The frozen heart

Chapter 20: Heart of Frost

Chapter 20: Heart of Frost

The following days were pure torture.

The air in the dimly lit chamber was thick with tension. Shadows flickered across the stone walls, cast by the faint glow of torches. The assassins encircled Kaiden, their faces obscured by hoods, their eyes gleaming with malice. Anne stood in the corner, chained to the wall, her heart pounding in her chest as she watched Kaiden's every move. He stood in the center, his white hair catching the firelight, his fists clenched tightly, his entire body coiled like a spring ready to snap.

"Why are you doing this?" Kaiden growled, his voice low and dangerous, his gaze darting from one assassin to the next. He knew they were playing with him, pushing him, taunting him—but why?

One of the assassins, a tall figure with a long, dark cloak, stepped forward, his lips curling into a cruel smile. "Because, boy," he sneered, "we want to see what you're really capable of."

Kaiden's eyes narrowed, a spark of anger flashing in his icy blue irises. "I don't have a curse. I just... bring death to those I care about." His voice trembled at the end, the pain of the truth seeping through.

The assassin let out a low chuckle, and the others joined in, their laughter echoing through the chamber like a chorus of dark amusement. "Oh, you foolish child," the tall one continued, his voice dripping with mockery. "You think that's your curse? That you merely bring death to those you love?"

Kaiden flinched, the weight of their words pressing down on him. His curse. His whole life, he had believed it was just that—an uncontrollable force that led to the deaths of those close to him. First his mother, then others. He had always thought that was his punishment, the mark of the damned. But now, standing in front of these twisted men, he wasn't so sure anymore.

Anne's breath hitched as she watched the scene unfold, her pulse racing. She wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him, but the chains held her back.

"Shut up!" Kaiden barked, his anger flaring, but beneath the fury, there was fear. Fear that they were right, that everything he believed about his curse was a lie.

The assassin tilted his head, observing Kaiden with dark fascination. "You've always believed that your curse was death, that your very presence brings ruin to those you care about. But that's not it, is it? No, no... your real power, your true nature, is something far more ancient, far more dangerous." He stepped closer, his cold eyes never leaving Kaiden's face. "Your curse isn't that you kill. It's that you were born to command the ice itself."

Kaiden froze. The words hit him like a blow to the chest. Ice? Command the ice? It sounded like a twisted joke, something out of a dark legend. But deep inside, something stirred. He had felt it before—when the air around him chilled without reason, when frost seemed to creep up in places he hadn't noticed. He had always brushed it off, a mere coincidence. But now...

The assassins watched him, eyes gleaming with wicked anticipation. "There's an old legend," the leader continued, his voice smooth, almost hypnotic. "Of beings born with white hair and the ability to bend ice to their will. Creatures so feared, so powerful, that they were hunted to extinction. But it seems," he gestured to Kaiden with a wave of his hand, "one survived."

Anne's heart sank as she watched the horror dawn on Kaiden's face. "No..." Kaiden whispered, shaking his head. "You're lying. This—this can't be true."

But the assassin only laughed. "Oh, it is. You've felt it, haven't you? The cold that follows you, the frost that forms when you lose control. It's not just death you bring, boy. It's ice. You are the last of them. The last of the cursed ones."