Dark Snow tilted his head, almost curious. For a moment, silence stretched between them, punctuated only by the groaning collapse of the cave.
Then he smiled—a slow, cruel curl of his lips.
"That's the problem with you," he said deceptively softly. "You beg." He hissed, "You're an emotional wreck.
He paused, smile widening. "Don't worry—she'll be our queen. I won't kill her. No… I'll keep her close. Very close."
The words slithered like poison, sinking into Ryder's bones.
"She'll see what I am soon enough," he drawled, amused. "And when she does… maybe she'll love me more than she ever loved you."
Ryder's heart twisted in his chest, blood pounding in his ears.
But Dark Snow wasn't done.
He touched the cracked dome, and it shattered like glass under a storm.
With nothing left between them, he stepped over the broken pieces and crouched before Ryder—close enough to breathe in his exhaustion, to taste his pain.
