Kael could not walk.
He lay at the base of a massive tree, its glowing roots twisted around stone and soil like veins. His body refused to obey him. The cost of the spell had been total. His fire, his thunder, his strength, gone.
Elira moved slowly through the mist, her arms wrapped protectively around the twins. She was pale, her steps uneven, but her eyes remained sharp.
The Lower Realm was watching.
The trees whispered above them, their branches creaking with voices too old to understand. Blue light shimmered from the bark, pulsing with ancient rhythm. The mist never fully left, only thinned, hovering low like fog with a mind of its own.
Elira knelt beside Kael.
"We can't stay here."
He nodded weakly. "You should go. Find shelter."
Her gaze darkened. "Not without you."
She pressed her palm to the damp earth. Frost spread, creeping outward, shaping itself with intent. Slowly, painfully, a sled of ice formed beneath Kael's body.
She pulled him onto it, gritting her teeth against the strain.
The mist curled around her legs.
She ignored it.
One step. Then another.
The trees shifted.
The realm whispered.
But nothing attacked.
They moved forward.
Together.