Her vision went completely black but his voice was heard still in the dark "One day, they will kneel."
The words felt like iron into her fading consciousness, scorching deeper than the wounds on her flesh….
Isla wanted to ask what he meant she wanted to demand why a stranger would carry her with so much love and concern.
But her lips were too weak to say anything or could even move! Only silence answered, and silence was heavier than death..
When she woke up the cabin smell of bitter herbs and smoke….
Shadows clung to wooden wall The sounds of fire gnawed at the silence, a low hiss of flame eating through kindling.
Her throat ached with pain as though she had swallowed broken glasses.
She tried to move , her body betrayed her, every effort to move weighed down the stitches with pain.
Then she heard him say "You're awake." The voice was thick , stripped of pleasantry,made with the sharp edges of command.
Her eyes still heavy forced themselves open.
A man sat near the fire back turned to her scarred shoulders and was seen in the light.
His hair was dark as the night, and the way he held himself motionless and dangerous spoke of a beast caged in skin.
Isla tried to get up but the agony of the pain pinned her down to the bed. A cry went from her lips.
Lie still Kael said without looking back Move, and you'll rip yourself open His words were not gentle, they were orders.
She swallowed, though her throat was raw. "Why… why save me?" you don't even know me!!
Finally, he turned. And when his eyes met hers it struck like a storm the pull she had toward him was undeniable.
His eyes gray, like ashe choking flame, studied her as one studies prey before the kill.
Save you? His lip curled. Don't flatter yourself. I don't save. I drag the broken pieces out of the dirt and see whether they rot or rise."
His words cut worse than claws.I don't want to rise, she said . I wanted it to end" There is nothing worth fighting for!!!.
He stood up, firelight catching the rough scar along his jaw. He moved to her bedside, each step slow and careful.
He leaned in close, his face just inches from hers, his eyes softened by a fleeting hint of tender longing.
If you wish to die, he said softly, cruelly, then stay down!!. Let your bones sink into the earth, let the worms take you..
But if you wish to live " His hand seized her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.
"Turn your pain into fire, or it'll consume you for nothing." Her chest heaved with shallow, shaky breaths, his words pressing down on her heavier than her wounds ever could.
She sought to turn, but his hold pinned her, eyes pulling her into their depths I have no fire left, she rasped.
You're wrong, Kael said, releasing her as if she were already beneath him. Fire lives in blood. Even in ashes.
Her body teetered between life and death. Kael's cabin was tiny, just rough wood, wolf pelts, and shelves crammed with jars of herbs that smelled sharp and bitter.
He made her drink, brushing off her complaints and tears. At night, a fever burned through her.
The dreams started as bits and pieces, silver wolves prowling in shadows, their eyes shining like moons, muttering words she couldn't make out.
Then storms swallowed her. A woman's voice, deep and loud, reached for her through the thunder isla… daughter of snow, blood of veils… rise!!!!.
She woke up with a start, screams stuck in her throat, sweat sticking to her skin. "Dreams?" Kael asked one night, not looking up as he ran his blade over a stone by the fire.
Her lips trembled. Wolves. A voice. Kael's expression didn't change. "Ignore it. Fever makes liars of the mind."
But she knew he was lying. The clench of his jaw, the brief hesitation of his hand over the blade it showed her he was afraid of what she said.
It was on the fifth night that the cabin door opened to a stranger. An elderly man, draped in a worn gray cloak, steadied himself on a staff etched with ancient symbols..
His eyes burned with strange fire , when he saw Isla he smiled like he was expecting her
Snowveil, he said Kael stiffened. "Leave, Morien." But the seer only laughed, a dry, rattling sound. "You cannot hide her.
Not from me. Not from what comes." He faced Isla, his eyes cutting through her battered form.
"Little one, your blood runs deeper than any crown, older than the wolves themselves." You carry the storm in your veins.
"Enough," Kael snapped, his voice low and edged with danger. "She's nobody." She will die like the rest."
"Oh, Kael," Morien said with a slow shake of his head. "You still can't see what's right in front of you. She won't just survive, she'll rise. And when she does, everyone who tried to bring her down will either kneel or pay the price."
The words sank deep into Isla's core, making her shiver. Her lips parted, but no sound escaped.
The seer turned to her once more. "Listen to the voice that calls you.
It's not a fever, it's destiny. Then, as quickly as he appeared, he vanished.The door creaked shut.
Kael muttered a sharp curse, hurling his blade into the wooden table with such force it split the wood.
Don't believe his words, he said, snarling. Prophecies are poison But Isla could not forget. Snowveil. The storm in her veins.
That night, the dream came again. She stood in a vast clearing beneath a silver sky. Wolves encircled her, their snowy fur glinting, eyes locked on her with quiet awe.
One by one, they bent forward, heads dipping low until the rustle of their movement rumbled like distant thunder. At the heart of it all, a throne of shimmering ice pushed up from the ground.
As she stretched out her hand, a bolt of lightning ripped through the sky. Her scream shattered the dream.
She snapped awake with a sharp gasp, her body tensing as if shocked, drenched in sweat. Outside, thunder rumbled like a growl, and lightning cracked so near the cabin quivered.
Kael rushed to her side, gripping her shoulders to still her. "Isla!" he barked. Wake! But her eyes were wide, haunted, her lips trembling with a single truth They bowed to me!!