Chapter 9 The Frozen Heart

• The cave was silent but for the crackling of the fire. Kael had gone outside to secure the perimeter while Ariella sat alone, her thoughts swirling like the snowstorm outside. She hadn’t been able to shake the weight of the Keeper’s words, and they haunted her every waking moment. *The truth will help you destroy what she is becoming.*
• She ran her fingers over the amulet again, its warmth pulsing through her skin, almost as if it were alive. *What am I supposed to do with this?* she wondered. She had no answers—only a growing sense that the power within her was something she wasn’t ready to face.
• Ariella stood, her muscles stiff from the cold, and stepped closer to the fire. She could see the shadows dance on the walls of the cave, flickering like ghosts, and for a moment, she thought she saw something else move among them. Her pulse quickened.