Free The Frost of Springtime by Rachel L. Demeter

black had been stabbed by a shaft of light. Each time an
absurd blend of emotions had welled inside his gut.
    And each time Aleksender had been left feeling emptier and more alone
than ever before.
    Where was she? Where was his Sofia?
    Needing some form of distraction, Aleksender paced the length of the
alleyway and studied his barren surroundings. Almost all the street lanterns
had prematurely burned out, and those that remained shed dismal amounts of
light. A deep and not altogether cynical sigh swelled his lungs.
    Gas, along with everything else, had become a rare luxury since the
siege. “Many weeks were spent in pure darkness,” Elizabeth had told him with a
shudder. And although the streets shined once more, it was a mere flicker
compared to the brilliant lighting of Paris as it used to be.
    Indeed. The City of Lights had never been darker.
    Aleksender’s pensive thoughts were cropped short as the door moaned
open. He held his breath in suspenseful anticipation. Two of Salle Le
Peletier’s corps de ballet dancers appeared—one of whom he immediately
recognized as Sofia.
    She’d always held a strange calming effect over him. It was a
phenomenon that he’d never been able to put into words. Something
which betrayed logic. Something he couldn’t fully understand nor
intended to. In the midst of his personal agony, the mere sight of his ward was
balm upon his soul. Dark feelings and even darker thoughts were replaced by a
faint ray of hope. And the bitterness that had grown to be an integral part of himself miraculously faded away.
    Standing at the stairwell’s landing, Aleksender propped a hand on
either side of the rail, cocked his head, and intently observed his ward.
Sofia’s girlfriend tugged at her cloak and whispered some nonsense into her
ear. Blue eyes pierced the black as melodious laughter flooded the alleyway.
    Aleksender exhaled, releasing a breath he hadn’t known he was holding.
His heart raced at breakneck speed. His palms grew clammy, weighed down with
buckets of sweat. Perspiration formed along the lining of his gloves,
plastering silk to flesh. And the metal railing was unbearably cool … a
startling contrast to the current state of certain nether regions. Disgusted
with himself, Aleksender groaned and adjusted his posture.
    Dieu—what was happening to him?
    •
    Sofia fell into silence as she gazed at Aleksender’s dark form beneath
the rim of her hood.
    Butterflies fluttered inside her tummy and tickled her with their silky
wings. He was a vision to be reckoned with and handsomer than sin. A
double-breasted coat wrapped his impressive body like a glove, the top hat
camouflaging with a multitude of thick waves to perfection.
    And he was her Alek. Her dark knight and eternal
protector.
    Sofia’s eyes came to life as a smile stretched her lips from ear to
ear. Grasping the elegant folds of her cloak, she rushed down the five
cobblestone steps and threw herself into Aleksender’s arms. He weakly returned
her embrace. Every inch of his body was coarser than stone. She felt his chest
tighten as he glanced down at their joined bodies. Long, inky lashes shadowed
his cheekbones with delicate crescent moons. They were a sensual contrast to the
golden hue of his skin.
    “You’re here.” Sofia sighed and nuzzled against his cravat, increasing
the pressure of her hold. She swung both arms around his neck, perched onto her
ballerina tiptoes, and pressed a kiss just below the arch of his chin. Day-old
stubble pierced her lips at the contact.
    A deep sigh resonated within Aleksender’s chest.
    “Say, why the big reunion?” Aleksender muttered beneath an airy
chuckle. His hands were painfully gentle as he grazed the material of her
cloak.
    Coming to his senses, he outstretched both limbs and held Sofia at a
proper arm’s length. An oversized hand crashed down on either side of her
shoulders, firmly rooting her in place. She giggled and swayed, struggling
against the iron clasp.
    “Oh, just