Page 42 of The Enchanted Frost

Our kiss ended all too soon, forcing me to withdraw from the comfort of his embrace. Before he could stop me, I stepped past him towards the FrostHeart, pulsing with unyielding power. I caught my breath at the shock of the freezing layer of air as my arm passed through it, but without hesitation I pressed my hand against the ice’s cold, crystalline surface, offering up both my soul and every other part of my being. The instant my skin made contact, a wave of icy energy surged through me. I gasped as I felt my essence being drawn from my body. Frost’s desperate voice echoed behind me, but his words were lost as the unstoppable process began.

The world around me blurred, fading into a haze as my soul slowly left my body. Through the fog, I caught a glimpse of Frost rushing forward, his face stricken with horror. He reached out, his hands trembling as they hovered over my chest, his touch so gentle and full of love, as though cradling the very essence of who I was.

Tears streaked his cheeks as he lifted his hand, faintly glowing with the frost-etched magic of winter. “I cannot risk any harm befalling you should the process go wrong,” he said softly, his voice trembling with emotion. “I will be the one to claim your soul. When I do, you’ll no longer be bound to the mortal world, but will become a part of me and of this realm.”

I couldn’t speak, couldn’t tell him that he’d forget me the moment the process was finished. Instead I fought to steadymy breathing and offered him a small, broken smile. “I trust you,” I whispered.

With a deep breath, he gently cradled my face, his hands cool and comforting. I closed my eyes, leaning into his touch as if I could imprint the sensation of him into my memory forever. Even before he began I felt the pull of his magic, a soft tug at the very core of my being gently unraveling the threads of my soul.

“Blanche.” His voice broke through the stillness, low and reverent, as if he were murmuring a prayer. “I never wanted it to end like this, but I care too much for you not to respect your wishes. No matter how painful it is for me, after seeing the life you lived, I want you to finally have a choice of your own.”

My eyes fluttered open, and I watched as the ethereal glow of my soul gathered in his hands, a delicate wisp of silver light. I took a sharp breath as the warmth of my life flowed out of me but there was no pain—just a bittersweet peace. Frost’s gaze never left mine as he held the glowing tendril of my soul, cradling it as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

His trembling hand hovered over his heart, where the magic of winter thrummed within him. My soul flickered, as though it recognized the place where it was meant to go. Tears filled my eyes, but I held them back, my heart breaking and swelling all at once.

Frost’s face twisted in sorrow and love as he leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine. “I love you, Blanche. More than anything.” His voice cracked, his body trembling as he continued. “I’ll never forget you.”

A sharp pain stabbed through me as I realized he could not keep that promise, but I met his eyes. “And I love you,” I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. “I always will.” That was a vow I would keep for both of us.

His grip tightened on my soul, his other hand pressing gently against my chest where the last faint remnant of my mortal life remained. With a deep, steadying breath he pulled the final threads of my soul free, leaving me weightless, suspended between life and something else entirely.

An undulating light shone from the center of the FrostHeart, shifting between blue and violet, swirling light that seemed to pull at me from deep within. Frost glanced at it uncertainly before looking back at me, his eyes widening in alarm.

“Blanche!” He stepped forward frantically. “What’s happening?”

Caught between reality and oblivion, I couldn’t reply, but I sensed something happening to my mortal body, as though it was beginning to fade rather than simply lying lifeless.

“You’re…vanishing. Not only your soul, but all of you.” He stared at my blurring form in anguish before returning his gaze to the soul he so tenderly held.

But as my soul hovered in his hands, something unexpected happened. A light—brighter than the surrounding frost—began to glow from his chest, intertwining with the silver wisp of my soul. Our essences merged, and I felt a surge of power flow between us, binding us in a way that neither of us had anticipated.

“What’s happening, Frost?” My whisper was breathless as the warmth spread through me, mingling with the cold, until I no longer felt the frigid air.

His eyes widened with shock, his hands trembling as the light he cradled grew stronger. “I don’t know, but I can feel you. You’re not fading anymore; you’re returning.”

The light enveloped us, bringing with it a rush of clarity and strength. My soul wasn’t being lost to the winter realm—it was becoming part of it, part of him, our hearts and magic fusing in a way neither of us had foreseen. In that union, thepulse of winter’s power surged through me, mingling with my own essence so that I wasn’t just bound to Frost; I was becoming something new that belonged to this realm as much as he did.

“I’m still here,” I murmured in wonder. “With you.”

Frost stared at me in disbelief before with a breathless gasp of relief he pulled me into a tight embrace. “You’re still here.” His cold breath brushed my neck, warm with emotion.

He knelt beside me, his expression caught somewhere between relief and disbelief. His hands, cold yet comforting, held mine as the final remnants of the FrostHeart’s power ebbed away, leaving me feeling different—lighter, yet somehow more grounded, as if the weight of mortality had slipped from me like a discarded cloak.

I hadn’t expected this when I’d given my soul, certain that my destiny had reached its end, my final purpose in life to restore Frost to his true self. Yet here I was, not only still breathing and very muchalive, but still at his side.

Confusion swirled within me as I gazed up at his dear face, now softened with joy and relief. “What just happened? Why am I still here after offering my soul?”

His wondrous gaze never wavered from mine as he brushed a stray lock of hair from my face, his touch lingering against my skin as though to reassure himself I was real. “I can hardly believe it myself. Though I’ve never witnessed this magic, I understand enough of the ancient power that formed this world for me to theorize that the moment you first entered my winter realm, you began to absorb its magic.”

I blinked, trying to grasp the enormity of his words. He continued, his voice soft but steady, like the hush of falling snow.

“The closer we became, the more you’ve been changing. Every time you touched my magic, wielded a portion of it, orstood by my side, it left its mark on you. Slowly, your mortal essence has been merging with something...more.”

My heart pounded with a mixture of hope and wonder. “What do you mean?”

“But it had to be more than that. Because you offered your soul willingly rather than me taking it like the others I’ve collected, the bonds that tied you to mortality were broken.”

I shook my head. “I was supposed to lose my soul and my very essence, so that you could return to the existence you were meant to have. That’s what I was told in the labyrinth.”

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