Page 23 of Frostforge: Passage Four
"If she's back, she's one woman alone," Wolfe cut in, her voice like the edge of a blade — sharp enough to cut, but controlled."She's lost her position, her allies, her resources.The Northern tribes want her head for her betrayal of Frostforge’s defenses, and the Southern Kingdoms would never harbor a Northern traitor.”
"She tried to kill me."The words escaped before Thalia could stop them, raw with remembered fear.
Wolfe's expression softened fractionally."I'm aware.But Maven is not our priority, Greenspire.The Isle Wardens are growing bolder by the day.Their ships press closer to our shores.They test our defenses with increasing frequency."She gestured to the hall full of students."Our priority is the education of soldiers.You are still a student."
"I'm a fourth-year," Thalia countered."I've survived three trials.I know the terrain.I could —"
"You could remain focused on your studies," Wolfe interrupted, her tone final."Maven is none of your concern."
Heat flushed Thalia's cheeks.None of her concern?The woman had threatened her life, had been willing to spill her blood in the name of a ritual Thalia still didn't fully understand.She wanted to argue further, but Wolfe had already turned away, effectively dismissing her.
Thalia retreated, frustration bubbling beneath her skin as she wove between tables back toward Luna, a cold certainty settled in her chest.If the instructors wouldn't investigate, she would.If Maven was nearby, Thalia needed to know why.Needed to know what the former instructor might be planning.
She slid back onto the bench beside Luna, who raised an eyebrow in silent question.
"They're not sending anyone to look for her," Thalia murmured, her voice taut with restraint."They don't consider her a threat."
"Maybe she isn't," Luna said with a half-shrug.
Thalia stared at her abandoned stew, the surface now glazed with congealing fat."Maybe."
But a reckless resolve had already taken root, hardening into certainty with each beat of her heart.Tonight, after curfew, she would go to the fjord herself.She would find evidence of Maven's presence — or absence — with her own eyes.
And if Maven truly had returned, Thalia would face her — this time on her own terms.
***
Thalia pulled the fur-lined hood lower over her face as she slipped through Frostforge's western service entrance, a narrow passage known only to kitchen staff and those who'd spent three years learning the fortress's secrets.The night air bit at her exposed skin, sharp as a blade's edge.No guards patrolled this section of wall — a gap in security she'd discovered during her second year — but she kept to the shadows regardless, her footsteps silent against the frost-crusted stone.Overhead, the half-moon hung like a watchful eye, casting just enough light to make her path visible without betraying her presence to anyone who might be looking.
The descent to the fjord was treacherous even in daylight.At night, with ice forming in invisible patches across the rocky path, it became a deadly gamble.Thalia moved methodically, testing each foothold before committing her weight.One misplaced step could send her tumbling down the jagged slope, and no one would find her until morning — if they bothered to look at all.
Her breath clouded before her in ghostly plumes as she navigated between jutting stones and gnarled roots.The sparse pines that clung to the cliff face threw long, skeletal shadows across her path.Beneath her, the fjord stretched like a ribbon of obsidian, reflecting the half-moon's glow in rippling silver.
By the time she reached the shoreline, her legs ached and her fingers had grown numb despite her gloves.But determination warmed her from within.If Maven were nearby, Thalia would find evidence of her presence.
She began to pace the water's edge, eyes trained on the rocky shore for bootprints, fire pits, anything that might betray human activity.The night was eerily still, the silence broken only by the gentle lapping of water against ice-crusted stones.Without wind, the cold seemed to solidify around her, pressing against her skin, seeping through her layers of wool and fur.
Thalia had nearly reached the bend in the shoreline when she saw it — a flash of light reflecting off the water, there and gone so quickly she might have imagined it.She froze, crouching instinctively.Another flash came, brighter this time, followed by a sound like the crackle of splitting wood.
She edged forward, staying low, until she reached a massive boulder near the shore's curve.Carefully, she peered around its edge.
The breath caught in her throat.
Roran stood at the water's edge, arms extended, fingers splayed.Lightning — pure, wild lightning — coiled around his forearms like living snakes of pure energy, casting his face in stark relief against the darkness.The electricity arced between his palms, dancing across his fingertips, reflecting in mesmerizing patterns across the still water of the fjord.
It wasn't the crude, unpredictable force that many Isle Warden infantry wielded.This was controlled, almost elegant — a dance of light and power.Roran moved through forms that seemed precise enough to be influenced by cryomancy.His face, usually animated with easy smiles, was serene, eyes half-closed in concentration.Around him, mist gathered and swirled, as if the very air responded to his command, forming miniature storm clouds that hovered at shoulder height.
Thalia remained motionless, transfixed.She had seen glimpses of his power before — during the Storm Chase, when she and Ashe had encountered him practicing in secret — but never like this.Never so raw, so beautiful, so controlled.The light played across the water's surface, transforming the ordinary fjord into something magical, otherworldly.
For several minutes, she watched in silence, torn between admiration and concern.What he was doing was dangerous — not just because of the power itself, but because of what it revealed about him.If anyone else had stumbled upon this scene…
As if sensing her thoughts, Roran suddenly stiffened.His head turned sharply in her direction, eyes widening.In an instant, the lightning dissipated, the light snuffed out as if it had never existed.The mist that had surrounded him evaporated into the night air, leaving only ordinary darkness behind.
"Who's there?"His voice carried across the still water, tense with alarm.
Thalia stepped out from behind the boulder, letting her hood fall back."It's just me."
Relief flickered across his face, quickly replaced by wariness.He stood motionless as she approached, his breath forming visible clouds in the cold air.
