Frost hissed across the cedar veranda like a nest of silver snakes.
The planks shrieked as moisture trapped in the grain flashed to solid ice. Cold air rolled off Mina’s small shoulders in thick, milky waves.
Kaelen caught her elbows before her knees could buckle. His own sleeves stiffened instantly, white frost crusting along the cuffs.
Mina’s teeth chattered, but her dark eyes stayed clear.
“Kaelen,” she whispered, her breath freezing into tiny crystals that clattered against the wood. “My chest feels like an iron bucket full of snow.”
“Keep breathing,” Kaelen said. “Don’t try to clamp it down.”
Of course my peaceful afternoon tea gets canceled by an ancient bloodline, Kaelen thought. I swear, this family cannot go twenty-four hours without someone’s internal organs threatening to freeze or explode.
The frost cascaded down the stone stairs in a roaring wave of pale rime. The garden path turned slick as grease in two heartbeats.
