Scowling, Damian turned toward Heather, ready to unload his irritation—but Heather beat him to it. “Ugh, Miguel and Maxine are going to be at this for hours!” she chirped brightly. “I’m going to enjoy the snow while we wait!”

And before anyone could stop her, she skipped off into the white expanse.

Hugh stood frozen for a beat, eyes following Heather’s retreating figure as she disappeared into the snow. Then, without looking at anyone, he turned stiffly to Cole. “Mr. Evans, I—I think I’ll, uh… go enjoy the snow too.”

Before Cole could so much as blink, Hugh bolted after Heather.

The silence that followed was thick with collective disbelief. Then came the synchronized groans. Everyone knew exactly what “enjoying the snow” meant. It was a laughably transparent excuse—they were absolutely sneaking off to “work on that daughter” they’d just been talking about. In this freezing weather, no less. Utterly shameless. Did they have no fear of frostbite?

Elliana couldn’t help a quiet laugh. Tilting her head toward the sky, she made a mental note: she’d have to help plan Heather’s wedding soon—at the rate things were going, a shotgun ceremony seemed inevitable.

Cole, on the other hand, looked like he was grinding his molars into dust. Hugh had been a competent fighter once, but ever since Heather had sauntered into his life, he’d been reduced to a lovesick fool.

Myles and Aron lowered their heads and began muttering a silent mantra to themselves, “We are not jealous. We are not envious. We are not jealous.”

This wasn’t the first time Hugh and Heather had abandoned logic—and decency—to bask in their own little romantic bubble. After a few moments of collective grumbling, the group finally pushed the couple from their thoughts. There were far more pressing matters at hand.

Just as Heather had predicted, the battle underground had dragged on endlessly. Miguel and Maxine were locked in a savage deadlock—neither strong enough to overpower the other.

Hours slipped by. The sun vanished behind the peaks, and the world descended into a deep, icy twilight. The cold thickened, the wind howled, and still no sound emerged from the base.

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Cradling her daughter, Elliana’s patience began to fray. Adah, equally restless, finally stood up and said, “That’s it. I’m going in to see what’s taking so long.”

Adah had barely taken three steps when Elliana’s instincts screamed. Her head snapped up, eyes widening in alarm. “Everyone, get back—now!”

The urgency in her voice sent the entire group diving backward, retreating across the snow. Adah spun on her heel and sprinted with them.

They had barely put a hundred feet between themselves and the underground entrance when a deep, guttural roar thundered from within the base. The ground quaked violently beneath their boots.

Then came the explosion. A tidal wave of fire and choking black smoke burst from the opening, devouring the air in a hellish inferno. Heat slammed into them, blistering and wild, turning the snowfield into a landscape of molten red.

When the smoke finally thinned, the mountainside had been split open—its entrance swallowed beneath tons of rock and debris.

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