Caspian's POV
The moment I walked into the ballroom, pain exploded through my body.
The curse burned like a thousand knives made of ice stabbing into my chest. Every breath hurt. Every heartbeat felt wrong.
This was normal. This was my life for the past ten years.
But then I saw her.
A girl in a stained servant dress standing in the doorway, looking terrified and small. Honey-blonde hair falling around her face. Golden eyes that seemed to glow even in the shadows.
And suddenly—impossibly—the pain stopped.
Just... stopped.
For the first time in a decade, I could breathe without agony. The ice that constantly clawed at my insides went quiet.
What was she?
I couldn't look away from her. My body pulled toward her like she was a fire and I'd been freezing my entire life.
But before I could understand what was happening, servants grabbed her and dragged her away. The pain came rushing back, worse than before.
I forced myself to stay still. To keep my face cold and emotionless like always.
But inside, I was desperate to find that girl again.
Queen Isolde stood from her throne, all fake smiles and false sweetness. "Your Majesty, we're honored by your presence. My daughter Elise is the perfect bride for someone of your power and status."
She gestured toward a girl in an ice-blue gown who stepped forward confidently. Beautiful. Powerful. Everything a queen should be according to everyone else.
But she did nothing for the curse. The pain kept burning.
"She's your only daughter?" I asked, my voice coming out colder than I meant.
Queen Isolde laughed nervously. "Yes, of course. Elise is my pride and joy."
Liar.
I'd done my research before coming here. I knew Queen Isolde had two daughters. She'd hidden one of them from all the official records, but my spies were thorough.
"I was told you had two daughters," I said, letting ice creep into my voice.
The ballroom went silent. Queen Isolde's fake smile cracked.
"Two daughters?" she repeated, her voice tight. "I'm not sure where you heard that, Your Majesty, but—"
"Don't lie to me." The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. Frost spread across the floor at my feet. "I don't tolerate dishonesty."
Several nobles shivered and stepped back. Good. Let them be afraid.
Queen Isolde's face went pale. She looked trapped, like an animal caught in ice.
Finally, she admitted through clenched teeth: "I do have another daughter. But she's... defective, Your Majesty. Born without magic. Completely worthless. Not worthy of your time or attention."
Defective. Worthless.
The way she said those words—with such disgust—made anger flash through me.
"Where is she?" I demanded.
"Your Majesty, I assure you, she's not suitable for—"
"I said, where is she?"
My power exploded outward. Ice shot up from the floor, creating sharp spikes that made everyone gasp and scramble backward.
Queen Isolde flinched. "She's here. In the ballroom. Somewhere."
"Bring her to me. Now."
The Queen gestured frantically to her guards. They disappeared into the crowd and returned moments later, dragging someone between them.
The girl from the doorway.
The one who made my pain stop.
They forced her to stand in the center of the ballroom, right next to her sister. The contrast was brutal—one girl in diamonds and silk, the other in a stained servant dress with messy hair and scared eyes.
But I barely noticed the difference. Because the moment she entered the circle, the curse went quiet again.
The constant burning in my chest faded. The ice that clawed at my insides retreated.
For the first time in ten years, I felt... normal.
The crowd whispered and stared at her. Some people laughed. Others looked disgusted.
The girl—Seraphina, I would learn—kept her eyes on the floor. Her shoulders hunched like she was trying to disappear.
Something about that broke through my usual cold control.
She reminded me of myself after my parents died. After the curse took hold. After everyone started calling me a monster.
Lost. Alone. Convinced she deserved the pain.
I walked toward her, and the crowd parted instantly. People practically fell over themselves to get away from me.
The Frozen Death. The cursed king who killed everything he touched.
Let them fear me. I'd stopped caring years ago.
But as I got closer to the girl, something strange happened. The frost that normally climbed up my arms—the visible sign of the curse spreading—suddenly stopped.
I looked down at my hands in shock. The ice patterns that constantly covered my skin were retreating. Melting.
How was this possible?
I stopped right in front of Seraphina. She was small compared to me, her head barely reaching my shoulder.
"Look at me," I said quietly.
She didn't move. Her whole body trembled.
"I said, look at me."
Slowly, like it took all her courage, she lifted her head.
Golden eyes met mine.
And the world stopped.
The curse didn't just go quiet—it vanished completely. For the first time since my parents' murder, I felt no pain at all. No ice stabbing through my organs. No cold burning in my veins.
Just... peace.
My breath caught. This wasn't possible. Nothing could stop the curse. Dozens of healers and mages had tried. All of them failed.
But this powerless girl—this "defective" princess that her own mother called worthless—somehow did what no one else could.
She made me feel human again.
I stared at her, trying to understand. Her golden eyes were full of fear but also something else. Strength. Despite everything they'd done to her, despite the humiliation and the pain, she hadn't broken.
She was still standing.
"What's your name?" I asked, though I already knew.
"S-Seraphina, Your Majesty," she whispered.
Seraphina. It meant "fiery one" in the old language. Strange name for someone who lived in an ice kingdom.
The curse stirred again in my chest, angry that I'd stopped focusing on the girl. The pain started creeping back.
No. I couldn't lose this. I couldn't go back to that constant agony.
I made a decision in that moment. A selfish, desperate decision.
"I choose this one," I announced, pointing at Seraphina.
The ballroom exploded.
Princess Elise screamed. "What? No!"
Queen Isolde looked like I'd slapped her. "Your Majesty, surely you mean Elise—"
"I said what I meant." My voice cut through the chaos like a blade. "I choose her."
Seraphina stared at me with pure shock and terror. She thought I was sentencing her to death.
Everyone did.
They all believed my curse would kill her within days. That's why Queen Isolde suddenly looked calculating instead of horrified—she saw a way to get rid of her "shameful" daughter without getting her own hands dirty.
Let them think that. Let them all believe I was condemning this girl to death.
They didn't need to know the truth.
That she was the only thing keeping me alive.
That without her, the curse would eventually consume me completely and turn me into an actual monster.
That I needed her more than she could possibly imagine.
I was being selfish. I knew that. This girl didn't ask to save me. She didn't deserve to be forced into marriage with a cursed king.
But I was drowning, and she was air. I couldn't let her go.
"The wedding will be in three days," I announced. "No negotiations. No delays."
Queen Isolde forced a fake smile. "Of course, Your Majesty. Seraphina would be... honored."
The way she said honored made it sound like funeral.
Seraphina just stood there, looking lost and terrified and heartbreakingly small.
I wanted to tell her she'd be safe with me. That I wouldn't hurt her. That she was saving my life just by existing.
But I couldn't say any of that in front of these people.
So I just gave Commander Frost orders to protect her and walked away, leaving her standing there in her stained dress, probably convinced she had three days left to live.
The guilt twisted in my chest.
But not enough to change my mind.
I'd spent ten years in agony. Ten years unable to touch anyone. Ten years slowly dying from a curse I couldn't control.
And this girl—this impossible, golden-eyed girl—somehow held the cure.
I wouldn't let her go.
Even if she hated me for it.
Even if it made me the selfish monster everyone already believed I was.
As I left the ballroom, one thought consumed my mind:
What was Seraphina? And why did she have power over a curse that shouldn't be possible to stop?
I had three days to find out.
Three days before I bound her to me forever.
Three days before she discovered that marrying me wasn't the death sentence everyone thought.
It was the beginning of something neither of us could imagine yet.