Ava gritted her teeth hard and yanked with force.
The hoodie came free with a sharp rip there, fabric tearing as frost cracked off in chunks everywhere. Her back screamed in protest—more from stiffness than pain really. Her breath hitched, but she bit it back hard. There was no time to hesitate now at all.
The wind outside had changed completely. She could hear it through the cracked window clearly: thinner, colder… accompanied by a sound she dreaded hearing.
Scrapes echoing.
Low moans groaning.
A dragging gait that was all too familiar to her.
Frostborn coming.
They were coming back again.
She didn't know if it was the noise she'd made, the brief disturbance, or just bad luck—but something had drawn them in again completely. The thin layer of peace she'd felt upstairs was vanishing like mist in morning sun slowly.
