The howling storm had swallowed them whole. Each gust felt like icy daggers against Emily's exposed skin as they huddled behind the rocky outcropping. The brief respite from the frostwolves had left them shaken but far from safe. Every breath was a struggle against the suffocating cold, and the endless roar of the wind filled their ears, drowning out everything else. Their escape was too narrow for comfort, and though they had left the frostwolves behind, the dangers of the frozen north were still very real.
"We can't stay here," Aiden muttered, his voice barely audible over the wind. "We need to keep moving. If we stop for too long, we'll freeze."
Emily nodded, wiping frost from her eyelashes. Her fingers were stiff, barely able to move beneath the layers of gloves and cloth. The cold had worked its way into her bones, and despite Mira's magic providing them with some warmth, it felt as though the storm was determined to suck the life from them.
