Ella ran with all her strength toward the waiting boat.
The wind and rain lashed against her face, making each step more difficult than the last.
At last, the vessel came into view through the storm.
Still carrying her children, she hurried aboard.
The cries of the infants echoed across the deck.
“Hush now, my little ones,” Ella whispered, gently rocking them in her arms.
“Everything will be alright.”
Yet even as she spoke, she could feel an emptiness growing within her heart.
No.
She refused to believe it.
Her husband could not be dead.
Not yet.
Then suddenly, a powerful hand seized her wrist.
Ella gasped.
“Caught you, little princess.”
A man dressed in black armor stepped from the shadows, his grip tightening around her arm.
“Release me!” Ella cried, struggling to break free.
The man laughed.
“Release you?
Hardly.
Your father has ordered your return.
Alive if possible
His gaze drifted toward the infants.
“So these are the twins. His Majesty has not even seen his grandchildren, yet you’ve already brought them into this world.”
“Let me go!” Ella screamed once more.
Desperate, she sank her teeth into the man’s hand.
“Argh!”
The soldier cursed and loosened his grip.
Before he could recover, a strange chill swept through the air.
Frost began to spread across the deck.
The wind howled louder than before.
The soldier froze.
Slowly, he lowered his gaze.
A shard of ice protruded from his chest.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
Then he collapsed lifelessly onto the wooden planks.
Ella stared in shock.
Her gaze fell upon one of the infants.
Little Jasmina’s eyes glowed a brilliant silver-blue.
Tiny crystals of ice danced around her small hands.
The child blinked innocently, completely unaware of what she had done.
Without even realizing it, she had taken a life.
Ella’s heart raced.
The blood of the Ice King truly flowed within her daughter.
But there was no time to think.
More enemies would surely arrive soon.
Holding the twins tightly against her chest, Ella rushed toward the waiting boatman.
The old sailor looked at her with understanding.
“You must be Lady Ella.”
She nodded silently.
The sailor stepped aside and gestured toward the vessel.
“Quickly. We must leave before they discover us.”
With trembling hands, Ella climbed aboard.
As the boat pulled away from the shore, she cast one final glance toward the distant battlefield hidden by rain and darkness.
Tears filled her eyes.
Deep in her heart, she already knew the truth.
The man she loved was gone.
Yet for the sake of her children, she would live on.
And somewhere in the storm, the legacy of the Ice King continued to breathe.