The Seduction of Jac Frost (by Tatienne Richard) novel Chapter 99

< The Seduction of Jac Frost

Back To The Temple

Original composition by Tatienne Richard exclusively for My Fiction. If you’re reading this elsewhere it has been stolen from the platform.

Jacqueline arrived in the Northern Realm, in the garden of the temple and as she had the first time she was here,

immediately felt a connection, stronger than anywhere else, to the Queen Mother. She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, letting the scent of the cool crisp air, the blossoms and the incense which burned inside the temple drifting towards her,

fill her lungs.

“I am hear Mother.” She whispered in a soft prayer. She

gathered herself and made her way through the garden towards the temple and noted immediately how many more people were gathered inside in prayer. The whispers started

after a few moments of her walking down the center aisle

and by the time she reached the altar to head towards the

inner sanctum, the entire temple was abuzz with excitement.

“Jacqueline!”

Winika’s voice called her from a side door, where Jacqueline ancnoted other priestesses coming through and she turned,

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to address her. Jacqueline smiled at her warmly, the fun of the evening before, making snow creatures and connecting easing the tension between them.

“Mother,” she nodded at her. “Hello.”

“You are here.” Winika was breathless.

“I am.”

“What brings you here?”

Jacqueline tilted her head to one side and looked at Winika. “Am I unwelcome?”

“No. No. Not at all. I am glad you are here. I’m simply surprised. I thought it would be more of a we–come–to–you–thing.”

“Not in the least,” she noted many of the patrons of the temple were eavesdropping without remorse. “This temple is important to me. It is where I am most connected to the Queen Mother. She speaks to me so much more clearly here than anywhere. I don’t even need water as a conduit here. She is everywhere around me.”

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“You can hear her? In your mind, your thoughts, even now?”

“Yes.” Jacqueline smiled broadly. “Quite clearly in fact.”

“How? You are really her direct descendant?”

“I truly am. I needed a body of flesh and blood, so she made

me your child, but I am of her soul.”

“I find it so fascinating.” Winika said seriously, “but also saddening.”

“Why so?”

“I am not truly your mother.”

“Oh, but you are,” Jacqueline took Winika’s hands in hers and squeezed them gently. “My blood, my DNA, the part of me, which is fae, comes from you and Daddy Jack.”

“I feel like a surrogate.” Winika whispered.

“You should not. The blood bond is real and true. Are you stalling me from the inner sanctum for reason Mother

Winika?”

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Winika’s eyes widened, “I’m not stalling.”

“You are. It is okay. I already knew what I was coming into

this morning. He is feeling quite defeated this morning, unable to protect his daughter the way you begged him to do. He does so hate when you cry.”

“He is my mate.”

“He is powerless against me and my spell. He cannot get

her out, no matter how much you beg him to. You do realize I understand that when you tell me you feel like a surrogate,

I know you mean you do not love me like you do Jacinta. I

forgive you.”

“I do love you. I gave birth to you. We’ve simply had so much strife, arguments, fighting and discomfort since you

returned.”

“And you wish I had never come back?”

“That is not true!” Winika said wide–eyed. “Last night was wonderous and magical and I wish every day we could have

the same but with Jacinta involved as well.”

“She stole me from you, and you knew all along. You knew in 4/12

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here,” Jacqueline tapped Winika’s chest, “that the most likely

culprit was your daughter. However, I got to thinking about something very interesting last night.”

“What?” Winika’s eyes were glassy.

“I was able to put a spell on myself to protect my heart.

It was designed to keep me from being hurt by those who would love me and leave me, reject me. That spell is

completely broken now and while I do hold some anger, it is

allowing me to see, that ability to cast a spell upon myself, comes from your side of my bloodline Winika.”

Winika grew pale as Jacqueline gently guided her towards

the inner sanctum. “What do you mean?”

“You felt terrible for wanting to accuse your daughter of such a horrific betrayal of your family and so you cast a spell upon yourself to keep yourself from telling your husband, your son, anyone else, your suspicions. In doing so, it made you a little loopy. The spell is broken now because you were forced to admit it and you are looking back at your actions and feeling like perhaps, you might have made a grave error.”

“No.”

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“Yes, Winika. Also, funny little tidbit coming to me now that I figured this out.” She gave a brittle laugh, “the Queen Mother is the one who made you hear me through the flowers. She felt you gave yourself an easy way out and it was a punishment of sorts. She loves you quite deeply, the Queen Mother. She feels you out of most, are one to be protected and taken care of because you love so deeply but she also is concerned your ideas are leading you down a path you might not be able to turn back from. When we cross into this room, Winika, steady your heart because a reckoning is

coming.”

“A reckoning?” Winika whispered nervously as her footsteps

faltered.

“A reckoning,” Jacqueline repeated and then without so much as a flick of her fingers, pushed the doors to the inner sanctum open and walked them through.

She looked at her father who stood waist deep with Jacinta’s frozen form in the water while he prayed loudly. The high priestess stood to the side, her countenance one of irritation

and annoyance.

“She is not going to answer your prayers, Daddy Jack.”

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The comment echoed around the chamber and the king looked over his shoulder in alarm before stumbling and falling to his knees.

“It has been a day. She is –”

“Fine. She is fine in there. She is unharmed. She is not even

hungry. Yet you would deliberately go against my orders

and try to bypass me to the Queen Mother to break a spell.”

She clicked her tongue, “where is the allegiance to the true

Queen?” She smiled at the high priestess, “it is good to see

you again. I am sorry to bring their silliness to your temple.”

“It is your temple, my Queen,” the priestess bowed. “I am but a humble servant. I told him he could not break the spell and

that the Queen Mother herself sanctioned this punishment,

but he ignored my command for you.”

“Daddy Jack, we had such a wonderful time last night. I

thought we made gains in our relationship.”

“We did Jacqueline. I love you. You are my child and I agree she needs to face the consequences of her actions.”

“But only if you decide the consequences?” Jacqueline cut him off as she gave a toss of her hand and a huge throne 7/12

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began to emerge in the water steps away from the altar where she once lay unconscious. Two smaller chairs appeared on either side of the throne. She looked at the priestess again, “please summon the high priestess of the Southern Realm. She is needed. We will also need the high priestesses from the other temples all around the world. If you could?”

“Yes, My Queen,” the high priestess was immediately waving her hands in the air, magic floating around her as she connected spiritually to the other realms.

Jack watched in awe as she climbed a few stairs and then took her seat on her throne. His eyes were lit up with fear and pride as she lounged lazily on the crystalline chair. His mouth opened in shock as the waters around the seats receded and yet rose where he stood to his chest. Jacqueline lifted Jacinta’s form up on block out of the water.

In moments five more priestesses were in the realm and immediately were on their knees, heads bent and arms folded over their chests in Jacqueline’s direction.

“You may rise.” Jacqueline called out. “Come to me.” She motioned to the high priestess of the Northern and Southern Realms and encouraged them to take the seats on either 8/12

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side of her. The other four priestesses she motioned to sit on small benches at her feet. “Hello my sisters.” They all stared at her and she smiled, “welcome.”

“We are honored to serve,” they spoke in unison.

One of the priestesses gave a giggle, “my skin is tingling.”

“Mine too.” Another one whispered.

“I can hear,” the high priestess of the Southern Realm had tears on her cheeks, “I can here the Queen Mother through you.”

“You can.”

The high priestess of the Southern Realm looked at King Jack with a shake of her head, “your arrogance is going to cost you your daughter.”

Jack’s eyes flitted to Jacinta in alarm and the priestess scoffed.

“Wrong daughter, foolish king.”

“He believes my love is absolute and that I can forgive him

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anything because he is my father. This was one of those situations where he believed it was better to ask forgiveness

than permission.” Jacqueline sighed dramatically.

Jacqueline looked around the group and then smiled at one

of the priestesses from the other temples, “you were there

when my mate nearly drowned a fae defiling a sacred space.

You must tell me all the dirty details.”

The priestess’s eyes rounded, “if you know anything of what happened, he repented deeply for his actions. He personally scrubbed the temple from top to bottom on his own decision and spent a lot of time praying. He is very devout. He felt

terrible.”

“Rafferty did not know of this.” Jacqueline realized instantly.

“He believed his brother did not atone for his mistakes.”

“I do not know.”

“Oh I do.” She turned back to Jack and Winika. “Jack will be

here soon. I have called him telepathically to join us. I should let you know he muttered something about taking the throne

by force because you clearly are losing your mind.” She folded her hands against her abdomen, “the Frost family have a terrible habit of trying to intervene with the workings 10/12

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of the Queen Mother and it needs to stop.”

“I’m sorry,” Jack whispered. “I only wanted to save her.”

“You cannot save who does not want to be saved, Jack.” As she dropped the daddy she’d been using ahead of his name,

he looked heartbroken. “She has to atone on her own.”

Her brother popped into the space and she nodded at him.

Jack narrowed his eyes on his sister on her throne and grinned, “nice claiming mark, my Queen. I am happy for you.”

“Thank you brother.” She smiled back at him before growing serious. She motioned for the king to leave the water and to join his mate. “This meeting in the inner sanctum of the Northern Realm temple is to convey the punishment as set out by the Queen Mother herself for Jacinta Frost’s abduction of Jacqueline Frost and for the attempted murder of Jacqueline Frost yesterday!”

“It’s like Christmas is coming early,” Jack intoned dryly. “I had a good chat with my wife this morning when we were home and she told me all of the things Jacinta has done over the years to alienate my wife from the family. Can we add those

crimes to this list?”

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“Jack!” Winika whispered, “she is confused.”

“She is vile. She was forcing housekeeping staff, drivers, and security to cause my wife to be left out and at risk. I am

willing to listen to her apologies but whatever the Queen Mother decides as her punishment, I will not offer a single prayer up for her salvation.”

Jacqueline waved her fingers in Jacinta’s direction and the ice surrounding her fell away and Jacinta stood there holding the knife in her hand which she was going to use to kill her sister. Her eyes immediately found Jacqueline’s and tears

formed.

“How curious.” Jacqueline muttered at the sight.