Frozen Necessity Read Online Free Page A

balance and fell. Using her hands to stop her fall, she scraped them on the wood of the floor.
    She was about to let out a string of curses when she felt Colt hook a hand around her upper arm and yank her to her feet.
    “In the future, watch where you are standing.” 
    “Go tie yourself in knots, and I can think of a good appendage to start with,” she spat out.
    Someone laughed at her comment, which made Angelica look up and scan the room. There were five people present. From what she sensed, three of them were Eternals, and two were human. An old man, and Sarah--who she had met outside the village—were the humans. She didn't know the other three. They hadn’t been with the Eternals that had brought her food and bath.
    Angelica straightened to her full height and pulled her shoulder back. “Why am I here?” she asked, and was glad when she sounded calm.
    “For your wedding, child.” Sarah smiled, and it was like a beam across the room.
    It took Angelica a moment to register what Sarah had said.
    “Wedding? What do you mean?”
    “Come, child.” Sarah waved Angelica closer.
    She looked around the rest of the room and noticed a central fire pit—of sorts—surrounded by a donut-shaped table with chairs spaced at equal intervals. At the back of the room was another fireplace, where Sarah, the old man, and the three Eternals stood in a horseshoe shape.
    Angelica took a hesitant step forward, but Colt still had his hand latched around her upper arm, and he took the lead, dragging her behind him of sorts.
    He’s a frigging cave man.
    “Duh.”
    He looked back to ask, “What did you say?”
    “Nothing.”
    “I thought so.” He turned forward again and led her into the center of the horseshoe of people. “Get this over with, Sarah.”
    Colt sounded angry and something else… Something darker was in his tone. It made Angelica shiver.
    “But the child needs to know—”
    “She doesn’t need to do anything. Get it done before I change my mind.”
    “Very well." Sarah looked at Angelica with a pitying look, then started to speak.
    “Today, we join these two, in the way of humans and the way of Therin folk.”
    Join? Wedding? Oh, hell no, they are trying to marry us. Oh, no, I want nothing to do with this.
    Angelica tugged her arm out of Colt’s hold. “No. I’m not being joined with him, not in this lifetime or any other.”
    “I’m sorry, child, but you don’t have a choice—no more than Colt has.”
    Angelica turned and ran. She had to get away from there. She should have left when Michael had offered.
    Colt grabbed her from behind, his arm going around her waist. Angelica did the one thing she could. She let her fire free.
    Flames burst from her skin, and Colt must have got a shock because he let her go. She ran for the door, but didn’t get there, Colt grabbed her again, and when she let her inferno burn, it didn’t seem to bother him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and half dragged, half carried her back to the semi-circle of people.
    “Don’t waste all your fire on me, Geli-bean. It’s not working.”
    What?
    She looked down at his arm and he was right. His shirt wasn’t burnt, and his hand covered in healthy skin. The shock made her flames vanish just as she reached the people who were going to tie her to this man for eternity.
    He should have burnt to charcoal. She’d never used her ability to burn as a defensive weapon before, but he should have third degree burns, he should be dead. Fire killed eternals, especially phoenix fire.
    Maybe she was defective. Angelica felt wetness on her face and realized she was crying. “Please don’t do this.”
    Colt pulled her against his chest and clamped his free hand around her mouth. “Do it, Sarah.”
    The old woman nodded her head.
    “Do you make all the oaths necessary to make this Eternal your female for eternity, as long as you both live?”
    “Yes.” Colt sounded like he was choking on the word.
    “Mmm mmm mmm,” came out behind