Prologue
She took shuddering breaths, eyes darted to the snow under her curled fingers. Silence descended around her into a thudding ring in her ears as her head compressed. She blinked, her vision doubling up.
A hand grabbed her from behind, stifling her breaths. She grasped the dagger tightly and slashed at the arm, unhooking herself and stumbling back. She dug her soles into the snow before launching herself at the man, raising her dagger. A sharp whistle emerged as their weapons clashed.
Her lips curled in distaste as she glared at him. An imbecile part of her brain admonished her that even in a ragged state he was attractive. Always a pretty man.
She buried that thought with a flick of her wrist as she twisted her dagger and aimed to mutilate his features.
He shot back, the weapon merely grazing his cheek. "Ilyse-" he uttered hoarsely.
A growl threatened to erupt from her throat, her gaze sharpening. She ran towards him again, swiftly kicking snow before twisting around and aiming her leg into his abdomen. Her boots landed with a sickening crunch and the fall of a body under her.
She fell on top of him, panting, a satisfaction rising as she dug her thigh into his injured torso. "You don't have the right to voice my name," she gripped the hilt, waiting for his pained screams.
None came. He merely looked at her. Tortured and troubled, like a sorrowful poet. It made her blood boil. She slapped his cheek, her hand trembling.
The blood stained the snow as he choked it out and coughed. It twisted her heart that he was not even daring to fight back. Was he toying with her?
She remained still, straddling him with her fingers tense, ready to attack. His long lashes fluttered as he twisted his eyes to her again, a smile playing on his stained lips. "I'm tired of fighting," he shifted his head to look at the sky. "Sunset? It has been hours."
Ilyse's lips trembled. How can he speak so casually? She leaned forward while gripping the dagger tightly in both hands, her hair falling down in a curtain around them; the same colour of the blood all around them.
He gave her a somber smile as he shakily reached up to cup her cheek. "Never seen you shed tears for anyone"
She bit her lip harshly, gripping it tightly and squeezed her eyes shut. She cannot see him. She cannot look at him. "Stop speaking," she ground out, her voice weak. Pathetic.
"Only if you open your eyes. I'd like to look at them again," she could hear the smile in his voice. She pried them open at his request. There it was. Soft. Gentle. Despicable.
She raised the dagger, his face distorting into ripples.
The ear whistle returned as she rammed it down. She dug the hilt further as she watched the life drain out of the icy blue eyes.
His arm fell limply.
She shook the dagger out, her eyes darting to the rivulets of blood trickling down his neck.
She got up while pushing her hair back behind her ear, unable to pry her gaze away.
The whistles twisted into buzzing, ringing through her head and spreading throughout her body until she was unable to feel anything but the hot trails down her cheeks and how terrible her heart ached.
"Farewell-" she was unable to say his name. It shook on her breath and remained into silent pleads.
She fell to her knees and grasped his shirt, pulling him up into her arms, her vision blurring again as she gripped his jaw and pushed his long curls back from his face.
Her head bowed down to his chest, her fingers raking up to his scalp and clutching him, leaving the snow to drop around them, hoping it would bury their sins off and conceal it.
