SPOILERS **
thalia's legs get crushed under rubble and stone after the wvyren fell. she gets found by edric (if i remember correctly) and varkas's world basically came crashing down when he saw her like this, since he used to believe that "emotions r poison to the mind" b/c of the church's teachings and that if thalia left this world, his life would be free from emotion/problems (this scene was already in the manhwa, but the root reason on why he said that wasnt explained till later)
they try to do everything they can to heal thalia's legs, but it created a terrible scarring that leaves thalia w/ psychological damage that she will never be as beautiful as her mother again, and becomes very insecure of showing anyone her body (esp varkas.)
later on, the emperor asks varkas a favor to marry thalia b/c he let a princess get injured. varkas instantly says that if thalia wants to, he will marry her. a few days(?) later they get married, which is crazy since his marriage w/ alya was always getting postponed.
basically, chapters and chapters later consists mostly of their married life, angst w/ slight comfort, and terrible communication.
yes, varkas is also cursed/bound to an oath that the late empress manipulated 13yo varkas into so that he could protect her children for the rest of his life. if the twins would ever die, he would die aswell. i believe its a magical spell as well (?), so i dont think he can control his body.
the novel is currently ongoing so we dont know if its a happy ending or not. sorry for the yapfest but i would highly recommend this novel (if ur fine w reading it after i spoiled some of its contents) if ur into angst and slow burn!
YOO WHAT HAPPENED NEXT PLS JUST SPOIL ME BEC I KNOW I DONT HAVE THE HEART TO READ THIS (varkas was cursed? will thalia be found? HOW MANY CHAPTERS UNTIL ITS HAPPY ENDINH FUUUUUCK