The growl returned.
Low. Resonant. Not from any beast Kael or Elira had known. It vibrated through the mist like a living pulse.
Elira's grip on the ice sled tightened. She could feel the pressure, not on her skin, but in her thoughts. A presence brushing against her mind.
Kael stirred. He couldn't fight. Could barely speak. But his instincts flared, raw, defensive.
Then, the mist shifted.
Figures emerged.
Tall. Slender. Humanoid, but not human.
They moved like smoke and shadow, limbs fluid and indistinct. Their faces were smooth, featureless, except for eyes, deep black voids that pulled in the light.
But it wasn't their appearance that froze Elira in place.
It was their voice.
Not spoken. Not aloud.
Thought.
"You are not of this realm."
Elira gasped, her arms curling protectively around the twins.
Kael clenched his jaw. "We mean no harm."
The creatures moved closer, gliding without sound.
"Harm is not yours to decide."
A sudden spike of pressure in Elira's mind, like unseen fingers rifling through her memories. She staggered, magic flaring at her fingertips.
"Elemental. Cold. Controlled. Primitive."
Kael winced. He felt it too. A probing. Searching.
"And this one," another voice echoed. "Broken. Touched by something forbidden."
Then, all at once, the pressure vanished.
The creatures turned to the twins.
Silence fell.
The mist quieted.
And then, they stepped back.
"Survive if you can, outsiders."
The Watchers vanished into the fog, like ripples fading into a still lake.
Elira fell to her knees, breath ragged.
Kael's hands shook.
Whatever those things were, they had seen something in the children.
And they had chosen to let them live.