The palace was quiet in a way that felt controlled, not peaceful.
Jasmina couldn’t sleep.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw it again.
The alley.
The movement.
And that moment— when everything turned cold.
She sat up slowly, then stepped out of her room for air.
The corridor was dim, lit by soft lamps.
She walked a few steps— then stopped.
A presence ahead.
Still.
Waiting.
The same man she kept seeing in the palace.
The cold man.
Jasmina exhaled lightly.
“You again.”
“You move at strange hours,” he replied.
“That sounds like a complaint,” she said.
“It is observation,” he corrected.
Silence followed.
Not tense.
Just controlled.
He studied her for a moment longer than usual.
Then spoke.
“The market incident.”
Jasmina’s expression didn’t change immediately.
But her fingers tightened slightly at her side.
“I already told you,” she said.
“It was a crowded place. People panicked.”
“That is not what I saw,” he replied.
A pause.
His voice stayed calm.
“In the alley,” he continued, “there was contact.”
Jasmina looked at him. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“There was no contact.”
He didn’t respond right away.
Then—
“There was,” he said.
“And then ice.”
Silence hit differently this time.
Jasmina’s eyes sharpened slightly.
But she didn’t speak.
He continued, precise.
“A burst of ice. Instant. Controlled enough to stop movement, not destroy structure.”
Another pause.
“You did not run,” he added.
“You reacted.”
Jasmina exhaled slowly.
“You’re mistaken.”
“No,” he said.
“I am not.”
That word hung in the air.
Jasmina looked away briefly, then back at him.
“It was a survival reaction,” she said carefully.
“People do things when they’re cornered.”
His gaze didn’t shift.
“That level of reaction is not normal.”
Silence stretched again.
Not emotional.
Just analysis.
He stepped slightly closer—not threatening, just precise.
“I am not asking for explanation,” he said.
“I am confirming reality.”
Jasmina frowned.
“And what reality is that supposed to be?”
“That you produced ice,” he said simply.
That was the first time the air felt heavier.
Jasmina didn’t answer immediately.
Because denying it now would sound like agreement.
And confirming it would mean something else entirely. New chapters come out on g.com first.
So she stayed silent.
He observed that silence carefully.
Then spoke again.
“This is why your route is being adjusted.”
Jasmina’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“My route?”
“Closer to outer border observation paths,” he said.
She frowned.
“That has nothing to do with the alley.”
“It has everything to do with it,” he replied.
A pause.
“You are an unknown factor inside a controlled system,” he said.
“And unknown factors require closer observation.”
Jasmina’s voice dropped slightly.
“So I’m a problem now.”
“No,” he said calmly.
“You are unclassified.”
That was worse.
Not accusation.
Just uncertainty.
He stepped back slightly.
“This discussion is not complete,” he said.
Then turned.
And walked away.
Jasmina stood alone in the corridor long after he left.
Her mind stayed on one thing.
Ice.
Something she didn’t fully understand had responded before she could think.
And now— the palace man who never introduced himself had seen it clearly.
Not as fear.
Not as magic.
But as something he intended to study.