He looked at me, eyes narrowed. Then they went wide with understanding.
“Not okay,” Spider said. “Bad lady hurting Spider.”
Elma’s mouth dropped open, and she looked down at Spider. “What the—”
I dropped the blade and thrust my hands at her, freezing a solid block of ice around her head. At the same time, Spider bit her.
With a muffled howl, she dropped Spider and the dagger, putting her hands to the ice. Spider ran off as I added another layer of ice to Elma’s headgear, freezing her hands in place at her ears.
“I told you not to try me.”
The weight of the ice was too much. She toppled over and sprawled on the carpet, kicking her legs in a feeble attempt to break loose. As she used up her oxygen, the kicking weakened. She’d die if I left her like that. I couldn’t have that. She needed to answer for what she’d done, and I would not be responsible for her death.
Being trapped like that was taking her focus off the rest of her magic, though. The bands around Allene were melting away.
“You okay?”
She nodded, no longer looking panicked, but her gaze was on Elma. Allene grunted something I couldn’t make out, jerking her head at the flailing woman.
I looked over. Elma had the ice block partially defrosted already. She was skilled, that was for sure.
Sin came running in with Spider at his heels. “What’s going on? Spider said there’s a bad lady—whoa.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Will you help Allene?”
“On it.”
I stood over Elma with my hands outstretched, reabsorbing the cold to release her from the ice. “Is Spider okay?” I asked Sin without looking away.
“He seems to be. Was he in danger?”
Allene’s scratchy, “Thank you,” told me Sin had gotten the gag off of her.
“Yes.”
Elma was out of the ice. She gasped, refilling her lungs, hands at her throat.
I wasn’t waiting. I grabbed her and hauled her to her feet. “This one had a dagger to his neck.”
Elma raised her hands like she was about to fight.
I glared at her, daring her with my eyes to do something stupid. “Did you really enjoy not breathing so much that you want to go back into that block of ice?”
She scowled but dropped her arms to her sides. “I hope you get divorced.”
Sin brought the scarf over that had been around Allene and bound Elma’s hands with it. “That’s not going to happen. Not ever.” He looked at me. “What’s the jail time for breaking into the palace, tying up a member of the royal staff, and threatening a royal pet?”
“More years than I can count. Which reminds me, I haven’t seen Sugar.”
Spider leaned his front paws on my dress. “Sugar in the closet, Mama.”
I nodded at Spider. “Is she all right?”
“Sugar sleeping.”
“Maybe you should go check on her.”
“Okay.” Spider trotted off in that direction to check on his furry little wife.
Allene was on her feet now. “I’ll go call security.”
“And the constable, if you can raise her.”
She nodded. “Will do.”
She slipped out of the room, leaving us with Elma. We had her between us, each with a grip on one of her arms.
Sin frowned. “I feel sorry for you, Elma. You could have had love. A happy life. A family of your own. But you were too filled with hate to make room for it.”
She snarled at him. “Save your platitudes, necromancer.”
He shrugged, clearly amused. “Suit yourself. I’m not the one headed back to a holding cell, though.”
I grinned at him. “Nope. You’re headed to the shower.”
His response was a wide, immediate smile. “Still on for that, are we?”
Elma looked about ready to throw up, which only tickled me more.
I nodded. “Who cares if we’re late for breakfast?”
Elma made gagging sounds.
Sin laughed. “Not me.”
Before we could get into that shower, we had to turn Elma over to the constable. Fortunately, after Allene called security and the word went out about what had happened, the constable was quickly tracked down at her house. Just arriving home, I might add. Larsen had stayed at the reception longer than my parents, who’d left about an hour before we had.
Within twenty minutes, Larsen, Ezreal, Rizzle, head of palace security, my father, and Sin’s parents were in my apartment.
It was loud and crowded and didn’t feel like Sin and I were about to get any alone time soon. We looked at each other and shrugged. Not much we could do about it at this point.
“My apologies, Your Highness,” Larsen said to my father as I approached. “I don’t know how she escaped, but she must have been planning it for a while so she could time it with the wedding.”
My father nodded. “I hate to think it was a flaw in the design, since I approved those plans.” He sighed. “Thankfully, no lasting harm was done. But the next time we have a royal event, we’ll have to do a better job of watching who comes in through the kitchen.”
I stood at my father’s right. “But how would she have gotten hold of a kitchen uniform? She was locked up.”
Ezreal walked over. “I can answer that. We found one of the kitchen workers knocked out and dressed in a jail uniform behind a snowdrift near the kitchen entrance. She was Elma’s size. Had quite a goose egg on her head.”
Poor woman. “So Elma waited for someone her size to come out, then clobbered her and took her clothes.”
He nodded. “Looks that way.”
Larsen went to hitch up her utility belt, but since she was still in the sparkly navy pantsuit she’d worn to the wedding, she ended up empty-handed. She smoothed down her jacket instead. “That’ll add to her charges. I’ll need to speak to that worker.”
“Sure,” Ezreal said. “I had one of the valets take her to the hospital for a checkup, but I imagine she’ll be back in a few hours, provided there’s no serious injury. Either way, I’ll make sure you have all her contact information.”
“Thank you.” Larsen looked at me. “Are you okay, Princess?”
“I am. She had a dagger to my cat, though. That has to be some kind of crime. Threatening the life of a defenseless animal.”
Larsen, to her credit, maintained her serious expression. “I’ll come up with something.”
My father crossed his arms. “Speaking of coming up with something, what are you going to do to make sure Elma doesn’t escape again?”
Larsen frowned. “For one thing, we’re going to keep her under constant surveillance. For another, I have two of my deputies going over her cell right now to figure out how she escaped. Fortunately, we have two other cells we can keep her in. Once we know they can’t be breached in the same way, we’ll secure her in one of those. But obviously, keeping a better watch on her is paramount.”
I looked at my dad. “What are we going to do with her once she’s sentenced? Because she’s clearly guilty. She confessed.”
He uncrossed his arms. “After what happened with Gregory, your uncle and I had plans drawn up for a detention center. When Elma was arrested, we gave the green light for the facility to be built. We didn’t tell you about it because you had enough on your plate with the wedding. It’ll be a few more months before the CDC is complete, but then Elma will be sent there. We’ll probably send Gregory out there too.”
“The CDC?” I asked.
Larsen nodded. “The Coldwater Detention Center. It’s a desolate place at the outer edge of the polar forest. Yeti country. But that’s part of the deterrent.”
I grimaced.
Larsen shot me a look. “She’s a murderer, Princess.”
“I know. It’s where she deserves to be. Still, not an easy thing to think about.” Had marriage made me softhearted? Maybe. Or maybe I was just riding the high of so much wedding bliss.
“I suppose not,” Larsen said
. “But we can’t exactly put her under house arrest like we did with Gregory.”
“No,” my father said. “Not with someone who’s taken a life. And really, he tried to. He needs to be there too.”
Sin’s parents were leaving, so he came over to us.
“Everything all right?” I asked.
“Yes. They just heard all the commotion because their room is so close. Wanted to make sure we were okay.”
“Of course.” We’d put them in the same room they’d stayed in the first time they’d come up.
“I asked them to go to my apartment and check on the cats.”
“Is that where they went?”
Sin nodded. “Last I saw, Spider and Sugar were on the bed.”
“At least they’re getting to enjoy some post-nuptial alone time.”
Sin laughed.
Larsen cleared her throat. “If you don’t need me for anything else, I should go. The deputies will have her at the station by now, and I plan to do a full interrogation.”
“Thank you, Constable,” my father said. “Let us know what you find out.”
“I’ll have a copy of my report on your desk as soon as it’s finished.” She gave us a nod, then left.
The remaining deputies went with her.
Ezreal gave us a short bow. “I should go as well.”
My father nodded. “That’s fine, I know you have a lot to do, but please, do the minimum, then take the rest of the day off. We’ve all been going nonstop for a while now. You need the rest as much as I do.”
“But I have—”
“Whatever it is, it can wait,” my father interrupted. “The minimum, Ezreal.”
He smiled. “Yes, sir.” With a quick nod to Sin and me, he left.
My father turned to us. “I’m going too. I need to explain to your mother what’s happened, although she might already be in the dining room making sure everything is underway for breakfast.”
I checked the time. “Snowballs. Breakfast is in less than forty-five minutes.”
“Do you want to cancel it?” my father asked.
“No.” But I looked at Sin all the same. “Do you?”
“No.” He hesitated, a mischievous smile bending his mouth. “After all, we leave for our honeymoon tomorrow. We can certainly spend this time with family.”
I stared at him for a moment. “We decided to postpone our honeymoon because we didn’t have time to plan it properly.”
Sin’s smile expanded. “Did we, though?”
My father held his hands up in surrender and backed away. “See you at breakfast.”
“Okay.” I nodded, but I was still fixated on Sin. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“With Birdie’s and my mom’s help, I got the honeymoon taken care of. We leave tomorrow. We’re doing a five-day Alaskan cruise, then a week in Vegas with my parents—we’ll be in their guesthouse, so plenty of privacy—then on to Hawaii for another week. What do you think?”
My mouth was hanging open, but I didn’t care. I let his words process before answering, which took a few seconds. “You did all that?”
He nodded, looking very pleased with himself. But then, he had every right. He’d really surprised me. “Is that okay?”
“Okay? It’s wonderful. Wow! And I am so glad you did it. I can’t wait to spend three weeks with you just being a newlywed couple.” I hugged him. “Thank you.”
He pulled me in tight. “I just want to make you happy for the rest of our lives.”
“I don’t think you’re going to have any problem doing that.” I leaned back. “There’s just one thing. What about the cats? I mean, I know the staff can take care of them, but—”
“Birdie’s going to babysit. It’s all taken care of.”
I exhaled and leaned my head against his chest again. “You really are the man for me.”
He chuckled softly. “Good thing, considering we just made it official. I love you, Mrs. Crowe.”
“I love you too, Prince Consort.”
He kissed the top of my head. “Now let’s go get some pancakes.”
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About the Author
USA Today Best Selling Author Kristen Painter is a little obsessed with cats, books, chocolate, and shoes. It’s a healthy mix. She loves to entertain her readers with interesting twists and unforgettable characters. She currently writes two best-selling paranormal romance series: Nocturne Falls and Shadowvale. She also writes the spin off cozy mystery series, Jayne Frost. The former college English teacher can often be found all over social media where she loves to interact with readers:
Website • Twitter • Facebook • Instagram.
Other Books by Kristen Painter
COZY MYSTERY
Jayne Frost series:
Miss Frost Solves A Cold Case: A Nocturne Falls Mystery
Miss Frost Ices the Imp: A Nocturne Falls Mystery
Miss Frost Saves the Sandman: A Nocturne Falls Mystery
Miss Frost Cracks a Caper: A Nocturne Falls Mystery
When Birdie Babysat Spider: A Jayne Frost Short
Miss Frost Braves the Blizzard: A Nocturne Falls Mystery
Miss Frost Chills the Cheater: A Nocturne Falls Mystery
Miss Frost Says I Do: A Nocturne Falls Mystery
Happily Everlasting Series:
Witchful Thinking
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
Nocturne Falls series:
The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride
The Werewolf Meets His Match
The Professor Woos the Witch
The Witch’s Halloween Hero – short story
The Werewolf’s Christmas Wish – short story
The Vampire’s Fake Fiancée
The Vampire’s Valentine Surprise – short story
The Shifter Romances the Writer
The Vampire’s True Love Trials – short story
The Vampire’s Accidental Wife
The Reaper Rescues the Genie
The Detective Wins the Witch
The Vampire’s Priceless Treasure
Sin City Collectors series:
Queen of Hearts
Dead Man’s Hand
Double or Nothing
Standalone Paranormal Romance:
Dark Kiss of the Reaper
Heart of Fire
Recipe for Magic
Miss Bramble and the Leviathan
URBAN FANTASY:
The House of Comarré series:
Forbidden Blood
Blood Rights
Flesh and Blood
Bad Blood
Out for Blood
Last Blood
The Crescent City series:
House of the Rising Sun
City of Eternal Night
Garden of Dreams and Desires
Nothing is completed without an amazing team.
Many thanks to:
Cover design: Keri Knutson
Interior formatting: Author E.M.S
Editor: Joyce Lamb
Copyedits/proofs: Marlene Engel