Page 168 of Master of Storms
There once was a princess, her heart so fierce,
That true love’s arrow, should never pierce….
But ithadbeen pierced.
She had fallen for him like a girl seeing her fairy tale prince come to life. His smile had struck her mute. His laughter had cut through the cold front she presented. She had wrapped herself in her icy mantle, even as he teased her out of it. To see him with his arm around her sister’s shoulders had made her rage, but it wasn’t merely Aslaug she was trying to protect.No. He’d slipped within her guard. He’d made her think, just for the barest of seconds, that maybe there was a love out there for her too. The kind of love her parents had shared.
And she hadn’t understood any of it, until it had been too late.
She had found herself alone, choking on the realization that she was in foreign territory, with no way back. She had stood in her castle, listening to that wretched song work its way up the stairwell, her feet rooted to the floor, and her hand locked on the bannister as she froze.
And more words came.
“The prince is gone…. Fled…. Unlovable….”
Unlovable.
It was that last word that bled her dry.
If she was so unlovable, then she would rule the word. If she was so fierce, then she would name herself thusly. She would throttle the tremulous hopes that had breathed life into her chest, crushing them beneath her heel. So she had locked her heart away, arched a mocking brow at the world, and never, ever let her guard down again.
But now that was what he was asking for.
“That fucking song,” Marduk cursed under his breath. “Don’t. Don’t go back there.”
“It’s not the song,” she admitted. “It was never the song.”
He froze.
To be bound to another was to share your heart and soul with them. But she was still holding back from him, still locking herself away.
Be brave.
Her mother’s words, carved into her heart.
But bravery was not just a weapon to be used in battle.
She opened herself up to him, finally letting the link between them flourish. And there lay her heart, splayed bare for him to see everything.
“The first time I let myself feel, it was you. I was a broken mess, trying to hide the damage my mother’s loss had done. If I didn’t let anyone in, then it wouldn’t hurt again. I was cold, and I was ruthless, and nobody came near me. Nobody dared. Except for you. You pushed me. You scaled my walls. Every time you smiled at me, my heart gave a little squeeze, and I started to believe—despite the words I said—that you might be the one.”
Marduk sucked in a sharp breath. “And then I betrayed you.”
“You left me,” she whispered. “You said you saw me—the real me—but then they sang that song. ‘Her kiss, so cold. Her heart, so cruel; That she made of him a terrible fool….’ And I knew that you hadn’t seen me at all.”
He shook his head. “I did. Ididsee you. But we were both too young, both too broken, to be ready for this.”
She swallowed. Hard. “I’m not cold.”
“I know.” His voice roughened.
“I’m not cruel—”
“Iknow.”
“And I do have a heart, though I’ve never dared offer it again, and—"
He stole the words from her lips, and Solveig whimpered as he kissed her, hard and demanding.I know, that kiss said.
