Chapter 11 The Awakening

• The storm’s fury had quieted somewhat as the night settled over the snow-covered mountains, but the silence that followed was no comfort. The winds now seemed to whisper secrets through the jagged peaks, as if the mountains themselves were trying to communicate something lost to time. Ariella’s breath formed clouds of vapor in the air, her mind racing with what had just happened.
• She had wielded power that terrified her, yet felt strangely natural, as if it had been buried within her all along. The frost giant had been nothing compared to the force she had summoned. What did this mean for her? And for Kael? They had only just begun to uncover the truth, and already the world seemed to be shifting beneath their feet.
• Kael walked ahead of her, his eyes fixed on the path ahead. His movements were steady, yet there was an edge to them—a tension in the air around him that spoke of unease. He could feel it too, that nagging sense that something wasn’t right. They had taken down the frost giant, but there was a far darker force at work here, and it was drawing them closer with every step.