When she still refused to talk, Lucian closed the distance between them and grabbed her arm, turning her around to face him, "Why are you mad at me?"
She didn't struggle, looking down at the hand on her arm instead, "I'm not in the right mind to deal with you, Lucian."
He didn't care, "Why. Are. You. Mad. At. Me?" he stepped closer, pressing her against the ice wall, his hands resting on either side of her head, trapping her.
A sharp dig into his stomach made him grunt in surprise.
"Celine...?" he looked down.
She was holding a dagger against his stomach, her hand trembling as she pushed it against him, "I was doing fine until now. Why did you have to show up?"
"Celine!" He grabbed her wrist, stopping her from stabbing him, but it was too late.
The dagger had pierced his flesh, blood staining his clothes. The pain was nothing compared to the shock of seeing her like this. Her eyes were wide, her face pale, a wild look in her gaze. Like she had lost her mind. "What are… you doing?"
"No more excuses," she mumbled, more to herself than him, her hand shaking, "No more waiting, no more loving...just...just..."
He gritted his teeth as the blessed weapon cut through his clothes and skin. She was pushing the dagger deeper, his grip on her wrist tightening to stop her, the warm blood running down their hands. Eventually, he let go, letting the dagger sink further into his body.
Her fingers curled around the dagger, her knuckles white. "I won't let them take you away from me… I'll be the one to take you away from them, not the other way around."
Her words...they sent a strange comfort to his heart, he hadn't felt for so long. Her anger was not directed at him, but at his shackles. With him gone, there would be no more worries about his possible betrayal. She was going to end it before it could ever come to that.
This was for the best. This was how it should end. With her breaking his shackles and bounding him to her with his last breath. He would finally be free from the madness that consumed him.
"I don't want to lose you, not to them or anyone else."
He smiled, despite the pain, his hand reaching up to cup her cheek. "You don't kill...people you love. You love me... don't you? Remember?"
"Yes...I love you, and this…" she kept whispering to herself, "They won't get you. I won't let them...because...I love you..."
He understood her. Too well, in fact. That's why he didn't resist. He rested his head on top of hers, wrapped his arms around her back, and deliberately pulled her closer as she stabbed him again, "I love you too, Celine. I love you so much."
The strength completely drained out of her. Her arms went utterly limp, her fingers releasing the hilt. She stood absolutely still in his embrace, enveloped in the smell of his blood.
"Come with me," he whispered. He wanted to take her with him wherever he was going, "Please. I don't want to be without you."
"I will," she finally moved, her arms hugging him back, pulling his head on her shoulder, "Wherever you go, I will follow. Wait for me, I will join you soon."
He didn't know how she did it, but she was successfully killing him. His life force was leaving his body.
"I will take over hell and make it ready for you then," he grinned, trying to lift his head from her shoulder, but his body refused to move, "I will show you off to all the demons there. My beautiful wife...the demoness."
She covered his mouth with her shoulder, stopping him from talking. Any more and she might change her mind. The way she was holding back from bringing him back from the edge of death, clutching him like her life depended on it, showed him how much she wanted him to stay, "Just wait for me quietly. I won't take long."
His legs finally gave out under him, taking her with him. As his consciousness slipped away, his astral eyes opened, forced to watch his own funeral she had planned all along.
She dragged his body deeper into the ice cave, until they reached the back where the water had formed a small pool.
His eyes were closed. He was dead for sure, and yet, he could see her. He could see everything she did. He could even see his own face, lifeless in her palms.
The cave had a stash of supplies hidden behind the ice. Clothes, food, water, everything one would need to survive in the middle of the forest.
She began cleaning his body, removing the blood stains from his skin with a towel. The blank expression on her face was the only indication that she was a few breaths away from breaking down. Shutting down her emotions so that she could do what she had to.
She stitched his wounds and wrapped them with bandages, and it looked like it was sucking the life out of her to do it. Her face paled even more. A blessing slipped from her fingers every now and then as she redressed him into clean clothes.
'She planned for everything... so meticulously,' he thought, watching her change into a clean outfit as well. It was a thick dress, white with blue details. Warm enough for the cold cave. She looked like an angel, his angel of death.
He couldn't talk to her, or touch her, or do anything but watch her. He checked her back to make sure she had no scars, and found it smooth, without any trace of past wounds.
Once she was done, she carried him on her shoulder towards the pedestal in the middle of the cave. This was his tomb. His final resting place.
She placed him on the stone slab and lay down next to him. Her arm wrapped around his waist, her breath slowing down, "I'm tired... let's sleep for a while."
The moment she closed her beautiful blue eyes, Lucian began to cough and gasp for air. His eyes shot open, his chest rising and falling with each ragged breath. He was back from the dead again.
He turned his head to look at her, finding her deep asleep. He poked her cheek, but she didn't wake up. He shook her, but she remained still. She passed out with her head on his shoulder and arms around him, anchoring herself to him like he would slip away if she didn't.