Your Love Came Too Late

My cousin, Kaylee Langford, pushes me down the ski slope when there's an avalanche.

My boyfriend, Atlas Ferguson, lifts her into his arms and leaves.

He seems to have forgotten that I'm buried underneath the snow mountain.

He leaves me stranded at the valley for seven days.

He's furious when he finds me. "You should be glad nothing went wrong with Kaylee's arms. Otherwise, the only way you could atone would be to die on this mountain! Our wedding is canceled—we'll have it once you realize what you did wrong."

He thinks I'll cry or kick up a fuss, but I merely nod and say, "Okay."

He doesn't know that I've made a deal with the Moon Goddess.

In six days, I'll be giving up the things that mean most to me—my love for Atlas and my memories of him.

Once that happens, I'll forget everything about him and start afresh somewhere new.

What does a wedding matter when the Ember Sloane who loved him is now dead?

Ember Sloane was shoved down the snowy mountain by Kaylee Langford during the avalanche at the ski resort. Kaylee had only dislocated her arms and fell in place, while Ember plummeted to the bottom of the mountain.

Ember was stranded in the Aneira Mountains for an entire seven days. She probably would never have been found if it hadn't been for the branch that pierced her foot, leaving a trail of blood stark against the pure white snow.

Crimson blood spread across the snow, resembling a blooming red flower. Ember leaned weakly against a tree stump, and she was so frail and lifeless that she seemed to be on the verge of dissolving into the snow.

When the security team spotted her, they immediately used their walkie-talkie to notify Atlas Ferguson. "Mr. Ferguson, we've found Ms. Sloane!"

Soon, a helicopter descended from the sky. The gust of wind from its blades nearly prevented Ember from opening her eyes. Even so, she caught sight of Atlas at first glance. However, trailing behind him was Kaylee.

Atlas rushed toward her. He unleashed a torrent of abuse upon seeing her staggering figure.

"Why are you always running off and making trouble? I had to mobilize thousands of people to search for you!

"If you'd just stayed where you were, we wouldn't have spent five or six days looking for you! The security team's been working around the clock because of you!

"Can't you go a single day without causing trouble?"

It was November, and the mountain was sealed by snow in the bitter cold of sub-zero temperatures.

Initially, Ember feared getting lost and only dared to stay put. She endured the freezing cold while anxiously waiting for Atlas to rescue her. She thought to herself that Atlas surely wouldn't leave her here to die.

But as night fell, darkness enveloped everything. Glowing green eyes stared menacingly from the shadows, and the distant roars of unknown beasts echoed all around her.

Terrified, Ember trembled uncontrollably. She