Page 16 of Frostforge: Passage Two

Kaine's expression sharpened, following her line of thought."No one.At least, I didn't tell anyone."He paused, considering."But someone could have seen me working on it.Could have watched me storing the papers."

Thalia thought of Senna's distracted expression, her purposeful stride.Was it connected?She couldn't imagine Senna stealing something meant for the war effort — her family was Northern military elite, after all.But the timing was suspicious.

“Couldn't have been an outsider," she mused aloud, thinking of Frostforge's intense fortifications, the patrolling golems that swept the grounds at night."Not with security as tight as it is."

"No," Kaine agreed, his voice hardening again."It's someone here.Someone who's going to regret it when I find them."

The promise in his voice sent another chill through her.Kaine had spent five years in Northern prisons after being convicted of killing his father.Though he'd never confirmed or denied the act, Thalia had seen enough to know his capacity for violence wasn't just rumor.The thought of him hunting down the thief — potentially confronting them alone — made her stomach twist.

"We'll find them," she said, emphasizing thewe."But carefully.Whoever did this was clever enough to get in and out without leaving a trace.They're dangerous."

For a moment, something like protest flashed in Kaine's eyes.Then his expression softened fractionally, and he gave a short nod."We'll need to be smarter, then."

Around them, the forge had begun to return to its normal rhythm, hammers resuming their steady beat against metal, flames hissing as they licked at raw ore.But the undercurrent of tension remained — in hushed conversations, in darting, suspicious glances.

Thalia adjusted the strap of her satchel, mind already racing ahead to who might have access, who might have motive, who might have the skill to bypass Frostforge's security.One thing was certain: in an academy built on secrets and competition, someone had just raised the stakes dramatically.

And somewhere in these stone halls, a thief walked free, armed with weapons crafted by Northern hands — weapons that could change the course of whatever game they were playing.

CHAPTER NINE

Thalia trudged into the dormitory, her shoulders tight with tension from her encounter with Kaine.The news of stolen weapons from the Howling Forge had left a cold weight in her stomach — another mystery in a place already overflowing with secrets.The room was unusually quiet without Ashe's commanding presence; she was at her advanced combat class, leaving only Luna sprawled across her bed, seemingly engrossed in a tattered book of Northern folklore.

Luna didn't look up as Thalia entered, her fingers absently tracing the worn edges of the pages.Her short dreadlocks fell forward, partially obscuring her face, the tiny metal rings woven into them catching the fading light from the window.

"You're back early," Luna murmured, turning a page with deliberate slowness."Did they cancel your extra forge time?"

Thalia dropped her satchel onto her bed, the leather making a soft thud against the thin mattress."No.Something happened."She hesitated, then added, "Something bad."

Luna's eyes continued to drift across her book, but Thalia caught the subtle shift in her posture — a slight straightening of her spine, a barely perceptible tilt of her head.Despite appearances, Luna was listening.Intently.

"Weapons have gone missing from the Howling Forge," Thalia said, sinking onto her bed."Kaine just told me.He was furious — the kind of fury that burns cold, not hot."

The book in Luna's hands lowered.Her perpetually dreamy expression vanished, replaced by a sharp, calculating look that few at Frostforge ever witnessed."Missing weapons?"she echoed, her voice no longer distant but focused as a blade."How many?What kind?"

"He didn't say exactly.Just that they discovered the theft this morning during inventory, and that one of them was an enchanted shield he’s been working on."Thalia ran a hand through her black waves, tucking a strand behind her ear.

Luna set her book aside, all pretense of distraction abandoned.She swung her legs over the edge of her bed, feet barely touching the floor, and leaned forward with her elbows on her knees."Well, then you probably ought to know it’s bigger than just that.This isn't the first time weapons have disappeared."

Thalia's head snapped up."What do you mean?"

"The instructors have been whispering about it for days."Luna's dark eyes narrowed."Small things at first.A dagger from the training armory.A hammer from the smithing class.Items easy to dismiss as misplaced or borrowed without permission."

"And no one thought to mention this to the students?"

Luna's laugh was soft and without humor."Of course not.The mighty Frostforge Academy, admitting to a security breach?They'd rather pretend it wasn't happening."She stood, crossed to her trunk, and pulled out several scraps of parchment from a hidden compartment beneath a false bottom."But I've been keeping track."

Thalia watched as Luna spread the parchments across the small table between their beds.Each contained Luna's spidery handwriting — dates, locations, items.Far more organized than Luna's absentminded persona would suggest.Thalia had learned the previous year that Luna made a habit of spying on her fellow recruits, gathering information for her father’s crusade against the Selection.Still, the notes were thorough enough to take Thalia by surprise.

"How did you find out about all this?"Thalia asked, moving to examine the parchments.

Luna shrugged one shoulder."People talk around me because they think I'm not listening.And I go where I'm not supposed to be."She tapped her finger against one of the parchments."Three throwing knives from the second-year combat storage.A breastplate from the training grounds.Two short swords from the eastern armory."Her finger moved to another note."And these are just the ones I know about."

Thalia began arranging the scraps in chronological order, her brow furrowing as she analyzed the information."There's no pattern to what's being taken.Armor, weapons of different kinds...."

"Exactly."Luna nodded, her beaded locks clicking softly."It's as if the thief — or thieves — are selecting at random.Or perhaps..."She paused, head tilting."Perhaps there's a purpose we can't see yet."

They spent the next hour mapping the disappearances, using a rough sketch Luna drew of the academy's layout.The thefts were scattered across Frostforge — the Crystalline training grounds, the armories, instructors' quarters, and now the Howling Forge itself.

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