The Lady and the Duke: Frostbound Rebirth

They say your life flashes before your eyes when you die but they never mention how slowly it crawls. Seraphel lay sprawled across the frozen marble with each breath a ragged scrape through her failing lungs and the chill of the eastern wing had long since burrowed past skin and bone, sinking into a place even death seemed reluctant to touch. She had been cold for months ever since her power vanished like smoke slipping through desperate fingers. Three figures stood above her, her husband, her sister, and her mother. Once she would have given her life for any of them but now as lamplight carved their faces in cold shadows Seraphel realized she already had. Darkness crept at the edges of her vision and in the fading haze one question rose to the surface. How did I end up here? Bleeding out like a dog in the very clan she had served with her whole heart but she already knew the answer. Her gaze settled on the woman at the center, Aveline Solvaine, The empress of the Eastern Empire and her elder sister. Golden hair pinned into an elaborate crown of phoenixes and jewels, a crimson hanfu flowed like blood beneath the firelight with embroidered dragons curling across the silk. Divine, untouchable, and perfect. Seraphel had once worshipped at that altar and she had believed that if she worked hard enough, sacrificed enough, and endured enough they would finally see her, that her mother's eyes would soften and that her sister would embrace her as family instead of discarding her like a tool past its use. Foolish. Beside Aveline stood Viscount Cedric Grimwall, her husband of three years and her betrayer of a lifetime. His arm rested around the Empress's waist with fingers tracing familiar paths against the crimson silk and he didn't spare Seraphel a glance. Why would he? She was already a ghost. A broken breath escaped her lips and memories dragged her backward through the years. She had done everything they asked, she trained until her palms bled and her meridians screamed, she mastered techniques that would kill lesser cultivators, and she smiled through venomous whispers and mocking glances. She had even married Cedric, not for love and never for love, but because Aveline had asked. "Little Sera, the clan's reputation hangs by a thread," Aveline had whispered gently brushing Seraphel's cheek. "Cedric is the perfect match. This marriage will secure our future. Won't you do this for me? For family?" Desperate for even a scrap of affection Seraphel had agreed before her sister finished speaking. The heavens must have laughed. Her immortal blessing, the divine favor that made her valuable, vanished the moment the marriage vows bound her to Cedric and it was gone just like that. The clan elders said nothing but their eyes said enough, disappointment, disgust, and worthless. After that her body began to fail with a coldness that never left and exhaustion that made every breath a struggle. The clan physicians muttered about damaged meridians and a shattered foundation before walking away. Why waste medicine on someone useless? The irony would have been amusing if she still had the strength to laugh. This morning had been different for the first time in months warmth touched her bones and the relentless cold eased enough for her to stand, to walk, and to hope. She wanted to surprise Cedric, share a quiet meal together and it had been weeks since he last acknowledged her existence. With slow, careful steps she made her way to his southern courtyard. At his door she raised a trembling hand. Then she heard voices. Her hand froze. "Your sister's powers are gone," Cedric said. "She's worthless to us now." Pain stabbed through her chest but she stayed silent since he was only saying what everyone else already thought. Then Aveline spoke, her voice warm and playful. "What are you saying, Cedric? She's my sister. Don't speak about her that way." Through the narrow gap in the door Seraphel watched her world shatter. Cedric pulled Aveline into his arms. The Empress did not resist and instead she tilted her head up toward him, and they kissed. Reality fractured. The sister she worshipped, the woman she had protected with her life, and the person she loved with every piece of her heart was kissing her husband as though Seraphel had never existed. She wanted to believe she was hallucinating, that the fever had finally broken her mind but the scene continued, merciless and vivid. Cedric finally pulled away, his lips brushing Aveline's ear. "So when are you finally taking care of the Emperor? Then you can be mine completely." Aveline smiled. "Soon. Besides, you're still married to my sister. Let's wait." Casual, as if Seraphel's entire existence was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. She looked down at her own hands, thin skin, dark veins, and a body slowly devouring itself from within. Unable to bear another second she turned to leave. As she turned someone was waiting. It was Lady Bertrice Solvaine, her mother, the woman who had given birth to her but never once looked at her with warmth and Bertrice's face was cold as winter. "What are you doing here?" Before Seraphel could answer iron fingers seized her arm. The door flew open and Cedric and Aveline jerked apart. For a brief moment guilt flashed across their faces and then it disappeared. Bertrice threw her forward. Seraphel's legs gave out. Crash! She slammed into the marble floor, her head striking the sharp edge of a low table and warm blood spilled down her temple. Now dying in that same spot she could feel it drying in her hair. Her vision flickered and death lingered at the edge of her sight, slow, patient, and cruel. "Why…?" The word barely escaped her throat. She looked up at the three people standing above her, mother, sister, and husband, a perfect portrait of betrayal. Aveline knelt beside her. The rustle of crimson silk echoed softly against the floor and her beautiful face filled Seraphel's fading vision. Even now she looked flawless, almost concerned. "Because you are a curse to the Solvaine family," Aveline said softly. A curse. While Seraphel had spent her life chasing their love they had seen her as a curse all along. A weak laugh escaped her lips as she looked up at her family. Years of devotion, of sacrifice, and hope that one day all of it would mean something but it did not. "Look at her," Cedric said with disgust. "Even now she's pathetic. To think I had to play the loving husband for a broken tool." "Be quiet, Cedric," Bertrice said coldly. "She brought this upon herself the moment her blessing disappeared. A Solvaine who cannot cultivate is better off dead." Aveline gently brushed a blood-stained lock of hair from Seraphel's forehead. "Don't be bitter, little Sera. You did your part for the empire. You should be happy your death will finally bring us peace." Seraphel couldn't even blink. Her sister had deceived her from the very beginning and her life had been planned out long before she ever realized it. Through fading eyes she watched Cedric pull Aveline back to her feet. His arm wrapped around her waist and they looked like lovers finally reunited. "Come away from her," Cedric said softly. Then he kissed Aveline right above Seraphel's dying body. "She's already gone." Darkness closed in. This time Seraphel didn't resist for there was nothing left worth fighting for. Her final thought echoed through the void. If the heavens have any mercy left… let me live again. Let me undo all of this. Then darkness swallowed her whole and Seraphel knew nothing more.