Cold-Hearted

Kyro

I thought this was something I could avoid the rest of her life. Grandmother told me this day would come, but I was too afraid of loosing Briar. What would she think after learning the truth?

"It's okay, you can tell me." I tried to avoid meeting her green eyes. Finding a spot on the floor, I pull Briar close to me. Once I began explaining how I found a family from Aerowynn hiding across the river, and reported them to the Boundary guard. Her peaceful expression turned somber for Briar knew what happened to anyone from Aerowynn; a life spent in confinement, or  death.

"Briar I am so sorry, I regretted it the moment I told them." The coolness from the room amplified on my wet cheeks. I couldn't stop the tears; I've spent eleven years burying the guilt deep down, only for it to surface at the worst time. "I went back to the house to wait for the guards," I continue, "I was young and since the curse was placed on Eeranoke, causing any gifts we might have to become sterile, I became curious to see what people from a kingdom where powers were welcomed could do." Briar glanced down at her palms with a puzzled look. I quickly grasp her hands in mine, "But then I saw you, and you were the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. The heaviness I had been carrying on my heart after loosing my parents during the war disappeared once your eyes met mine and you smiled." I placed my hands softly on Briar's face, "I knew it was too late to save your family, but I could save you. I hid you beneath my coat, and ran. When I got home Gran knew exactly who you were, and made me vow to protect you, at whatever cost. So, when you showed no sign of a gift, I knew it would be save for you to live a normal life." When I finished, she stood from my lap, and sauntered to the study doors. I remained on the floor, feeling lower than the ground.

The white wolves calmly sat at the open door, waiting for Briar to approach them. "I just want to take a walk, please." She says to them. Briar looks over her shoulder at me with a sorrowful grin before leaving me alone in room. I found myself pacing the room, waiting for her return wondering if she could ever look at me again knowing I was behind the reason her parents were dead. I decided even if she chose not to return home, I wouldn't let her remain under Cianna's bondage. I owed it to Briar, at whatever the cost. 

I finally found Cianna in a bedroom near the back of the castle, where the icicles hanging from the ceiling glittered across the cold marbled floors. The room was dark; the light from the moon reflected off a broken mirror attached to an old, mahogany vanity. She sat perched on the side of a balcony, with that same watch in her hand. I could hear a faint melody when she would open the watch. She was completely lost in its entrancing tune that she didn't hear when I approached her.

"Cianna?" I reach my hand forward to barely touch her shoulder causing her to jump away. Her eyes lit like the moon, as she clutched the watch to her chest, sending a strong cold wind my direction; I nearly lose my footing after stumbling back. I noticed a single tear leaving its frozen tracks on her cheek.

"What?" she barked. 

"I would like to make a deal. Take me in place of Briar, just let her go, and I will do whatever you ask." I offer Cianna, rubbing the bruises on my wrist. 

"Have you ever heard of Kyro, Emmett?" She asked, walking past me to find a seat at her marble vanity.

"No."

"It was a beautiful place, a kingdom hidden from the outside world. You would never even know it was there unless you were looking for it. Kind of like ice," she flicks her hand sending a powdery substance through the room, tiny piece began to gather on my clothes. I couldn't fight the upward tug on my lips. "It can creep in and fill your heart with sweet delight," Cianna smiled as she swirled the snow in her palm. Then as quickly as the smile came, it vanished, along with the soft snow. Her hands formed into fist sending hard ice pellets from the ceiling stinging as it made contact with my skin, leaving tiny traces of blood on my arm as a shard of ice hurled by me.

"Or it can be destructive," she glances down at the fresh cut on my arm, "it can even hurt. Just because something seems innocent doesn't mean it can't break you when given the chance." She informs me, as the clattering of ice grew louder.

"Is that what happened to you? The girl in the painting, that's you isn't it?" I insinuated. She stands, walking to my side, only a breath away when her cold voice whispers in my ear, "It was." Cianna continues to glide past me, towards the door, leaving me in her frozen chamber. 

"What about our deal?" I call after her.

"There is no deal, Emmett."