Chapter 1
It was freezing. Not the, 'Oh, it's a little chilly in here' kind of cold, not even the 'Wow, it's snowing' kind of cold. Anna knew what cold was.
This was not cold.
She was frozen in place, only able to see the bright stars above her. She wasn't even breathing because her entire being was stuck into place. It was a terrible feeling of suffocation and she was trying to struggle out of her encasement – but how could she? The answer was obvious: she couldn't.
That's why she was absolutely shocked when she felt warmth. She felt it first in her fingertips and in her peripheral vision it looked like a flame was being held over her. Soon, she could move her fingers but they were still numb, a sensation Anna wasn't used to. Her arms followed, then her stomach, legs, eyes. The blue glaze over her eyes disappeared and the minute her legs were thawed she fell to the floor, unable to support herself.
She grabbed her leg in horror, the pain nearly unbearable. She put one hand to her chest, the only part of her that had yet to melt… her heart felt like it wasn't beating and she was sure that if it remained frozen, she would surely die. Anna's head snapped up when she saw a bright light in front of her and she wheezed for breath, unable to get enough oxygen.
Her eyes finally focused and she could see clearly now that a flame was extended in midair in front of her, only about two feet off the ground so it was staring her in the face. Anna finally ran out of the willpower to breathe so she used the rest of her energy to reach out to the beautiful orange flame, nearly touching it.
With lightning speed, it raced up Anna's arm and shot straight through her chest into her heart.
Anna screamed out in pain, scratching at her chest in an attempt to get the flame out. Her whole body was on fire, igniting her veins and causing an unearthly orange glow to come from her skin. Anna was no longer numb because she could feel everything, including the boiling sensation occurring inside of her body.
"Stop!" she screamed.
And it did.
Anna breathed heavily, her eyes filled with almost-tears. She put her hands to her heart, glad that the boiling sensation was gone. She was still warm – abnormally warm, actually – but it was better than the horrible feeling of fire in her blood. She let herself fall back into the grass and she became curious when she saw the moon nearly directly above. Then, Anna shot upwards onto her feet because something absolutely peculiar happened –
The moon spoke to her.
