Page 33 of Of Snow and Sapphire

Zimyn moved—or tried to—but he could barely hold his weight. His arms strained as he lifted his torso up so that he could lean against the wall behind him. She wanted to push him back down but was scared that if she pressed too hard he wouldn’t get up again.

His eyes were closed, exhausted from all the pain. Ludelle just noticed his right hand, how the bones sat awkwardly. She reached out, but he flinched away.

“Who did this to you?” Whoever did would feel her wrath. She would cut every inch of their body, watch them bleed, and freeze their dead body as a display.

“You,” he started, but took a deep breath before continuing. “Go away.”

“I’m not leaving you,” she said adamantly. If he thought that she would leave him in this state, then he didn’t know her at all. Her stiff knees crawled closer to him. “Tell me what happened.”

His head rolled towards her. “Win the Undertaking, Ludelle.”

“But—” She was so confused. Why was he even here? It was supposed to be Cirrus. No one prepared her for this.

“Balvan.”

“Did he do this?”

Zimyn jerked his head. “He’s here,” Zimyn managed to say, his eyes fluttering shut again. “Find him and get out.”

She cupped Zimyn’s face. “I don’t understand.”

Zimyn winced, as he cradled his broken hand in his lap.

Ludelle worked to piece it all together. Balvan was here somewhere, and he had hurt Zimyn, unforgivably. Yet Zimyn wanted her to find him, to survive the Undertaking with him on his side. Meaning Balvan would become her consort. That couldn’t be…

Advisors could never rule because there needed to be a separation. Balvan provided her his objective advice on matters, but he couldn’t do that if he were her consort. It would be an obvious conflict of interest.

And she couldn’t just abandon Zimyn now! The ground below him would soon splinter wide open and he would fall to his death

Was this the choice Zimyn’s father had spoken of?

If so, he was wrong.

A cornered choice wasn’t a choice at all.

Zimyn could barely feel anything. His body had become so cold and so tired, that only numbness consumed him. Even his broken hand just added weight to his suffering. Balvan had laughed as he took a large chunk of solid ice and bashed it against his dominant hand, knowing that no matter what, Zimyn could never return to his role as Captain if it wasn’t healed in time.

As Balvan dragged his body through the maze, Zimyn had accepted his fate. If he died, then Ludelle could finally let him go and rule in peace. If he lived, they both would come to the same conclusion that he no longer would be suited for the job and that leaving was the best option. It was a sense of peace that he’d only felt once before—in that quiet moment where they both lied together after their joining.

Now though, he was in a living nightmare. He had pleaded with the Gods that Ludelle wouldn’t stumble across him, that she would just find Balvan and reluctantly accept him as her consort. She would hate it with every fiber of her being, but she would do it. Which is why she needed to abandon him and continue with her Undertaking.

Bracing himself, Zimyn struggled to his knees. Ludelle wrapped her arm around his waist as she helped him, but she didn’t let go once he got to his feet. She held on tightly, and he savored it. The way she fit perfectly against him.

His blood marred her skin. Even then, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid his eyes on. Her determination and bravery, even now, pierced him. Every drop of blood was for her: for her title and her honor.

“Go,” he stammered out.

She shook her head against his neck. “I can’t leave you.”

“You have to.”

Warm tears dropped onto his skin, and the sensation both broke him and anchored him to this moment as his breaths became more labored, as his body prepared to shut down. The one last thing he would do was convince her that she needed to let him go. It would be the greatest privilege of his life.

“It all depends on this. Don’t waste it on me.”

She peeked her eyes up at him. “Don’t say that. Every second I had with you was the most special. The rest of it never mattered.”

“But it did, Ludelle. It got you this far. Now you need to go.” He brushed a stray tear from under her eye. “Let my life mean something. Let it all have been for you.” He pushed something into her hands. She gasped as she saw the ring—his mother’s. She knew what it meant to him.

---