Jennifer Estep - Kiss of Frost

But the Spartan was here, now, standing right in front of me, and I wasn't about to miss this opportunity.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "You know how much I… care about you. You breaking up with Savannah. . What does that mean… for us?" I couldn't keep the faint whisper of hope out of my voice.

Logan stared at me, his blue eyes dark and serious, and I knew he was thinking about his secret again, and whether he could trust me with it or not. What I would think about it. But then the moment passed, and he grinned once more. "It means I'll be seeing you after Christmas break, Gypsy girl. Try not to get into too much trouble in the meantime, okay?"

Then he leaned over and kissed me. It was just a brief touch, just a quick caress of his lips on mine, but I still felt the firmness of his mouth, still felt the warmth of his body against my own, still felt his breath mixing with mine, both of them mingling in the clouds of frost between us.

Logan drew back. He winked at me, then turned and walked away.

All I could do was smile and watch him go, wishing the holiday break was over with already.

Since all my friends had left, I went back to my own dorm room in Styx Hall to get my stuff and head down the mountain to Grandma Frost's house. The first thing I did when I got back to the room was stand in front of the mirror on the wall and put on the necklace Logan had just given me.

I hooked the chain together and stroked the diamond snowflake with my fingertips. Then, I closed my hand over the delicate silver strands and concentrated. It only took a second for the images and feelings to fill my mind.

Logan seeing me at the Winter Carnival and eyeing the snowflake toboggan I'd had on that day. The horror he'd felt when he'd realized I was in the path of the avalanche. Him watching me run from the snow and wishing he could do something, anything, to help me. The cold fear that had filled him when he'd gotten Oliver's text that I was in trouble. His determination to save me from Preston no matter what. The fierce pride he'd felt as he watched me use Vic to fight Preston-and win.

There were some happier memories, too. Logan prowling through a jewelry shop, trying to find just the right gift for me. Him seeing the necklace and thinking it reminded him of me. The Spartan hoping I would like it. Logan holding me, first that night outside the coffee shop at the ski resort and then again in the library. And finally, our desperate kiss that day in the construction site, the one that had let me tap into the Spartan's fighting skills.

Through all the memories, good and bad, I felt what Logan did every time he saw or thought about me-that soft, warm, fizzy feeling that only meant one thing.

Logan Quinn really did care about me.

"He likes me," I whispered. "He really does like me." At the sound of my voice, Vic opened his eye. I'd

propped the sword up on my desk, and his face was just level with mine.

"That's a shiny little bauble," Vic said, staring at the necklace. "Looks like the Spartan boy has good taste."

"How do you know Logan gave it to me?"

Vic snorted. "I might be old and cranky, but I'm not bloody stupid . The boy is crazy about you. Anyone can see that. It certainly took you long enough to figure it out."

"Shut up, Vic," I said, but there was a smile on my face.

I moved around my dorm room, stuffing clothes and comic books into my duffel bags. One of the last things I picked up to take with me was the small statue of Nike I kept on my desk. The winged figure of the goddess looked exactly the same as her statue in the library. Maybe it was silly, but the cheap replica made me feel a little closer to her, made me feel like I could somehow find the Helheim Dagger and keep it safe from the Reapers.

"Have a good Christmas, goddess," I told the statue, then stuffed it into my bag.

Finally, there were only two more things left to pack-the photos of my mom. I slid the one of her and Metis into my bag. I picked up the second glass frame and stared at the picture of my mom by herself, taken a few months before her murder. Brown hair, violet eyes, beautiful face. She peered up at me, a small smile curving her lips

This would be my first Christmas without her, I realized with a jolt. The first Christmas she wouldn't be there to open presents with me and Grandma Frost. The first Christmas she wouldn't be around to laugh and talk and joke with the two of us. My chest ached in a familiar, bitter way, but I pushed the feeling aside and focused on my anger-the anger that had grown and grown like a poisonous flower blooming inside my heart, ever since I'd found out what had really happened to my mom.

I didn't know how, I didn't know when, but I was going to find Loki's Champion, the Reaper girl who'd killed my mom — and I was going to shove a sword through her heart. Logan had told Oliver that I was totally kick-ass. I figured it was time for me to live up to the Spartan's words.

But first there would be Christmas with Grandma Frost and Vic. I put the photo of my mom into my bag, nestled right next to the statue of Nike. Then I rummaged through my desk, grabbed the miniature red Santa hat I'd bought for Vic, and stuck it on the hilt of the talking sword.

"You ready to go get that Christmas ham and pie?" I asked. "Grandma Frost called me this morning. She's been baking cookies all day just for the two of us."

" I suppose that a brief holiday wouldn't hurt," Vic grumbled. "Although you're going to practice with me every day, Gwen. You're finally starting to get the hang of me, and I won't have you backsliding and forgetting what little you've learned, just because school's out. We've got Reapers to kill, you know."

"Don't you worry," I said. "We're going to kill Reapers until we're both bathed in their blood and hungry for more."

Vic arced his one eyebrow. "That's my line."

"Yeah," I said. "And it's a good one. Now come on, we've got a bus to catch."

I slung my bags over my shoulder and grabbed Vic. I took one more glance in the mirror at the snowflake necklace Logan had given me. Maybe it was just my imagination, but the diamonds seemed to sparkle with an inner fire, blazing as bright as my feelings for the Spartan did-and would over the long winter break. The pure, hopeful light made me smile as I left my dorm room and headed home to Grandma Frost for the holidays.

Gwen's Thoughts on the Schedule for the Winter Carnival

Friday

7 a.m.:Depart Mythos Academy. Oh goody. I get to be dragged out of bed before the crack of dawn-in the bitter cold, no less.

9 a.m.:Arrive at Powder ski resort. If I have to schlep over to the resort, I at least hope that the rooms are nice.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.:Students check in and enjoy a day on the slopes. Maybe the other students will. I've never been skiing before and don't have any desire to start now.

7 p.m.:Social time in the alpine village. In other words, the students party hard with minimal interference from the professors.

Saturday

8 a.m. to 10 a.m.:Breakfast buffet will be served. I hope they have some normal food here, unlike the dining hall back at the academy.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.:The Winter Carnival will be held. Daphne tells me this is an actual carnival with games and prizes and stuff. This might actually be fun.

7 p.m.:Social time in the alpine village. More parties, more drinking and smoking, and more kids hooking up.

Sunday

8 a.m. to 10 a.m.:Breakfast buffet will be served. Maybe they'll at least have pancakes and waffles… Oh, and bacon!