Page 233 of Frost and Death
I shake my head as my lip quivers, undeserving of her kindness. “Runa,youare the sunshine. I never have been.”
“Your sunshine has always been there. You just struggle to see it. And while your light dimmed for a brief duration, you shone brightly again when you met him.” She smiles.
Jerrick’s features etch to life, and my heart fills with love and joy. A passion and bond deeper than I had imagined, a relationship I had hated but came to love.
I sigh at the memory of his eyes matching mine, his scar, and how it would perk up whenever he smirked or laughed. How he always tied his hair up when he was training. How he would rub my hand in soft circles…
Lifting my hand to inspect it, I swear a warm spot lingers where Jerrick would always comfort me.
Runa leans in, her voice pulling me from my thoughts. “Go to him.”
I lift my brows.
She nods with pure joy in her features.
I look between her and the light and the tugging warmth in my palm. “I-I can’t. He needs to find someone to break his curse. It is less of a mess without me.”
Runa’s soothing voice surrounds my senses. “You two were fated to meet. You were meant to break his curse, Tove.”
My mouth falls. “Th-The curse is broken?”
Runa brightens and nods happily. “Yes.”
“B-But how?”
“I think you know,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows before taking one step back, then another.
Once more, she fades from my existence, this time shining bright, free of pain, and smiling. Our bond as sisters marks and instills love from her—love from my family—love for myself.
Her voice echoes, “Go be the sunshine. Go be the queen we know you to be. Go to your happy, Tove.”
48
Judgment
Muttered voices cloud my senses, and I hate how I listen to each of them, disappointed I cannot find the one I desperately long to hear. My eyes remain shut, my head tossing from soreness in my chest.
I move my hand and someone gasps, all conversations halt.
I squint through the light as my vision clears, a group of people standing a few feet away. Scanning my surroundings, I am in a bed. Am I in a bedchamber or the healing wing?
“Tove?” a female asks with reverence.
I move toward the voice, recognizing the long brown hair and chocolate eyes staring at me, filled with tears.
Sunshine surrounds Dorit, and the rays form a halo around her as she hugs her sides. Dorit muffles her sobs, Cordelia and Ophelia doing the same. Their worried expressions and tears dampen their cheeks.
Pain tightens in my throat at their concern, seeking to comfort my friends.
Dorit breaks down, and my face falls.
A man steps up, and I recognize him.Viggo.
Ophelia, Cordelia, and Dorit all look at Viggo, who motions them to step back. He looks over, offering me the same bashful expression.
I work up a soft smile for him.
The four of them shuffle away as two more people come into view.
