CHAPTER TEN
The Frozen King
Right in the heart of the realm, there was a throne made out of some ancient black ice, it has been there longer than any kingdom, some say it's actually what was left from the very first winter the world ever saw, and sitting up there, wrapped in layers of shadow and frost, is the Frozen King. He's tall, impossible to ignore, and the air changes around him, the cold gets heavy, and even the torches go dim, struggling to stay alive.
"So", the King says, his voice sharp and brittle, like you're hearing glass crack under too much weight. "The traitor returns".
Kael steps forward, not flinching, even though the cold bites deep. His breath turns to frost in the air. He bows his head, not to give in, but just acknowledging the past that won't let him go. I'm here to fix what I broke, he says, steady, even though you can hear the regret.
The King rises, unhurried and sure, like a predator that has never had anything to fear. "You were the Guardian" he says. "Love's first failure. Do you really think I'll let you undo the punishment that made you who you are"?
I have to, Kael answers, looking him right in the eye. For her world, for mine and for the greater good.
Silence falls, thick as the frost. Then, the King turns his gaze on Aria. She was standing just a little behind Kael, but she doesn't back down, not even with that icy stare burning into her. A mortal heart stirs the frost again he says, almost amused. How poetic, and how foolish of you.
He barely moves, just a flick of his fingers and the ground erupts with jagged shards of ice, sharp and fierce, flying at Aria like arrows, Kael doesn't hesitate to save her. He quickly jumped and throws himself in front of her, and the ice slams into his chest, then he stumbles, frost crawling across his skin, hungry to claim him again.
Kael! Aria's voice cracks as she reaches out for him.
He grits his teeth, pushes himself back up and the wound glows blue all of a sudden, with icy magic spreading, digging in. "Keep going" he whispers, barely more than a breath. "The Heart's past this chamber, You have to reach it".
Before Aria can argue, Eamon fires his rune-forged gun, the blast has already shattered the ice pillars blocking their way. The whole chamber shakes, cracks running through the frozen walls. The King did not even blink or have any fear, he just smiled in a way that was slow and cold.
Aria slips her arm around Kael, making him steady. He was actually freezing, the cold soaking right through her, but she holds on as they moved together, moving deeper into the ancient temple, into a place where blue mist twists and turns like restless ghosts. Behind them, the King's laughter echoed like the sound of a storm about to break.
As they went, the frost fades and the walls came alive with carvings, ancient murals cut straight into the ice. They tell stories that feel too big to be true; armies of frost giants, guardians with blades of light, a crystal heart floating in the sky like a second moon.
Eamon stops, staring at one mural, it was a glowing crystal, cracked in two. "The Heart of Winter" he said, with fear. "That's the source of all frost magic. It is the thing the King has been guarding for centuries."
Aria's eyes lock on another mural. This one shows a Guardian standing next to the Frozen King, their hands joined above the Heart. The Guardian's face is unmistakable.
It was Kael.
She could barely breathe when she saw it. "You!, you stood with him once".
Kael stays silent for a moment, his steps faltering, but Aria tightens her grip more. Finally, he said, "I was bound to him. Before I understood freedom. Before I knew what it meant to choose".
And now?
He looks at her, softer now. "Now I choose you and I choose to end this".
They reach the last archway, icicles hanging like teeth. The chamber ahead was glowing blue, and right at the center the heart was floating, huge, brilliant, just hanging in the air like it defies everything.
Light washes over them, warm and cold at the same time, like remembering a summer day in the middle of winter.
Aria moves first, drawn to the Heart by something she can't explain. It pulses, almost like it's alive, and the sound was faint but steady, a heartbeat from somewhere far away.
But before she could touch it, a storm of frost tears through the room.
The Frozen King steps out of the blizzard, the ground shaking under his feet. "Did you actually think", he snarls, "that you could claim what was never meant for mortal hands"?
Aria pulls back, shielding Kael even though she knows she was outmatched. Eamon moves in front, fists up, ready to fight, even if he knows he's not going to last.
The King lifted his hand, and a whirlwind of frost spun around him. You can't save him, he said, pointing at Kael's wound, dark and spreading. That will brings him back to me, to what he was before.
Kael limped forward, unsteady but still standing tall. "I was never yours" he said, his words shaky in the cold. And I won't let you take her world like you took mine.
The King's face went hard. "Then die like all who defy me".
He hurled a blast of frost so fierce the air split open.
Aria didn't stop to think.
She just moved.
She threw herself in front of Kael. She lifted her hands, pure instinct, as if that could hold back the storm. The frost slammed into her, but instead of tearing her apart, it shattered, splintering like broken glass.
The Heart flared to life behind her.
A beam of light shot out from the crystal, wrapping Aria in a shell of shimmering ice and warm gold. Her hair floated in that magic, her eyes blazing with borrowed power.
The Frozen King jerked back.
"You're resonating with it" he breathed, shocked and twisting his voice.
Aria felt it too, a surge of magic, wild and huge, strange but somehow familiar. Like a door opening inside her she had never noticed before.
Kael she said, turning to him. Tell me what to do.
He reached for her, hand shaking. "Listen" he whispered, the Heart listens to intention. To truth, to love, It always has.
Tears blurred her eyes. I'm listening.
The King roared, Don't touch it!
But she already had. Her fingers brushed the Heart.
A sound, that felt like a thousand bells, rang through the chamber. Light exploded, filling the temple, swallowing the cold, pushing the King back as cracks of light split his body.
He screamed, stumbled, dropped to one knee.
Aria felt the power rush through her, and with it, memories that weren't hers. She saw Kael as a Guardian, weighed down by a duty he never choose, trapped in endless, frozen loyalty.
She got it now.
The Heart didn't pick rulers.
It picked those who set others free.
She sent her will into the Heart; free him.
Kael cried out as the frost on his chest shattered, falling away like broken armor. The glowing cracks spread across the Frozen King, racing up his limbs, cutting straight through his heart.
No! the King shouted with an echoing voice.
But it was done.
The Heart pulsed one last time.
The Frozen King burst apart. Light, then dust, then nothing.
Silence slammed down.
Aria dropped to her knees, the glow fading from her skin. Kael caught her, pulled her close, even though he still shook.
You did it, he whispered, voice thick with awe.
No, she murmured, barely above a breath. We did.
Eamon let out a shaky breath. "Remind me never to underestimate mortals again".
Kael didn't answer. He just held Aria, his forehead pressed to hers, the cold finally gone.
For the first time in centuries, the throne of black ice stood empty.
And winter finally started to melt away.