Snow stretched endlessly across the mountainside, an ocean of white shifting and swirling under the force of the bitter wind. The storm had softened slightly, but the cold remained, gnawing at the air like an unseen predator. Emma stood hidden behind a patch of cracked wood and withered leaves, watching the figures ahead quietly.

  The boy and the girl who stood a short distance from each other, their voices carrying over the howling wind. They weren’t whispering. Their words, though not shouted, held frustration, an argument neither of them seemed to want but couldn’t avoid.

  "What did I tell you, Dan?" The girl with deep green eyes, her red hair tied into two firm buns, clenched her fists as she spoke. "Didn’t I say we shouldn’t pass through here? Now look at what had happened!"

  The boy she addressed, Dan, stood with his hands buried deep into his pockets. His rough dark blue hair was tousled by the wind, his deep blue eyes flickering with irritation. He let out a long breath, rubbing the back of his head before muttering under his breath, "This is the fifth time you’ve blamed me."

  "What did you just say?" Liz shot back, her eyes narrowing.

  Dan quickly straightened, shaking his head. "Nothing. Alright, alright... I get it. I messed up."

  Their words fell into silence as they turned their attention back to the boy lying motionless on the snowy ground.

  The boy Ron, was small, barely eight years old. His black hair, damp from the cold, clung to his forehead, and his pale gray eyes, though barely open, seemed lost in a haze. A thick, dark blue ichor stained the snow beneath him, spreading outward like ink spilled across parchment. The wound in his midsection pulsed with unnatural stillness, as though the injury itself was draining the life from him.

  Beside him, a girl knelt in the snow, cradling his head carefully. Jett. She was older than Ron but still young.. twelve, maybe. Her black hair, the same shade as his, fell over her face as she pressed her lips together, her expression frozen in anguish. Her fingers trembled slightly as she adjusted his position, as if afraid the slightest wrong movement would push him beyond saving.

  Liz shifted uneasily before speaking again, her voice softer this time. "Jett... I don’t think just giving him the medicine will be enough."

  Jett exhaled sharply, her breath visible in the cold air. "I don’t know, Liz... I don’t know."

  Her voice had dropped so low it was barely above a whisper. She stared at Ron, her hands tightening around him. He was still breathing.. but only just.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Her mind raced.

  I should have seen the attack coming. I should have protected him earlier. If I had reacted faster... he wouldn’t be like this.

  The thoughts pounded through her skull, relentless. She bit down on her lip so hard that she could taste the faint metallic sting of dark blue ichor. Her heart hammered in her chest, her pulse uneven.

  Think. I have to think.

  But the injury was bad. Too bad. Even for beings like them.

  It was just then..

  In that moment.

  A sound.

  Faint... Distant.

  Jett’s body tensed immediately, her senses snapping into sharp focus.

  The snowy wind carried the noise from somewhere beyond the trees. It wasn’t the unnatural hum of the Eradicators that had attacked them before. No, these footsteps were different.. controlled, steady, calm...

  Liz and Dan noticed it too.

  Their heads turned sharply in the same direction, their gazes locking onto the approaching figure.

  And then they saw her.

  A young girl.

  Far younger than any of them.

  At least six years old.

  She stepped through the snow, the cold seemingly indifferent to her presence. Silver-white hair cascaded down her shoulders, swaying slightly with the movement. Her eyes, unique white, strange, unreadable, cut through the haze like distant moons in the void.

  She wore a dark ash skirt that flowed down to her knees, paired with a dark blue and light blue shirt with sleeves ending just at her elbows. The clothing was practical, suited for travel, yet it seemed odd in the bleak snowy cold landscape around her.

  Dan let out a sharp sigh the moment his eyes fell on the young girl. His shoulders tensed, a hand rising to his forehead as if trying to physically ease the frustration building up in his skull.

  "Great," he muttered, rubbing his temple before dragging his hand down his face. "Right in the middle of this mess... and now we've just become babysitters too." His voice carried the weight of exhaustion, the exasperation unmistakable.

  Liz, standing beside him, immediately turned with an unimpressed glare. "Don't say that," she shot back, flexing her arms slightly, as if trying relax the uneasiness in her body.. "She must be lost too."

  Unlike Dan, Liz's expression softened as she took a cautious step forward, the snow crunching softly beneath her boots. She was careful, measured.. though there was an unmistakable curiosity in her gaze.

  As she approached the young girl, Liz spoke gently. "Hello there, young lady. Are you lost?"

  The wind howled between them, a low whistle through the skeletal trees.

  Emma remained silent.

  Her unique white eyes, strange and unreadable, flicked toward Liz but offered no response. She kept her lips pressed together, the sharp bite of irritation crawling up her spine at Dan’s earlier words. Babysitting? Her?

  Even my mom would never say that to me.

  She felt insulted by the very idea of it.

  Without a word, she simply shook her head, slow and calmly, before stepping past Liz without a second glance.

  Liz blinked in surprise, momentarily stunned. A young girl her age.. no, younger, acting with such indifference? It wasn’t the reaction she had expected.

  But Emma wasn’t concerned with that.

  She hadn’t approached for conversation, nor for sympathy. The moment she had seen the boy on the ground, bleeding out into the snow, a quiet certainty settled in her mind. She hadn’t tested it yet, hadn’t been sure. But now, looking at him, she had a feeling.

  Healing magic would work.

  Her feet carried her forward with purpose, each step slow but firm, until she halted in front of the kneeling girl.. Jett..