KALDRIC'S POV:
I promised. I promised on my life to return. I returned, but by the time I would have– It would be too late.
Aldwin saved her life, I didn't. He protected her, I didn't. I resented promise-breakers and to think I became one was disgusting.
The infirmary tent was filled with the smell of damp wool and medicinal herbs, but all I could feel was the frost radiating from Ardelle's skin.
"Blankets and stones are not enough, My Lord," the old man said, not daring to look me in the eye.
"Her heart is beating too slowly. She needs the heat of another. She needs skin-to-skin contact, or the frost will claim her organs before dawn."
I didn't hesitate. With trembling fingers, I unbuckled my breastplate, the heavy obsidian clattered to the dirt floor but I couldn't care less about it. My focus was on the soul I failed to shelter.
I stripped off my tunic, my skin prickling in the damp air of the infirmary, until I was bare to the waist.
I climbed under the furs, the cold radiating from Ardelle's body prickling me but that didn't stop me from encasing her small frame in my arms.
That was the least I could do.
I pulled her against me, my chest firmly pressed on her back, holding her with all my hopelessness to compensate for the broken promise and be not the very person I resented.
My warmth began to flow into her, a desperate transfer of life. My palms pressed into her midsection, ensuring all heat from me transverse to her.
"I am sorry, Ardelle…" I whispered, the words catching in my throat.
I pressed my lips to her cold shoulder, the scent of lavender and snow clinging to her skin. Shutting my eyes, my body reacted on its own and I kissed her shoulder, keeping my lips against her cold skin.
I had never failed a mission. I had never broken a formation. But I had promised to return for her, and I had been late.
And I had to redeem it.
Ardelle shifted in my arms, her body crackled by a sudden, violent shiver. Her eyes didn't open, but her lips began to move, spilling words that cut deeper than Aldwin's mockery.
"Mother..." she moaned, her voice a fragile thread, trying to shift in my arms my weight didn't let her.
"Mama, please. I am so tired. The ice... it's so heavy. Take me with you…"
I held her tighter, my heart pounding faster than usual at the sound of her groaning, "No, Ardelle. I am here. You don't have to go anywhere."
"Take me with you," she sobbed, her delirium taking her far away from the tent.
"Take me back, to you. It was warmer there. I can't take it... the iron... the cold... end it, please. I don't want it. Mama… Where is he, Mama? You said he will save me…" She whimpered, her body throbbing.
"I am here, Ardelle. I am here." I whispered desperately.
Each word was a lash on my dignity. She wasn't begging for her life, she was begging for the end of the life 'I' had given her.
"You will not go. I forbid it, Ardelle. Do you hear me? I forbid you to leave me."
I squeezed her until I feared I might break her, burying my face in her hair.
Suddenly, the mention of her leaving…. Made me shiver. My heart skipped a beat to even think about it.
Perhaps it was the force of my voice, or perhaps the heat had finally reached her heart. Her eyelashes fluttered, and for one heartbeat, the green of her eyes met mine.
She glanced at me through the haze. In that second, she saw me bare, stripped of my armor and my titles, just a man fulfilling his incomplete promise.
"Kaldric…?" she breathed, her hand feebly rising to touch my face resting on her shoulder.
Before I could answer, before I could seek her forgiveness, or kiss her fingertips. Her eyes rolled back, and she slumped against me, falling back into a deep, heavy unconsciousness.
But this time, her breath was warmer against my skin.
I stayed there, connected to her, watching the lantern light flicker against the canvas. I had saved the King, but as I held my dying bride, I realized I had never been further from being a hero.
The victory over the rebels was heralded as a masterpiece of strategy, but here I was, in my tent, away from others.
Ardelle stirred again after a while. The blue tint had left her skin, replaced by a paleness. Her eyes opened slowly, focusing on me.
For a moment, I expected the fear or the pleading. I even prepared myself for the nothingness she had worn like a shroud in Hast.
"You.. you are finally awake, Ardelle," I whispered hesitantly. I reached for her hand, my fingers twitching with the urge to ensure she was still warm.
"The storm has passed. You are safe now. I.. uh.. I returned as I promised. The King was under fire, I-I had no choice but to secure the line before—"
She didn't let me finish. She pulled her hand away.
She didn't scream, weep, or sought justification. She simply looked at me, and for the first time in our journey, the look in her eyes wasn't terror or affection.
For the first time, she looked at me with… disgust.
"You left me," she whispered. It wasn't an accusation; it was a cold, hard fact she had carved into her soul.
"Ardelle, the vow I took-"
I tried to reach for her again, but she sat up with a sudden strength that clearly pained her. She swung her legs over the side of the cot, shivering as her feet hit the cold earth.
"Ardelle, stay down. You are still weak," I commanded, my instinct to control her emerging to hide my panic.
Before I could force her back, the tent flap was pinned back. The light of the morning sun flooded in, and with it, the King Alaric strode in, his cape sweeping the dust.
He stopped before Ardelle, his expression uncharacteristically soft.
"Lady Ardelle, Good to see you on your feet." he said, taking her hand with a courtly grace, helping her to stand properly while she kept her head low, still trembling.
"You have the constitution of the mountains themselves. To survive a night on the Black Ridge and this frost... truly, you are a bride worthy of the Commander of the Obsidian Pillars."
Ardelle bowed her head, her movements stiff, "Your Majesty is kind."
The King turned to me, his eyes beaming with pride.
"And you, Kaldric. My finest Pillar. To choose the safety of your King over the life of your own wife... that is a sacrifice the bards will write off for a hundred years."
He clapped a heavy hand on my shoulder, the shoulder I had used to keep her warm only hours ago as I was sitting with wide eyes, stunned.
"Your loyalty is unmatched. You are the very definition of honor, Kaldric Dawnstride."
I looked at Ardelle, wanting to explain that it wasn't a choice I wanted to make, but an oath I had built my very life upon.
I exist for the King's law. She would understand that, right?
"Thank you, Sire," I managed to breathe out.
Ardelle didn't wait for the King to finish his pleasantries.
She didn't even look back at me. She stood, leaning heavily on a wooden post for support, and began to walk toward the exit of the tent.
Ardelle!
I wanted to call out but before His Majesty, I didn't, my heart jumping into my throat.
Where are you going? You need rest.
Outside the tent, Aldwin was waiting, leaning against a supply crate. The moment he saw her, his posture changed. He was by her side in a heartbeat, his arm sliding around her waist to steady her.
I watched from the shadows of the tent as Ardelle looked up at him. She didn't look at him with disgust. She looked at him with a smile, faint, tired, but genuine.
"Thank you, Sir Aldwin," I heard her say, looking up at him in pure admiration, "Thank you for saving my life."
"It was my honor, Lady," Aldwin replied softly. He guided her to a seat, his movements tender, and brought a canteen of water to her lips.
I stood in my place, my jaw clenching, the King's praise ringing in one ear and the sound of her gratitude to another man in the other.
I had the King's favor. I had my honor. I had my vow. The very thing I crave.
But, as I watched my bride lean into the support of a man who wasn't me, I felt a sting in my chest that no blade could ever replicate.