Immortality.The Queen spoke of it. Kai has never said he wanted it. Is that the gift she would bestow upon him, that he hadn’t asked for?
“These three shards form a letter T,” he says. “But I can’t figure out where they go. They don’t fit inside the square. I want to put it…” He braces three gloved fingers on the ice and drags the trio to the left of the I. “Here.”
Panic rises in my chest, a tense wall of frustration and anger. We’re close, but those damned flakes are running through the hourglass so fast now.
What is as infinite as time?
“Eternity,” I speak the word in a harsh whisper. “Kai. Kai! The word you’re trying to spell iseternity.That’s what shepromised you, isn’t it? To live forever with her here in this ice castle.”
He blinks slowly. Just as slowly, his chin dips.Yes.
“Hurry, Kai! We’re almost out of time!”
His frozen fingers can’t move fast enough. I glance at the hourglass of living snowflakes and panic blooms in my chest. I take over, pushing his hands to move the jagged ice shards together. I can’t touch the puzzle, but I can touch him.
The Snow Queen breezes in, tapping her foot with annoyance. I feel time speed up and slow down all at once. It stretches and warps. The ice shards won’t fit together, until finally?—
E
“Yes! Kai, keep working!”
T
The second E is easier now that I know what shapes to look for. R, however, proves challenging. He uselessly turns a single piece over and over, caught in a trance. I’ll figure out where that one goes last—if there’s still time.
TheYproves to be another easy shape. Another T isn’t too difficult, but I can’t figure out the N, and there’s still the R to contend with. Frustrated, I cannibalize the pieces of the other letters and begin again.
The Snow Queen chuckles softly. I glance at the hourglass.
We have just seconds remaining. A tear slips down my cheek. We’re not going to win.
“I’m sorry, Kai,” I whisper. “I’m so sorry I failed you.”
Gently, because it will be the last time I ever get to kiss him, I take his cold cheeks between my hands and press my lips to his. They tremble. Hesitantly, his mold to mine like he too recognizes this is our final moment together. A sob breaks out of me as my tears splash onto his face.
With a roar, he shoves me away and lunges at the puzzle. But it’s too late—the last snow bee flutters down from the top of the hourglass. He slams the table’s edge with a closed fist. The pieces fly upward and land with a tinkling shatter.
I close my eyes. Hot tears burn down my cold cheeks. The weight of a frozen forever presses down on me. I bury my head in Kai’s shoulder. He hugs me to him.
“It cannot be.” The Queen gasps raggedly.
“Gwen,” he whispers. “It’s all right. You can look.”
I blink and slowly unfurl away from him. “What?”
“It seems, sweet child, that you have won.” The Snow Queen’s ageless features twist in a grimace of distaste. “You correctly guessed the word. Kai has solved the puzzle. Moreover, your tears washed away the shard of the mirror that has been caught in his eye all this time.” Her voice doesn’t tremble in the slightest, but it is heavy with resignation when she says, “You are free to go. You all are.”
She raises both hands high above her head. The snow bees abandon their hourglass and form a solid column. She lowers her hands theatrically and smashes it through into the floor with an ear-shattering crack. The ground trembles beneath my boots. I lunge for Kai’s hand. His skin is warm and his grip on mine, strong. He turns to me wearing the smile I once loved so dearly and haven’t seen in so long. It warms me from within like basking in the summer sun.
I once wanted his darkness, but now, I am beyond relieved to have his light.
He drags me closer, curling my body protectively against his. I have only a moment to clutch him with all my strength before the ice crumbles beneath our feet and we drop into nothing.
Chapter 19
We fall and fall.
There is nothing but darkness and Kai’s strong, warm arms surrounding me. Wind whips my hair. He buries his face in the crook of my neck and whispers, but the words are torn away before I can fully hear them. I feel his lips moving on the shell of my ear and shudder. Clutch him closer. If we die like this, I can die happy.
