ANGELICA POV
Hella basked in the thrill of it.
Of being seen. Of being feared. Of being finally, irrevocably known.
She spread her wings and let out a roar that shook the pines around the lake, a deep, primal sound that rolled over the ice like a promise of fury. And then—she exhaled. Fire spilled from her mouth in a sweeping arc, white-hot and wild, melting the thick sheet of ice that coated Great Bear Lake.
The heat turned the frozen air into steam. Cracks spidered across the surface with a sickening crunch, water bubbling and hissing up from underneath as the old, stubborn ice gave way. The frozen mirror shattered into a thousand glistening shards, and the lake groaned in response, like it was waking up from a long, bitter sleep.
“Show-off,” I muttered in her head, but I wasn’t mad
