The Frostbone Forest was a world unto itself—silent, shadowed, and heavy with the weight of ancient magic. Tall, twisted trees loomed like specters, their gnarled branches reaching out, clawing at the moonlight that pierced through the dense canopy. The air was biting cold, the earth beneath their feet soft with snow and frost.
The campfire crackled between them, a faint light in the overwhelming dark, casting strange, flickering shadows on the faces of Kael, Silas, and Aurenya. The girl, still as enigmatic as ever, sat near the fire, her bright eyes watching them with an intensity that made Kael uneasy. She said nothing, only blinked slowly, her small fingers curled into her cloak.
Kael, his mind still reeling from the events at the temple, sat stiffly, his red hands resting on his knees, glowing faintly in the firelight. The memories of Lysaria's words haunted him—the Hollow King is moving. His thoughts were a whirlwind, his mind racing back to what Lysaria had warned him. Aurenya was at the center of it all.
Silas sat across from him, the shadows around him deepening like an extension of his very being. His dark eyes flicked to Kael, but he said nothing, his arms folded, his posture tense. His silence spoke volumes, and Kael could feel the unspoken tension thick between them.
Aurenya stared into the fire, her expression unreadable. She hadn't spoken since they left the temple, her mind no doubt tangled in its own storm. Kael could feel the strain between them, the tension crackling like the flames themselves.
Finally, it was Silas who broke the silence, his voice sharp as a whip. "You can't keep doing this, Kael. You can't keep hesitating. Lysaria... she was a god, and you still can't bring yourself to do what needs to be done."
Kael looked up at him, eyes flashing with the weight of the past. "And what would you have me do? Kill her? Like I killed—" His throat tightened at the words he couldn't bring himself to say. "I'm not a monster, Silas. I won't be a tool of destruction, not again."
"You are already," Silas replied bitterly. "You are the Red Hand. You always have been. Your blood is tied to this, Kael. You can't run from it. You think she was a threat? You don't even know what's coming."
Aurenya finally spoke, her voice soft, but it carried the weight of something unspoken. "It's not just about Kael anymore. It's... it's about me too." She turned toward him, her silver eyes reflecting the firelight like mirrors. "I feel it. What Lysaria said... it's true. The Hollow King is coming, and I'm tied to him, aren't I?"
Kael's heart tightened, and he met her gaze, pain flooding his chest. "Aurenya, you're not... you're not just some tool for him. You're not a weapon."
She smiled sadly, her lips trembling. "Then why does it feel like I am? Everything about me, everything I've been told, points to that. The girl who was made to hold a god of judgment. The girl who was never supposed to feel... this." Her hands trembled as she reached up to brush her hair from her face. "I'm scared, Kael. I don't know who I am anymore."
The fire crackled between them, and Kael felt the weight of the silence settle over him like a heavy cloak. His own guilt rose like bile in his throat. He wanted to reach for her, to tell her that it wasn't true—that they could find a way out of this, together. But how could he? How could he promise her anything when he didn't even understand what was happening to them both?
Kael stood abruptly, his legs stiff from sitting too long. He started pacing in the snow, the icy air biting at his skin. Silas's eyes followed him but said nothing. Aurenya's gaze, though, never left him, watching him as if she were trying to piece together the fragments of his soul.
"I never wanted this life," Kael muttered, his voice bitter with regret. "Never wanted to be a monster. But every time I turn around, I'm reminded that I can't escape it. I can't escape... me."
"None of us can," Silas said, his voice low but clear. "But we can try to survive it. Together."
Kael turned to face him, his jaw clenched. "You think this is about survival? No. It's about more than that. It's about blood, destiny, gods that don't care about us, and a future I can't change."
Aurenya rose to her feet, moving to stand beside him. She didn't touch him, but she was close, close enough for him to feel the heat of her body, the pulse of life in her veins.
"You don't have to change it alone," she whispered, her voice soft but steady. "Whatever happens, Kael... I'm here. I may not know who I am, but I know who you are to me. I don't want to lose you."
The sincerity in her words shattered something inside him, a crack in the wall he had built around himself. His heart hammered in his chest, but he couldn't bring himself to say what he wanted to.
"I don't want to lose you either," Kael said hoarsely, his voice barely a whisper. "I don't know what I'll do if—"
"Then stop pushing me away," she interrupted, her voice trembling with emotion. "You're not the only one scared of losing everything. We're both in this together. Don't you see?"
Kael closed his eyes, his fists clenched at his sides. He wanted to pull her to him, to bury his face in her hair and forget about the Hollow King, about the gods, about the choices they were being forced to make.
But the weight of their shared fate was too heavy. There was no escaping it.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, though he wasn't sure if he meant it for her, for himself, or for the mess they were trapped in.
She stepped closer, her hand reaching for his, her fingers trembling as they brushed against his. "I'm scared too, Kael," she said, her voice raw with emotion. "But I don't want to face it alone."
And for the first time in a long while, Kael didn't feel entirely alone. He gripped her hand tightly, a fragile connection between them in the cold night, the crackling fire their only witness.
The girl, still silent by the fire, whispered something to Silas, her voice barely audible.
"She's going to leave you behind," she said, her voice small but clear.
Aurenya and Kael both turned to look at her, but the girl said nothing more, her eyes dark and unreadable.
Silas shifted uncomfortably but said nothing in reply.
Aurenya's gaze lingered on the girl for a moment, a furrow of confusion on her brow. Kael could feel the weight of her question in the air, but before he could say anything, Aurenya's voice broke the silence again.
"Let's get some sleep," she said softly. "We have a long road ahead of us."
Kael nodded, still holding her hand. "Tomorrow, we move forward."
But as they settled into the snow-covered ground around the campfire, Kael couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed. That the girl's words had meant something—something that neither he nor Aurenya understood yet.
And that made him terrified.