Chapter 5 : Ice in my Veins
Milk. Sweet, warm, safe. That’s what it was supposed to be.
Mother even checked it herself, her finger brushing the rim of the cup before she nodded. “Just right.”
But the moment it touched my lips—pain.
It burned, hotter than boiling water, scalding my tongue and throat. My eyes watered instantly. I gagged, coughing, but I couldn’t push the cup away with these tiny baby hands.
Somewhere behind me, I caught the faint shimmer of mana. The maid. Standing too far, face too calm. Her fingers twitched with a faint glow.
She had heated it. Deliberately.
My tiny body screamed in panic. My vision blurred with tears. And then—instinct.
Cold surged up my throat. A shiver rolled down my arms, and with a sharp squeak, frost bloomed across the cup. The scalding milk froze halfway to my tongue, instantly cooling into safe warmth.
[Ice Magic – Unlocked.]The pain faded. I gasped, panting, as the cup rattled in my hands.[Condition to evolve: sustain elemental control without collapse.]
Selene’s sharp intake of breath was louder than my cry. Her eyes widened, then immediately snapped to the maid.
SLAP!
The sound cracked through the room like thunder. The maid staggered, clutching her cheek, eyes wide.
“The first time,” Selene’s voice trembled, shaking with rage, “I forgave you. I told myself it was carelessness.” She stepped forward, every word sharper than a dagger. “But twice? Twice you scald my son?”
The maid stammered, but Selene’s hand cut the air. “You are dismissed. Now.”
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The woman fled, nearly tripping over her own skirts in terror.
Silence.
Selene turned back to me, her chest rising and falling. Her eyes brimmed with tears—not of fear, not even of anger. Of awe.
She scooped me up, pressing me to her chest, voice breaking as she whispered into my hair.
“…My son. My little Rooga. You used magic.”
Her tears dripped onto my cheek as she cradled me tighter, laughing and crying at once.
I squirmed in her arms, wanting to tell her: It was nothing. Just instinct. Don’t cry.
But all that came out was a baby’s gurgle.
She kissed my forehead over and over. “No, Rooga… it wasn’t nothing. It was everything.”
And for once, even I didn’t mind her tears.
The next evening, the house was heavy.
Not from arguments this time, but from silence.
Darius sat at the table, his jaw clenched, eyes like sharpened steel. Papers lay scattered in front of him—letters, reports, scribbled notes. His calloused hand crushed one sheet into a fist.
Selene stood near the window, arms folded, her gaze distant. I lay in my cradle, pretending to be asleep. (Baby perk: no one questions your eavesdropping.)
Finally, Darius spoke, his voice low and dangerous.
“The maid. She wasn’t just careless. She was placed here.”
Selene’s shoulders stiffened. “…Placed?”
His eyes narrowed.
“I’ve confirmed it. She was in the pocket of House Keldrin. They wanted her to sabotage us. Poison, fire, scalding milk—it doesn’t matter. The goal was to weaken us, piece by piece. To make sure the Valemonts never rise again.”
Selene’s hands tightened against her sleeves. For a heartbeat, I thought she’d tell him—tell him about the ice, about my first spell. But then her eyes flickered toward me, lying still in the crib.
She swallowed the words. “…Then we were lucky you caught it.”
Darius leaned back, exhaling through his nose like a warhorse. “If luck’s what you call it. They want me gone. They want this family gone. That maid was just one knife among many.”
He pushed the papers aside and stood, his hand gripping the sword at his hip. “Let them come. I’ll cut down anyone who dares touch what’s mine.”
Selene’s lips trembled. She turned her face away so he wouldn’t see the tear threatening her eye. “…And if their knives don’t aim for you, Darius? If they aim for our children instead?”
He didn’t answer.
The silence stretched, sharp as a blade.
Finally, Selene turned back, her smile brittle but steady. “Then I’ll protect them with everything I have.”
Her hand brushed the cradle’s edge, fingers ghosting over my blanket. For a moment, her eyes softened—knowing, secretive. She wasn’t thinking of swords. She was thinking of frost and flame.
I kept my face blank, breathing slow, pretending I was asleep. Inside, though, I thought: So even in this life, politics is poison. Good thing I’ve got my HUD.