Lucy's next breath billowed like smoke, her teeth stinging from the chill. The ice didn't go unnoticed; if she moved beyond two meters she'd run the risk of slipping. But Lucy didn't need to move right now.

The ice shards stopped dead in the air, caught by a resonant field. It dropped them in a cascade of crystal, except four—they rotated back until their points were aimed at Mateus, and the vectors holding them threw them right back with almost as much force.