Page 138 of Wicked Prince of Frost

Violet’s fingertips graze my cheek, wiping away the moisture of a tear. That ghostly touch commands my full attention to return to her. She is unnaturally cold. “There’s time… heal me… after you break the curse.”

It is a lie. We both know it.

As much as I want to yell that she is wrong—that it is not as she claims, there is no ignoring how it is the only thing that makes sense.

For some time, I have suspected that I was not healing her, only easing the pain of the episode. Though reduced, the damage done was still there, below the surface.

It explains why she has become weaker so much faster than she should have, why shadows have taken a permanent place under her eyes—it’s why her face has become gaunt over the short time she’s been here…

With every siphoning, the shard shifted.

The first time she came to me—the first time I felt her soft lips moving over mine—I took the power of the frost bloom from her and unknowingly called to the remaining shards scattered throughout Arum. I called to the one buried deep within her heart, slowly pulling it toward me.

Loathing over what I did to her this morning crashes into me. I was so careless. So caught up in possessing her, rather than taking only what was necessary. Over and over, I dragged Violet closer to the brink of death while making her believe she was safe beneath me.

I send power into her, willing her body to fully heal so that perhaps it will force out the shard, and she can finally be whole again.

Violet’s arms fall to her sides, her back arching from the current of magic coursing through her.

When it is over, she takes the first full breath since I found her.

“Your family records—a page is missing.”

“Don’t speak, save your strength.”

“Just listen. A name was removed. There are mentions of…” Violet’s lashes flutter.

She might be able to breathe now, but she is still fading before my eyes.

I can numb her pain, but I cannot fix her as I am. I am too weak.

Even some things are beyond the reach of magic.

I have failed her.

“… Second child. Brother,” she finishes.

I have no idea what she’s talking about. It could be delirium.

“I will look into it,” I swear hastily. “I will have everyone look into it if I must.”

“Joon,” she says my name softly and smiles. She always smiles—even clasped within the Otherworld’s grasp, she smiles—but it has never felt more like a lie. “Don’t be like that.”

I scowl down at her.

Violet releases a sigh that is a weak imitation of her laugh. “Don’t blame yourself—we both agreed to this.” Energy continues to fade from her voice. “Don’t let it be for nothing…please, Joon.”

She uses that word against me—the one that rendered me powerless to her since the night we met—knowing I cannot refuse her.

I squeeze my eyes shut, searching for a hint within our bargain to guide my hand. But when I need it most, there is nothing there.

We have reached a point in our bargain where I cannot fulfill my promise to her, and regardless of what path I choose, the result will be the same.

“And keep me aliveuntil the endof it.”

“I will do all you have asked. In exchange, you will freely bind and obligate yourself to me until my task is complete.”

When I spoke those words, I thought only of finding theremaining shards. That was my only goal, because once I did, breaking the curse was a given.