Breaking the World

Kaia's POV... ...

Cold.

Not the gentle cold of winter mornings or moonlit snow—but a crushing, biting cold that wrapped around my chest and pressed inward, stealing breath, thought, memory.

I woke choking.

My lungs burned as I tried to inhale and found resistance instead of air. Ice surrounded me—above me, beneath me, inside me. My fingers twitched, numb and slow, scraping weakly against