CHAPTER SIX
The Prophecy of Frost
The morning felt off from the start. The sky looked bruised, this deep purple, swirling like it was furious at the world. You could tell right away, this wasn't just a weird storm. It was ancient, and it hummed with magic. The wind tore through the valley, biting hard, throwing snow in wild spirals that didn't even bother to fall, gravity just didn't matter anymore.
Usually, the aurora drifted quietly overhead, but now it ripped across the sky, frantic and too bright to seem real. Green, blue, white, all of it twisting together, like the sky might split open at any second.
People panicked. The whole town was outside in minutes, shouting, grabbing whatever they could carry. Some hammered boards over windows, though thick frost had already sculpted the glass. The temperature crashed so quickly, the glass cracked, sometimes just exploded outright. Doors froze shut. Kids cried as frost crept up the walls, like it had its own plan.
This storm wasn't just weather. It felt alive.
Kael found Aria by the lake, standing by herself with her arms wrapped tight around her coat. Her breath curled white in the air. The lake, which always shimmered with a gentle magic, was now just a dead, flat sheet of silver. Somewhere deep under the ice, a hollow sound echoed up every few seconds. It sounded like the lake was hurting.
He walked up, boots crunching through the frost. His face looked harder than she'd ever seen.
"The frost is crossing over", he said. He tried to keep his voice steady, but you could see the fear in his eyes. "The barrier's breaking between our world and the Winter Realm. When it's gone, everything freezes. Both worlds. Forever".
Aria's heart pounded. "There has to be a way to stop it".
Kael took a shaky breath. "There is. But you're not going to like it".
She felt a cold weight settle in her chest. "Tell me".
He hesitated, just long enough to make her want to scream. Then, quiet, not really wanting to say it, he said, "There's a prophecy. They've whispered it in the Winter Realm for centuries".
She stopped breathing.
"Only a heart that loves through frost can end the endless winter".
The words hit her like a slap. It felt like the prophecy was meant for her, for both of them.
"Kael" she whispered. "You're saying"
He nodded, slow and heavy.
"One of us has to give up our heart to restore the Heart of Winter. Life for life. Warmth for warmth".
She barely had time to take that in before someone's footsteps crunched up behind them.
Eamon marched over, rifle slung on his shoulder, jaw set and eyes hard. His breath shot out in quick, harsh bursts as he stopped beside Aria.
"You're not sacrificing her", he snapped at Kael, voice sharp as broken ice.
Kael's eyes softened, more sad than angry. "I'm not asking her to. It's not her fate"
"Then whose"? Eamon demanded.
Kael's voice dropped low. "Mine".
Aria jolted like she'd been shocked. "No".
But Kael didn't move. "This prophecy, it's always been tied to me. Long before I met you. I've spent a century wandering the Winter Realm. I always knew this was how it ended".
Eamon glared. "We're supposed to believe you've just been waiting around to die for the rest of us"?
Kael's fists clenched. "I'm not waiting to die. I'm choosing to protect a world I already failed once".
Aria stepped between them, heart hammering. "There has to be another way. Magic isn't simple. Prophecies twist and turn, they can mean different things".
Snow started falling again, thick flakes that clung to their hair and coats, erasing their footprints almost as soon as they made them. The snow melted on Aria's skin, but Kael flinched, frost bloomed everywhere the snow touched his hands.
He was running out of time.
Kael reached for her hand. His fingers trembled, not with cold or fear, but something deeper. "Aria", he said, voice barely above a whisper, "you don't get it. The choice was made long before I ever found you. But loving you, now I know what warmth means. And I know exactly what it costs to lose it".
Aria couldn't breathe.
The wind screamed across the lake. Somewhere out there, the ice cracked, sharp and loud, making them all flinch. The storm pressed in, like it was listening.
"You think giving up your life will fix everything"? Eamon's voice was quiet now, almost fragile. "What about her? What about what she wants"?
Kael eye met Aria's eyes, and it was filled with apology and longing written all over his face. "If I don't do this, she loses everything anyway".
Aria shook her head, sharp and stubborn. "No, Kael. You're not deciding this on your own".
She grabbed his hand, ignoring the icy chill that seeped into her skin.
"Tell us everything", she pressed. "What does it actually take to restore the Heart of Winter? How do we get there"?
Kael went quiet. He looked like he was stuck between wanting to shield her and finally letting her in.
Finally, he said, "The Heart of Winter sits deep in the Frost spire. It's a living mountain, all ice, hidden in the Winter Realm. Only someone bonded to winter magic can pass its gates".
"That's you", Aria said.
"And you" he replied.
She stopped breathing for a second. "Me"?
He nodded. "The prophecy tied you to winter the moment you touched the aurora shard. It woke something old inside you".
Eamon let out a shaky breath, dread settling in his eyes. "So both of you have to go into that world"?
Kael nodded again. "But only one heart can restore the core".
Aria straightened, her jaw set. "Then we'll find a way to save both worlds. No one has to be gone.
A look crossed Kael's face, soft, sad, full of love. It hurt to see. "Aria; that hope, is what I love about you. But hope can't undo ancient magic".
She stepped closer, still clutching his hand, refusing to let the storm take him from her. Wind slashed at her hair, stinging her cheeks, but she didn't pull back.
"Magic didn't write the prophecy", she said, voice low but steady. "People did. And people make mistakes".
He looked at her, his eyes bright, not with the aurora, but with feelings he couldn't hide anymore.
"Aria" he breathed.
Her voice wobbled. "Don't go someplace I can't follow".
A sharp crack rang out behind them, the lake splitting, a jagged line darting across the ice. The sound echoed, followed by a low, trembling rumble. The ground felt like it was holding its breath.
Kael's grip tightened. "It's happening faster than I thought. The realms are merging".
Eamon scanned the lake, shoulders tense. "Whatever we're doing, we need to move. Now".
Kael nodded. "We start today. We head for the Winter Gate before nightfall".
Aria swallowed, her voice small. "What happens when we reach the Heart"?
Kael paused, just long enough for fear to crawl up her spine.
"The Heart of Winter only accepts a willing sacrifice", he said. "No tricks, no forcing it. Someone has to give up their heart freely."
The words landed heavy, settling around her like fresh snow.
But before she could say anything, Kael took her hand and pressed it to his chest, over the spot where his heart used to beat strong and sure—now it felt fragile, barely there.
"You already brought warmth back to me" he whispered. "If my heart brings the realm back, then loving you wasn't just fate. It meant something".
Tears stung her eyes.
"No" she shot back. "If winter picked you to die, it picked wrong. I'll prove it".
Kael said nothing. For the first time, he looked uncertain, as if her stubbornness could shake the prophecy itself.
Snow kept falling, the storm growing thicker, but Aria didn't feel scared anymore. Something inside her hardened—resolve.
If the world thought she'd let Kael go to save it, then it didn't know her at all.
"We'll face the Frost spire", she said. "We'll take on whatever magic waits for us. But you're not doing this alone".
Kael's eyes softened, and finally, a small smile broke through.
"Then we go together".
The wind screamed around them, but beneath all that noise, Aria caught something else, a faint, musical chime drifting through the frozen air.
The Heart of Winter was calling.
And she was ready to answer.