Chapter Forty-Four

The fortress shivered as Ethan and Selene came to the expanding entrance, their hearts beating with a blend of fear and bravery. The sky outside was a whirling mass of obscurity, punctuated by flashes of ghostly, unnatural light. The storm that had lingered on the skyline for so long now appeared to be merging on a single point, the epicenter of which was straightforwardly over them.

"We need to find Clara," Ethan said, his voice firm in spite of the uneasiness chewing at his intestine. He knew that time was slipping through their fingers like sand, and anything Clara was preparing, they had to stop her before it became late.

Selene nodded, her expression set with steely resolve. "Whatever she's doing, it's influencing the storm. If by any chance she succeeds, there's no telling what will happen."

They ventured out into the storm, the wind whipping at their dress and pulling at their hair. The land around the fortress was unrecognizable, the once-lush forest now a bent, fruitless no