Page 13 of Frostforge: Passage Two

There — a spot where the metal sang a different note, almost imperceptibly.She pressed gently, not forcing but encouraging, the way she'd coax reluctant plants to release their properties.

A soft, pulsing glow spread from the center of the core, flickering like a heartbeat.The magic wasn't being pushed into motion — it was answering her call.The glow surged, forming distinct patterns across the metal surface as the core awakened fully, its light steadier now, a cool blue radiance that illuminated her hands from below.

"Stop."Instructor Wolfe's voice cut through the forge's clamor.The hammering ceased abruptly, and all eyes turned to the instructor — then followed her gaze to Thalia, still sitting cross-legged on the floor, the awakened core pulsing with light in her hands.

Wolfe approached, her expression unreadable.She crouched before Thalia and held out her hand.Reluctantly, feeling somehow protective of the core she'd awakened, Thalia placed it in the instructor's palm.

Wolfe stood and lifted the core high, its blue light casting her features in sharp relief."Observe," she commanded."Greenspire has succeeded where you all continue to fail."

The words should have filled Thalia with pride, but instead, a chill ran down her spine as she became aware of the eyes upon her — not just Wolfe's approving gaze, but the stares of her classmates.There was no admiration there, no camaraderie or congratulations.Only suspicion.Hatred.The Northern students glared at her with expressions that ranged from disbelief to outright disdain.

"How did you do it?"Wolfe asked, her voice carrying in the suddenly silent forge.

Thalia rose to her feet, uncomfortable with looking up at everyone from her seated position."I...I listened to it."The words sounded foolish as soon as they left her mouth."The core has channels for the magic to flow.It doesn't need force or outside magic — it just needs to be awakened to resonate with the magic already inside it."

Wolfe nodded slowly."Precisely."She returned the core to Thalia."The heart of a golem contains all the magic it will ever need.Our task is not to fill it with power, but to set that power in motion."She addressed the class again."Return to your attempts with this understanding."

As the others reluctantly turned back to their cores, Wolfe leaned closer to Thalia."Impressive, Greenspire.Few grasp the principle so quickly."

The rare praise should have warmed her, but Thalia could feel the resentment emanating from the students around them.She'd violated some unspoken rule — a Southerner wasn't supposed to succeed where Northerners struggled, especially not in an art they considered their birthright.

"Thank you, Instructor," she said quietly, clutching her awakened core.

Wolfe gave her a considering look."At the end of class, we'll install the successful cores into their constructs.Yours will be first."She turned away, moving to assist a student whose aggressive cryomancy attempts were causing their core to frost over dangerously.

Thalia glanced around the forge.One by one, her classmates' eyes slid away from her, but not before she caught the hardness in their expressions.

She looked down at the glowing core in her hands, its rhythmic pulse like a second heartbeat.Success at Frostforge, she was learning, came with its own dangers.But as she gazed at the awakened heart, feeling the magic thrumming in harmony with her own, Thalia couldn't bring herself to regret it.

Even if it made her more of an outsider than ever before.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Thalia emerged from the forge, her fingers still tingling with residual magic from animating the golem heart.The memory of metal coming to life under her touch glowed inside her like an ember, warming her against the perpetual chill of Frostforge's stone corridors.Then she spotted a familiar figure ahead — a mess of dark curls hastily tied back, shoulders that moved with a particular confident swagger she'd recognize anywhere.Roran.Finally back at Frostforge.Without thinking, she quickened her pace, fatigue forgotten.

"Roran!"she called, weaving between clusters of students who clogged the corridor like boulders in a stream.Several turned to stare, their faces creasing with disapproval at her outburst, but Thalia ignored them.

The figure ahead paused mid-stride, then half-turned.When Roran's face came into view, Thalia's smile widened.She'd missed that face — the way his dark eyes always seemed to hold a secret joke, the permanent hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth.

"Where have you been?"she demanded, slightly breathless as she caught up to him."You're over a week late.Ashe said you were held up at a checkpoint.I thought you might have —" She stopped herself, not wanting to voice the myriad possibilities that had kept her awake some nights.

But instead of the easy grin she expected, or some teasing retort about her worrying for nothing, Roran's expression darkened.The muscles in his jaw tightened, and he glanced quickly at the students passing by.

"Not here," he said, his voice low and clipped.He started walking again, faster than before.

Thalia blinked, thrown by his reaction.In the months she'd known Roran last year, she'd rarely seen him anything but relaxed, even in the face of the academy's brutal training regimen.She hurried to match his stride, confusion and concern battling within her.

"Are you all right?"she asked, lowering her voice to match his serious tone.

Roran's steps faltered briefly.He ran a hand over his face, his shoulders rising and falling with a deep breath.Something in his posture shifted, the tension bleeding out just enough to be noticeable.

"Sorry," he said, glancing at her with a flicker of regret."Didn't mean to snap."He adjusted the leather strap of his satchel where it crossed his chest."It's been a long journey."

Thalia studied his profile as they walked, noting the shadows under his eyes that hadn't been there last year, the tightness around his mouth.She'd been so relieved to see him that she hadn't immediately registered the subtle changes.

"What happened?"she asked, gentler now.

Roran sighed, rubbing the back of his neck where his curls escaped their tie."The ship was delayed," he explained, his pace slowing to a more natural rhythm."Coastal travel in the far South has become nearly impossible.Isle Warden raids have doubled — maybe tripled — since last spring."

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