It hit her like a slap from all sides. The cold was brutal--not brisk, not refreshing, but shocking, sharp as broken glass. Her lungs seized on instinct, locking her chest tight. For a terrifying second, her body forgot how to breathe. The river wasn't just wet--it was ice, dragging, biting, punching the air from her like she'd fallen into another world.

Her paddle vanished.

Her sense of direction with it.

She twisted under the surface, arms flailing, heart hammering somewhere behind her ribs.

Then--light. Air.

She broke the surface, gasping, coughing violently, eyes wild. She tried to scream but only choked. Her limbs were numb and clumsy, as if her...