Leb snickered behind me, and I had to admit that having my guard around me gave me that extra bit of security I needed to stand my ground and even up the ante. I was a little surprised none of them had gone at him yet. I wasn't used to men both defending and deferring to me. It was something I could get used to though.
Fritz didn't like that I had the upper hand and that could go very badly if we weren't careful. While my brother was a dickhead and was in league with the wrong side, I also didn't want to see him killed.
"I'm not keeping any secrets, unlike you, little sister." His sneer was defensive this time. "I suggest you surrender and come with me quietly, so you don't cause any more trouble."
Tau and Zucker sidled up beside me and Leb, making a nice wall of muscle. I sat up even straighter. "You've got that backwards. You're the one who'll be coming with us so that you don't cause any more trouble. If you hadn't noticed, here in the Winter Realm, we're equals, and you're outnumbered."
The tingle of the magic I'd discovered inside of me last night, flowed along my skin. I swear, yesterday I didn't have this same confidence. There was more to how I was feeling and what was happening than I'd thought before. Bonding with Leb must have given me a little of his Viking spirit, because I was ready to take Fritz on head-to-head.
Learning some self-defense and even some offense was quickly rising up my priority list. I didn't want to get stuck throwing snowballs again and I sure would like to see Fritz flat on his back in the snow from a good swift kick to the knees. Or the family jewels. My magic went all zip and zing thinking about it, and Leb wrapped his hand around my waist, then leaned forward and whispered in my ear. "I can feel your magic rearing to get out and take this crumble of a man down. But save it, lass for the journey ahead. I'm more than happy to chop his head off for you."
Ooh. Why did Leb's bloodthirsty threat turn me on? "That sounds like fun, but alas I cannot condone killing my own kin, even if he is a royal ass. I'm having a bit of fun poking at him though. I don't normally get to in the human realm."
"Then have at. He needs a good blood-eagle to the soul." I could hear the contempt for Fritz in every one of Leb's words.
