Heart of the Winter King

The Reason

The memory of that day had never left Aeon. It clung to her like the frostbite that nipped at her fingers in the depths of winter, an unrelenting ache that lingered long after the initial blow. It had been two years since she had last seen her brother, Kaidan, but every moment since his disappearance had been haunted by the thought of where he might be, what might have happened to him in the icy clutches of the Winter Kingdom.

Kaidan had always been the brave one, the risk-taker, the one who charged headlong into danger while Aeon stood at the edge, cautious and calculating. He was two years older, his protective instincts a constant presence in her life. Growing up, it had been Kaidan who had taught her how to ride a horse, how to climb trees, and how to navigate the treacherous politics of their kingdom with a smile that could disarm even the most formidable of foes. He had a charm that Aeon lacked, a warmth that seemed to draw people in effortlessly.

But his charm hadn't been enough to save him from the Winter Fae.

It had happened on the northern border, where the human kingdom met the Winter Kingdom's endless frozen wastes. Tensions had been high for years, but there had always been a delicate peace between the two realms. Skirmishes broke out from time to time—territorial disputes, misunderstandings—but nothing that had ever escalated into full-scale conflict. The Winter King, Aelion, was as cold and distant as his kingdom, but he had never shown open hostility toward the humans.

That had changed the night the Winter Fae raided the border villages.

It had been swift, brutal. A handful of villages along the border were wiped out, the snow stained red with blood and littered with the frozen bodies of the fallen. The survivors spoke of figures moving like shadows in the night, swift and silent, their skin pale as moonlight, their eyes glinting like shards of ice. They took what they wanted—food, supplies, and people. The lucky ones had escaped, but many hadn't.

Kaidan had been stationed at one of those villages as part of the kingdom's peacekeeping force. He hadn't been so lucky.

Aeon remembered the day the news had reached her as if it were yesterday. She had been in the royal court, presenting a new treaty to the council, when a messenger had burst in, breathless, his face as pale as snow. The Winter Fae had attacked, and her brother was among the missing. The words had echoed in her mind, sinking deep into her chest like ice.

For weeks, she had searched for answers, scouring the reports from the surviving villagers, questioning the soldiers who had returned. But there had been no sign of Kaidan. His body had not been found among the dead, nor had any of the survivors seen him after the attack. The only clue she had were the words of an old woman, one of the few who had managed to escape.

"They took him," the woman had whispered, her voice trembling with the weight of fear and exhaustion. "The Winter Fae. I saw them drag him away, into the night. They took him north, into the frozen wastes."

Aeon had held onto those words, clung to them like a lifeline. If they had taken him, then he might still be alive. The thought had consumed her, driven her to the point of desperation. She had petitioned the king, pleaded with the court to send an envoy to the Winter Kingdom to negotiate for the return of the captives. But the court had been hesitant. The Winter King was not known for his mercy, and the fae did not abide by the same rules as mortals. What guarantee did they have that he would even agree to negotiations?

But Aeon had been relentless. She had studied every report, every scrap of information she could find on the Winter Fae, on their customs, on their king. She had immersed herself in the history of the tensions between their realms, seeking any leverage she could use to convince the council that diplomacy was the only answer.

It had taken months of persuasion, but eventually, the king had agreed. The human kingdom would send an envoy to the Winter Kingdom to broker peace, and Aeon had been chosen to lead the mission. She had volunteered, of course. No one else had known the stakes as she did. This wasn't just about peace between their realms—it was about finding her brother and bringing him home.

As Aeon trudged through the snow toward the towering spires of the Winter King's palace, her thoughts drifted back to Kaidan, to the countless memories that had sustained her during the long, cold nights. She remembered his laugh, the way it had always filled whatever room they were in, as if he carried the sun with him. She remembered how he used to tease her about her serious nature, telling her that she would make a better scholar than a diplomat.

Kaidan had been her constant, her rock, the one person who had always been there for her, no matter how difficult things had become. Without him, the world felt colder, emptier. It wasn't just the guilt that gnawed at her, though there was plenty of that too. Aeon had always been the more cautious one, the one who followed the rules, while Kaidan had pushed boundaries. She had tried to warn him, tried to tell him that the border was too dangerous, that the Winter Fae were not to be underestimated. But he had gone anyway, because that was who he was—brave, reckless, and determined to protect the people he loved.

Aeon had failed him once. She would not fail him again.

As much as her mission was about peace between the human kingdom and the Winter Fae, Aeon knew that her true motivation lay far deeper. She didn't trust the Winter King. She didn't believe that someone who had allowed such suffering to befall his people could be reasoned with so easily. But if there was even the slightest chance that she could use this mission to find Kaidan, then she would take it.

She had prepared herself for every possibility. She had studied the Winter Fae's customs, their politics, their legends. She knew that Aelion was cursed, that his heart was said to be frozen, and that his kingdom had been locked in eternal winter for centuries. She knew that his people lived in fear of him, that his court was filled with intrigue and danger. But she also knew that beneath every legend, there was a kernel of truth, and if there was one thing Aeon was good at, it was finding the truth, no matter how well hidden.

She would find her brother. And if the Winter King stood in her way, then she would find a way to make him listen.

The thought of Kaidan kept her moving, even as the cold bit into her skin and the palace loomed closer with every step. She had come this far. She would not turn back now.

The weight of her brother's absence was heavy in her heart, but it fueled her determination. She would not leave the Winter Kingdom without answers. And if it meant facing the Winter King himself, then so be it.

Aeon had always been willing to pay the price for the things that mattered most. And this time, the price might be higher than she had ever imagined.