Page 20 of Frostforge: Passage Four
"What instructor could I bring it to?"Luna asked simply."Any of them could be the intended recipient.Even Wolfe."
The words struck Thalia like a sudden blow to the chest.Luna was right.The message wasn’t meant for a low-ranking spy — it spoke to someone with authority, someone trusted.And who held more power within Frostforge than the instructors themselves?She thought of Wolfe with her emerald eyes and sharp teeth, of Calloway's calculating gaze, of Virek's cold precision, of Marr's scarred face and glass-threaded cloak.Any of them could be feeding information to the Isle Wardens.The strategy was slow, corrosive, and deliberate.Drive the students apart.Undermine trust.So that when the Wardens struck in full, Frostforge would already be broken, ready to topple.
Thalia's fingers tightened around the message until her knuckles whitened.The satisfaction she'd felt after the Golem Fields now seemed distant and hollow.One successful exercise with her squad meant nothing if the entire foundation of the academy was being undermined by treachery.
"Until we know more," she said slowly, "we can't trust anyone at Frostforge with any influence."
Luna nodded, her expression grim."No one at all."
CHAPTER TEN
Frost crept like delicate spiderwebs across the high windows of the cryomancy hall, painting intricate patterns that distorted the pale winter light.Thalia sat rigid at her desk, the chill of the stone bench seeping through her uniform despite the layers of wool and leather.Her fingers, bare of frost gloves for the lecture portion of the class, had grown numb — not from the cold, but from how tightly she'd been gripping her quill for the past hour, scratching meaningless symbols into her notebook while her mind circled endlessly around Luna's discovery.Someone with influence was working to divide the academy.Someone they might have trusted.
"The third form creates a lattice pattern," Instructor Virek's voice cut through the hall, precise and brittle as the ice he commanded."When executed properly, it will redirect hostile magic along predetermined pathways, dispersing its force before it can reach its target."
His skeletal fingers traced symbols in the air, leaving shimmering trails of frost that hung suspended before dissolving into mist.The thin scars of frostbite marked his hands like pale rivers on a map — evidence of a lifetime spent pushing the boundaries of cryomancy.Thalia should have been captivated; this was advanced defensive magic, crucial for survival against Isle Warden attacks.Instead, she found herself studying Virek himself — the sharp angles of his face, the precise way he enunciated each technical term, the slight Northern accent that hardened his consonants.
"The conduit must remain unbroken," Virek continued, his whispering voice barely audible at the back of the room."A single flaw in your formation will create a weakness that…."
Could he be the intended recipient of the message Luna had intercepted?A message tied to a gull's leg rather than a raven's — coastal origin, not from the heart of the Reaches, but gulls could be caught anywhere near the sea.Thalia's gaze narrowed on Virek's face.What did she really know about him?His loyalty had never been questioned, but the same had been true of Maven before her betrayal.
"Greenspire."
Thalia's head snapped up, heat flooding her cheeks.Virek's icy gaze pinned her from across the room.
"Perhaps you would care to demonstrate the technique I've just described?"
The silence that followed pressed against her ears.Her mouth went dry.Not a single word of the lecture had penetrated her preoccupied mind.
"I—"
"Partner exercises," Virek announced abruptly, turning away from her with a dismissive flick of his wrist."Pair up.Practice the third form deflection.I expect precision, not approximation."
Relief washed through Thalia like a thaw.The room erupted into motion, students rising from their benches, frost gloves being pulled from pockets and bags.She exhaled slowly, gathering her scattered thoughts.Virek moved between the desks, assigning partnerships with curt gestures.
"Redwood, Greenspire."Virek pointed between Ashe and Thalia without looking at either of them."Back corner."
Thalia met Ashe's eyes across the room and found no judgment there — just a quiet understanding.Ashe's tall frame rose gracefully from her seat, her black and red-streaked hair pulled back in a practical braid that emphasized the sharp angles of her face.She gathered her frost gloves and moved toward the practice area without waiting.
As Thalia collected her own things, she caught sight of Levi giving Brynn an enormous look of gratitude as Virek paired them together.No surprise there — Brynn was the class's top cryomancer, and Levi had always struggled with the precision required for ice magic.More interesting was Morrigan's thinly veiled displeasure at being matched with Roran, despite his known proficiency.
The animosity toward Roran had grown since Wolfe's warning about increased Isle Warden activity.The timing was almost too perfect — as if someone had orchestrated it to fan the flames of suspicion against him.At this point, Thalia wouldn’t be surprised if this, too, was a calculated play to undermine the unity of the students.
"You didn't hear a word of that lecture, did you?"Ashe asked when Thalia reached their assigned corner.Her voice was low, matter-of-fact, without accusation.
Thalia tugged on her frost gloves, flexing her fingers against the enchanted material.The runes stitched into the leather and fur lining pulsed faintly, ready to channel and protect.
"Was it that obvious?"she murmured.
"Only to someone who was looking."Ashe positioned herself in the starting stance."Watch first."
Ashe's form was flawless — her movements precise and economical as she traced the patterns Virek had demonstrated.Ice crystallized in the air before her, forming an intricate lattice structure that glimmered in the cold light.Nothing flashy or dramatic, just clean, efficient cryomancy.
Thalia mirrored her, focusing on the way Ashe's arms moved, the angle of her wrists, the positioning of her feet.Ice responded to her own gestures, but her lattice was uneven, the pattern irregular.Still, it was a starting point.Thalia had always struggled with cryomancy; even on her best days, she rarely accomplished the forms on her first try.
"Again," Ashe said simply.
They worked side by side in relative quiet, their breath fogging the air between repetitions.The chill deepened around them as their magic pulled the ambient heat from the air.Sweat beaded along Thalia's hairline despite the cold — cryomancy always demanded a paradoxical exchange of energy.
