Frost And Ember

she felt. Immense,

ng... her very soul was being torn apart. She was gravely injured, bleeding, on the verge of death

owfall. Her golden eyes, once bright enough to rival the morning sun, had grown dim, staring blankly at the gray sky above. Her e

heir of Silvervale, a territory

accurate to now call her "T

able, so much so that breathing itself became agony. Every inhale felt

seized her instead. By the time it subsided, a sharp ache had settled deep w

down the side of her face, towards her ears. For a fleeting moment, their warmth wa

her raven-black lashes, making each blink slower and heavier than the last. She tried to blink, bu

nemies, nor was she being punished. Rather, her own family h

om your enemies, it comes

y understoo

her they wanted to show her something near the precipice. Although she still felt drowsy from an illness she had suffered a few months prior, she went along anyway. Other memor

lower abdomen, and Darius's grip turnin

that it had to be an enemy instead. But she knew that was a lie. The hand that drove the dag

a parent should hold for their child, before covering her mouth to

had been born

watch, helpless, as he twisted the dagger still lodged in her stomac

shed her off. His gaze carried no guilt. Only the

was the love of her life, the perfect husband she had always dreamed of. Darius

t, her body, her heart... Her everything. And this was the same man who drove a dagger into her stomach. When their eyes met i

faulty,

emember his smile. The warmth of his touch. The promi

ry k

ery

ryth

it was

Those who were meant to love her most

mattered. She had trained relentlessly to be worthy of the Montharne name. She had ris

had only seen her as a

grasp for anything to hold onto, before the clouds swallowed her whole and she lost consciousness. When she woke, she found that she was still alive, lying in the snow with a few

f what she did wrong, but failed to come up with an answer. Life had become so agonizing that she no longer wanted to live. She would have

**

land. For all she knew was the cold, the pain, the suffering, and the creeping num

heading straight toward her. The Frozen Wasteland marked the border between Silvervale and Frostveil, though the land belonged mostly

distance. Its features remained slightly obscured by the raging blizzard, leaving on

rer, its imposing form more distinct a

away. For a long moment, the figure sai

rling snow. Estella squinted, desperately trying to make out his features, but the frost clinging

rival an ancient glacier. It remained fixed upon her without the slightest flick

and the hood of his

poor at the moment, she could still make out the outli

zing the soul of anyone who dared gaze into them for too long, a handsome face

tried to kill c

who had tried

her nightmares, then this man...

s Lord of the South. The Alpha of

e look of someone with nothing left to lose. And yet she still felt a faint thread of unease. No one, she

zed her frail body. Fresh blood stained the corner of her mouth. S

here... You vile thin

eyes matching her apathy so closely that they

one, eloquent and full of quiet finesse. His eyes assessed her sorry state, and Estella di

ind had stolen every trace of moisture. Tiny cracks marked their surface, and every little

g of frost. Her fingers were frozen and curled. Ev

He tilted his head, his expression morphing into one of false pity, one he didn't bother to hide. "

tly. "... And shivering, still... You gla

cern... Begone. Your ver

ard, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly into the faintest mockery. "What hurts

tears and fury. Estella's glare intensified. If looks could kill, Adrian Lykas would have dropp

eing discarded and hurt by the very

her heart felt shattered into a thousand pieces, so much that she wondered if

she said in

r with an intensity so great that her frail, shivering fra

It offends me more than I expected. Especially when I am not the cause of it.

at's

ly nothing to do with you, Lykas. If you won't kill me now, then go. Just go, and stop tormenting me..." She said it between heavy, labored breaths. Her mind drifted in and out

ome. Then, without a word, he began approaching her with long, powerful strides.

he going t

. Her teeth chattered, not just from the cold, but from the sudden, dawning realization of just how

o weak to fight back. She had seen what Frostveil left behind on the battlefield. She knew exactly what he was capable of

she barely recognized as her own. "What are you going to do t

tched across his face. For a moment he only

t have that kind of fetish. I prefer them warm and fresh, not a stiff,

already begun to spin. A brief wave of weightlessne

The suddenness of it tore a sharp gasp from her, and her whole b

n a pained voice. She tried to keep her eyes open, but

ess finally took her was Adrian, staring