Chapter 6
The snow king was the one who would win this war, so I knew exactly which side I wanted to be on this time.
I hurried back to my room, not wasting any time with a long, drawn-out stroll now that I had officially cut ties with the kingdom hosting me. There wouldn’t be much time to gather supplies before the guards either detained me or kicked me out into the snow.
If I had been smart, I wouldn’t have provoked Blamore at all, but I could hardly help myself after everything he had done to me.
It was his turn to be abandoned. Plus, I didn’t need him to come looking for me after I disappeared.
He needed to know exactly why I had left, and exactly who I was going to team up with.
Averglas may be powerful, but they’re nothing compared to the snow king that will destroy them.
That must have been why the match brought me back to this point in time.
It was to give me the chance to become the right queen.
Being Blamore’s queen wouldn’t help anyone.
I needed to become a ruler that would actually have enough power to protect my home kingdom and stand against Blamore and his upcoming betrayal.
All I had to do now was find my next betrothed. ..
I paused my packing to rummage around the room until I found the one weapon that Blamore feared more than anything: a hand mirror.
Its rough wooden frame had been buried at the bottom of a drawer for probably over a month now, but the glass was clear, and my reflection greeted me like a familiar stranger.
It had been so long since I’d casually gazed at my reflection.
I didn’t consider myself a vain person, but it was easy to miss your own features when it had been long enough that you hardly remembered what your smile looked like.
“Hello?” I spoke to the glass, a strange tingle running across my neck as I recalled the last time I’d held a mirror.
According to Blamore, the enemy known as the snow king lived in reflections that came from mirrors, ice, and other surfaces.
He was hardly a nuisance before, but after I had dropped the mirror he’d gazed at me through, his presence had seemed to spread, and his ice magic grew stronger.
It was as if I’d freed him from a prison.
We called people like him sorcerers in my kingdom, and they were extremely rare.
The only ones I’d ever heard about were harmless, like a woman who could bring toys to life for puppet shows, or an old man who could grow healing herbs from nothing.
A self-proclaimed king with the power to control snow and ice was beyond my understanding, but I was prepared to spend a lot more time getting to know him.
“I don’t know if you can hear me,” I continued, trying to sound a bit more confident to my future husband.
“But I’m on my way to find you. And when I do, I expect a nice blanket and a meal waiting for me.
You’ve made it rather cold outside, so please prepare accordingly for a grumpy, cold princess.
In exchange, I’ll tell you everything you need to know to take over Averglas, starting with making me your queen. ”
I waited for a response, but there was no reply. Not even a cold chill seemed to follow my declaration. Perhaps Blamore was afraid of his own reflection for nothing?
Unwilling to wait any longer and risk getting caught by the guards, I hurried along my packing.
I tucked the mirror, a spare change of clothes, all the leftovers from my breakfast, and the warmest socks and mittens I could find into my bag, then hurried out of the room.
The halls were already buzzing with whispers of my public separation from the prince, but I didn’t linger to listen in on the gossip.
I had to get out before Blamore decided to show me his dark side early.
I hurried through the halls, dodging servants and guards by waiting until the coast was clear or sneaking behind furnishings. I had nearly made it out the door when a distraught face paused me long enough to finally get caught.
“Safara! There you are!” Gerda ran over and hugged me, her sweet face streaked with tears. “I just checked your suite for you and saw that you’d already packed to leave. Oh, please tell me this is all some big misunderstanding.”
Her heartbroken expression tore through me, but none of the ache that I felt came from guilt. I loved Gerda and many of the other servants, but it wasn’t enough for me to stay. I couldn’t be a good queen to them if I was dead.
“I’m sorry, my friend, but I must be going.” I hugged her back, then pulled away with an easy smile. “Maybe one day I can explain it all to you, but you’ll just have to trust that I’m doing the right thing.”
“By running away from a man who loves you?” Gerda asked, her eyes watery.
I felt a little bile rise up in my throat at the suggestion.
“If he loves me, then why hasn’t he stopped me from leaving?” I asked.
“Because I’ve hardly had a chance to track you down.
” Blamore’s unsavory voice snuck up behind me, curling my veins and putting my whole body on alert as I turned around to face my murderer.
Just like Gerda, he looked heartbroken, but there was no mist in those unfeeling eyes.
“Safara, please, whatever I have done wrong, I am truly sorry.”
He tried to approach me, but I stepped away, inching closer to the exit that was nearly within my reach. I couldn’t let him drag me back now, not when our trust had already been severed.
“Safara...” he whispered my name, the sweet sound enough to bring any girl to her knees. “I love you. I don’t want you to go.”
He held out the ring I’d left behind, every ounce of his soul pleading with me to stay. My heart twisted, fighting between the pain of my past death and the yearning for a new life of love…real love. Could things be different between us this time? Would he still love me if I never grew sick?
I bit my lip, unable to forget the feeling from when they were cracked and frigid. No, I couldn’t fall for his lies again. I promised to be a better queen, and this man wasn’t the king that would make that happen.
“Then you’ll love me enough to let me go,” I said, turning to leave with a sharp pain ripping through my heart. I wished it didn’t hurt to leave him, but I knew I was saving myself from a far greater pain.
“Safara, wait!” He ran forward, snatching me by the wrist with an iron grip that shocked me almost as much as the sudden rise in his tone. “You can’t just leave like this. I forbid you to go! If you go toward his mountain, the snow king will kill you!”
Ah, there’s the prince I know and despise.
Even Gerda seemed stunned by his sudden brashness, her hand lightly cupped over her mouth as she looked between him and me. I turned back to face him, my glare hotter than the depths of the underworld as I slowly peeled my hand free from his slimy touch.
“There are worse ways to die.”