Page 35 of Of Snow and Sapphire

Could she trap Zimyn in a marriage that he had been ready to run from to find his own happiness? It would be cruel to lie to him forever, but she couldn’t marry Balvan.

And in the end, Ludelle and Zimyn loved each other deeply. As Balvan had said, Zimyn would accept this destiny happily in time. He could give up his role as Captain and still travel when he pleased. She would tell the people she had no other option but to choose him, that the Weather Gods blessed their union.

She looked at Balvan who stared at his feet. “Are you sure?”

He bent his head down lower, the only indication that he heard her.

“I thought I hated you.”

“My duty has always been to serve you. You have a vision for the court, Ludelle. I would not have been part of it anyways. ”

“Thank you,” she whispered. “For all the years that you helped my family, and for this.”

She didn’t wait any longer before she went back to the man who earned her heart years ago.

Twenty

It didn’t take long before she was back at Zimyn’s side. She slammed to her knees, chipping some ice on the way, and cradled his head into her neck. His pallor had worsened already. Time was running short.

“Don’t leave me.” she whispered, brushing her fingers through his knotted and bloody hair. “Not yet. We’ll leave together. I’ll be yours for eternity.”

He didn’t respond at all, not even a groan came out of his lips.

“Zimyn, I need you to wake up. Just for a little longer, and I’ll get you help. We just have to get out of here.” She was ready to bow down to the Weather Gods and offer anything. “I don’t know what else to do.”

She held onto him for what could have been hours, trying to warm him up as she clutched him like a lifeline. She whispered into his ear to remind him of what waited for him if he woke up, if he came back to her, but it was too cold. He wouldn’t make it. And everything she had done and would do as Queen wouldn’t matter if he wasn’t there beside her. He was her salvation, her balance, her love. Without him, she would crack under the pressure. The solid glacier that he helped form her into would break.

“Please,” she begged, desperate for anyone to hear her. She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. They didn’t respond to her, so she lay there holding him tightly. If this was his end, then at least he wouldn’t die alone—though she did not have the courage to say goodbye. The words froze on her lips, refusing to budge.

Her legs had started to become numb and her back hurt, but she didn’t let him go. She knew she needed to leave soon, without a consort, but at least she had the Heart. Her court would prosper for one more year. She just hoped the people would accept her as a lone royal. More importantly, how would the people feel about Balvan betraying her? Court advisors had been revered for years as trustworthy, always having the best interest of the court at their core. Would they blame her for leaving him? She would need to rethink how the court would function now, too.

The Heart of the court beat rapidly underneath her clothes, as if it wanted to burst out of its cage and leap towards the man that lay dying before her. Like it had a mind of its own.

She pulled it out and unclasped it to reveal the sapphire stone inside. A light blue aura beamed from it in flashes, beckoning her to touch it. She pressed a shaky finger to it and the light disappeared, swallowing back into the stone. Removing her finger, the light came back. She tried to make sense of it, what exactly the Heart was telling her…until it finally clicked.

The power was not meant for her. It was hers to give.

To give to her people and her land. To give to the one she loved.

It was a heart built to share.

She took the small gemstone out, holding it in her palm. It rolled and warmed, the sensation of it comforted her, reminding her of why she fought so hard. Perhaps it could do the same for Zimyn.

She dragged it across Zimyn’s bleeding arm, and already the wounds began to heal as the sapphire continued to glow. His scales did not reform, but she would bestow them onto him again once they survived this. She kept going, letting it touch every bit of his bare skin that had been bruised and torn.

By the time she finished, he looked alive again. At least from the outside.

She tore open his shirt, revealing his broad but unmoving chest—one she had seen so many times full of life, while he trained, changed, and as he lay beneath her writhing body as she took her pleasure.

She had it memorized. Each scar, each mole, each hair. The armor that protected her favorite part of him. She pressed her palm at the center of it. Barely a flutter. His heart was weak while the one she held beat strongly. There was only one conclusion to this: if anyone deserved her heart, it was him. She forgot about all the consequences that would stem out of her decision because she didn’t care. It was a sacrifice she was willing to make. She would rather spend her whole life proving herself as a competent leader than live any day without him.

Without hesitation, she slammed the sapphire into his chest. The stone sank through his skin and muscle and bone where it would be forever protected.

The world around them shook. Ludelle squeezed Zimyn’s body, nervous that this would be it. “I love you,” she whispered into his neck. But as they lay there weathering the storm, they did not fall. The other side of the maze, where Balvan was trapped, crumbled away. With all the commotion of the maze’s implosion, she didn’t even know if Balvan had screamed. She hoped it was quick. She hoped that her grandmother waited for him with outstretched arms.

Though Ludelle realized with a sinking horror that if they did not move, they would be the next to fall. Time was running out for them. The ground beneath them started to melt at a quicker pace as water pooled swiftly under their bodies.

Zimyn gasped, then, shooting up straight, a cloud of fog escaping his chapped lips. He coughed, tears pouring out of his eyes as he adjusted to all the raw power now running through him.

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