Ashvale was quiet that morning—too quiet. The usual stir of markets, the laughter of children darting through alleys, even the whispers of rebellion seemed smothered by a creeping chill.
Kael noticed it first. His breath misted in the air as he walked through the slums with Mira, scouting the roads for Dominion patrols. The stones beneath his boots glistened with frost that had no business existing under the summer sun.
Mira frowned, crouching to touch the ice. “This isn’t natural.”
A scream tore through the street ahead.
Kael sprinted forward, Mira at his heels. They burst into a courtyard where villagers huddled in terror. At the center stood a man cloaked in pale blue, his skin almost translucent, his eyes like shards of frozen glass. Every breath he took left frost trailing in the
