Page 50 of Frostforge: Passage Two

"Alright," she agreed reluctantly."But as soon as the Gauntlet is over—"

"We hunt down the thief together," Kaine promised."Though you might be valuable in the arena for other reasons too.You can sense which golems are made with the inferior metals, can't you?"

Thalia nodded slowly."To an extent.If I'm close enough, I can feel the instability in the magical currents."

"Then you can warn the other students if their constructs are about to malfunction," Kaine said."It could save lives."

Thalia hadn't considered that aspect.She'd been so focused on catching the thief, on solving the mystery, that she hadn't fully grasped how she might help prevent disaster during the trials.

"You're right," she said, a new sense of purpose settling over her.She turned back to her golem, examining its half-finished state with fresh eyes."I need to finish this, and it needs to be perfect."

Kaine's hand touched her shoulder briefly — a rare gesture of affection that sent warmth through her despite the circumstances.

"It will be," he said quietly."Because you made it."

With that, he returned to his own workstation, leaving Thalia to contemplate the dual challenges ahead: surviving the Forge Gauntlet and stopping whoever was sabotaging the academy — before it was too late.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Dawn painted the Crystalline Plateau in shades of fire and blood, the pale light fracturing across the jagged arena surface like a premonition.Thalia stood at the edge, her breath forming small clouds in the bitter morning air as she surveyed what would soon become a battlefield.Below her boots, the translucent crystal floor revealed dizzying depths—a reminder that in Frostforge, even the ground beneath your feet held secrets.The arena had been constructed overnight, metal barriers rising from slots in the crystal, creating a perfect circle for the Forge Gauntlet that would determine not just skill, but survival.

Students gathered along the perimeter, their faces etched with varying degrees of confidence and terror.Golems of all shapes and sizes stood sentinel beside their creators — metal guardians whose very existence had been drawn from the depths of imagination and forged in the unforgiving heat of the academy's workshops.Some gleamed like polished mirrors in the rising sun, while others bore a dull, lifeless sheen, depending on the metals their creators had chosen.

The spectator stands filled quickly with senior students and instructors, their dark uniforms creating a grim backdrop against the crystalline surroundings.Thalia spotted Maven among them, the Survival instructor's face impassive as she surveyed her students' creations.Near the arena entrance, a scoreboard flickered to life, brackets appearing in glowing blue runes that listed the day's matches.

How many students were walking into this competition with fatally flawed creations?She glanced at her own golem standing tall beside her, its brass joints catching the morning light.Unlike many of the constructs around her, hers was crafted from pure alloys—a fact that now felt less like accomplishment and more like unearned advantage.

The scoreboard flashed, drawing her attention to the first round of matchups.Her eyes scanned the glowing text until she found her name: THALIA GREENSPIRE vs.MATTHIAS STEELMAW.

She knew Matthias from her advanced metallurgy class — a quiet Northerner with quick hands and a quicker temper.He'd been one of the few who hadn't openly sneered at her success with golem animation, though his silence had felt more like calculation than kindness.Thalia flexed her fingers, the familiar tingle of magic flowing through them.She could beat him — knew it with a certainty that felt almost cruel given what she'd discovered about the sabotaged materials.His golem's joints had the telltale discordant signature of the inferior alloys.

"I should warn him," she murmured to herself, eyes searching the crowd for Matthias's lanky frame.It wasn't his fault his creation was compromised.Yet what would she say?That someone had been systematically replacing the academy's metal stores with subpar materials?That she believed Senna — or someone — was deliberately sabotaging the other students?Without proof, her warnings would sound like excuses or, worse, attempts to undermine his confidence before their match.

Continuing her scan of the brackets, Thalia noted other significant pairings.Luna would face Levi Halloway in one of the opening bouts.Further down, she spotted a matchup that made her breath catch: BRYNN FIRSTBORN vs.ASHE REDWOOD.

"That'll be one to watch," she whispered.Both had built their golems from pure alloys — Brynn through luck, hard work, and repeated failure; Ashe, with guidance from Thalia.

Some of the brackets were particularly concerning.NASH IRONHALL vs.RORAN BRIGHT, in particular.Thalia frowned, scanning the gathered students.Nash's crisp undercut and perpetual sneer were nowhere to be seen, nor were several of his usual companions.

"Strange," she murmured.Students didn't simply skip the Forge Gauntlet — it accounted for nearly a quarter of their term's evaluation.Something was wrong, but she didn't have time to unravel that mystery now.The first matches would begin soon, and she needed to ensure her golem was ready.Besides — if Nash didn’t show up, that was all the better.Thalia wasn’t worried about what he would do to Roran; it was more the other way around.Perhaps Nash had opted not to turn up for his bout for this precise reason, fearing Roran’s righteous retribution in the arena.

Thalia returned to her waiting construct, its burnished face catching the morning light.Unlike many of the angular, intimidating designs chosen by the Northern students, her golem had a more organic form — curves where others had sharp edges, flexibility where others had rigid strength.She'd named it Falchion in her mind, for the blade she and Kaine had forged together; she'd never spoken the name aloud, fearing the ridicule such sentimentality would surely bring.

"Ready for today?"she asked quietly, placing her palm against the warm metal of its chest plate.The golem's eyes, crafted from quartz, flickered with inner light as it registered her touch.Through the metal, she felt the subtle vibration of its core responding to her, a resonance that had grown stronger with each practice session.

Thalia ran through their pre-combat routine, a series of movements and commands they'd perfected over weeks of late-night sessions in empty practice rooms.She directed it to raise an arm, twist at the waist, crouch in defensive posture — each motion executed with fluid precision that belied the golem's metal construction.

"Good," she whispered, feeling the familiar comfort of working with a creation that responded perfectly to her will.It felt less like commanding a separate entity and more like dancing with a partner who anticipated her every move."We're going to be fine."

The first match was called, and Thalia moved to the edge of the arena to watch.Luna stepped into the ring, her small frame nearly dwarfed by her golem — a sleek, steel construct that moved with uncanny speed.Across from her, Levi Halloway directed his bulkier creation forward, its heavy iron fists raised in a boxer's stance.

"Begin!"Maven’s voice echoed across the plateau.

What followed was less a battle than a demonstration.Luna's golem darted around its opponent with a grace that seemed impossible for something made of metal, striking at joints and vulnerable connections while evading the slower golem's powerful blows.Meanwhile, Luna herself engaged Levi directly, her movements almost as quick as her construct's.She wielded a thin blade that seemed to find every gap in Levi's defenses.

Within minutes, Levi's golem faltered, one arm hanging useless at its side while Luna's creation continued its relentless assault.Levi himself fared little better, managing only defensive parries against Luna's flurry of attacks.When Maven finally called the match, Levi was backed against the arena barrier, disarmed and breathing hard, while his golem lay motionless on the frost-covered ground.

"Victory to Luna Meadows!"Maven announced, to scattered applause and murmurs of appreciation from the spectators.

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