The freezing air hit my lungs with a sharp, biting sting.
Around me, thirty-seven figures formed out of shimmering light into the white blizzard.
The howling wind came at once, throwing fine snow across the stone ledge and stinging any exposed skin. Almost instantly, low groans, chattering teeth, and sharp breaths broke out through the ranks as the real weight of the below-freezing cold set in.
"God, where are we? It's so cold," Roan muttered, wrapping both arms tight against his chest and stomping his boots into the packed snow. "They weren't kidding about ninety-five percent sensory transfer."
"Yeah. It feels real enough," Alice said smoothly. Her crimson hair whipped wildly around her face in the wind, but her posture stayed straight.
Before Roan could pull his collar up higher, Alice reached out with two fingers, grabbed the back of his forearm where his sleeve had slipped up, and pinched the bare skin with a hard, deliberate twist.
