Page 35 of The Enchanted Frost

Her cheeks pinked and she lowered her gaze. She seemed to realize she’d reached for me and hastily released me, but I seized her hand once more, unwilling to lose this precious contact. Though her skin was uncomfortably warm, I found that the longer I touched her, the more I craved it and the happiness that filled the void in my heart I hadn’t even realized was there until our meeting.

She stared at our laced hands for a moment before looking up at me, her large grey eyes filled with unspoken questions. I wished I had an explanation for the feelings coursing through me, dictating my actions beyond my understanding. All I knew was that I wanted to be near her, to protect her.

Yet that desire was eclipsed by the need to find a way to reverse the course she was on. I wanted to go back in time and undo every cold spell I’d ever woven, just so she would never know the pain of freezing. The thought that the magicI loved had caused her suffering tainted the joy I’d once derived from it, leaving an ache deep inside me that I couldn’t fully comprehend.

“I’m coming with you,” she repeated firmly. “However long I have left, my life is mine to direct. I’ve always lived as though helpless—either as a useless member of the peerage or a vagabond barely surviving on the streets. It’s time I choose my own future, as much as I am able to.”

Her powerful statement left me with no choice but to relent. Yet my heart ached at her words, torn between my instinct to protect her and the growing realization that I needed her—more than I’d ever needed anyone.

Her grey eyes stared up at mine, wide and imploring, reaching deep inside me to unravel the resolve I had so carefully constructed. The part of me that had always been so certain and unyielding was now wavering in the face of the impossible. Yet even midst it, one undeniable truth remained.

“I can’t lose you.” My voice was raw with emotion. “If anything happened to you because of me…”

“You won’t lose me,” she said firmly, her grip on my hand tightening. “We’ve come this far together. Let me help you find the answer. You don’t have to do this alone.”

My breath caught in my throat as I looked into her eyes, seeing the determination and love that burned there. I had grown so accustomed to my lone existence, relying solely on myself and my powers for any conflict I encountered, that the concept of not facing it alone was almost unfathomable.

Blanche stepped close and slid her arms around my waist, laying her head on my chest for a long moment before lifting her face to search my gaze. My heart filled with the tenderest affection as well as an overwhelming gratefulness for this woman who was committed to staying by my side, such a comforting contrast to the cold isolation that defined most of my existence.

I gently bent my head to kiss her softly, this kiss filled not with the wonder of discovery like before but woven through with a mixture of promise and sorrow, as though we both acknowledged this was likely one of the last touches we’d share but were determined to be together as long as possible.

The thought of leaving her unprotected and vulnerable to danger filled me with a cold dread that far surpassed any fear I’d ever known. I needed her strength, her warmth, her very presence beside me. To do this alone would be to deny the bond we had forged, to ignore the truth that had been growing within me—I couldn’t bear to be apart from her.

With a deep, resigned sigh, I nodded. “Alright, we’ll go together. But you must stay close to me, no matter what. The path to Borealis is filled with dangers that even I cannot fully predict. Promise me that you’ll trust me to protect you.”

“I promise,” she said, her voice steady and filled with resolve as she slid her warm fingers into mine.

I squeezed her hand, but suddenly, that minimal contact wasn’t enough. I drew her into one last brief, fierce embrace. “Then we’ll face whatever comes together,” I murmured, my breath cool against her ear. “And we’ll find a way to save you. We have to.”

As we stepped out of the sanctuary, the air around us began to shift, the first stirrings of our journey to Borealis that would test everything we had come to mean to each other and perhaps finally reveal the answer we both sought. I gathered what remained of my magic and closed my eyes for a moment, envisioning our destination.

The wind howled in the distance, as if sensing the gravity of what was to come, but for the first time in my long, cold existence, I felt a flicker of hope—small and fragile, but there nonetheless…and it was all because of her.

CHAPTER 16

Iconjured a portal to take us most of the way, but once we entered Borealis’s territory, we became subject to his powerful influence—a realm where my magic held no sway, forcing us to travel the remaining distance on foot. I kept my arm securely around Blanche as we proceeded, but the farther we ventured, the more my powers waned in this primordial place where the true essence of winter reigned supreme. Rather than feeling in my element surrounded by the ice and snow, I felt like a mortal attempting to infiltrate a magical fortress. But we pressed on through the relentless blizzard, desperate to find Borealis and seek his advice.

With every step, the chill choking the air seemed to change, subtly shifting as if it were responding to the warmth of Blanche’s hand in mine. My heart, usually as cold and unyielding as ice, pulsed with an unfamiliar rhythm—a warmth that seemed to emanate from her and spread through me.

Her touch seemed to be altering my magic—whenever we brushed past the frost-covered surfaces around us, the icepatterns shifted into delicate shapes, reflecting her emotions rather than my intentions. The contrast between the warmth of her skin and the biting cold of the air grew more apparent with each passing moment.

As she exhaled, her breath formed soft clouds that lingered in the air longer than usual, slowly crystallizing into tiny, glittering flakes. Winter was intertwining with her being, not just in an abstract sense—her essence was merging with the frost I commanded, making it so I could no longer control every nuance of winter’s embrace as I once did.

The wonder in her widening eyes shimmered like the light reflected from the icy walls. “It’s like I can almost touch the cold, but it’s not painful. Instead, it’s almost…comforting.”

Each time our fingers brushed, I felt a small portion of my winter powers transfer to her, leaving a faint, glimmering trail of frost in its wake. Our souls were merging, not just in the emotional sense—her very being was absorbing my magic, making her another vessel for winter’s essence…which made it all the more imperative that we reach Borealis.

The chilly winds howled as we ventured deep into the heart of the ancient glacier where the Spirit of Winter was said to dwell. The frozen landscape stretched endlessly, a labyrinth of jagged ice and snow that seemed to swallow all light and sound. Above the sky was a swirling mass of dark clouds, a perpetual storm that blocked out the sun, leaving the world in an eternal twilight.

The frigid air grew denser until even I—who thrived in the cold—could feel it biting into my exposed skin, gnawing at the edges of my resolve. The ice cracked underfoot, and I tightened my hold around Blanche to ensure she wouldn’t slip.

Finally, we reached the center of the glacier—a vast, openexpanse where the ice was so clear it seemed to trap the very sky within it. In the middle of this expanse stood a towering figure, his form ever-shifting between a swirling vortex of snow and ice and the outline of a human-like silhouette. This was Borealis, the ancient Spirit of Winter, whose presence commanded the very elements around us. He watched our approach, his eyes glistening like frozen stars, cold and distant and deeply inhuman.

When Borealis finally spoke, his voice echoed through the icy expanse, a deep, resonant sound that carried the weight of eons; it reverberated through the ice and snow, as though he spoke not through a humanlike voice that traveled through air, but somehow communicated through the elements of winter themselves. “Frost, Keeper of Winter. You tread upon sacred ground, where few dare to venture. What is it that you seek from me?”

I hesitated, the gravity of the situation pressing down on me, before stepping forward. “Borealis, I seek your help.” My voice was steady, but I couldn’t entirely mask the deep, hidden desperation that lay beneath the surface.

The frost-shrouded air seared my lungs as I took a deep breath. “I seek to save a soul—a mortal woman whose fate has become intertwined with mine. Her soul is destined to be claimed by me…but I wish to find a way to let her live beyond her appointed time.”

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