The Snow Queen's Captive (18 page)
It wasn’t much. Bigger than a hotel room, but obviously not one of the fancier guest quarters. The bed was a decent size, lumpy but clean and boasting a pretty, carved headboard. A Louis XIV chair perched in the corner of the room with a yellow pillow tossed on the seat. Cora wandered over to the mirror, admiring it. There was tarnish around the edges that suggested that it was very old indeed, and the frame of the mirror was some sort of heavy silver-ish metal decorated in old symbols. It looked positively ancient—the glass slightly wavy and dark as she examined her reflection. One hand went to her cheek. “I look like hell,” she said aloud.
The silence was deafening, but at the same time, the hair on the back of her neck prickled, and she glanced over her shoulder. No one stood in the doorway.
Cora smiled to herself at that and turned away from the mirror. She hadn’t been in the house longer than a few minutes and she’d already scared herself.
It’s just an old house
, she reprimanded herself.
And it will be such fun to live here for the next few weeks… you’ve always wanted to stay in a castle, remember?
She’d just never really thought that she’d have to stay by herself. Then again, she was free to explore to her heart’s content and not have to worry about a single other person. Cheered by that, Cora began to whistle as she headed off to find a shower.
~~ * * * ~~
Something woke Cora in the middle of an exhausted sleep. She blinked awake at once, staring into the dark, unfamiliar room. Had she heard a thump? Something from outside the small window in the corner of her room? She sat up in bed, rubbing a hand across her face. Perhaps a bad dream? She’d been having a sexy one, actually—one that she hadn’t wanted to wake up from. A dream about a man who had dark eyes and wild, thick hair and great shoulders. Definitely not anyone she knew.
Her sleep-blurred eyes could not find anything out of ordinary in the room, and whatever the sound was, it did not repeat. With a yawn, Cora turned over in bed and pulled the covers close to her chest, her eyes sliding shut.
Just before they did, she noticed that the mirror shimmered. She opened her eyes and squinted at it, wondering where the illumination was coming from. The mirror’s light disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and she saw the figure of a large man standing in the full-sized glass.
Her entire body froze in fear.
It’s a shadow
, she told herself.
A trick of the light
. But then the shadow moved, ever so slightly, and she could make out a figure. A hand raised, as if skimming the surface of the mirror.
Trying to reach through the mirror…
With a scream choking in her throat, Cora jerked her blankets around her body and shot out of the room.
About the Author
Jessica Clare is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author who writes under three different names. As Jill Myles, she writes a little bit of everything, from sexy, comedic urban fantasy to zombie fairy tales. As Jessica Clare, she writes erotic contemporary romance.
She also has a third pen name (because why stop at two?). As
Jessica Sims
, she writes fun, sexy shifter paranormals. She lives in Texas with her husband, cats, and too many dust-bunnies. Jill spends her time writing, reading, writing, playing video games, and doing even more writing.
Other Titles by Jill Myles
Once Upon a Time Travel
Stand-Alone Books
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