“You didn’t have to…” Her throat tightened, and she tried again. “You could’ve been killed.”
“And you could’ve been,” he said sharply, his gaze flicking up to meet hers. For a moment, she saw the depths of his fear, the fury barely stifled by relief. Then he softened, taking a breath. “Don’t waste your strength thinking about it. Let’s get warm.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but he pressed a hand against the snow beside her, readying himself to move. “Come on,” he said, his voice gentler now. “We’ve got to get out of this. Can you stand?”
Shivering, she nodded, her muscles protesting every inch she hauled herself forward. The snow shifted against her every effort, compacting and heavy, as though it wanted to drag her down again. But there he was beside her, pushing through with a determination that seemed impossible given what he must’ve endured.
Sebastian reached back once with surprisingpatience, steadying her as though she were made of porcelain. “That’s it, Maddie,” he murmured, his voice closer now, the encouragement threading warmth through the blistering cold. “Just keep going.”
She could barely see through her exhaustion and the endless white ahead of them, but he never faltered. His resilience didn’t just drag himself forward; it lifted her, carried her through the impossible until they broke free from the snow’s crushing hold.
When they finally collapsed onto firmer ground, panting and shaking so violently they could barely stay upright, she turned to him, her chest tight with more than just the cold. “You risked everything,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “Why?”
The faintest smile flickered across his cracked lips as he sat back, leaning heavily on his arms. “Because you’re worth it.” His voice dropped to something softer, private. “Always will be to me.”
It shouldn’t have undone her.
Not after everything they’d endured, not after the way she’d seen him throw his body over hers without a second thought. But those words, soft, quiet, as though they didn’t carry the weight of the world, destroyed her.
Always will be to me.
Not a declaration. Not quite.
But not nothing either.
It settled over her more deeply than the snow ever had. Not cold. Never cold. It was warmth in the sharpest place. Maddie’s fingers clenched into her skirts, her eyes fixed on his profile. His jaw was tight, lips pale, but his voice had held a truth she didn’t think he meant for her to carry home.
She swallowed hard, her throat dry despite the meltwater still clinging to her lashes. No one had ever said she was worth it before.
Not truly.
Not like this.
Sebastian wasn’t a man who flung words for show. He guardedhimself like a fortress, and still, somehow, she had slipped through the cracks. And he had let her. Protected her. Cherished her, even now, while pretending it meant less than it did.
A single thought blossomed in her chest, wild and unwanted.
If he dies of frost or exhaustion, and this is all I ever get of him… I will never forgive the world for letting him go.
She blinked the thought away and drew a breath.
Her heart thudded harder against her ribs as she stared at him, unsure whether her breathlessness was the cold or the sheer weight of his words. He tipped his head forward, tapping snow from his hair, clearly uncomfortable under her gaze, but she didn’t look away. She couldn’t. This man, drenched and trembling beside her, had given more than she’d thought any person could. And he dismissed it as though it meant nothing, even when it was everything.
*
Sebastian’s face warmed,though whether it was from the sentiment or the way her words hung in the frosty air, he wasn’t sure. Either way, he straightened, clearing his throat briskly. “Come,” he said, offering his hand. “The lodge isn’t far. We won’t be able to walk back to the castle. I’ll make a fire.”
“How are we going to get back?” Maddie looked around. The pristinely white landscape, the moments alone she’d cherished with Sebastian now twisted her stomach. This was no longer proper.
“Someone will have to come for us.” Sebastian lifted the sled with one hand and offered his other to her. “Are you coming?”
“This is hardly proper.”
“It’s an emergency. Where do you want to go?” Sebastian gestured grandly around them. “Nobody can see us, hear us.”
“Find us? Oh, they’ll find us. Thomas knows where we are.”
“Did you tell him?” Maddie’s eyes grewwide for she couldn’t hide the surprise, shock, embarrassment—or a strange combination of the effects of the scandal she was about to suffer. An avalanche could unleash much, but the Ton’s scandals left avalanches much to learn.
