Snow swallowed Ysolde's footsteps as Kael dragged himself forward, one arm locked around her wrist like he feared she would vanish.
He shouldn't have been able to walk. The wounds on his back were deep enough to expose bone… yet the blood flow had slowed to a dark, unnatural ooze.
They reached the edge of a frozen ravine, shadows stretching like claws beneath them.
Kael staggered. Ysolde instinctively caught him.
The moment her palms touched his skin, his entire body jolted—then eased, like a storm calming.
His head dipped, breath warm against her ear.
"That's the second time you've quieted it."
"The curse?" she whispered.
He gave no answer. Only tightened his grip on her wrist.
Thunder cracked overhead. Kael turned toward the north, eyes narrowing.
"They've caught my scent," he muttered.
"Who?"
"The ones who want my throne."
Ysolde's stomach twisted. "Then let me go. I'll only slow you down."
He turned his head, gaze burning into her.
"You carry the Vow," he said. "If I leave you, they'll slaughter you to spite me."
"I didn't ask for—"
"You touched me," he growled.
"Asking was never required."
A howl echoed across the ravine, sharp and furious.
Kael exhaled, as if holding himself together by sheer will. "We move. Now."
He picked her up.
Ysolde gasped, fists gripping his shoulders as he carried her toward the forest wall. His steps grew faster—faster—until she realized he wasn't running like a man.
He was running like a creature no human could outrun.
Wind tore through her hair. Trees blurred. Snow swirled in spirals behind him.
Then the forest thinned—revealing a titanic stone archway carved with runic symbols glowing faintly blue.
Not a ruin.
A gate.
Kael crossed beneath it, and the air split—like passing from winter into another season entirely.
Warmth touched her skin.
Torches erupted with flame along carved walls.
A vast stairway descended into darkness below.
Ysolde whispered, "What is this place?"
Kael's voice was a low rumble.
"The entrance," he said, "to my kingdom."
He took the first step down.
And the gate slammed shut behind them.