Page 24 of The Enchanted Frost

Unbidden, my thoughts once more drifted towards the mortal whose soul I was meant to claim who had somehow woven herself into the fabric of my existence. From the beginning, I knew her presence was dangerous, a disruption to the delicate balance that maintained the cycle of seasons. Yet I had chosen to blind myself to the truth…because I didn’t want to lose her.

But now, standing in the shadow of my castle, watching the once-immaculate ice walls glisten with the threat of melting, I could no longer deny she was likely the reason winter was weakening. If I wanted to reclaim my fading powers and restore balance, there was only one solution.

I had to claim her soul.

The thought twisted cruelly in my gut. Claiming her soul would restore the cycle, reassert my dominion over winter, and drive back the encroaching warmth that threatened to undo everything I’d built, securing my place as the embodiment of winter and preserving the world as it was meant to be.

But it would also mean losing her forever.

I’d taken comfort so far in the belief that I was not yet able to take her soul; the ancient magic I’d encountered in the alley had prevented my sincere efforts. Yet now as I surveyed my vanishing kingdom, the realization slammed into me with force. In the cave I hadn’t consciously understood it, but as I replayed the scene in my mind I saw with painful clarity that the barrier that had protected Blanche’s soul from my power was gone. Nothing was keeping mefrom moving forward with my task except my own reluctance.

My thoughts whirled, trying to find an explanation for why her soul had been unavailable when she froze, but now that she was recovering—both physically and emotionally—it was procurable.

After much thought an idea came to mind: I knew that whatever had prevented me from fulfilling my duty earlier had been a powerful magic woven into the fabric of the world, not a mere conflict with another seasonal spirit or a glitch in my powers. The showcase of Blanche’s life had offered insight into a life of startling neglect amidst luxury; it had become increasingly clear with each new scene that not a single person in her life truly cared about her.

Closing my eyes, I thought back to the tomes on mortals and the magical structure of the earth I’d studied at the beginning of my existence. One line stood out to me now:The experience of love is the hallmark of humanity and the birthright of every person.

Could that mean that Blanche’s soul was bound to life because her birthright had been denied to her, that her soul could not be severed from her body until she experienced someone caring for her? If so…I wasn’t sure I wanted to consider what it signified that her soul was now free for my taking.

I clenched my fists, feeling the icy chill of my power flicker weakly in response, barely a whisper of what it once was. The more I tried to will it back, the more I realized how much she had come to mean to me, awakening something I didn’t even know I was capable of feeling. She had melted the walls of ice I’d built around my heart, bringing warmth and light into a life that had always been defined by cold and darkness…and apparently doing the same for my entire realm.

I couldn’t bear the thought of losing her, but if I didn’t do what was necessary, the balance of nature would unravel. I had a role that extended beyond my own desires, for I was Winter, a season that couldn’t exist without death. Yet if I fulfilled my duty and claimed her soul, I would lose the one thing that had ever made me feel truly alive.

I stood there, torn between two choices, each leading to a different kind of death. Whichever I chose, something precious would be lost forever. The ice beneath my feet cracked slightly, a reminder of the fragility of the world I was struggling to protect.

The winds began to die down, but for the first time in my existence, I found no comfort in the cold—it felt distant, as if the very essence of winter was slipping away from me. The warmth that had seeped into my heart, brought there by her presence, now threatened to consume me entirely.

I knew the choice I had to make, but the sense of loss gnawed at me, sharper than any blade of ice. My sense of self—once as solid as the frozen ground beneath my feet—seemed to be crumbling, fear gripping me with cold, unyielding hands.

Who was I if the season I commanded withered under my care?

The weakened frost that once effortlessly flowed through me left me adrift, as if the essence of my identity had been stripped away. The more my power weakened, the more my desperation grew, until it became a relentless force I could no longer ignore, urging me to do anything to reclaim the raw force of winter coursing through my veins.

Desperation burning in my chest, I descended to Earth, seeking the one place where I’d always felt in control: the skies. I took to the air, my emotions a turbulent storm as I searched for a way to prove to myself that I was still the master of ice and snow.

The moment my feet touched the ground, dark clouds gathered, a mirror of my turmoil. I reached out to the elements with what remained of my power, demanding they respond as they always had. The wind howled in answer and the temperature dropped, the air around me growing sharp with cold.

But it wasn’t enough. I pushed harder, forcing my will upon the sky, and the first shards of ice began to fall. Hailstones, small at first, tumbled from the heavens, striking the earth with a force that echoed my growing despair. Still, I needed more—more cold, more ice, more proof that I hadn’t lost everything.

The hail intensified, the stones growing larger, harder, driven by the fury of a storm I could barely control. They pounded the ground, a relentless barrage that scarred the earth in its wake. The storm spiraled, feeding off my deep-seated need to prove that I still possessed the power that had always given meaning to my existence.

Yet as I watched the wild, uncontrolled force smash into the earth, I found no satisfaction, only a hollow ache that confirmed I was losing more than just my power…I was losing myself.

The realization calmed my surge of emotions just enough for the storm to wane, the hailstones dwindling as the last vestiges of my strength faltered. I dropped to my knees, the cold earth beneath me doing little to ground me in the reality of what I’d done.

As the storm’s fury subsided and the last remnants of ice fell from the sky, a heavy stillness settled over the landscape; the world grew eerily quiet, as if nature held its breath, waiting to see what I’d do next. Yet in this moment, I had no more power to draw upon.

In the silence, my thoughts turned to the mortal woman who had disrupted my world. Despite the havoc she’dwrought on my powers, the very thought of her soothed the edges of my despair—not the comfort that came with the cold, indifferent strength of winter but with something entirely different, something warmer, softer. The memory of her touch, the sound of her voice, the way she looked at me as if I was more than just a force of nature left my soul craving for her, the only one in this moment who seemed to possess the power to calm the storm raging inside me.

Suddenly I couldn’t bear to be apart from her for another moment, and I hastily created a portal to return to my castle. As if the cold from the furious storm I’d created had extended its reach even to here, the repairs in winter’s grip I had made over my realm maintained their hold, pushing back the hints of spring I’d previously detected. Yet my relief was tempered by fear that this reprieve was only temporary, a fleeting victory before the encroachment of spring would return to threaten my realm.

I pushed open the towering front doors, but before I could take more than a few steps inside, I was suddenly overwhelmed by a warm embrace that nearly knocked me off my feet. Blanche flung herself at me, her arms wrapping tightly around me with a force that belied her delicate frame. In that instant, all my concerns about winter’s fragile hold and my own weakening magic vanished, replaced by the immediacy of her presence.

“What is it? Are you alright?” My arm instinctively wound around her, pulling her closer as if it were the most natural thing in the world—even more than the magic that used to flow effortlessly through me. With my free hand, I gently stroked her cheeks, searching for any lingering cold that might still cling to her skin. Relief surged through me as her body heat spread across my touch, warm and soothing.

“After I awoke, I couldn’t find you anywhere. I searchedthe entire castle.” Her voice trembled slightly, and the worry in her eyes was unmistakable.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured, guilt tightening my chest. “I had a storm to create. I meant to return before you awoke.” I hadn’t expected her to wake so soon, and in my panicked distraction, I’d lost track of time.

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