The morning air was crisp, sunlight spilling across the sprawling campus of St. Clair University—a place whispered about for its prestige, its power, and its hidden wars among the elite.
Students laughed, gossiped, and hurried across the courtyard, but cutting through the crowd was a figure so still, so composed, that the world seemed to quiet in her wake.
Aira Brown.
Dressed in a sleek black coat, her long hair pulled back neatly, her gaze void of emotion, she moved like an untouchable shadow. No smile. No warmth. Her heels echoed against the marble floor as though each step announced her arrival with cold authority.
"I should find the administration office," she murmured to herself, voice flat, like steel brushing stone.
But fate had other plans.
A sharp thud jolted her as someone bumped into her shoulder.
"Ugh! Watch where you're—" The girl's annoyed words died instantly when she looked up.
Aira's eyes—piercing, unshaken, icy.
"I apologize," Aira said, her tone neither soft nor warm. Just cold. Icy enough to freeze the girl mid-breath.
The girl blinked, unsettled. For the first time in a long time, Valentina Everett didn't know how to reply.
"Woah, sis," a smooth voice called out lazily. A boy with sharp features and a cocky smirk strolled over, hands shoved in his pockets. "Did an ice queen just bump into you?"
"She didn't bump into me," Valentina whispered, her voice low, as if confessing a secret. "I did."
Kai Everett and Valentina Everett—twins born to a dynasty of global fashion power. He was all charm and arrogance; she was elegance wrapped in iron. They ruled with beauty, confidence, and connections. But neither had expected to be thrown off by a stranger's gaze.
Aira didn't stop. Her heels clicked against the floor, each step sharp, each movement precise. She glided down the corridor without a glance back.
More eyes followed.
"Who was that?" A girl muttered, tugging on her boyfriend's sleeve. "She looked like she could kill someone just by blinking."
The boy pulled up his hoodie, leaning back with his usual lazy air. "Whoever she is," he muttered, "she's not someone you mess with."
Rei Nakamura and Bianca Nakamura—siblings tied to Japan's richest underground empire. Rei was silence and mystery, his sharp gaze missing nothing. Bianca was fire, outspoken and sharp-tongued. They thrived on chaos. And even they… were curious.
A low chuckle broke through the murmurs.
"Well, well," a deep, velvet voice drawled. A tall, refined figure leaned casually against a marble pillar, his eyes glittering with dark amusement as he watched Aira vanish. "Looks like our university just got colder."
"I like her," a girl beside him smirked, her lips curving like a blade. "Dangerous. Distant."
Damian Voss and Ivy Voss. The siblings whose reputation was written in blackmail, scandals, and broken rivals. Damian was elegant cruelty; Ivy was venom disguised in charm. They knew power when they saw it—and Aira radiated it without a word.
But then, silence.
Because another voice cut through the air—low, calm, and deliberate.
"And yet," he said, his tone carrying like a quiet storm, "she didn't even flinch."
All eyes turned.
Zane Blackthorn.
The enigma of the elite. No one knew where he came from, how he rose to the top, or why his words carried weight heavier than anyone else's. But when he spoke, people listened.
"Ice melts when touched," Zane said softly, his gaze still fixed on the corner where Aira had disappeared. "But her? I bet even fire would freeze."
The air shifted.
The twins. The Nakamuras. The Voss siblings. Zane.
The untouchable seven of St. Clair University. They were power, they were control, they were legacy. No one challenged them.
Until now.
They all exchanged glances—half wary, half intrigued. For years, they had ruled this campus. But today, something cracked. Something new stirred in the air.
And it had a name.
Aira Brown.
She didn't smile. She didn't falter. She didn't even turn back.
The cold queen had arrived.
And though no one dared admit it out loud, every single one of them felt it in their bones.
The game had just changed.