I stared at the impassable mountain peak looming before me, the bitter reality sinking in like the cold seeping through my thin clothes. I was on the wrong side of the mountain. Shadow Crest lay beyond that peak—miles away and impossible to reach on foot, especially in my condition.
"No, no, no..." I whispered, my breath forming clouds in the frigid air.
The tunnel entrance behind me had sealed shut—a heavy stone door I couldn't budge no matter how hard I pushed. There would be no going back that way. Panic clawed at my throat as I scanned the barren landscape. Nothing but snow, rocks, and the distant treeline far below.
Kaelen wouldn't reach me in time. Even if he'd found my message, even if he was racing through the tunnels right now, he was hours away.
My legs gave out, and I sank into the snow. The cold bit through my thin nightgown and robe immediately. I knew enough about survival to understand that sitting in snow was a death sentence.
