Octavia's POV
I had never wandered this far from safety before. But love isn’t safe. It’s wild, it’s reckless, and it led me straight into the forest.
I kept walking deeper into the forest, no longer certain how far I'd come from the castle or how long I'd been searching. The cold cut through my cloak like a blade, seeping into my bones and making each step an effort of will. My strength was fading with each passing moment, and the growing curve of my belly ached with every movement.
I pressed one hand protectively over my stomach, feeling tears burn at the corners of my eyes as exhaustion threatened to overwhelm me. The baby seemed to sense my distress, stirring restlessly beneath my palm in a way that made my heart clench with fear.
"Please," I whispered to whatever gods might be listening, my voice trembling in the frigid air. "Help me find him. Don't let him die alone out here."
That's when I saw it, a splash of crimson against the white snow, stark as a wound against winter's pristine canvas. Blood. Fresh enough that it hadn't yet been covered by the steadily falling flakes. Without hesitation, I followed the trail. It led me deeper into the woods, past towering pines whose branches formed a canopy so thick that little light penetrated to the forest floor. My feet slipped on hidden roots and rocks beneath the snow, but I pressed on, driven by desperate hope and growing fear.
The blood trail led me to the edge of a small clearing where an ancient willow tree stood sentinel against the storm. Its massive trunk was hollow, carved out by time and weather into a natural shelter just large enough for a man to take refuge. Inside that hollow, collapsed and bleeding, I found Darius.
"No," I breathed, rushing forward and dropping to my knees beside his still form. "No, no, no..." He was pale as the snow around us, his human form returned but his breathing was shallow and labored. The arrow wound in his side had reopened during his flight, and blood seeped steadily through his torn shirt to pool beneath him.
I forced myself to think clearly despite the panic clawing at my chest. I gathered twigs and stones with shaking hands, building a small fire just outside the hollow's opening, a skill I'd learned during the long, cold nights when my father had locked me in the tower chambers as punishment. The flames caught quickly, casting dancing light across Darius's unconscious face.
Then I tore a strip from the hem of my dress, the expensive fabric ripping easily under my desperate hands. I pressed the makeshift bandage against his wound, trying to staunch the bleeding while whispering prayers I wasn't sure anyone would hear.
"Come on," I murmured, my voice barely audible above the crackling fire. "Don't you dare leave me now." Darius stirred at the sound of my voice, his dark eyes fluttering open to focus on my face with obvious effort. When he saw me kneeling beside him in the snow, something that might have been pain flickered across his features.
"You shouldn't be here," he said, his voice rough and weak. "You should have stayed safe at the castle."
"And let you bleed to death alone in the woods?" I shook my head firmly, continuing to apply pressure to his wound. "I don't think so."
"Octavia..." He tried to sit up, but I pressed him back down with surprising strength.
"Don't," I said firmly. "Just... don't. I'm here because I chose to be. Not because of duty or alliance or any of the reasons you think." I met his eyes, letting him see the truth in my expression. "I'm here because I want to protect you. You, our people, and this child we made together."
For a moment, he simply stared at me as if trying to understand what I'd said. Then, instead of arguing as I'd expected, he allowed me to help him sit up against the curved wall of the hollow. Our faces were close in the small space, and I could see the exhaustion etched in every line of his features.
"You shouldn't be out here in your condition," he said quietly, his gaze dropping to where my hand rested protectively over my belly.
"And you shouldn't be bleeding to death in a snowstorm," I replied, wrapping my cloak around both of us to conserve what little warmth our bodies could generate. "But here we are."
A ghost of a smile touched his lips. "I've had worse."
I shook my head, feeling my voice crack with emotion I'd been holding back for too long. "You don't deserve this. Any of it. The curse, the fear, the way people look at you like you're a monster when you're the furthest thing from it."
The words hung in the air between us, heavy with everything I'd been trying to say since the night he'd saved me from the frozen lake. In the flickering firelight, I could see something shift in his expression, surprise, perhaps, or hope he was afraid to acknowledge.
Without meaning to, we began to lean toward each other. Our faces drew closer until I could feel his breath warm against my lips, could see the way his dark eyes had gone soft with something that looked dangerously like tenderness.
"Octavia," he whispered, my name a prayer on his lips. And then we were kissing.
It started slowly, hesitantly, as if we were both afraid this moment might shatter if we moved too quickly. But then something broke open between us, all the longing and fear and desperate hope we'd been carrying, and the kiss deepened into something fierce and consuming.
His hands tangled in my hair while mine pressed against his chest, feeling the strong beat of his heart beneath my palms. We kissed like we were drowning and each other's breath was the only thing that could save us, like the warmth building between our bodies was the only defense against the cold trying to claim us both.
Snow continued to fall around our shelter, but inside the hollow willow, wrapped in each other's arms with the fire casting golden light across our faces, the rest of the world ceased to exist. There was only this, the taste of his lips, the warmth of his skin, the way he held me like I was something precious he'd been afraid to touch.
For the first time since arriving at his castle, I felt like I was exactly where I belonged.