Aria's POV
I ran.
The moment the prince's doors closed behind me, my feet moved on their own. Down the hallway, past confused guards, around corners I didn't know existed. I didn't care where I was going. I just needed to move, to breathe, to get away from those silver eyes that saw too much.
He knew my name.
How did he know my name?
I burst through a door and found myself in a courtyard. Cold air hit my face like a slap. I bent over, hands on my knees, trying not to throw up.
"Running won't help."
I spun around.
Mira stood in the shadows near a dead fountain, looking completely unsurprised.
"How did you—you were just—" I couldn't form words.
"I told you to trust no one." Mira stepped forward. "That includes the prince. Especially the prince."
"He knew my name!" The words exploded out of me. "I never told him my name! How could he possibly—"
"Because he's been watching you."
The world tilted.
"What?"
Mira's face was grim. "For three months, Prince Kael has had scouts observing every village in the kingdom, searching for someone special. Someone with light in their soul. Someone who could break his curse."
"Curse?" My voice cracked. "What curse?"
"The same curse that killed his family." Mira moved closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Seven years ago, a dark witch cursed the Ashford bloodline. The curse feeds on grief, turns joy to ashes, makes love impossible. It's why the prince can't smile, can't feel, can't connect with anyone. And it's slowly killing him."
I pressed my back against the cold stone wall. This was too much. Too big.
"If he's cursed, why not just find a witch to break it?"
"Because the witch who cast it is dead." Mira's eyes gleamed in the darkness. "She died the same night as the massacre. And before she died, she made the curse unbreakable by normal magic. The only thing that can shatter it is genuine joy from someone with Lightbringer blood."
The pieces clicked together in my head.
"That's why he needs me," I whispered. "Not to teach him to smile. To break his curse."
"Exactly." Mira nodded. "But here's what they didn't tell you in that pretty treaty: if you fail to break the curse in three months, it transfers to you. Your light dies, your magic burns out, and you become just like him—frozen forever."
My knees gave out. I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the frozen ground.
"I can't do this." The words came out broken. "I don't even know how to use magic. I'm going to fail. I'm going to lose everything and Finn will—"
"Stop." Mira crouched in front of me. "Listen to me very carefully. You have something the prince doesn't. Do you know what it is?"
I shook my head.
"You still remember how to hope." She grabbed my shoulders. "That's your weapon. That's your power. As long as you keep hoping, keep fighting, keep believing things can get better—the curse can't touch you."
"But he said the last girl—"
"The last girl wasn't a Lightbringer." Mira's grip tightened. "She was just a normal person they threw at him like bait. You're different. You're dangerous. That's why they're going to try to kill you before you wake up your full power."
A door slammed somewhere in the palace.
Mira's head snapped up. "Someone's coming. You need to go to your room. Now."
"But I don't know where—"
"East wing, third floor, room with the blue door." She pushed me toward a different entrance. "And Aria? When you get there, don't touch anything silver. Silver is how they track Lightbringers."
"Why would—"
"GO!"
I ran.
This time I didn't stop until I found the east wing. The stairs. The third floor. The blue door.
I shoved it open and slammed it behind me, breathing hard.
The room was small and cold. A bed with thin blankets. A window showing nothing but darkness. A washbasin. That was it.
No warmth. No welcome. Just another cell in this frozen prison.
I sat on the bed and wrapped my arms around myself.
Three months.
Three months to break a curse I didn't understand with magic I didn't know how to use.
Three months before I either saved the prince or became just like him.
A soft knock made me jump.
"Miss Sunfield?" A woman's voice, sharp and cold. "I'm Mrs. Helga, the head servant. I'm coming in."
The door opened before I could respond.
A tall woman with gray hair pulled tight entered. Her face looked like it had forgotten how to smile decades ago.
"Welcome to the Frost Palace," she said, though her tone suggested I was anything but welcome. "You'll follow the rules if you want to survive. First rule: don't bother the prince. Second rule: don't touch anything that doesn't belong to you. Third rule: don't make noise. The prince hates noise."
She set down a tray with bread and water.
"Dinner," she said flatly. "You'll get two meals a day. Breakfast at dawn, dinner at sunset. Don't ask for more."
I stared at the tiny portion. It was less than I'd given the village children back home.
"Mrs. Helga?" I asked quietly. "Can I ask you something?"
Her eyes narrowed. "What?"
"The other companions who came here..." I swallowed hard. "What happened to them? Really?"
For a moment, something flickered across her face. Something that might have been pity.
"Don't expect kindness here, girl," she said softly. "The prince doesn't smile. He doesn't feel. Whatever they told you about teaching him joy—forget it. Save yourself the trouble and stay quiet. Keep your head down. Maybe you'll survive."
"But the treaty says—"
"The treaty says a lot of things." Mrs. Helga moved toward the door. "Doesn't make them true. This palace eats hope like wolves eat rabbits. The smart ones realize that fast and leave."
"I can't leave. My village—"
"Your village is already doomed." She turned back, and her face was sad now. Actually sad. "They all are. The kingdom is dying, Miss Sunfield. Has been for seven years. And sending little girls with big hearts won't change that."
She left, closing the door with a soft click.
I sat in the silence, staring at the bread I was too sick to eat.
Everything felt wrong. The treaty. The curse. The prince who knew my name.
I walked to the window and looked out at the palace grounds.
Frost covered everything. Dead gardens. Frozen fountains. Not a single living plant anywhere.
It looked exactly how I felt inside.
I pressed my forehead against the cold glass and let myself cry. Just for a minute. Just to let it out.
Then I heard it.
Singing.
Soft, barely there, but definitely singing.
I opened the window, and the sound grew stronger. A woman's voice, sad and beautiful, coming from somewhere below.
I leaned out, trying to see who it was.
And that's when I saw her.
In the dead garden, standing in front of a frozen fountain, was a figure in white. She was singing to the ice, her hands outstretched like she was trying to heal it.
But here's what made my heart stop:
She was glowing.
Not like candlelight. Like starlight. Silver and gold mixed together, pouring out of her skin.
She was using magic.
Real magic.
I was so focused on her that I didn't notice someone else was watching too.
Until I felt eyes on my back.
I spun around.
Prince Kael stood in my doorway.
I hadn't heard him open the door. Hadn't heard him come in. But there he was, silver eyes locked on mine.
"You should close that window," he said quietly. "It's dangerous to lean out."
My mouth went dry. "I was just—"
"Watching the witch?" He stepped inside, and suddenly the room felt half its size. "Did you think I wouldn't know? The moment you opened that window, every guard in this palace was alerted."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"
"That woman down there," he interrupted, pointing at the glowing figure, "has been trying to break into the palace for three days. She wants something. Or someone."
He looked at me.
"And I think that someone is you."
The woman in the garden stopped singing.
She looked up.
Right at my window.
Right at me.
And she smiled.
A terrible smile.
Then she spoke, and somehow, even from that far away, I heard every word:
"Found you, little Lightbringer. Finally found you."
She raised her hand, and the ice around her feet exploded into sharp spears.
All pointed at my window.
At me.
Prince Kael grabbed my arm and yanked me backward just as the ice spears shot forward, smashing through the window in an explosion of glass and frost.
I hit the floor hard, the prince's body covering mine, protecting me from the shards raining down.
Everything went silent.
Then he lifted his head and looked down at me, his face inches from mine.
"Welcome to the palace, Aria Sunfield," he said, his voice cold as winter.
"Now you understand why the others ran."