The snowstorm outside was unlike any I’d ever seen—the ice seemed alive, swirling with purpose, responding to my every breath. It was as if the storm itself had been waiting for me to remember who I truly was. Inside the frozen cavern, the air hummed with anticipation. I stood at the heart of the icy expanse, staring into the crystalline reflection of myself in the jagged, frost-covered wall. Gone was the hesitant girl tethered by uncertainty; in her place stood a being of ice and resolve—the Ice Fae I was born to be.
Ash stood behind me, silent, his crimson eyes burning with a mixture of curiosity and wariness. He could feel the shift, the storm that roared inside me, as if the very essence of winter had awakened.
“You’re different,” he said, his voice low, yet carrying the weight of ob
