The voice of the Ancêtre was still echoing in the dark corners of my skull like a poison. Rends-le facile à briser.
I couldn't stay in that cave. I couldn't stay near Silas.
Driven by pure, unadulterated panic, I pushed away from Silas’s protective grip and bolted toward the entrance of the cave.
"Elara, no! Wait!" Silas’s roar echoed behind me, laced with a sudden, sharp coughing fit as his weakened body struggled to keep up.
I didn't listen. I ran out of the cave and directly into the blinding white of the blizzard. The cold was a physical assault, but I welcomed it. I needed the freezing air to numb the burning, dark vein on my neck and the roaring hunger in my chest. I ran blindly through the deep snow, my breath turning to ice, desperate to put as much distance as possible between
