Chapter 29 · The Throne Blinks

"You're going to kill them all."

The voice came from behind the ice. A woman's voice, low and sharp, like she'd been waiting centuries to say it.

I yanked my hand back from the throne. The black ice shard was still half-slotted into the armrest, frost crawling up my fingers. The ruin shook. Dust rained from the ceiling. Somewhere above, people were screaming.

"Who the hell are you?" I said.

"The last one who sat there." She pressed her palm against the frozen wall between us. I could see her outline now, blurred through layers of ancient ice. Tall. Sharp shoulders. Hair that might've been white or just frozen solid. "You slotted the key. Now the throne wakes, and the storm answers. Your people have maybe ten minutes before the mountain buries them."

My HUD flashed red. New alerts stacked so fast I could barely read them.

[STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE — 94% probability] [AVALANCHE TRIGGER — active] [Survivor count: 47 remaining] [Morale: 12 / 100 — BREAKING]

I looked at the shard. Then at the tunnel entrance behind me, where I could hear boots pounding, voices shouting my name.

"Pull it out," the woman said, "and the throne sleeps again.