The ambient moisture in the superheated air, the very oxygen feeding the flames, instantly flash-froze. A shockwave of pure, blinding white frost exploded outward from Kaelus's lips in a 360-degree radial blast.
CRACK-SHATTER!
The flames were snuffed out in a second, replaced by towering, jagged spires of pitch-black ice that erupted from the obsidian paving stones.
The heat evaporated, instantly replaced by an arctic chill that dropped the temperature of the courtyard by a hundred degrees in a single heartbeat.
The Fire Mages, completely caught off guard by the overwhelming density of the Archduke's aura, staggered backward. The frost coated their crimson robes, extinguishing the glowing runes on their staves.
Several of them slipped and fell onto the slick, ice-coated cobblestones, their teeth chattering violently.
