Page 45 of Frostforge: Passage Four
"I'll increase patrols around the academy," Wolfe said, folding the message and slipping it into a drawer that she locked with a small iron key."And I'll investigate these references personally."
She looked up at Thalia, her green eyes sharp as cut glass."Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Greenspire.You may return to your duties."
The dismissal was clear.Thalia rose from her chair, a hollow feeling expanding in her chest.
"Is that all?"she asked, unable to keep the incredulity from her voice."Shouldn't we—"
"We should proceed with caution and vigilance," Wolfe interrupted, her tone brooking no argument."Not with panic.I will handle this matter.You focus on your squadron and the Command Challenge."
Thalia nodded stiffly and turned to leave, her hand already on the door handle when Wolfe spoke again.
"Greenspire."
Thalia glanced back.
"Trust is earned at Frostforge," Wolfe said, her expression inscrutable."Remember that."
The corridor felt colder as Thalia made her way back to the dormitories, the stone walls closing in around her.Wolfe's reaction — or lack thereof — replayed in her mind.No alarm, no urgency, just cool assessment and dismissal.
Was that the response of someone genuinely unconcerned?Or someone playing a deeper game?
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Water parted beneath the wooden hull, gleaming like polished obsidian in the early morning light.Thalia dipped her paddle with practiced precision, her muscles remembering the rhythm from countless hours spent training on the fjord.Behind her, the four first-years matched her pace, their strokes cutting through the glassy surface with varying degrees of confidence.She glanced over her shoulder at the other canoes fanning out across the water, each carrying a third-year mentor and their assigned recruits.The northern shore loomed ahead, its rocky beach giving way to dense pine forest that climbed the steep mountainside like an army advancing uphill.Thalia's chest tightened with a familiar tension — not quite fear, not quite excitement, but that peculiar blend that had become her constant companion at Frostforge.
"Keep it steady," she called softly to Felah, who sat directly behind her.The Southern girl's paddle wavered slightly with each stroke, threatening to turn their canoe off course."That's it.Find your rhythm."
Felah nodded, her short curls bouncing with the motion.Her dark skin gleamed with a thin sheen of sweat despite the morning chill.The girl had grown stronger over the term, but her nerves still betrayed her at critical moments.
"Anyone see Brynn's team?"Daniel asked from his position in the middle of the canoe.His bronze skin had darkened further during their outdoor training, and his black hair whipped around his face in the light breeze.
Rasmus snorted from behind him."Probably trying to cut us off at the eastern inlet.She likes to be clever."
Thalia allowed herself a small smile at the Northern boy's assessment.There was none of the disdain that had colored his early interactions with the Southern recruits.The incident with the capsized skiff had changed something fundamental between them.When Daniel and Felah had risked themselves to pull Rasmus from the churning waters two weeks ago, old prejudices had begun to dissolve.
Only Sigrid, manning the rear paddle, maintained her cold distance.The copper-haired Northern girl performed her duties with precision but seldom joined in conversations.Her freckled face remained impassive as she scanned the water behind them.
"Calloway's falling back," Sigrid reported, her voice clipped.
Thalia twisted to look.Instructor Calloway's canoe glided gracefully several lengths behind the student formation.The Northern woman's silver-streaked dark hair was pulled back in a severe braid, her icy blue eyes watchful as she guided her craft with minimal effort.Beside her sat Kaine, his broad shoulders and muscular arms making his paddle look like a child's toy in his hands, and Marr, his glass-strand cloak rippling like the water beneath the canoe.Kaine and Marr had volunteered to aid Calloway in the administration of this final Command Challenge.
"Eyes forward," Thalia reminded herself as much as her team."We're almost there."
The water grew shallow, the canoe's bottom scraping against the first of the submerged stones.Thalia raised her paddle."Prepare to disembark."
As their canoe slid onto the pebble-strewn shore, Thalia leapt out first, the cold water swirling around her boots.She grabbed the bow and pulled, steadying the craft as her first-years climbed out one by one.The wooden hull wobbled precariously with each shifting weight.
"Careful," she cautioned as Felah nearly lost her balance.Daniel caught the smaller girl's elbow, stabilizing her.Rasmus and Sigrid disembarked with the practiced ease of Northerners who had grown up around boats.
Around them, other teams were making their landings.Some emerged dripping from capsized canoes, their leaders barking commands to salvage what gear they could.Brynn's team had indeed reached shore first, already assembling in a tight formation at the tree line.Brynn caught Thalia's eye and offered a curt nod — not friendly, but no longer laced with the pure contempt of their early days.
The sky overhead had begun to change.What had been scattered clouds were merging into a continuous gray canopy, darker at its western edge.A natural storm approached, not one of Instructor Morrow's manufactured tempests.
Calloway's canoe cut through the water with perfect efficiency, arriving last but most gracefully.The instructor stepped ashore without so much as dampening the hem of her heavy coat.Kaine followed, scanning the gathered students with a critical eye before his gaze settled briefly on Thalia.The corner of his mouth twitched — not quite a smile, but an acknowledgment.
"Gather round," Calloway called, her voice carrying across the beach without apparent effort.The students formed a semicircle before her, squad leaders at the front with their first-years clustered behind them.
Thalia positioned her team carefully, keeping them close enough to hear but with clear sight lines to potential threats.Even in training exercises, vigilance had become second nature.
