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Chapter 6: Frostbound Betrayal
The gates of Svarheim were carved from frozen bone and etched with ancient runes that bled pale blue light. Kaelen and Aeris stood at the threshold, cloaked in fur and silence.
"This place feels... dead," Kaelen murmured.
"It isn't," Aeris said. "It's just waiting."
The gates opened without a sound.
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Inside the Ice Fortress
Queen Astrid sat upon a throne of glacial glass, dressed in white leathers and crowned only by the frost in her hair. The Frost Ring now rested on her finger, its glow like moonlight on snow. She welcomed them with a voice too soft for comfort.
"You bring Fate into my hall," she said to Kaelen.
He didn't speak. The Fate Ring pulsed like a heartbeat against his skin.
Astrid rose. "And yet, you do not know the cost of holding it. I once bore the Ring of Wisdom. I gave it up... for this."
She held up her hand, and frost bloomed across the ceiling.
Aeris stepped forward. "We didn't come for words. We came to warn you—others are after the rings. The Flame Queen, the Ash Riders... they're moving."
Astrid's expression hardened. "Then let them come. Frost does not fear fire."
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Later That Night
A banquet was held in a silent hall. The food was warm, the wine rich—but Kaelen could not shake the cold inside him.
In the shadows behind the throne, a hooded figure watched. He moved with a limp and bore no ring—but his eyes glowed faintly green.
Aeris noticed too. "Who's that?"
Astrid glanced back. "A priest. He came after the last awakening. Said the rings were meant to be joined."
Kaelen froze. "What's his name?"
"I don't know," Astrid said. "But he calls himself the Herald of Ten."
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The Betrayal
That night, the priest moved unseen through the halls.
In his hand: a shard of obsidian.
In his eyes: hunger.
He came to Kaelen's door—and whispered:
"You are not the bearer. You are the lock."
Kaelen awoke gasping, the shard buried in the wall beside his bed.
The priest was gone.
So was the hourglass Eidros gave him.
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