Page 108 of Wicked Prince of Frost

“No, Violet. I killed him because Iwantedto. I wanted tomake him suffer for touching you. To writhe in pain for looking at you. Just as I killed those criminals in that alley for daring to threaten your life—because I am every bit the monster the world says I am. Death follows me, claiming everything I touch.”

He killed them without a sliver of hesitation or care for the consequences. His willingness to murder should frighten me, but I find that I don’t mind. He didn’t do it out of enjoyment or boredom, but because he was protecting me. The prince with the frozen heart does not exist.

I’ve seen many sides to him, but underneath them all is someone who cares deeply—whether he admits it to himself or not.

“I understand.”

A lump forms in my throat, and I swallow it back down.

“Do you?” he half snarls as he tilts my head back further. Even in this mood, he’s careful to remain gentle. “Do you understand what it means to tangle your life with mine?”

I’ve never wished harm to anyone before—never like this.

Yet… I see it in him. How he’s as trapped in his situation as I am in mine. How he’s been alone for so long. Afraid. Tears well up and spill down my cheeks.

If he is wicked, then let me be wicked too. I will become whatever I must if that’s what it takes for him to never feel alone again. To forgive him when he can’t forgive himself.

“Yes, Joon, I do. I understand the consequences of failing.” I press a palm to his chest, right above his heart. “More than that… I amgladyou did it.” Venom coats my tongue as I calmly admit the dark truth.

His breath hitches, then, as he exhales, the tension melts from his muscles, and his chest rises and falls, matching mine. “Say it again.” He leans down and kisses one of my eyes. “Iwant to hear you say my name.” Then the other eye. “It is the only time I can remember who I am.”

“Joon…” I whisper his name again and again as he kisses away my tears until the sharp emotions roiling through us have cut away.

Then his mouth finds mine, lingering with gentle caresses as if he’s afraid that he might break me. I open to him, and our kiss deepens as we seek solace and comfort in each other. It’s chaste and sweet, but within it, there is something pleading, questioning, and desperate.

It isn’t enough. It can’t be so long as we are in this place—this palace. It surrounds us, feeling alive and sinister. I want to escape. The need to run from here claws desperately inside my chest. It’s so strong, I think I will suffocate if I stay here much longer.

We break apart.

“Will you take me somewhere?” My chest feels tight, as if I am turning to stone from the inside. “Anywhere else…please. I don’t want to be here right now.”

Joon nods.

“Imugi,” he calls to his demon through his connection with them. The bright, glowing blue lights his irises. The demon appears seconds later. “Make sure no one knows we are gone until we return.”

The demon obeys without a word of protest. My demon remains behind as well.

He takes my hand as he gathers our cloaks. Within minutes, we are in the secret passage leading to the forest behind the palace, hurrying through. As we step out into the wild, I can finally take my first deep breath. But we don’t stop.

Joon summons a fae path, leading us deeper into the woods. We stop on a hill overlooking the palace at the high end of the valley of the Arum kingdom.

A light breeze rustles loose whisps of my hair against my neck. The path disappears, leaving us beneath an opening in the canopy that lets the sun’s warmth envelope us.

He is silent, waiting for me to tell him if I approve.

I gaze out over the landscape, grateful to have this space away from the palace. “Thank you.”

He releases my hand and moves to stand behind me, gripping my shoulders, offering safety and security.

The day is beautiful and warm, and the air is thick with the fragrance of early spring. I almost didn’t live to see it.

And at my back is the man who saved me and comforts me now. Not because of the bargain but because he wanted to. Whose touch still lingers on my body, who sought my pleasure while taking none for himself.

“Take as long as?—”

My heart swells with so much emotion, and I whirl. The front of my body brushes against his. Warmth spreads through me. I am acutely aware of every inch of muscle under his shirt.

Last night, I said nothing could happen between us again because I was afraid of how much it will hurt when I have to let him go. But now I realize it will be worse to die without telling him how I feel, without giving myself over to these feelings, without taking what I want.