Then something changed.
The cold came first.
Not the cold produced by her own magic, but something infinitely greater, heavy enough that even Krissia could feel the difference.
The temperature dropped so rapidly that the water scattered across the beach froze before it could even fully touch the ground.
The sky darkened.
Krissia raised her head.
A gigantic shadow was moving through the clouds.
It took her only a second to understand what she was seeing.
A dragon.
Not a creature resembling a dragon, nor one of the many lesser species carrying small traces of draconic blood.
A true dragon.
Colossal.
Covered in pale blue scales so bright they looked as though they had been carved from ice.
Its enormous wings opened over the coast.
Frozen crystals broke away from them with every movement, shining against the light before disappearing into the air.
