The Seduction of Jac Frost (by Tatienne Richard) novel Chapter 78

Breaking Spells

Original composition by Tatienne Richard exclusively for My

Fiction. If you’re reading this elsewhere it has been stolen from the platform.

Waking up with the warmth of the sun on her skin, Jacqueline opened her eyes to the open air of roofless room she was

1. in. She smiled as she noted the way the vines and flowers, insects and smaller creatures were all sitting on the edges of

the walls as if waiting for her to wake.

She lifted up on her elbows, “good morning.”

The resounding chorus of good mornings echoing back to her made her giggle.

“I love it here,” she sighed contentedly as she pushed out of the bed. She reached up her hand and carried the walking stick from where it had been perched on the headboard of the bed as if watching over her while she slept. “Hello little friend,” she lifted it to nuzzle her nose against it. “Who would have thought a girl who was terrified of roaches would love all the insects here? You’re all so very special.” She cooed at the little creature and carried it through the open door into the garden.

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Her mother had felt she would want a separate space to sleep but there was no real privacy as the creatures and

blossoms were everywhere all the time. Their curiosity about

her, a new face in their familiar world, was driving them to want to be near her constantly.

“Good morning, my child.”

Mother, as Jacqueline was now referring to her, stood near a

small pond at the edge of the garden and called out to her.

“Good morning, Mother.” Jacqueline stretched and walked to the pond and looked into the water which was still as glass.

“How are you feeling this morning?”

“Good. Rested.”

“I am glad to hear this.”

“Is it weird I feel like myself but not like myself. I mean, I know I’m Jacqueline, but I feel like the deep anger, the need to be defensive, reactive, ready to brawl, is gone. I feel focused, ready to be prepared, offensive, though not in a New Yorker way,” she grinned at her joke.

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“You are settling into your skin.”

“I am.”

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Mother laughed, “shall we work on some of your powers this

morning?”

“I would like that. I know my communication with living things is strong. I’m able to create flowers and blossoms and I can communicate through them. I’m learning to keep my feelings from echoing through the blossoms.”

Realizing her pain and sadness were echoing in the blessed

flowers of the realm had been a revelation and she’d needed

to learn to control the way they relayed her feelings. It was

why Winika was so attached to the blooms she was originally getting from the priestess. They were truly letting Winika know Jacqueline’s feelings. She was now able to hush the

plants to keep them from talking out of turn.

She was also able to grow any plant at all with nothing more than thinking of it. She was able to bring a full tree to life.

She could retract the roots into the soil and save them from

danger. She also could control weather. More than simply

creating vortexes of wintery snow, she could control it all

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around, making snowstorms, rainstorms, and unbearable

sunny heat.

Of course, because she was made with blood coming from

Jack Frost, she found she preferred the cold, the snow, the

frost, and ice. She had joyfully created an entire fortress of

ice where she’d had a snowball fight with the creatures of

her mother’s realm.

Jacqueline was also learning how to use water in any of

it’s forms as a conduit to this pond, to reach her mother for

guidance.

Then in addition to these powers, the reason she instantly

knew Jacinta participated in her kidnapping, wasn’t

anything to do with them being sisters or remembering what

happened to her as a newborn baby. No. It was simply the

ability to sense lies, duplicity and cruelty. Fae, according

to Mother, were meant to be gentle, loving, and peaceful

creatures. Throughout the years, an army was needed to

protect them from outsiders but those outside influences,

such as humans, taught fae things like greed, jealousy and lust which drove fae to behave wickedly.

Her powers were untapped, but they pulled her to feel Jacinta’s poor behaviors because they were directly related 4/12

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to her own personal circumstances. Now, in the presence of her mother, she was honing the ability to razor sharp precision. Mother was bringing her images of fae all over the world through this little pond and even with the distance and the lack of the physical presence, she was able to read the hearts of fae with astounding clarity. She was, with practice, even getting better at reading humans.

When she questioned why she needed to read humans, the

answer was surprising to her. The world of humans and

fae were mingling with more and more frequency. Wraith Fairchild was the perfect example. The thought of him made

her look to her mother.

“Why did you pair Wraith with River?”

“River has spent her entire life being perfect. She is rigid and structured and everything necessary to be a good queen who follows the rules and protocols. She has forgotten there is joy to be had in life. Wraith Fairchild is young, no doubt about it, but he has felt the heartache of never feeling loved. He was born because his mother used her pregnancy as leverage to a man who never wanted commitment. They pushed him to engage in activities because neither of them wanted to be parents. The more he was out of the house, the less they needed to deal with him. Eventually he found solace 5/12

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and adrenaline in skiing. He found camaraderie in

teammates, parenting to a degree from coaches, affection

from fans. He needs her love. She needs his youth to

remember how to have fun. He is what she needs in terms of

love and structure. She is what he needs. She needs to see

the fae through eyes of wonder.”

“How do you know all of this? How do you figure out who

needs what?”

“That, my sweet child, is what makes me the creator, the

Queen Mother, and not a responsibility you will ever need bear. I have insight into beings not my own. I have always existed and I always will. I simply choose not to be directly involved anymore because they are exhausting.”

“You’re saying you’ll throw me to the wolves?” Jacqueline giggled as Mother complained.

“Do you know how long I’ve waited to have someone to commiserate with?” The woman tapped her nose.

Jacqueline leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder, “you do know,” she waved to the pond, “this is a two–way communication device. You can reach for me at any time, and I will be there to hear you.”

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Mother kissed her forehead softly, “you always were meant to have the kindest heart, Jacqueline. It is a strong heart. It is able to love and discipline the way a leader is meant to. You will be benevolent when necessary and unyielding when important. I am proud to call you my child.”

“Thank you.”

She waved to the pond, “this is a conduit for you and me to communicate but it is also a way for you to check in on

your realms. You will be the Queen of Kings and Queens,

Jacqueline. You need to be able to check in on them all at

any given time. The lesson for today is to teach you to use the water as a looking glass.”

“I can do that?”

“Yes. You can spy on anyone you want with water. If there

is water near them, even just a raindrop, the view will

be clearer, and you’ll be able to see all around them.

For example,” she waved her hand over the pond and

immediately the scene from the temple reflected in the stillness, “this is happening now.”

“Oh,” her heart clenched at the sight. The priestess was still in

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the water, chanting but clearly exhausted, her energy waning. “She is still in the water. Why?”

“She believes she is keeping you alive with her prayers. There is a faint heartbeat despite her drowning you.” The laughter was barely contained. “What else do you see?”

Jacqueline looked and noted there were several priestesses

were also in the water. Others were bent face down on the

floor, chanting in exhaustion.

“Look closer.”

“There is a barrier, like a wall, clear, but there nonetheless.”

Jacqueline commented quietly. “To keep the priestess in?”

“To keep him out,” Mother nodded and Jacqueline’s eyes

searched.

“He is still there,” she commented in awe as she looked at Jack. His eyes were nearly swollen shut, reminding her of an ugly crying spell. Aspen was with him. They were both also chanting, their words in line with what the priestesses outside the barrier were saying. “He looks wrecked. Why does he not go home and rest?”

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“Search him, Jacqueline. Use that power I have bestowed upon you and search him. Why has he not left?”

She dropped to her knees, her hand reaching for the water but stopping just shy of touching it.

“He is scared. He loves me and he thinks I have died. He tries

to get through the barrier. He was going to stop the ritual. He

wants me to come home.” She looked at her brother who at

some point had removed his shirt. “He is devastated.”

“He is.”

“He misses me. How can he miss me so much when he barely

knows me?”

“Search your heart, Jacqueline. Your walls have been coming down, when you see him, how do you feel?”

“I always wanted a big brother,” she whispered. “Someone who would protect me from the bastards who wanted to hurt

me.”

“And?”

“I have one.” 9/12

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“Push further, Jacqueline. What more is your power allowing you to do?”

She focused with all her might and then frowned, “I can hear

him.” She looked to her mother curiously, “I can not only see

but hear what is happening. It’s not only lips moving but I can

hear them all.”

“Focus Jacqueline. Focus on each person in the scene.”

She blinked, “I can hear them all at once but separately.”

“And him?”

“He is begging me to come back and begging you to let me return to him. Aspen is begging me to return to her

husband because he will be lost without me. Their hearts are

breaking.” Jacqueline bit back a sob. “They are so sad.”

“He has lost you once and now he fears he is losing you again. This,” she nodded at him, “is why he is to be king. He is strong, resilient, powerful, and yet, he loves with such depth and dedication there is nothing he won’t do to protect his kingdom. He has his father’s strength and his mother’s love.”

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“He is my brother,” she wiped her cheeks with trembling

fingers.

“It has been six days and five nights since you left. They have not eaten. They have not slept. They pray for your safe return. The priestesses do so because they know who you are. He does it because he simply loves you, unwaveringly.”

“He was an ass to me.”

“Because he has two sisters he loves equally. Is it his fault his other sister is an expert manipulator and played him? The heart of a fae is a soft one. Do not fault him for loving her. You need to accept he can love all of his family, despite their

flaws. He will do the right thing. He will support whatever

decision you make to discipline her. It will not stop him loving her though.”

“A good leader needs to love all their subjects even when they are complete assholes,” Jacqueline commented still staring at the scene of her brother praying for her return. “I

want to love like he loves.”

The minute the words were whispered from her lips, she felt

a crack in her composure and a heat filling her chest. She knew then she’d broken her own spell which she’d wrapped 11/12

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herself in to keep her from getting hurt.

She wanted to love and be loved. The admission was

everything she needed.