ALEXIS
The Queen of Air and Darkness stepped forward first—tall and elegant, wrapped in shadows that moved like living things. Her beauty burned my eyes, terrible and perfect. Frost formed on my eyelashes and crystallized in my hair as she smiled—a cold, perfect thing that promised endless winter and eternal night.
Frost bloomed across our bedroom walls with each word she spoke, crystallizing the air until each breath scraped my lungs raw. I lay trapped in our bed, sheets still sticky with birth blood, my body a battlefield of pain and adrenaline. Against my chest, Eron's tiny form radiated warmth that pushed back against the encroaching chill, his starlight nature pulsing in frightened waves that matched my racing heart.
"A blood debt must be paid." Her voice chimed like icicles shatte
