Page 49 of Fallen Star

Taking a deep breath, I reach for my magic and release it through my palms, letting it fan out like invisible threads.

It’s like opening my eyes underwater, and suddenly, the roaring wind isn’t just noise anymore. It’s a symphonyof currents that carries everything—sounds, movement, and presence. A song like the one sung by the stars.

Finally, I feel it.

A disruption in the flow. A solid body in the raging storm.

I stumble in the direction the wind tells me, the storm fighting me every step of the way.

Lightning flashes again.

With it, I catch a glimpse of Riven, his dark form moving against the blinding white snow.

“Riven!” I shout again, pushing toward him.

He turns just as I reach him and locks his arms around me, as if he’s terrified of losing me again.

“Where’s Ghost?” I have to scream to be heard over the wind.

Another crack of thunder shakes the air around us, and the snow swirls harder, reducing visibility to nothing.

“We got separated,” he replies, holding me tighter. “We have to find him.”

“We will,” I say, and as we search, he releases me with one arm, keeping the other locked around my waist. His ice magic creates a partial shield against the worst of the storm, and I do my best to lower the strength of the wind howling around us, making it a bit easier to fight against the gusts.

There’s only so far Ghost could have gotten. He has to be here somewhere.

But he’s nowhere to be found.

Eventually, we stop in front of a pine tree that offers us a slight break from the chaos.

“Nothing,” I say, shaking from a mix of the cold, frustration, and fear.

Riven’s jaw tightens. “We can’t stay out here. The storm’s only getting worse.”

“What about Ghost?” I ask.

“Ghost is smart,” he says, although from the way his body tenses up, I can feel his anxiety. “He knows how to survive. But we need to get out of this storm. No amount of magic will save us if we stay out here.”

He’s right. The wind is getting stronger, the snow so thick I can barely breathe.

“There’s a cave.” I point toward the outline of the mountain ahead—one that I felt earlier with my air magic. “We can go there.”

“All right,” he says, and together, we push forward, the storm battering us as we make our way to the mouth of the cave.

The moment we’re inside, he spins toward the entrance, using his magic to create a thick barrier of ice that seals us in. It’s like when he turned that tent into an igloo back at the lake, but on a far larger scale.

The sudden silence is jarring. Especially since we can see through the ice, at the storm raging outside.

“Ghost is smart,” Riven says again, but his voice is tight with worry. “He’ll find shelter. He has to.”

“How long do these storms normally last?” I wrap my arms around myself, since even with the entrance sealed and the warmth amulet hanging from my neck, the cold is continuing to seep into my bones.

It doesn’t help that my clothes are drenched.

Riven reaches forward, touches my shoulder, and within seconds, I’m dry.

“Better?” He watches me closely, not moving his hand away.

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