Western Region of the Empire — Four Days from the Capital
What was once a serene lake had frozen over into a vast, glassy expanse of ice. The sun cast a muted glow over its surface, reflecting pale light onto the figure that stood alone in its center.
Shina Mariposa—known across the Empire as the Frost Queen—stood motionless, half of her body encased in frost-armored plating she had crafted herself. In her right hand, she held a jagged ice spear, its shape raw and imperfect, as if summoned in the heat of battle and never refined.
At her feet lay a woman—unmoving, lifeless. A familiar face, last seen in the gathering of the Bloodminers' inner circle.
Two spears of ice had pierced the woman's back, freezing over the crimson that had once spilled freely. Now, it formed a macabre bloom beneath her on the icy surface.
Shina looked down at the corpse with impassive eyes. Her voice, low and frostbitten, broke the silence.
"If you had chosen cooperation over pride, I might've granted you a gentler death—one that numbed instead of bled." She tilted her head slightly, as if observing a flawed painting. "But pride wastes time. And time only favors the prepared."
The wind whispered across the frozen lake, carrying with it silence and judgment. Shina turned away, her spear dissolving into vapor as her grip loosened.
One less threat.
The Bloodminers had just grown weaker.
Shina walked away with a cold grace, her footsteps barely disturbing the frozen surface beneath her. The wind shifted, and from the whitened horizon emerged a broad-shouldered figure clad in dark fur and reinforced leather—Bruto, her loyal vice-captain.
He knelt lightly as she paused.
"I have news," he said. "As per your orders, I sent a scout team to the guild building affiliated with Canis Majoris. They arrived two nights ago."
Shina's gaze sharpened. "And?"
"No signs of life. The building has remained sealed. No lights, no movement. He's not there."
A flicker of thought crossed Shina's face. Her expression remained unreadable, but something behind her eyes stirred.
"Gone?" she murmured. "Did he anticipate this?"
She turned slightly, voice now tinged with suspicion.
"Did he sense that I was getting too close… and flee?"
She looked to the side, toward the shadowed trees at the edge of the lake, her mind moving swiftly.
"If he were innocent," she continued, voice lower now, "why would he need to hide?"
The silence that followed was cold and telling. Then, her tone turned to command.
"Dispatch ten of our Soldiers," she said to Bruto without looking at him. "Track him—but do it quietly. I don't want Canis Majoris to know we're watching."
Bruto nodded once, silently, and vanished back into the frostbitten air with a purpose etched into his stride.
Shina remained for a moment longer, her breath fogging lightly in the winter air.
"Run, if you want," she whispered. "It only makes me wonder what you're running from."
{Chapter 15 end}