The frozen heart

Chapter 28: A Dangerous Reunion

Chapter 28: A Dangerous Reunion

The afternoon sun filtered through the window, casting soft beams of light across the room, but Anne barely noticed. The guards stationed outside her door, ever vigilant, might have brought her some comfort on another day. Today, though, they felt like little more than a formality—an illusion of protection. Because Anne knew that no number of guards could stop what was coming.

She sat on the edge of her bed, her thoughts a tangled mess. The marriage. The looming threat. And Kaiden—always Kaiden, lurking like a dark shadow at the edge of her thoughts. She wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there, staring out at nothing, when the air in the room began to change. It was subtle at first, a shift in the atmosphere, the kind that made the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

And then it happened—so fast that she didn't have time to react. A cold, unnatural wind swept through the room, chilling her to the bone, and before she could even think to scream, a dark figure appeared before her.

Kaiden.

The Harbinger of Death.

His presence seemed to suck all the warmth from the room, leaving it frigid and heavy. He stood there, cloaked in black, his face obscured by a dark mask and hood, his icy aura pressing down on her like a weight. His eyes, though hidden, seemed to burn through her, cold and merciless.

Anne's breath caught in her throat. She didn't need to see his face to know it was him. She could feel it—his power, his intent. And before she could even process what was happening, his gloved hand reached out, pulling her towards him with an effortless motion.

The coldness of his touch seeped through her skin, sending a sharp chill down her spine. Before she could say or protest anything, the room around them blurred, and in an instant, the grand chamber of the castle vanished.

They materialized in a dimly lit, unfamiliar space—an oppressive darkness that swallowed every corner, save for the faint, bluish glow of ice shimmering on the walls. The cold here was different from before, more biting, more suffocating, like the very air itself had been drained of warmth and life.

But Anne had no time to take in her surroundings. Before she could even catch her breath, Kaiden's hand shot up, gripping her throat in a swift, merciless motion. Her eyes widened in shock as she felt herself being lifted off the ground, her toes barely brushing against the cold stone floor. His hand was impossibly strong, and with one effortless movement, he brought her up to his eye level.

Panic surged through her. She clawed at his arm instinctively, trying to pry his fingers away, but his grip only tightened. The pressure on her windpipe was unbearable. She couldn't breathe—couldn't even scream.

Kaiden's mask, still covering his face, loomed dangerously close. From behind the dark metal, his voice, low and laced with a chilling calm, pierced through the tension.

"How do you know my name?" he asked, his tone devoid of warmth, each word sharpened like a blade. "You said it so freely yesterday, like you knew me."

Anne's pulse raced in her ears, the lack of oxygen making her vision blur at the edges. Her mind screamed for air, but all she could focus on was the way his icy eyes glinted behind the mask, cold and devoid of mercy. There was nothing left of the boy she had once known in that gaze—only the Harbinger of Death, the assassin she had feared finding her again.

Desperation took over as she gasped for air, but no sound came. Her hands frantically gripped his arm, fingers trembling, nails scratching against the unyielding leather of his glove. Her vision swam, spots of black creeping in, and she knew she didn't have long.