Her foot slipped. The crowd gasped as she crashed to her knees, breath knocking out of her lungs. Before she could scramble upright, ice spiraled upward from the ground, clasping her ankles like shackles forged by the gods themselves.
"No!" Blazar clawed at the ice, her breath sharp and furious. "Let me go!"
Gasps and murmurs rippled through the onlookers. The soldiers who had been trying to contain the earlier fight stiffened, their eyes darting between the governor's daughter and the towering figure who had just stepped into the circle.
The spoiled young lady, still red in the cheeks from Blazar's slap, suddenly found courage now that power had arrived. She pointed a trembling but smug finger toward Blazar. "Yes, punish her!" she shouted shrilly. "She dared to raise her hand against me. Show her her place, Your Majesty! Show us your justice!"
All eyes turned to Kaelric, the Ice King.
