Time. When you had nothing but endless time, everything changed.
He set a hand over his heart, and his grin returned, just as I knew it would. “I am hurt, brother, that you think I would only come here because I want something from you. Absolutely hurt to my core.”
I rolled my eyes, wishing he would just spit it out already and get out of here. I would much rather be thinking about Morana than dealing with my brother right now, anyway.
“But, now that you mention it, there is something,” Ishan went on, taking a step closer to me. Less than a foot between us, I felt his heat, just as I knew he felt my cold. His voice lowered to a bare whisper, “Morana is not like the others. She was not supposed to be taken. She took her sister’s place—”
“Yes, she told me that much.”
“Well, I doubt she told you that she’s held my favor since she was a child,” he went on, and I kept to silence, not knowing what to say to that. “What I want is for Morana to be happy. Whether that’s with you or not, I don’t know, but you should know I will be watching, and the minute—nay, the very second it becomes clear she will end up like the others, I will take her out of here. I will not see her freeze to death, not when she carries so much life still in her.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but in the blink of an eye, my brother was gone, leaving me alone in the long room once more, though I was not as I was before. No, a new weight settled on my shoulders, a new weight involving my soon-to-be bride.
Morana held Ishan’s favor. She’d been his for years, even if she didn’t know it. That’s why I felt her heat so much, why she’d been so different. My brother was the root of it. She was never meant to be mine; she was meant to be his, and yet, somehow, through a twist of fate, she’d wound up here, of her own freewill.
I should send her back. I should summon the messenger again and force him to bring her back to her village and find a new bride somewhere else. Ishan was the one person in this lonely existence I did not want to cross…
But the thought of sending Morana back, the thought of losing her before I had the chance to truly have her, I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all. In fact, I rather hated it.
How long did it take for love to sprout? Did you know immediately, at first sight, at your first meeting? I did not know, but I did know that the others had never made me feel quite like this. Perhaps it was foolish, idiotic and stupid, but I could not let Morana go, even if it meant Ishan would hate me for it.
I simply couldn’t do it. I couldn’t let her go.
Chapter Five – Morana
Winter, Abner, was not what I’d expected. Honestly, at this point I did not know what I expected coming to this magical castle on this mountainside, but he was not it. He was… for lack of a better word, cold.
Cold in demeanor and cold in appearance. Cold all around.
I didn’t sleep much that night, thinking too much of the Winter king. My future husband. He’d been anything but welcoming to me, which had helped me keep a backbone while talking to him.
Of course, while talking to him, I did think about Ishan, the kiss we’d shared. How amazing it had felt. What good of a wife would I make if I was busy thinking about my husband’s brother while I was with him? It wasn’t right. None of this was right, I’d go so far as to say.
But I had no choice in the matter, so that was that. If Ishan came to me again, I’d have to tell him I could not entertain him anymore. No more stolen kisses, no more heated touches. Nothing at all.
The next morning I took a bath. It was nice having to simply turn levers to fill the tub, not having to make a dozen trips to the well. After I bathed, I dressed in a rather simple but still pretty light blue dress. Sleeves clung to my arms, its lengths stopping at my ankles. Nothing was sewn onto the fabric, save for a single ribbon just below my chest, a deeper blue than the rest of the dress. I paired it with a set of flat white shoes, not sure what I wanted to do today.
This castle, from my little exploring session last night, was empty. I hadn’t encountered anyone else here, other than Abner. The messenger that had brought me here was nowhere to be seen, nor was anyone else. An odd, empty place, and when I thought about it, it made sense that Abner looked so horribly cold and alone.
I was preparing myself to venture out when I heard a soft knock on the door. My eyebrows came together, and I went to find a small envelope at the base of it. Someone had slid the envelope through the crack. I opened it to find a simply-worded letter: Join me.
Well, I could assume Abner wrote it, but it didn’t say where I’d join him or for what. I kind of hoped it was for breakfast or something. Some kind of food. I was hungry, as much as I did not want to admit it.
Going to the door, I flung it open as I wondered where I was supposed to go, but my heart nearly leaped out of my chest when I saw the silver-armored messenger standing in the hall. He gave me a short bow before turning and walking off. I assumed I was meant to follow him, so I hurried along.
Just as before, the messenger said nothing. I might as well have been walking by myself with how much of a terrible conversationalist he was. Through the halls he led me, stopping only when we stood before an archway that opened into another room. The messenger said nothing, only stared at me beneath his helmet, and with an awkward smile for thanks, I headed into the room.
It was… not exactly a formal dining room, but it was close to it. I assumed there were other rooms in the castle for that, much larger and fancier ones. This was quaint, a single large window on the wall opposite the archway. Though outside, the sun was hidden by clouds, there was still enough light shining through to illuminate the space. A small rectangular table sat in the center of the room, half a dozen plates of food arranged on it, and at the head of the table, my future husband sat.
Abner looked much as he did last night, only in the light of day, I was able to see just how angular his face was. Sharp cheekbones, a nose that was perhaps a size too large, a pointed chin with a square jaw, all set on a pale face with eyes that shone almost silver in the light. A mix of features that would look terrible on anyone else, but the way he held himself made all the difference.
Abner, I realized with a strange beating of my heart, was handsome. Just as handsome as Ishan, though in a different way. Just as Ishan was the epitome of summer itself, the sun and heat made flesh, Abner was the same for winter. If ice and snow and cold were rolled up and put into the shape of a man, his appearance would be the result.
Those silvery-blue eyes watched me the moment I stepped into the room, and when I froze, he gestured to the seat opposite him, on the other end of the table, the end closest to me. “Please, sit,” he said, his voice just as sharp and grating as it was last night.
I had no choice; I went to the table and sat down, too busy staring at him to glance at the plates of food between us. My appetite was gone suddenly, as if being in his presence was enough of a fill—and that didn’t make sense, I was well aware.
After sitting, I managed to say, “After last night, I have to admit, I’m surprised you’d want to see me so soon.” Last night, I hadn’t been the nicest girl around; in fact, I was kind of surprised I didn’t wake up dead. Not that you could wake up if you were dead, but… oh, you get what I mean.