The secret path was a narrow fissure in the rock, barely wide enough for a person to squeeze through. Elara followed Kaelen, the glow from her hand acting as their only lantern in the suffocating darkness. Behind them, the sound of heavy iron boots and shouting voices echoed through the main chamber. The Council's scouts had entered the cavern.
"Faster," Kaelen hissed, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade. "If they reach the altar and find the crystal gone, they will collapse the entire mountain to bury us."
Elara's heart hammered against her ribs. "How did they find us so quickly? My grandfather said this place was hidden for centuries!"
"The crystal's pulse was like a beacon in the night," Kaelen replied without looking back. "Every sorcerer within a hundred miles felt its awakening. You didn't just wake a stone, Elara; you woke a war."
They reached a wooden door at the end of the tunnel, ancient and rotting. Kaelen kicked it open, and the freezing night air hit Elara like a physical blow. They were standing on a ledge halfway down the mountain, with a sheer drop below and the dark forest stretching out for miles.
"We have to jump," Kaelen said, looking down into the mist.
Elara stared at him in disbelief. "Are you insane? It's too high!"
"Trust the power in your veins," he whispered as the sounds of pursuit grew louder behind them. "The prophecy didn't bring you here to die on a mountainside."