Kaiden’s cheeks burn red—part chill, part nerves—as he fumbles his way through the cave’s narrow throat. The beam from his headlamp bounces wildly, shadows flickering over slick rock, as Zira’s voice echoes back, sharp and impatient. “Keep up, Kaiden! If you slip, I’m not dragging your ass out.”

She moves ahead of him, sure-footed and lithe, auburn hair pulled into a messy knot that somehow still spills fire around her angular jaw. The insulated jacket hugs her lean frame, utility pants dusted in traces of ice. When she glances back, her lips are tight, but there’s something raw in the set of her eyes—a flicker of worry she hides behind sarcasm. Kaiden forces a grin, trying to match her bravado, but his heart thuds with a panic he doesn’t let show. He reaches out, steadying himself on the wall, their hands brushing for a split second—her skin cold, his touch lingering too long.

The blizzard outside rages, howling through broken cracks in the stone. Kaiden shivers as he tries not to think about what would happen if they don’t make it back before nightfall. He catches Zira’s profile—strong, beautiful, mouth pressed flat with tension—and something in him aches. “You never let me quit, do you?” he murmurs, half jest, half confession.

She scoffs, but her shoulders soften. “You’d do the same for me.” Their eyes lock—he sees the exhaustion nestled deep in hers, the secrets she guards like armor, glinting just beneath the surface. When he slumps against the rock, defeated, she crouches beside him, voice gentling. “Kaiden, what’s really going on?”

For a moment, he can’t answer, shame knotted in his throat. He shrugs, staring at his boots. “I keep messing up. Hurting people. I never meant—” His breath hitches. Zira’s hand comes to rest on his shoulder, her fingers trembling just faintly. She leans in, uncertainty flickering across her face. This close, her breath is warm, brow furrowed with empathy and something like longing.

He turns toward her, and suddenly their lips are colliding—urgent, desperate. Her gloves fall away, pressed to his face, rough and messy. She fumbles with the zipper of her parka, breath sharp and uneven. “I can’t—stop,” she whispers, voice breaking. Kaiden’s hands slide up under her shirt, palms shaking as he maps the planes of her back and ribs, feeling the chill of her skin, the heat simmering between them.

For a suspended heartbeat, nothing else exists: her chest rising beneath his hands, her teeth grazing his shoulder, the cave wall biting cold against them both as limbs tangle and pulse quickens. Zira pulls him closer until their foreheads touch, lips barely parted, eyes burning open and honest. “I covered for you,” she breathes, letting the truth slip between kisses. “The accident—it was you. But I told everyone it was me.”

Kaiden blinks, stunned. Guilt and gratitude flood his face—he can’t speak, only pull her tighter, mouth trailing along her jaw in apology and plea.

Outside, the storm thickens.

Elsewhere, Lirae storms through the swirling white, boots crunching over half-hidden footprints. Snow dots her dark lashes, wild strands of hair flying free from her beanie. Her jaw clenches as she scans the blizzard for signs of Kaiden—or Zira. Frustration sizzles beneath her skin, eclipsed only by the sharp ache of jealousy. She almost misses the shape standing in her peripheral vision: Maelis, coat buttoned to her chin, arms folded, gaze lowered but direct.

Lirae slows, chest heaving. “Did you see where they went?” Her voice is brittle—challenging.

Maelis nods, eyes flicking up—gray, unreadable. “Together. They looked…close.” The pause is loaded. Lirae bristles, a hot flush rising to her cheeks.

“Figures,” she mutters, voice cracking. Maelis watches her, something softening in her hard-set mouth, before she turns and disappears into the white. Alone, Lirae fists a scrap of fabric she’s found—Zira’s scarf, left behind. She stares at it, storm and fury churning in her eyes.

“If they want to play with fire,” she whispers into the wind, knuckles tight, “I’ll show them how to burn.”

To be continued…