The Last Winter of Loving You

Selina's POV

I ripped out half my heart for him.

Literally.

Six years ago, Draco—the Black Dragon Lord—was dying on the battlefield, enemy claws buried in his chest. So I tore myself open and shoved half my witch's heart into his body to save his life.

After that, I lived with constant pain, my magic drained to nothing. I fought his wars, nearly died a dozen times, all while waiting for him to keep his promise—that he'd make me his queen after the coronation.

But on coronation day, Draco brought back the half-elf Ivy and told me to give up my crown.

Why? Ivy stayed with him in the Abyss for three years. And now she was pregnant with his child.

It destroyed me. So I drank the Oblivion Potion—the one thing that could strip away every ounce of love I had for him.

And in three days, I'm leaving for the polar regions to marry into the Silver Wolf Clan.

"Selina, you really don't love Draco anymore? And you're actually going through with this marriage?"

Maya stood behind me, voice cracking with worry.

I shoved my robe into the trunk, not looking up. "Stop mentioning him. I feel NOTHING for that man."

"But you gave him EVERYTHING!" Maya's voice shot up. "Half your witch's heart! That's the most precious power source we have!"

Maya wouldn't drop it. She conjured a magical mirror, trying to shove my sacrifice in my face.

The image showed the Abyss battlefield six years ago—me, drenched in blood, cutting myself open with a silver blade and placing my still-beating half-heart into Draco's dying body.

I stared at that girl in the mirror and felt like an idiot.

Maya kept going. "And these six years—the wars you fought for him! Every battle, you were on the front lines taking hits meant for him. Every negotiation, you burned through your magic to get him what he wanted. Every single time..."

"ENOUGH." I cut her off, suddenly pissed.

Yeah, I remembered it all.

But without feelings for Draco, those memories felt like someone else's life. They just made me feel stupid and annoyed.

"Maya, it's over." I kept packing. "I just want to leave."

Maya took a breath and switched tactics. "Even if you're over him, you can't rush into this marriage!"

"It doesn't matter who I marry!"

Maya looked panicked. "Selina, do you know ANYTHING about Count Carl? He's the most ruthless wolf king in the polar regions! They say he personally TORE APART three fiancées! That kind of man—"

The door slammed open.

What man?"

Draco's cold voice cut through the room.

He walked in with Ivy tucked under his arm, those dark gold eyes—the ones I used to love—now filled with irritation.

Ivy immediately poked his chest playfully. "Oh darling, they're just discussing the manpower needed for tomorrow's coronation party~ As your partner, Selina and I both need to coordinate the arrangements."

She tilted her head at me, smiling. "Right, Selina?"

I sneered. "You're his partner. Not me."

Draco's expression darkened instantly.

"Selina, Ivy's being generous enough. You'll SHARE the queen's position. What more do you want?"

He scoffed. "Tomorrow's celebration—you'll attend and stop acting like a child."

Maya was shaking with rage. She opened her mouth to tell him about the Oblivion Potion, but Ivy cut in.

"Oh wow, that necklace is gorgeous~"

Ivy moved closer, eyeing the moonstone around my neck. "I heard moonstone helps with sleep."

She pressed against Draco's shoulder. "I've been having awful insomnia from the pregnancy. I wish I had something like that..."

I looked down at the necklace.

Draco had retrieved this moonstone from the Northern Ice Abyss for my eighteenth birthday. He'd spent a month carving it before giving it to me.

"Give Ivy the necklace." Draco's command came without hesitation.

A harsh laugh escaped me. This bastard thought he could just order me around.

"No."

His face went dark. He strode over and reached for it.

I dodged on instinct, magic flaring purple around me.

Then Ivy shrieked and collapsed. She'd "accidentally" stumbled into my magic ripple, clutching her stomach and moaning.

"My baby... Draco, the baby..."

"IVY!" Draco's face went white.

The next second, crushing dragon aura slammed into me.

"BOOM!"

I flew backward and crashed into the wall. Blood filled my mouth.

Maya screamed and ran to me, pointing at Ivy. "She's FAKING! The magic didn't even touch her!"

"SHUT UP!" Dark gold flames blazed in Draco's eyes.

He crossed the room and slapped me across the face.

Hard.

"CRACK!"

My head snapped to the side. Blood dripped from my lip.

My ears rang. Half my face was on fire.

"Selina, control your witch." Draco's voice was ice. "Touch Ivy or my child again, and your ENTIRE clan pays."

I wiped the blood away. "Don't worry. I'll stay far away from both of you."

"You DARE mouth off!" He grabbed my necklace and ripped it off my neck, hurling it into the fireplace.

Then he scooped up Ivy and left without a backward glance.

I watched the moonstone melt in the flames, dissolving into sparks of light.

Good. We're even now.

Maya helped me up, barely holding back tears. "I'm so sorry, Selina... I shouldn't have said anything..."

I shook my head. "Not your fault."

My body hurt, but my heart felt strangely calm.

Maya cried harder. "Damn dragons! You have to leave him, Selina! One day he'll regret this!"

I leaned against her, staring at the ashes in the fireplace.

Regret?

Why should I care?

The Oblivion Potion had worked. Every bit of love I had for Draco was gone.

"Three more days." I closed my eyes. "Three days and I'm out of here."

And I'm never coming back.