I was frozen for a second. My eyes locked onto Lily, who was now sliding uncontrollably, her skis scraping and bouncing on the ice like they had a mind of their own. The edge was so close. My heart pounded in my ears, the world around me turning to static as the adrenaline hit.

  Move, Aria, MOVE!

  I didn’t think. I just acted.

  Without hesitation, I pushed off the snowbank, throwing myself forward. My body reacted faster than my brain—desperation, pure instinct. I reached out, extending my arm, barely managing to grab Lily’s wrist just as her feet slid over the lip of the slope. My heart raced, my palms sweating from the cold and the weight of her pull.

  “Lily!” I shouted, trying to steady myself, trying to dig my skis into the snow. But her weight was too much. We were both slipping. “Hold on!”

  I gritted my teeth, forcing my body to move even as the snow beneath me became slicker. My fingers were numb, but I tightened my grip on her wrist, pulling her back from the edge. With all my strength, I yanked her close, pressing her against me as we slid together for a few seconds in a chaotic mess of flailing limbs and screams.

  But somehow, with every ounce of energy left in me, I dragged us both to a safer spot, shoving her behind a snowbank just as the ground beneath us began to crack. Lily was safe. She was safe.

  I collapsed next to her, my breath coming in gasps, my heart still hammering like a wild drum in my chest. I looked up at her, her wide eyes filled with gratitude and relief.

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  I gave her a grin, but I could feel my body going numb from the cold and exhaustion. “That was close, huh?”

  She shook her head, visibly shaken but relieved. “Aria, you—”

  Before she could finish her sentence, I felt the world start tilting. The snow beneath me seemed to tilt with it. I had just enough time to look at Lily, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips, before the ground disappeared beneath me.

  “I had fun, Lil,” I managed to say, the words slipping out almost lazily, as though it was all part of the adventure.

  And then, just like that, gravity had its say. My body jerked forward as I lost balance, the snow beneath me giving way to a drop I hadn’t noticed. My body tumbled down the hill, the cold wind rushing past me as I spiraled helplessly toward the edge.

  I’m falling.

  For a moment, the world blurred. All I could hear was the rush of air and my heartbeat in my ears.

  And yet, I wasn’t scared. It was a wild, reckless feeling. My thoughts were so clear in that moment, like a final burst of clarity before everything went dark. This is how it’s meant to be. How heroic.

  This is my death. How... awesome.

  I couldn’t help but smile. The thought of it was strangely satisfying. After all, I did save Lily. I could almost hear her telling me how brave I was. How heroic.

  I closed my eyes, my breath escaping as a soft laugh bubbled up from my chest, even though I knew it was probably the last sound I would make.

  Then everything went dark.

  --------------

  As the darkness took over, a voice—low, almost whispering—suddenly filled my mind.

  “So, this is how it ends, Aria Clarke…”

  My heart skipped. Was that... someone talking to me?

  “You chose this path. Both paths. And neither will be easy.”

  It felt... familiar, like the voice had been there all along, just waiting for the right moment.

  “Your story is just beginning.”

  The world around me was slipping away, but somehow, I could still hear it—his voice—clear as day.

  “I told you, Aria. This adventure was never going to be simple.”

  I couldn’t respond. But deep inside, the words slipped from my lips anyway.

  “Both.”

  And then, silence.