The mountain pass was a narrow, zigzag of black rock and white ice. It was the only way into the valley if you wanted to avoid the main roads. High above, hidden among the frozen pines, Killian and Leo watched through thermal goggles.
"They're late," Killian whispered. His breath came out in a thick white cloud. He was holding a remote detonator in his gloved hand.
"Hunters are patient," Leo replied. He was crouched low, his sniper rifle resting on a flat stone. But they are very greedy. They think they're hunting a broken girl and a billionaire who doesn't know how to fight in the snow. Don't worry, they'll come.
Ten minutes later, three dark shapes moved into the pass. They didn't walk like men, they moved like predators, low and fast. These were the King's elite, the Shadow Hunters. They carried pulse rifles and wore armor that made them nearly invisible against the rocks.
"Wait for the middle one," Killian muttered.
The hunters stopped in the center of the pass, right where the decoy heat signature was strongest. The lead hunter raised a hand, signaling the others to stop. He pulled out a tracking device, confused. He was standing exactly where the signal said Faith should be, but there was only empty snow.
Now, Killian said.
He pressed the button.
BOOM.
The sound was a heavy thud that shook the mountain. For a split second, there was total silence. Then, the entire cliffside above the hunters began to groan. A massive wall of snow and jagged rocks collapsed, roaring down the mountain like a white monster.
The hunters didn't even have time to scream. Two of them were buried instantly under tons of freezing stone and ice. The third, the leader, tried to leap back, but a massive boulder clipped his shoulder, sending him spinning into the canyon floor.
Killian and Leo didn't move. They watched the dust and snow settle.
Go check, Killian ordered.
They climbed down the ridge, their boots crunching on the fresh scrap. They found the lead hunter pinned under a fallen pine tree. His arm was twisted at a sickening angle, and his mask was shattered, revealing a face covered in blood and deep cuts. He was gasping for air, his chest wheezing.
Killian stood over him, looking down with cold, golden eyes. He didn't look like a businessman anymore. He looked like the monster the King should have been afraid of.
"You're the lucky one," Killian said. His voice was as sharp as the wind. You get to go back to your Master.
The hunter spat blood into the snow, his eyes wide with terror. "The….the Catalyst….where is she?"
Killian knelt, grabbing the hunter by his broken collarbone. The man let out a sharp cry of pain.
"Tell your King that the North is a graveyard for his men,"
Killian hissed. Tell him that every step he takes toward Faith will cost him a hundred lives. And tell him that if he wants her, he has to come himself, and I'll be waiting to put his head on a spike.
Killian stood up and looked at Leo. "Let him crawl back. Give him a snowmobile and enough fuel to reach the palace gates. I want the King to see exactly what happens to people who touch what belongs to me."
Back at the estate, Faith was standing in the kitchen. She had gone down to get some water, her legs still feeling a bit shaky. Sarah was in the other room, talking to a doctor on the phone, her voice calmed.
Faith looked at her hand. She thought about the spark she had seen earlier. She closed her eyes and focused on the center of her chest, right where her heart was beating.
I am not a Dud, she whispered to herself. I am the Source.
She felt a tiny, warm tingle in her fingertips. It wasn't a roar of lightning,it was just a hum. But it was there. She reached out toward a small silver spoon sitting on the counter. She didn't touch it. She just looked at it.
For a second, the spoon vibrated. Then, it turned red-hot for a heartbeat before cooling back down.
Faith pulled her hand back, her breath hitching. She was terrified, but she was also relieved. She wasn't just a girl who had jumped on a car anymore. She was something more, and her power was growing in the dark.
She heard the heavy doors open downstairs. Killian was back.
Faith quickly pulled her sweater sleeves over her hands. She couldn't tell him yet. If Killian knew her power was coming back, he would want to use it, or he would become even more protective. She needed to know how to control it first. She needed to be ready when the King eventually found them.
Killian walked into the kitchen, his hair damp from the snow. He saw her and stopped, his expression softening immediately. He walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his chest.
"You should be resting," he murmured, burying his face in her neck.
"I'm fine, Killian," she said, leaning back into him. "Did it work? The trap?"
"It worked," he said, his voice dark and satisfied. The King is going to get a very loud message today.
Faith hugged him back, but her mind was miles away. She was thinking about the King, and the spark in her fingers, and the war that was coming.
Killian thought he was protecting a broken girl. But Faith knew she was the one who was going to end this.