The cabin was still. The kind of stillness that comes before a storm, where every tree seems to hold its breath and every creak of wood sounds like a warning. Outside, snow fell like ash from a dying fire—soft, silent, and heavy with omen.
Aria stared into the crackling fire, her knees pulled to her chest, Kael resting in the shadows behind her. He was asleep—or something close to it. His breathing was shallow but steady, each exhale sounding like a battle won. She had checked the maps while he dozed, studied every marked location Jace had circled in red.
There was one—near Red Hollow. An abandoned clinic. Aria couldn't stop thinking about the missing girl Kael had mentioned. Seventeen. The only other possible survivor of Project Niveus.
"We have to find her," she whispered, not realizing Kael had woken.
He spoke from the shadows, voice rough. "And if we do, what then?"
"Then we protect her," Aria said. "We make them regret everything they ever did to you—to all of you."
Kael opened his eyes. Even in the low light, they held a strange glow. It wasn't natural. It wasn't human. It was something left behind by the experiments they did to him. Aria had grown used to it, but sometimes, like now, it still made her ache with helplessness.
"She might not want to be found," he said.
"She's a kid," Aria answered. "She deserves the choice."
A pause.
"You're not going to stop, are you?" he asked.
She turned. "Would you?"
Kael chuckled softly, bitter. "No. That's why I'm in love with you. You never stop when it matters."
Aria walked over and lowered herself beside him, resting her head against his chest. The rhythm of his heart was uneven—but it was still there. Still fighting.
"Tell me something real," she said.
Kael hesitated. "I used to dream about you. After the lab. In those first few months when I was hiding and sick and didn't even know what was happening to my body—I still dreamed of you."
She swallowed the lump in her throat. "What did I look like in the dream?"
"Safe," he said. "You looked safe."
They lay in silence until a low crack echoed outside the cabin.
Kael's eyes snapped open.
Aria sat up instantly. "That wasn't snow."
He nodded once. "Grab your coat."
Within seconds, Kael had a knife in one hand, a loaded handgun in the other. Aria grabbed the emergency bag by the fireplace and slung it over her shoulder, her fingers curling around the smaller revolver Jace had left her.
They moved like shadows—silent, controlled. Aria had never been in actual combat before Kael came back into her life, but the past few weeks had forged something in her. She wasn't the same girl who used to write stories in a coffee shop window, waiting for a boy who never came home.
She was different now.
Outside, the trees were silent. The snow was thick and unbroken—until Kael stopped.
"Footprints," he murmured. "Three sets."
Aria's breath caught. "Jace?"
Kael shook his head. "Too heavy. One of them's dragging a leg."
They ducked into the trees, using the pines for cover. The footsteps veered around the cabin, toward the rear. Kael gestured with two fingers—split. Aria circled wide left, Kael moving like a predator on the right.
Then she saw them.
Three figures—cloaked in snow-damp jackets, military gear beneath. One held a rifle, scanning the tree line. Another was clutching his side, bleeding. The third… tall, sharp-eyed, and silent.
She didn't recognize him—but Kael did.
"Lars," Kael said coldly, stepping from the trees.
The man turned, a faint smile ghosting his lips. "Kael. I see the serum didn't kill you."
"Not for lack of trying."
Lars nodded at Aria, who emerged with her gun raised.
"She the reason you're fighting again?"
Kael stepped between them. "Leave now. I won't say it twice."
Lars chuckled. "You think you're still one of us? You were a project, Kael. A pet. They only kept you alive because you were useful."
"I'm still useful," Kael said quietly. "But not to them."
Lars reached into his coat—and Kael shot him in the leg before he could pull anything out.
The man went down hard, screaming through clenched teeth.
Aria didn't hesitate—she sprinted forward and kicked the gun out of the second man's hands while Kael disarmed the third. The entire fight took less than twenty seconds. When it was over, Kael pressed a knee to Lars's chest.
"You followed us here. That was stupid."
Lars coughed. "They know you're close to exposing it all."
"Good."
"They'll kill her."
Kael's eyes darkened. "They'll try."
Lars's grin turned into a sneer. "And what happens when she sees what you really are, Kael? You think the sickness will wait? You think she'll want to hold you when you're screaming in pain, when your blood turns black?"
Aria stepped forward and without hesitation, punched him across the face.
He reeled.
"She already has," she said, eyes burning. "And I'm still here."
Kael rose, pulling her back. "He's not worth it."
They tied the three men and left them in the barn behind the cabin. Kael burned their weapons and stripped their comms. But it was clear: they'd been followed. And next time, they wouldn't be so lucky.
They had to move again.
That night, Kael's condition worsened. His fever spiked. His hands shook. Aria wrapped him in blankets, pressing cold cloths to his skin. He groaned in his sleep, whispering things that didn't make sense—numbers, names, and sometimes… hers.
"Aria," he muttered, tossing.
"I'm here," she whispered, holding his hand tightly. "You're okay."
"No… they'll hurt you. Can't protect you…"
"You already are."
He woke suddenly, gasping, drenched in sweat.
"Kael!" she cried, pulling him upright.
He blinked at her, dazed. Then his eyes focused. "Where are we?"
"In the cabin. You had a fever."
He closed his eyes. "I saw you. Dead."
"I'm not." She placed his hand against her chest. "Feel that? I'm real. I'm here."
He trembled. "I don't want to lose you again."
"You won't."
They clung to each other in the darkness, not as fugitives or survivors—but simply as two people who'd fought too hard to be together.
Eventually, Kael fell asleep again. This time, it was peaceful.
But Aria stayed awake, staring at the fire. The files were out. The wolves were coming. And time was slipping through their fingers.
Tomorrow, they would leave the cabin.
Tomorrow, they would go to Red Hollow.
And maybe—just maybe—they would find the girl who could destroy the program once and for all.
But tonight, Aria whispered a prayer into the flames.
Let him live.
Let him stay.
Let them finish this.
Together.