He noticed her attendant always made an order of books with each supply train, and from Captain Halvor’s reports, he inferred the books—though bought with the attendant’s wage—were directly delivered to Rakel.
In the early hours of the morning—the hours he was particularly prone towards hopeful thinking—he ordered two map sets to be bought, and he sent one to Ensom Peak. It pleased him to think that he and his sister shared something—even if she didn’t know it.
After that, he started having other models and maps bought and sent to her.
Doing so alleviated some of the guilt he felt for taking her place, for keeping her there.
And then came the darkest time in his life.
The Chosen attacked, wiping out villages and armies, massacring everything they came across, ravaging Verglas itself.
They swept across the country in a shockingly short amount of time, entering Verglas in summer and taking Ostfold in winter.
He had lost everything, and he had failed his people.
At the time when they most needed a hero to stand against the evil magic users, he had failed them. They were now enslaved and would likely live a life of labor and starvation.
Steinar was badly treated—as he would expect. He was imprisoned, starved, and beaten. But everything the Chosen did to him was child’s play compared to the guilt that tortured his thoughts.
Verglas was gone…and it was his fault.
But there was something neither Steinar nor his captors had counted on: Rakel—a being so compassionate that she strove to save the very people who had imprisoned her.
Rakel, theQueenof ice and snow, delivered village after village from the clutch of the Chosen, and she successfully took back Ostfold with an army loyal to her cause and with magic users who had revealed themselves for her sake.
While she was unconscious—the price of using her magic—Steinar was filled in on all the recent events, and he realized something: this was obviously the time to give over the throne to the rightful heir.
Rakel had saved northern Verglas, and her general intended to sweep south and defeat the Chosen army. She was the hero the people needed. Shedeservedto reign. It was his obligation to step aside as king and let her rule.
Shortly after he made this decision, he ran into her—literately—and saw her for the first time.
She was different from what he expected. He had heard she was dazzlingly beautiful—and shewas. Her glacier-blue eyes and snow-white hair were breathtaking…but he didn’t expect to see so much ofhimselfin her. She had the same nose, the same pronounced cheekbones. She was tall, like he, and even shared some of the same mannerisms.
Seeing her only further confirmed Steinar’s resolve. Even if it was only in physical attributes, Rakel resembled him…yet it wasshewho had saved the country. She deserved every accolade and admiration. She deserved the throne.
He would make it as easy on her as he could. He would fade into the background and into obscurity. He deserved no more than to watch her from afar.
But Rakel’s heart was bigger than Steinar could fathom. Though he would not see her, she came to his door and talked—never knowing that he leaned against the other side of the door, wishing he could call out to her.
It’s for her good. I’m doing this for her.
His resolve was shattered the day Rakel pounded on his door with fright.
“Steinar? S-Steinar! Something has happened, and I don’t know what to do. There’s not a book in the world that can help me now. I need you…”
Steinar paused on the other side of the door and clenched his hands into fists.I can’t help her. I don’t deserve that kind of relationship with her.
“Why don’t youanswer?” She slapped her hand against the door. “Stop hiding! This isn’t fair of you to make me face this alone! I didn’t want this—I didn’t want any of this! Now I don’t know what to do—and no one elseseesit!”
There was a thud on the other side of his door. “Why, why did I have to have magic?”
The words were a dagger to his heart.I might not deserve her forgiveness…but she has never deserved this heartache.Before he knew what he was doing, he opened the door.
His sister—the rightful queen and the hero of Verglas—was on her knees, her eyes glazed with tears.
“What happened?” he asked.
He was shocked when she scrambled to her feet and threw herself at him. He automatically hugged her, and for the first time in years, he remembered his initial joy at learning about her.
