I felt sick to my stomach, and not just because it was empty. Of all things to promise, why that? How desperate could she have been? I was just asleep for a couple weeks! I could only hope and pray that it would never actually matter.

  “Frost, what were you thinking?”

  She looked very guilty. “I’m not sure… to be honest, I don’t remember. I was really worried, you know.”

  I sighed. “That’s no excuse… you need to value yourself more. I keep telling you that and it seems like you don’t believe me.”

  She shook her head. “No, I believe you… I’ve been trying, I promise. Selene gave me an earful the last time.”

  The last time? “What did you do?”

  “There was an incident with some snow and some lizards… in any case, I wasn’t hurt too badly, and thanks to that I met Gold here. It worked out, I think.”

  It was always something with this girl. “Please tell me no one got killed?”

  “No, I sent the others away first, so it was just me. Though… a couple people did get killed later on. There was an incident at the temple, you see, and I got a little carried away… Selene gave me an earful about that too, actually. But you and Rosa were in trouble, so I had to do something. I’m pretty sure it won’t cause a diplomatic incident or anything, we’ll just have to pay compensation for-”

  Oh my god. “Frost, stop talking.”

  She nodded.

  “I think I’ve emphasized the value of honesty a little too much. Some things are best kept to yourself, okay?”

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be giving you things to worry about when you just woke up. I’m still a little overwhelmed…”

  “That’s okay, I understand. Rosa’s okay, right? Is she here?”

  She shook her head. “No, she had some other matters to deal with… Selene is waiting for us outside along with the knights. We should probably go back soon, I’m sure they’re worried. Oh, right. Yes, Rosa’s okay – she didn’t get hurt. She’s got a lot on her mind though, partly due to the inheritance struggle but also due to-”

  I sighed, and she realized that it was time to stop talking again. “I’m glad to hear she’s alright. We can discuss those matters later, since they sound important.”

  I turned back to the dragon. “She said your name was Gold, right? I should thank you for your assistance, even if I wish things had gone a little differently… it sounds like Frost and I would both be in a very bad situation had you not helped.”

  Her chest rumbled. “Think nothing of it. Without us, the cycle would fall into disarray. It’s natural to assist each other.”

  “I hope it’s not presumptuous for me to ask this, but… that sword you gave her, it’s safe, right? We had an incident with a sword before, you see, and-”

  “Worry not. The blade is made from my own scales, so it shall not harm her.”

  One less thing to worry about, at least. I suddenly realized that it was very warm in the cave, and it wasn’t making me feel any better. “As much as I’d like to talk more, I’m not feeling very good… I think I need to get some fresh air.”

  Gold nodded. “It seems we are done today. Return to visit if you wish, always welcome here. Though I will be away awhile. It was good to meet you.”

  Frost offered her hand and helped me up, before turning to bid the dragon farewell. “Thank you again, great one. And I suppose I’ll tell my mother you’re taking a vacation.”

  As we made our way out of the cave, I wondered where a dragon would go on vacation. Perhaps she’d fly off to a beach somewhere and relax in the sun.

  ------

  Once we returned to the garrison, Frost and Selene both insisted that I always be accompanied by someone, though in most cases it was Frost herself, since she was determined to make up for lost time. All the knights and squires seemed genuinely happy to see me – I supposed they had grown fond of me over the last couple years.

  At the moment, Rufus was joining me for a walk around the courtyard. I had hoped to get back to normal immediately, but it seemed that a few weeks in a coma would cause anyone’s muscles to atrophy, saintess or not.

  “It’s good to have you back, Helian. Everyone was kind of going crazy while you were asleep.”

  “Was it that bad?”

  “You should have seen how anxious Rosa was. She nagged the maids so much, they threatened to go on strike.”

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  “What about Frost?”

  “Oh, you know how she is… she always bottles everything up. I could tell she was worried, of course, but it’s impossible to know what’s going on in her head.”

  This was true even now. She clearly had something on her mind, and I caught her staring at me more often than usual since we’d returned from the dragon’s cave. I had thought if I gave her time she’d eventually tell me, but it seemed like I’d have to drag the truth out of her.

  In any case, we had plenty of time to work out whatever was bothering her – at least if Gold’s word was to be trusted, since she claimed that she and Frost had solved the problem for good when they woke me up. I was certain Rosa would be happy to hear this, since it sounded like she had cooked up quite an elaborate plan to punish the person responsible for my condition.

  Though I had a feeling Coroban was right, and it would turn out that no one here was responsible. Hopefully Rosa wouldn’t get into too much trouble before my letter arrived…

  “Speaking of Frost, what happened here at the border while I was asleep? None of the knights will tell me about it.”

  “Ah… yeah, that was really something. I think they all agreed to keep it a secret so you wouldn’t get mad at her. Selene scolded her for it afterwards, but she probably saved our lives, so I don’t think it was the wrong thing for her to do.”

  “On second thought, I’ll ask her instead. But thank you for your honesty.”

  He nodded. “If anyone asks, I didn’t tell you anything.”

  ------

  Once I returned to my room, I was left alone with my thoughts. I wished I could have finished my conversation with Coroban, because it felt as if I was on the verge of understanding everything.

  Things that had never made sense suddenly fit together like puzzle pieces when I considered her theory. If the author’s goal was to turn a horror story into a different kind of story, introducing Frost was an effective way to do it.

  Viewed through this lens, she was all too suspicious. She matched my tastes precisely, and was always kind, loving, and attentive. Now that the plot had ended, everything was comfortable, and it was easy to forget about what had come before.

  But had the plot truly ended? From the beginning, I had treated the novel as if what laid on the surface was the truth. But it was clear now that something could have been buried underneath it, just like how Frost had been hiding things I didn’t know about.

  And I had been hiding things from her since the beginning, too. I was starting to think that was the core of my problems… if we had been honest with each other, a great many things could have been prevented.

  Frost quietly wrapped me in a hug. I hadn’t heard her enter the room, I guess I’d been too distracted. Or I’d gotten rusty.

  “Welcome back.”

  “Mmmm.” She hadn’t been in a talkative mood lately.

  “Was work alright?”

  “Yeah, things are going fine. I think we’ll be going home soon.”

  “That’s good.”

  She held me silently.

  As much as I wanted to stay in the comfort of this moment, though, something had to be done.

  “Let’s talk, Frost.”

  I felt her muscles tense and her grip loosen. “Okay. What about?”

  “What’s been on your mind? You’ve been distracted since I woke up.”

  She remained behind me, where I couldn’t see her face. I knew what her expression was like, though, since it was evident in her voice. “I’m just worried about Rosa and the Hunt.”

  “You can be honest with me. I won’t get angry with you. So please be honest with me, okay? If you have questions you want to ask first, I’ll answer them.”

  Her heartbeat quickened. “Okay.”

  “Take your time.”

  She nodded, and her heartbeat slowed slightly. “Helian, who is XXXXXXX?”

  Fuck. “Where did you hear that name?”

  “You called me that when you woke up.”

  “No, that’s not right. I… oh, I was discussing something with Coroban. I wasn’t calling you that, so you don’t need to worry.”

  “You said you’d answer my questions.”

  Fuck. “That’s… true.”

  “Are they the author?”

  “Yes. They wrote the novel.”

  “Were you good friends?”

  “We were very good friends, yes.”

  “How long did you know them?”

  “Since I was little.”

  Her heartbeat quickened again. “Like me.”

  Where was this going? “Yes, I suppose.”

  “Did they write the novel for you?”

  “Yes. It was my birthday present. I told them I was bored and wanted something to read, so they wrote it just for me.”

  She sighed. “I never did get you a sword for your birthday like you wanted. I’m sorry.”

  “That’s okay, Frost. If you want, you can get me one for my next birthday present.”

  I didn’t understand the point of these questions, but it felt like she was circling around some buried topic, and it made me anxious.

  “I have something to tell you, Helian.”

  “Okay, Frost.”

  “Promise you won’t get angry with me.”

  How bad could it possibly be? “Okay.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Not really. “Of course.”

  “I read your practice sheets when we were little.”

  That’s… not much to get angry about. Why even bring that up now? “You’ve been feeling guilty about that all this time? In the first place, I showed them to you for your birthday, so it’s fine.”

  “No, that’s not what I mean. I read all of them. Long before that.”

  Fuck. “Oh. Well… still, it’s okay. I shouldn’t have been keeping secrets like that from you. I was just afraid to trust anyone. I was scared. I’m sorry.”

  “You knew about my father, right? And your mother. From the beginning.”

  “Yes. I’m sorry.”

  She remained silent for a while, and her heartbeat slowed, while mine remained fast. I knew now that something awful was waiting at the end of this conversation.

  “Helian, were you and XXXXXXX in love? Were you together?”

  “Were we in love? No. No, we weren’t like that at all. It’s true, they cared about me a lot, but that wasn’t how I felt at all. They were special, sure, but… No, we weren’t.”

  “They loved you though, didn’t they?”

  Frost must have been worried about this the whole time I was asleep, and even before then. That I wanted to go back this whole time, because true love waited for me there. Even though that wasn’t true, she had no way to know because I hadn’t told her.

  “Yes. They only told me near the end, though.”

  “Does that mean you would have been together if they told you sooner?”

  “No.”

  “Why not? You knew them since you were little, didn’t you?”

  “That’s not how it works, Frost.”

  “You were very good friends.”

  “That’s true, but that’s not how it works.”

  “Then why not?”

  “They…”

  Well, it’s not like they were listening. There was no harm in telling the truth. “They never could have made me happy. Their love was suffocating. They got jealous easily and were possessive. It’s true that they were a good friend, and I was glad to know them, but we never could have been together.”

  “There are lots of people like that in the novel, aren’t there?”