The forest had grown silent again.
The shattered enemy was gone, but the tension lingered like a frost that would not melt.
Lina's wrist still burned with the seal's pulse.
She had seen what the winter remembered, but not everything.
"Kyle," she said, "why does it feel like we're being watched?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he scanned the horizon, eyes narrowed.
"Because we are," he said finally.
"Every shadow in this forest could be an enemy—or a spy.
The ones who broke the oath… they left traces."
Lina swallowed hard.
She clenched her frost-shaped hands.
"They won't catch me unprepared."
A sudden gust swept through the frozen cliffs, carrying whispers that almost sounded like voices.
She realized the winter was speaking, guiding, warning.
And in that moment, she knew the real challenge had only just begun.
To be continued…