Page 122 of Sweet Nightmare

Maybe I’m imagining this all.

I stop a few feet away and just stare.

I don’t hear the wind or feel the cold creeping through my gloves. I don’t notice the snow collecting on my shoulders or the strands of hair brushing against my cheeks.

Or the absurd situation I’ve been tricked into walking straight into.

I don’t even think about the rude man who owns this beautiful garden.

For the first one in…

Well.

Forever.

I have nothing to solve or control.

My mind is quiet here.

I like it.

I take the last few steps toward the fountain, close enough now to see tiny air bubbles trapped beneath the ice.

It looks so pretty…

Crack.

The sound cuts through the silence, making me stop mid-step.

Another faint crack follows and I slowly look up to find an enormous icicle breaking loose from a tree branch directly above me.

My eyes widen. “Oh, you have got to be⁠—-”

It falls too fast for me to think. Instinct takes over, and I throw myself sideways, one boot sliding through the snow as I stumble out of its path.

The icicle slams into the ground less than a foot from my boot.

Crash.

It shatters on impact, sending shards of ice flying across the snow like broken glass. One piece skitters across the toe of my boot before disappearing beneath the snow.

I freeze and my heart pounds like crazy against my ribs.

For several seconds, I stare at the shattered remains beside me. Then I look down at my feet, reminding myself that I’m still alive.

Slowly, I lift my gaze toward the tree.

“Seriously?”

I stare at the icicles still hanging above me.

There are dozens of them.

Dozens.

I swallow and take a cautious step back, my heart still hammering. I press a gloved hand against my chest, as if that will somehow make it calm down.

I was almost killed by architecture.