20. Twenty
It didn’t take long before she was back at Zimyn’s side. She slammed to her knees, chipping some ice on the way, and cradled his head into her neck. His pallor had worsened already. Time was running short.
“Don’t leave me.” she whispered, brushing her fingers through his knotted and bloody hair. “Not yet. We’ll leave together. I’ll be yours for eternity.”
He didn’t respond at all, not even a groan came out of his lips.
“Zimyn, I need you to wake up. Just for a little longer, and I’ll get you help. We just have to get out of here.” She was ready to bow down to the Weather Gods and offer anything. “I don’t know what else to do.”
She held onto him for what could have been hours, trying to warm him up as she clutched him like a lifeline. She whispered into his ear to remind him of what waited for him if he woke up, if he came back to her, but it was too cold. He wouldn’t make it. And everything she had done and would do as Queen wouldn’t matter if he wasn’t there beside her. He was her salvation, her balance, her love. Without him, she would crack under the pressure. The solid glacier that he helped form her into would break.
“Please,” she begged, desperate for anyone to hear her. She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. They didn’t respond to her, so she lay there holding him tightly. If this was his end, then at least he wouldn’t die alone—though she did not have the courage to say goodbye. The words froze on her lips, refusing to budge.
Her legs had started to become numb and her back hurt, but she didn’t let him go. She knew she needed to leave soon, without a consort, but at least she had the Heart. Her court would prosper for one more year. She just hoped the people would accept her as a lone royal. More importantly, how would the people feel about Balvan betraying her? Court advisors had been revered for years as trustworthy, always having the best interest of the court at their core. Would they blame her for leaving him? She would need to rethink how the court would function now, too.
The Heart of the court beat rapidly underneath her clothes, as if it wanted to burst out of its cage and leap towards the man that lay dying before her. Like it had a mind of its own.
She pulled it out and unclasped it to reveal the sapphire stone inside. A light blue aura beamed from it in flashes, beckoning her to touch it. She pressed a shaky finger to it and the light disappeared, swallowing back into the stone. Removing her finger, the light came back. She tried to make sense of it, what exactly the Heart was telling her…until it finally clicked.
The power was not meant for her. It was hers to give.
To give to her people and her land. To give to the one she loved.
It was a heart built to share.
She took the small gemstone out, holding it in her palm. It rolled and warmed, the sensation of it comforted her, reminding her of why she fought so hard. Perhaps it could do the same for Zimyn.
She dragged it across Zimyn’s bleeding arm, and already the wounds began to heal as the sapphire continued to glow. His scales did not reform, but she would bestow them onto him again once they survived this. She kept going, letting it touch every bit of his bare skin that had been bruised and torn.
By the time she finished, he looked alive again. At least from the outside.
She tore open his shirt, revealing his broad but unmoving chest—one she had seen so many times full of life, while he trained, changed, and as he lay beneath her writhing body as she took her pleasure.
She had it memorized. Each scar, each mole, each hair. The armor that protected her favorite part of him. She pressed her palm at the center of it. Barely a flutter. His heart was weak while the one she held beat strongly. There was only one conclusion to this: if anyone deserved her heart, it was him. She forgot about all the consequences that would stem out of her decision because she didn’t care. It was a sacrifice she was willing to make. She would rather spend her whole life proving herself as a competent leader than live any day without him.
Without hesitation, she slammed the sapphire into his chest. The stone sank through his skin and muscle and bone where it would be forever protected.
The world around them shook. Ludelle squeezed Zimyn’s body, nervous that this would be it. “I love you,” she whispered into his neck. But as they lay there weathering the storm, they did not fall. The other side of the maze, where Balvan was trapped, crumbled away. With all the commotion of the maze’s implosion, she didn’t even know if Balvan had screamed. She hoped it was quick. She hoped that her grandmother waited for him with outstretched arms.
Though Ludelle realized with a sinking horror that if they did not move, they would be the next to fall. Time was running out for them. The ground beneath them started to melt at a quicker pace as water pooled swiftly under their bodies.
Zimyn gasped, then, shooting up straight, a cloud of fog escaping his chapped lips. He coughed, tears pouring out of his eyes as he adjusted to all the raw power now running through him.
“What did you do?!” He sat there astonished and in disbelief, and it was the most wonderful moment of her life, so far.
“What I should have done long ago.” Her heart had always belonged to him. Now, he would have it imbued into his very being forever.
“But what does that even mean?”
“It means,” she said with a smile on her face. “That no one will dare harm or question you. You hold the power of the court within you.”
He shook his head. “It can’t be that simple,” he countered. This whole situation hadn’t been simple, though. Not for her. She faced every hurdle with doubt but overcame it because he waited on the other side. She would do it all over again for him.
When she didn’t respond, he asked, “So you chose me?”
“Yes,” she chuckled, grabbing his face and kissing him deeply. His tired arms took her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck, but he hissed in pain. His right hand had not completely healed, it seemed. But it didn’t matter, never to her.
“I’ll choose you every time.” She kissed his right cheek. “I promise that.” Now, his left. “You’ll be by my side forever.” Then, his lips, which had come back to life again.
“Forever,” he said slowly. The reality of it all dawning on him. She knew she would need to provide an explanation, that he would need to adjust to this new reality before him. But then he gave her a smile, as if excited for that future together.
He trailed his fingers over his exposed chest. “What does it mean though? Now that I hold this in my chest.”
“I don’t know.” she said honestly. They would need to speak with Sveta to get answers. Perhaps the Weather Gods would be merciful and not punish her too harshly. “I assume you’ll be put into danger each year. In the Undertaking.” Her new goal would be to find him and make sure she reached him in time. “I hope that’s okay.”
He smiled back at her, freely and openly. “I’m not scared at all. I trust you.”
“I would hope so,” she said. “You’re now stuck with me.”
He leaned his forehead against hers, and she took him in. His scent, his skin, and his breaths that filled her with calmness. She never wanted to exist in a world without him.
His hand slid against the wet ground and they were reminded that this was not over quite yet.
“We should go,” she said. She got up carefully and helped him to his feet. They stood there just staring at each other for too long, acting like they had more time than they did. He stepped forward and hugged her, and she melted into him. She would be able to do that everyday now. That truth had her own heart skipping.
He took her hand, and they sprinted off to escape the maze together.