Frost.
Everything was covered in frost.In late summer, with temperatures that had been warm and pleasant for weeks.
Her breadfruit tree's leaves were blackened and wilting.The elephant ear plant drooped, its pastries frozen solid.The silk tree's delicate blooms were shriveled and dead.
"No," she breathed.
She ran outside barefoot, not caring about the cold.The damage was everywhere.Her trade goods section was devastated, the silk ruined, velvet stiff with ice, soaps cracked from freezing.The kitchen garden had fared better, with hardier plants, but even there, damage was visible.
"How?"she asked Walter, who'd followed her out."It's summer.How is there frost?"
"It's not natural, madam."Walter's voice was grim."Look at the boundary."
She looked.Beyond her shield wall, everything was green and normal.The frost was contained entirely to her property.
Magic.Someone had done this with magic.
"Lyra," she said quietly.
"Almost certainly.Weather magic, localized, timed for maximum damage right before market day."Walter's tail flicked angrily."She knew exactly when to strike."
Wren stood in her ruined garden, shivering in her nightgown, and felt fury rise up to replace the shock.
This was deliberate.Calculated.Mean.
"I'm sending word to Jin," she said.
***
JIN ARRIVED WITHINtwo hours, Kenji with him.They examined the damage and the frost line that stopped exactly at her shield boundary, the unnatural cold, the timing.
"It's weather magic," Jin confirmed."No question.Natural frost doesn't work like this."
"Can you prove it was Lyra?"
"Not directly.Weather magic is her specialty, but other people have it too."His expression was frustrated."And she'll have an alibi.She always does."
"So she just...gets away with it?"
"For now."Jin's voice was hard."But I'll talk to her.Make it clear we know what happened.Sometimes that's enough to make someone back off."
It wasn't enough, Wren thought.But what choice did she have?
The financial impact was significant.She'd lost most of her prepared trade goods, easily twenty silver worth of product destroyed.It would take time to regrow, and some plants like the silk tree might not produce again for weeks.
"I’m sorry," Jin offered."It’s a painful loss, but you can recover."
"It’s just so pointless!What a waste."Stupid Lyra.
After they left, she spent the day cleaning up damage, salvaging what she could, and replanting.The work was exhausting and disheartening, but beneath the frustration, determination grew.
Lyra wanted to destroy her.Fine.Wren would rebuild, and it would be even better than before.
