Lady Collfumes' POV

  I finally knew.

  The curse that killed King Domestan.

  Aria Windcore... Did she know the truth? The truth that stole her husband’s last breath? Her banishment was a grave mistake—a misstep carved by that arrogant Ice Judge, so blinded by his own sense of righteousness. Glacia’s justice system—fractured, diseased—had failed her.

  Now, everything was unraveling: Aerol’s death, Felipe’s corruption, Arie’s impending ruin. My gift of dream vision means nothing if I do nothing.

  Why her? Why does it have to be Arie? I try to convince myself it’s just a dream, a figment of dread born from the shadows of sleep, but I can’t escape it. The truth gnaws at me, relentless. She’s alive.

  That should bring relief. It should. But for those of us who see, it’s a revelation soaked in dread. Among seers, her survival is controversial—a spark threatening to ignite something far darker. Felipe’s rule is spreading its rot through everything, and Arie… Arie is the key. I have to find her. I must.

  The cold wind clawed at my face as the forest grew denser, the moonlight fracturing through tangled branches like desperate fingers hiding the distant Greatspire Mountains. It had been two days since I left Glacia’s crystalline, frozen expanse behind. Now, mud clung to the ground like decay, and only the ice bills I carried had made this journey possible.

  The eerie stillness pressed against me, a weight that made the chill seep deeper into my bones. A shiver coiled through my spine as the carriage wheels groaned beneath me.

  Then, the horse halted abruptly, its snort loud in the oppressive silence. I froze, my heart hammering. Before I could react, the coachman turned, his movement unnaturally fast, his face hidden in shadow.

  And then he lunged.

  My breath caught as something cold and sharp pressed into my neck, and before I could even scream, his fangs sank into my skin.

  A flash of agony shot through me, freezing my body in place. I fought, but my limbs felt like stone, the strength draining from my very core. A coldness deeper than the night itself swept over me, consuming everything—my will, my vision, my very sense of self. The carriage walls blurred and spun as I crumpled into the cold embrace of darkness.

  ***

  Skymint's POV

  Another exhausting morning lay ahead, but this time it was different. I had a responsibility now—to protect Arie. And it was impossible to dismiss it. I just hoped she was doing fine with Chillbi. Sleep had eluded me last night; the worry gnawed at me, a constant thought that something bad could happen to her at any moment.

  At dawn, I visited the igloo and found her already awake. Before leaving, I attached her ice camera to the igloo’s exterior, a small reassurance in her absence. I promised to return after finishing my work in the afternoon.

  “Skymint, you look pale today,” Llanova remarked, setting his mug on the garden table.

  “Today? Isn’t white always pale?” I chuckled, my eyes drifting to the snow-covered plants.

  “Not your fur,” he replied with a pointed look. “I mean your face—it’s like it’s been tainted by my milk.”

  I raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Don’t get me started on how you look tainted by cream.” My laugh was light, but I couldn’t tell if his expression was more annoyed or genuinely concerned.

  “Skymint—”

  I cut him off before he could probe further. “Yesterday, my soup vanished.”

  “You ran into the robbery dove?” His eyebrows lifted in disbelief.

  “Yes,” I lied smoothly, unwilling to share the real scenario. “On my way home, it swooped in, and suddenly my pouch was gone.”

  “That’s unfortunate,” he said with a sympathetic nod. “So that’s why your sister got mad—she thought you ate it.”

  I nodded, eager to steer the conversation elsewhere. Llanova had a talent for piecing things together, often getting uncomfortably close to the truth. I didn’t like lying, especially to my best friend. But if protecting Arie meant keeping secrets, then so be it.

  “We should get going,” I said, rising from the bench and gazing at the ocean just a few steps away.

  Llanova finished his milk and followed me. The sunlight caught his fur, highlighting its orangey undertones. The morning air breezed past, its crispness evident in its scent. But I didn’t feel it—not because of my ice elemental fruit’s cold resistance, but because of my hardened skin. My passive ability never switched off, not even when I’d tried to comfort Arie.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  As we left the garden where we usually ate breakfast, my eyes caught sight of the pier. Three Wolfmen traders stood there, clad in dark red cloaks. Llanova and I stepped from the snow onto the wooden planks leading to our boats. Their eyes turned to me, glinting with a peculiar secrecy.

  “What can we offer you, handsome Polarman?” the female trader asked, making Llanova raise an eyebrow.

  I glanced at the locked crate she stood beside. “Do you have any fruit cubes?”

  “We do,” she said with a sly smile. “But first, show us what you can trade.”

  I hesitated. I couldn’t risk showing my fruit cube. Changing it meant losing my mastery over my current fruit, and that cost was too high. “Unfortunately, I don’t have anything valuable yet. I just wanted to take a look.” I offered a grin, feeling the offense simmering beneath their stoic expressions.

  “That’s unfair. You might be a plunderer,” another trader muttered, his tone accusing.

  “Oh, I’m not,” I said, gesturing to Llanova. “My friend here can prove it.”

  Llanova held up his hand, revealing a golden ring set with an orange gemstone.

  Their eyes gleamed with awe. “The gemstone of heat resistance,” the female trader breathed.

  The bulky trader at the back unlocked the crate and dragged it forward with heavy arms. Inside were dozens of shiny black cubes, each etched with a glowing symbol. The symbols shimmered in different colors, each representing the color of the fruit stored inside the fruit cube.

  Then, something caught my eye. Among the glowing cubes was one that emitted a purple light, outlining its round symbol. Inside the circle, small glowing dots formed a scattered, almost hypnotic pattern, mimicking seeds. I sensed that it might be a rare dark elemental fruit because the temptation was magnetic, pulling me toward it.

  Before I could act, Llanova reached for it first.

  “That’s a superior one,” the slim trader said with an appreciative nod.

  “Would you trade your little gem for it?” the female trader asked, her voice dripping with persuasion.

  Llanova hesitated, the fruit cube resting in his palm. “My gem holds a lot of value to me. I don’t want to lose it… yet.” Slowly, he placed the cube back into the crate.

  “Are you sure?” she pressed. “Someone else might trade for this power, and it’ll be gone forever.”

  The male trader opened his mouth to offer something else, but Llanova cut him off. “I’ve made up my mind.”

  He glanced at me, a silent signal to end this interaction before they tried to push more of their enchanted trinkets on us.

  “Just remember,” the female trader said, her tone charming yet unsettling, “you’re always welcome here.” She winked and let her fingers linger on Llanova’s ring.

  My gaze shifted to the muscular trader’s wrist. A silver bracelet gleamed there—the same kind I now noticed on the other two. The slim trader handed me a coin, brushing my hardened palm as he did so.

  Their smiles lingered, unsettling in their forced friendliness, as though they were trying too hard to seem human.

  Climbing into my boat, I noticed Arie’s ice engine had melted, just as she’d said it would. Ice elements always melted without their summoner nearby—the closer the summoner, the longer the ice endured. I didn’t mind explaining my boat’s upgrade to Llanova, though he didn’t need to know it wasn’t my doing.

  Until now, I haven’t pieced together what led Arie to be buried deep beneath the Glacia Trench. She insists it’s not time for me to know, and I respect her choice—for now.

  It couldn’t have been Felipe. If it were him, she would’ve been burned, not frozen.

  I stared at the coin in my palm, the wolf’s head carved into its surface glinting under the sunlight. Without hesitation, I hurled it into the vast ocean, watching it vanish beneath the waves.

  ***

  Arie’s POV

  I closed my eyes, focusing on the connection to the ice camera perched atop the door. Slowly, my blank vision filled with a cool, crystalline blue. The igloos outside came into view, surrounded by snow-laden pine trees. Polarmen passed by, some chatting with easy smiles, while others worked or played. The warmth in their interactions made my chest ache with longing.

  Claudius’s words surfaced in my mind: "It would be great to meet a village of polar bears." We had always dreamed of this, and now I had achieved it. But at what cost? I could only observe from a distance, unable to join them, speak to them, or even reveal myself. Isolation weighed heavily on me. I tried to find solace in the presence of a companion who could only manage three-word phrases.

  My attention caught on a little cub standing in the snowy path, her bubbly eyes fixed on the ice camera. She stood motionless, her dress fluttering in the morning breeze, and waved as if she could see me. For a moment, unease rippled through me—how could she possibly know what the camera was? Only Glacians were familiar with Ice Technologies.

  Then I remembered what Skymint had shared last night. His sister babysat cubs from a wealthy Polarman family that once lived in the Glacia Kingdom before Felipe’s invasion.

  It had to be her.

  “Tundra!” Snowgale’s voice cut through the morning air.

  Snowgale took the cub’s hand and led her away. Relief washed over me. Skymint must’ve explained the camera’s purpose beforehand, sparing me from suspicion.

  Skymint told me he works until dusk, his sister’s earnings unable to cover the ice bills needed for their towering debt. Though he didn’t explain its source, I suspect it might be tied to his mother’s treatment in the past.

  Before leaving, he prepared lunch for me. I disconnected from the ice camera and moved to the cold, pale-blue desk.

  Still, the isolation clawed at me. There had to be a way to communicate with the Polarmen without exposing myself as the Ice Princess—or worse, the presumed-dead princess. My gaze fell on a pile of thin wooden sheets stacked against a nearby igloo. An idea struck me, risky but worth a try.

  ***

  Nightfall came, and the village grew quiet. Against the chill of Skymint’s warning echoing in my mind, I slipped out of the igloo. Guilt pressed heavily on my shoulders, but Chillbi’s earlier encouragement reassured me. The moonlight bathed my hooded figure as I moved silently through the stillness. The faint rustle of leaves accompanied my steps toward the wooden sheets I’d noticed earlier.

  I darted forward and reached for one of the sheets, but I froze as a small figure emerged from beneath the slanted pile. My pulse quickened. How had I missed this?

  The cub stared at me with wide, curious eyes, his face slowly draining of color. Panic flickered across his expression before he bolted toward the housing area of the village.

  My heart sank.

  How could I have been so careless? The frightened look in his eyes said it all—he’d seen me, and to him, I must have looked like a ghost. It wouldn’t take long before rumors spread that the Ice Princess was alive.

  I hurried back to Skymint’s igloo, my mind racing. This was bad. Very bad.

  To calm my nerves, I focused on forming ice in my hands, the cool sensation grounding me. The delicate lines of frost spiraled outward, a demonstration of my mastery over Ice Technology—a skill few could replicate. But it wasn’t enough to distract me from the memory of the cub’s expression.

  His wide, terrified eyes lingered, a haunting reminder of what I had just risked.