Page 14 of Frostforge: Passage Four
Thalia's neck prickled with warning.She knew this feeling, this charged sensation that made the fine hairs on her arms stand at attention.She turned sharply, seeking its source.
Roran now stood only a few paces away.His hands hung casually at his sides, but Thalia recognized the subtle tension in his fingers, the barely perceptible shimmer of energy that pulsed between them.He was manipulating the air currents, creating a pocket of calm around her with a finesse that hadn't been present when lightning had arced between his fingers just days ago.
As if sensing her gaze, he looked over, his dark eyes meeting hers.A smile tugged at one corner of his mouth, and he winked — a quick, conspiratorial gesture that sent an unwelcome flutter through her chest.Thalia scowled inwardly at her reaction.She never knew how to interpret these moments with Roran.Was that wink merely friendly, or something more?And why did it matter either way, when her feelings for Kaine were already so complicated?
Besides, she shouldn’t be encouraging his reckless behavior.She shouldn’t let herself be charmed by his public use of storm magic, however subtle.
A harsh metallic clang jolted her from her thoughts, followed by a warping shriek that raised the hairs on the back of her neck.Thalia whirled to see Daniel staggering backward, his shield crumpled inward like paper crushed in a giant's fist.Rasmus stood over him, practice sword still raised, his expression a mixture of surprise and smug satisfaction.
"Halt!"Thalia commanded, the stillness around her carrying her voice clearly now.She strode forward, positioning herself between the two boys with practiced authority."What happened?"
"I barely struck it," Rasmus said, a defensive edge to his voice."Not my fault if Southern equipment can't withstand Northern strength."
Daniel's face flushed with anger and humiliation as he clutched the ruined shield."The shield was fine until today."
Thalia held out her hand."Let me see it."
The shield felt wrong the moment her fingers touched the metal.Where there should have been a sturdy, balanced current flowing through the ice-bronze alloy, Thalia sensed jagged disruptions, areas where the magical binding had been compromised.She ran her fingertips along the buckled edge, feeling the disharmony in the material like sour notes in a melody.
This shield hadn't failed from stress or poor craftsmanship.Someone had deliberately weakened it, introducing impurities that destabilized the metal's magical structure.The tampering was subtle — invisible to anyone who lacked her sensitivity to magical currents — but unmistakable to her trained touch.
Her stomach twisted with cold certainty.First Felah's shattered sword, now Daniel's shield.Both failures targeted at the Southern recruits in her squad, both engineered to humiliate them in front of their Northern peers.The pattern was too precise to be a coincidence.
It was her first year at Frostforge all over again — the systematic sabotage, the strategic undermining of Southern students.
"Everyone back to the keep," Thalia ordered, her voice cutting through the sudden silence.She glanced toward where Roran had been standing, but he and his squad had already begun their descent from the plateau, dark silhouettes against the gathering storm.The protective bubble of calm dissipated as she watched him go, the wind immediately reclaiming its territory with vindictive force.
"But we've barely started training," Sigrid protested, her copper hair whipping around her freckled face.
"The storm's getting worse," Thalia countered, tucking the damaged shield under her arm.Evidence."We'll resume tomorrow in the covered courtyard."
As they trudged toward the fortress, Thalia's mind raced through possibilities.Who would gain from making her squad look weak?The obvious answer — the Northern students who resented Southern leadership — seemed almost too convenient.Thus far, the sabotage had been minimal, almost beneath notice.If Thalia wasn’t already suspicious from overhearing the Northerners’ plotting, she might not have thought anything of a broken blade, a damaged shield.In all likelihood, other Southerners had already experienced this sabotage and thought nothing of it.
But if someone was truly targeting the Southern squads, Thalia knew the sabotages would only escalate.How far would this enemy go?What would they risk?Her hand drifted to the hilt of the sword at her hip, fingers tracing the familiar cold grooves in its ice-steel pommel as the fortress gates loomed out of the storm ahead, their torches flickering like watchful eyes.
***
The mess hall's clamor washed over Thalia in dull waves, the scrape of utensils against bowls and murmured conversations blending into white noise that matched her turbulent thoughts.Steam rose from her untouched stew, curling like ghostly fingers before dissipating into the rafters above.She traced the rim of her bowl with one finger, the rough ceramic warm against her skin, while her mind replayed the image of Daniel's buckled shield again and again — the warped metal, the disrupted currents, the unmistakable signature of deliberate tampering.
Around her, students laughed and argued, their problems as ordinary as cryomancy exams and training scores.They seemed to exist in another world entirely, one where sabotage wasn't lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike again.Thalia envied their oblivion, their simple concerns.Her spoon clinked against the bowl as she halfheartedly stirred the cooling stew, watching chunks of meat and root vegetables swirl like debris caught in a whirlpool.
The bench across from her creaked under sudden weight.Thalia looked up to find Kaine settling himself opposite her, his broad shoulders blocking out the torchlight behind him.The shadows accentuated the sharp planes of his face, casting his expression in somber relief.His eyes, ice-blue and piercing, locked onto hers with an intensity that made her breath catch.
"I heard what happened on the plateau today," he said, his voice low enough that only she could hear.He leaned forward, forearms resting on the table."Daniel's shield buckled?"
Thalia nodded, abandoning all pretense of eating."Rasmus claimed it was ‘Southern weakness meeting Northern strength.’"
"It shouldn't have failed."Kaine's jaw tightened, a muscle jumping beneath the skin."I inspected the first-year equipment myself three days ago.Every shield was sound — I'd stake my reputation on it."
The certainty in his voice sent a chill down Thalia's spine.Not because she doubted him — quite the opposite.If Kaine had personally verified the equipment, then the tampering was even more recent than she'd suspected.
"It's starting to feel targeted," she admitted, lowering her voice further.Her fingers curled around her spoon, gripping it like a talisman."First Felah's sword shatters, now Daniel's shield fails.Both Southern recruits."
"Both in your squad," Kaine added, his gaze never wavering from hers.
Thalia exhaled slowly, the truth of his words settling like a stone in her stomach."I hate this," she said, the words bitter on her tongue."The way this place pits North against South, as if we aren't training to defend the same continent."
"I don't think this is about North versus South, not entirely."Kaine shook his head, a strand of dark hair falling across his forehead."The pattern is too specific.Someone's focusing on your squad in particular."
