Kael's POV
I threw myself in front of her.
The Shade's claws raked across my back instead of her throat. Pain exploded through me—cold, burning, wrong. Like ice and fire mixed together.
I hit the floor hard.
"KAEL!" Aria's scream.
Through blurring vision, I saw the Shade tower over me, its form shifting between shadow and solid, its eyes—too many eyes—fixed on the girl behind me.
"Foolish prince," it hissed. "You're already dying. Why waste your last moments protecting her?"
I forced myself up on one elbow, silver light crackling weakly around my hand. "Because someone has to."
The Shade laughed. "How noble. How pointless."
It raised its claws for the killing blow.
Then light exploded.
Not silver. Gold.
Pure, blazing gold that filled the entire room.
I turned my head and saw something impossible.
Aria was glowing.
Not just her hands—her entire body. Light poured from her skin like she'd swallowed the sun. Her eyes burned gold, her hair floated around her face, and the air crackled with raw power.
"GET. AWAY. FROM. HIM." Her voice echoed with something ancient and terrible.
The Shade actually stepped back.
Aria raised her hands, and golden light shot forward like spears. They pierced the Shade's body, and it screamed—a sound that shattered every window in the room.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" it shrieked. "YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE YOUR POWER!"
"I'm learning fast," Aria said, and there was something in her voice I'd never heard before. Strength. Fury. Power.
She pushed harder, and the golden light grew brighter.
The Shade thrashed, trying to escape, but the light held it like chains.
"NO! NOT LIKE THIS! I'VE WAITED SEVEN YEARS—"
"Then you can wait in hell," Aria said.
One final pulse of light.
The Shade exploded into smoke and shadows.
Then nothing.
Silence.
The golden light faded from Aria's body. She swayed, her eyes rolling back.
I caught her before she hit the floor.
She was unconscious. Barely breathing. But alive.
I held her against my chest, feeling her heartbeat—fast and weak, but there.
She'd done it.
She'd actually destroyed the Shade.
Something twisted in my chest. Something I hadn't felt in seven years.
Relief.
Aria's POV
I woke up in a soft bed.
For a moment, I didn't remember where I was. Then everything came rushing back—the garden, the Shade, the explosion of power—
I sat up fast. Too fast. The room spun.
"Don't move." The prince's voice.
He sat in a chair beside the bed, watching me with those silver eyes. But they looked different now. Lighter somehow. Less frozen.
"What happened?" I asked.
"You destroyed the Shade." He said it like he still couldn't believe it. "Used your Lightbringer magic at full power. You should be dead from the energy drain, but somehow you're not."
I looked down at my hands. They looked normal. No glow. No power.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"Eight hours." He stood up and walked to the window. "It's morning now. You missed the whole night."
Morning. I'd survived the night the Shade was supposed to kill me.
"Your back," I said, remembering. "The Shade hurt you—"
"Already healed." He didn't turn around. "Apparently when you released that much light, it didn't just destroy the Shade. It healed everyone nearby. Including me."
His voice was strange. Tight.
"Are you angry?"
"No." He finally looked at me. "I'm trying to understand why you would risk your life for someone you barely know. Someone who's been nothing but cold to you since you arrived."
I thought about it. "Because nobody deserves to die alone and afraid. Not even a frozen prince."
Something flickered across his face. Then he looked away again.
"There's someone here to see you," he said quietly. "A messenger. From your village."
My heart jumped. "Finn?"
He nodded toward the door.
I got out of bed—my legs shaky but working—and practically ran to the door. Pulled it open.
A young man in messenger clothes stood there, holding a sealed letter. When he saw me, relief flooded his face.
"Miss Aria! Thank the gods you're alive. Everyone said—" He stopped, shook his head. "Never mind. I have a letter from your brother. He said it was urgent."
My hands trembled as I took it.
The paper was wrinkled, stained. Like Finn had been holding it for a long time before sending it.
I broke the seal and read:
Aria,
I'm sorry to write bad news. I'm getting sicker. The medicine you sent helped for a while, but now it's not working anymore. Old Marta says I need stronger medicine. The kind only the capital healers have.
She says without it, I might not make it through winter.
I know you're trying your best. I know the mission is hard. But please, if you can, if there's any way—
I'm scared, Aria. I'm so scared.
I don't want to die.
Your brother,
Finn
The letter fell from my hands.
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
Finn was dying.
My little brother was dying, and I was stuck in this frozen palace playing games with curses and princes while he—
"Aria?" The prince's voice, closer now.
I didn't answer. Just picked up the letter and walked past him, past the messenger, down the hallway.
I needed to see Lord Darian. The treaty said if I succeeded in my mission, my village got resources. Medicine. Help.
Maybe he'd help Finn even though I hadn't broken the curse yet.
I found him in the council room, talking with Lady Cassandra and other nobles.
"Lord Darian!" I burst through the door without knocking. "I need to talk to you."
He looked up, annoyed. "Miss Sunfield. This is a private meeting—"
"My brother is dying." I thrust Finn's letter at him. "He needs medicine. Real medicine from capital healers. The treaty says my village gets resources—"
"After you complete your task," Darian interrupted smoothly. "Not before."
"But he's dying now! He can't wait three months—"
"Then perhaps you should work faster." He handed the letter back without reading it. "The treaty is clear. No success, no resources."
"Please!" I hated how desperate I sounded. "He's just a boy. Fourteen years old. He's done nothing wrong—"
"Many innocent people are suffering, Miss Sunfield." Darian's voice was cold. "Your brother is not special. Learn to prioritize your mission over your personal attachments."
Lady Cassandra smiled sweetly. "Besides, even if we sent medicine now, it probably wouldn't arrive in time. Your village is so far away. And winter storms are starting. The roads might be blocked for weeks."
She said it like she was being helpful. Like she wasn't basically telling me my brother would die.
I looked around the room. At the nobles with their fine clothes and full stomachs. At Lord Darian with his false kindness. At Lady Cassandra with her poisonous smile.
None of them cared. Not about Finn. Not about me. Not about anything except their own power.
"Get out," Darian said dismissively. "Before I have you removed."
I left before they could see me cry.
I ran through the palace, not caring where I was going. Just needing to move. To do something. Anything.
I ended up in the garden. The one I'd brought back to life yesterday.
It was still beautiful. Still growing. Still living.
Unlike Finn.
I collapsed beside the fountain and cried. Deep, tearing sobs that felt like they'd rip me apart.
I'd come here to save him. To save everyone. And I was failing. Failing at everything.
I didn't hear footsteps behind me.
Didn't know anyone was there until a coat dropped around my shoulders.
I looked up.
The prince stood there, and his expression was... complicated.
"Here," he said quietly, holding out a small glass vial filled with silver liquid. "Give this to your messenger. Tell him to take it to your brother immediately. It's a healing elixir from the royal stores. Rare. Expensive. But it will cure any illness."
I stared at the vial. "Why?"
"Because..." He seemed to struggle with the words. "Because watching you cry is..." He stopped. Tried again. "Because your brother deserves to live."
Something uncomfortable crossed his face, like the words hurt to say.
"Thank you," I whispered, taking the vial. "Thank you so much—"
"Don't thank me." He turned away. "Just... stop crying. It's distracting."
But I saw his hands clench at his sides. Saw the tension in his shoulders.
He was lying.
It wasn't distracting him. It was affecting him.
He was starting to feel again.
"Kael?" I said softly.
He stopped but didn't turn around.
"When you gave me this medicine... did it hurt? Here?" I touched my chest, over my heart.
Silence stretched between us.
Then, so quietly I almost didn't hear: "Yes."
"That's good," I said.
"How is pain good?"
"Because it means you're not frozen anymore. You're thawing."
He was quiet for a long moment. Then: "Maybe I don't want to thaw. Being frozen doesn't hurt."
"No. But it doesn't feel anything else either."
He walked away without responding.
But I noticed something.
His shoulders weren't quite as tense as before.
And when he thought I wasn't looking, he touched his chest—right over his heart—like something there confused him.
Like something there had woken up after seven years of sleeping.
I ran to find the messenger, hope blazing in my chest.
Finn would live. The medicine would save him.
Everything would be okay.
But when I reached the messenger, he wasn't alone.
Lady Cassandra stood there, talking to him in low tones.
When she saw me, she smiled. "Ah, Miss Sunfield. I was just arranging for your messenger to have a comfortable room for the night. The roads are too dangerous for travel after dark."
The messenger nodded eagerly. "Lady Cassandra is being so kind! She even offered to have the royal healers prepare supplies for me to take back—"
"That won't be necessary." I held up the prince's vial. "I already have medicine."
Cassandra's eyes narrowed. "Where did you get that?"
"The prince gave it to me."
Something dark flashed across her face. Then her sweet smile returned.
"How generous of His Highness. Well then, I'll leave you to it." She turned to go, then paused. "Although... I do hope the medicine reaches your brother in time. Such a long journey. So many things could go wrong."
The way she said it made my blood run cold.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing at all!" She laughed lightly. "Just that winter roads are treacherous. Accidents happen. Messengers get lost. Bottles break. Such a tragedy if the medicine were to be... destroyed... before it arrived."
She walked away, humming.
I stared after her, my stomach twisting.
She was going to sabotage the medicine. I knew it.
But what could I do? I couldn't leave the palace to deliver it myself. The treaty bound me here.
Unless...
An idea formed. Dangerous. Possibly stupid. But maybe my only choice.
I turned to the messenger. "How fast can you ride?"
"In good weather? Two days to Sunhaven."
"Can you leave right now? Before full dark?"
He hesitated. "Lady Cassandra said—"
"Forget what she said." I pressed the vial into his hands. "This is life or death. My brother's life. Please. You have to leave now."
He looked at the vial, then at my desperate face.
"I'll leave immediately," he said. "I'll ride through the night if I have to."
"Thank you." I hugged him quickly. "Thank you so much."
He left at a run.
I stood there, praying he'd make it. Praying Cassandra wouldn't stop him. Praying the medicine would reach Finn in time.
Behind me, someone cleared their throat.
I turned.
Mira stood there, materializing from nowhere as usual.
"That was brave," she said. "And incredibly foolish."
"What do you mean?"
"You just made yourself a target." Mira's expression was grave. "Cassandra knows the prince is starting to care about you. That he gave you priceless medicine for your brother. She'll see you as a real threat now."
"I don't care. Finn's life is more important—"
"She's going to try to kill you," Mira interrupted. "Tonight. Before you can get any closer to breaking the curse."
My blood went cold. "How do you know?"
"Because I've been watching her. She's been preparing poison. Mixing it into wine. She's going to invite you to dinner tonight." Mira's eyes burned with urgency. "And if you drink what she offers, you'll be dead before morning."
"Then I won't drink it."
"It's not that simple." Mira grabbed my shoulders. "The poison is also in the air. In candles she's having placed in your room. You'll breathe it in slowly, over hours. By tomorrow, you'll be too weak to fight. And then she'll finish the job."
I felt trapped. "What do I do?"
"You have two choices." Mira's voice was hard. "Run. Leave the palace tonight. Break the treaty, abandon the mission, but stay alive."
"And my village?"
"Will be destroyed. But you'll live."
"What's the second choice?"
Mira's expression darkened. "Trust the prince completely. Tell him everything. Let him protect you. But that means getting close to him. Really close. Staying in his rooms, eating only food he's checked, trusting him with your life."
"Why is that bad?"
"Because the closer you get, the harder it will be when the curse transfers," Mira said quietly. "If you fail to break it in three months, the curse will jump from him to you. And the emotional connection between you will make it ten times worse. You won't just lose your light—you'll lose every happy memory you ever had."
I thought of Finn's smile. My mother's laugh. Every good moment of my life.
"So my choices are run away and let everyone die, or stay and risk losing everything I am?"
"Yes."
I wanted to scream. To cry. To curse the universe for making everything so impossible.
Instead, I took a deep breath.
"I'm staying."
"Even knowing what you'll lose?"
"Even knowing." I met her eyes. "Because some things are worth the risk."
Mira studied me for a long moment. Then nodded. "You're braver than I thought. Stupid. But brave."
She started to fade into shadows.
"Wait!" I called. "You never told me—what's your connection to all this? Why are you helping me?"
Mira paused, half-disappeared.
"Because I failed the last Lightbringer," she said softly. "Your mother. I promised to protect her, and I failed. I won't make that mistake twice."
She vanished completely.
I stood there, my mind reeling.
Mira knew my mother. Had tried to protect her. Failed.
How many secrets was this palace hiding?
A bell rang—dinner time.
And somewhere in the palace, Lady Cassandra was preparing her trap.
I had to warn the prince. Had to tell him everything.
I ran toward his chambers.
But when I got there, the doors were open.
And inside, I heard voices.
"You're getting attached to her," Lady Cassandra's voice, sweet and poisonous. "Everyone can see it. The way you look at her. The medicine you gave her. You're breaking your own rules, Your Highness."
"My attachments are none of your concern." The prince's voice, cold.
"They are when they interfere with our arrangement." Cassandra's tone hardened. "You were supposed to stay frozen. Stay controllable. But that girl is waking you up. And I can't allow that."
"What are you going to do about it?"
"Remove the problem. Permanently."
Silence.
Then the prince's voice, deadly quiet: "If you touch her, I will destroy you."
"Will you?" Cassandra laughed. "You can barely destroy a Shade without her help. You're weak, Kael. The curse has made you pathetic. You can't protect her. You can't even protect yourself."
"Get out."
"Make me."
I heard footsteps. Fast. Then a crash.
I ran inside.
The prince had Cassandra pinned against the wall, silver light crackling around his hand at her throat.
"I said get out," he growled.
Cassandra just smiled, not even afraid. "Kill me, and you start a war. My family has armies. Allies. Resources. One word from me, and this kingdom burns."
"Then burn it," the prince said.
But his hand shook.
Because she was right. He couldn't kill her. Not without consequences.
Cassandra saw his hesitation and smiled wider.
"That's what I thought." She pushed him away easily. "You're all bark and no bite, Your Highness. Just like your father."
She walked toward the door.
Saw me standing there.
Her smile turned venomous.
"Ah, the little Companion. I hope you enjoy dinner tonight. I've prepared something very special." She leaned close and whispered, "One drop on your tongue, and you'll never wake up. Sweet dreams, peasant."
She walked away, laughing.
The prince and I stood there, staring at each other.
"She's going to kill me," I said.
"I know."
"Tonight."
"I know."
"What do we do?"
The prince looked at me for a long moment. Then something in his expression shifted. Hardened.
"We turn the hunter into the hunted," he said quietly. "She wants you dead? Fine. Let her try. But this time, we'll be ready."
"How?"
He smiled. Actually smiled.
It wasn't much. Just a tiny upturn of his lips. But it was real.
"Because I'm done playing defense," he said. "It's time to fight back."
And in that moment, looking at his almost-smile, I realized something terrifying.
I was starting to care about this frozen prince.
Really care.
Which meant if I failed to break the curse, losing him would destroy me just as much as losing my light.
Maybe that's what Mira meant.
Getting close to him wasn't just dangerous for the curse.
It was dangerous for my heart.