Between Ash and Ice

The Shadow Hunter

The chamber was silent, save for the echoes of our ragged breathing. The air felt thicker here, charged with something unseen, something **watching.**

The man in dark armor stood at the far end of the room, unmoving. He wasn’t like the shades that had chased us—he was **something worse.**

The girl tensed beside me. I could feel the shift in her stance, the way she subtly positioned herself between me and the figure. **She knew who he was.**

And she was afraid.

I kept my voice low, steady. “Friend of yours?”

She didn’t take her eyes off him. “Far from it.”

The armored figure tilted his head slightly, as if considering us. Then, he took a single step forward.

The girl inhaled sharply, barely more than a breath. “Run.”

I didn’t move. “You can’t be serious—”

“I **said** run.”

Before I could argue, the man **moved.**

Fast—**too fast.**

One moment he was across the chamber, the next he was **in front of us**, a blade appearing in his hand like it had been conjured from the shadows themselves. I barely had time to register the movement before she shoved me backward, intercepting his strike with her own weapon.

Metal met metal with a deafening clang. Sparks flew between them as she gritted her teeth, straining against his strength.

I stumbled but caught myself, fire instinctively sparking in my hands. **I needed to do something.**

Then his voice—low, smooth, and utterly terrifying—slipped through the air.

**“You should not have freed her.”**

A chill ran through me.

She snarled. “Go to hell.”

The man **pushed forward,** breaking the clash with brutal force, sending her skidding backward. Before she could recover, he was on her again, striking fast and precise.

I **reacted.**

Flames roared to life in my hands, heat surging through my veins as I threw a blast of fire between them. It **collided with his armor, engulfing him in gold and crimson.**

For a heartbeat, I thought it had worked.

Then the fire **died.**

Extinguished. **Like it had been swallowed by the very air around him.**

Panic lanced through me. **How—?**

He turned his head toward me, slowly, like a predator realizing its prey had teeth.

**“Interesting.”**

My stomach twisted.

She lunged at him again, faster, more desperate. But he dodged like it was nothing—like he wasn’t even trying. He **moved through the shadows,** disappearing from one spot and reappearing behind her, striking without mercy.

She barely turned in time to block, but she was losing ground.

I had to do something.

I summoned fire again, **but something pushed against it.** Like an invisible force **pressing down on my magic, suffocating it.**

No. **No.**

She gritted her teeth, her blade trembling against his. “You—get out of here. **Now.**”

I bared my teeth. “Not happening.”

The man exhaled, almost in amusement. “How touching.”

Then, he struck again, this time faster than either of us could react.

His blade sliced through the air, aimed straight for her chest.

I didn’t think.

I **moved.**

Pain exploded in my shoulder as I shoved her aside, the blade meant for her burying itself into my flesh instead.

The world tilted. Heat flared in my vision, not from my fire, but from the white-hot agony searing through me.

I hit the ground hard, breath stolen from my lungs. Distantly, I heard her **scream.**

The man loomed over me, his dark armor reflecting the dim light, his head tilting once more.

**“Fascinating,”** he murmured, watching as my blood hit the stone.

Then—

Darkness.