Chapter 109: Ice Magic

Elara:

By the time Advanced Elemental Studies began friday morning, I had almost forgotten what it felt like to be a normal student.

The past several weeks had been filled with royal secrets, mysterious attacks, magical creatures, arguments with certain people, unexpected discoveries, and enough emotional chaos to make even a century-old supernatural exhausted.

So when I walked into Professor Fenrith’s classroom that morning and saw nothing but first-year students filling the rows, I felt an almost ridiculous sense of relief. At least there wouldn’t be any seniors looking for an excuse to challenge me, and more importantly, no one in this class seemed particularly interested in making my life miserable simply because Reign Valemont had decided I was someone worth antagonizing.

My classmates weren’t exactly my friends. Most barely spoke to me, and none of them had treated me like royalty even after learning who I was. But they also didn’t fawn over me, provoke me, or whisper loudly enough for me to hear every insult. They simply left me alone, which, under the circumstances, felt like an excellent arrangement.

Professor Fenrith eventually walked to the front of the room and announced that we would be pairing up for the day’s practical assignment. I wasn’t particularly concerned. Whoever I ended up with, I figured we would finish the assignment and go our separate ways.

Five minutes later, I found myself sitting across from a boy I recognized immediately. His name was Caelan Veyr, and if memory served, he had the highest credit score in our class so far. Dark brown hair, sharp gray eyes, neatly arranged uniform, and the calm expression of someone who probably alphabetized his notes for fun. I had never spoken to him before, but I knew exactly who he was because his name seemed to appear near the top of every academic ranking Professor Fenrith posted.

"Professor," I said, looking toward Fenrith, "why did you pair me with him?"

Cedric glanced at us over the rim of his glasses and answered without hesitation, "Because Caelan is one of the strongest students in this class, and unlike most of your classmates, he possesses ice affinity." My eyebrows rose. Fenrith’s gaze sharpened slightly as he added, "You need someone who can teach you control rather than simply complete the assignment for you."

I glanced at Caelan, who seemed just as uncomfortable about being singled out as I was. "Don’t worry," he said quietly, giving me a small smile. "I don’t bite."

I almost smiled back. "Good. I was starting to worry I had been paired with a dangerous academic."

His expression cracked into a grin. "That would be disappointing. I only have a reputation for being annoyingly good at homework."

That earned a genuine laugh from me, and some of the awkwardness immediately disappeared.

Professor Fenrith began explaining the assignment while we listened. We were supposed to create a controlled elemental formation using our respective magic, maintain it for sixty seconds, and then manipulate its shape without allowing the energy to destabilize.

For most students, the exercise probably sounded straightforward. For me, it sounded like an excellent opportunity to accidentally destroy half the classroom. I’d only recently discovered that I possessed ice magic, and although I could summon it now, controlling it was an entirely different matter.

The discovery itself had happened only a few days earlier. After the incident with Reign, I’d told Lorien during our Saturday evening session that I’d somehow used ice magic. I had carefully omitted the inconvenient detail that I’d been furious enough to freeze Reign’s feet to the ground. There were certain things even the headmaster didn’t need to know. Lorien had immediately asked me to attempt summoning it again.

To my surprise, the magic had responded almost instantly. Unlike the tiny illusion I’d struggled to create weeks ago, the ice had emerged with almost no resistance. Ever since then, I had been practicing whenever I had the opportunity. The problem wasn’t summoning it anymore. The problem was telling it exactly what to do.

Ice seemed to possess a mind of its own whenever my emotions became involved. If I was calm, it obeyed. If I was irritated, it became stronger. If I was furious, I apparently became capable of turning Reign Valemont into a very arrogant ice sculpture. Naturally, I preferred the calm version.

Caelan placed his hands on the table and demonstrated first. A thin layer of frost spread beneath his palms, forming delicate crystalline patterns before rising into the shape of a small ring. "Don’t force it," he advised when I stared at the formation. "Ice responds better when you guide it rather than command it."

I frowned. "What’s the difference?"

"Commanding means you are trying to make the magic obey you. Guiding means you are giving it a direction and letting the magic follow naturally."

I considered that. "That sounds annoyingly philosophical for an elemental studies class."

He laughed. "Professor Fenrith says the same thing every year."

I placed my palms against the table and closed my eyes. At first, nothing happened. Then I felt it - that familiar cold beneath my skin, beginning somewhere around my chest before spreading through my arms. I focused on it without pulling too hard. A thin layer of frost appeared beneath my fingertips. I tried shaping it into the ring we had been assigned. The ice rose, but one side became thicker than the other.

"Stop," Caelan said gently.

I opened my eyes. "What?"

"You are forcing the left side."

I looked at the formation and realized he was right. "How did you notice that?"

"Because I used to do the same thing." He pointed toward the uneven section. "Your magic isn’t weak. You are simply putting more energy into the part you are worried about."

I tried again. This time I focused on the entire shape rather than individual sections. The frost spread evenly, curling upward until a perfect ring of translucent ice hovered above the table. My eyes widened.

Caelan smiled. "There."

I stared at it, almost afraid to breathe. "I did it."

"You did." His expression held genuine encouragement rather than the polite approval I’d grown used to receiving from teachers. "Now keep it stable."

I immediately tensed, which resulted in an instant crack apoearing in the ring.

"Don’t panic," he said, barely suppressing a laugh.

"I’m not panicking!" The words barely left my mouth when the ring shattered.

The two of us stared at each other for a long seconds before bursting into laughter.

"Alright," I admitted, "maybe I panicked a little."

We tried again, and this time he showed me how to maintain the formation by controlling my breathing. Slowly, the ice stopped responding to every tiny fluctuation in my emotions. I learned how to thin it, thicken it, reshape it, and eventually dissolve it without leaving shards scattered across the table.

By the end of the class, I was staring at a small ice flower resting in my palm. It wasn’t perfect. One petal was slightly crooked, and the center was uneven, but it was mine. I hadn’t summoned it through anger or fear. I hadn’t lost control. I’d simply asked my magic to create it, and it had listened.

Professor Fenrith stopped beside our table and examined it before giving a small approving nod.

"Better."

From him, that single word felt suspiciously like praise.

Caelan leaned toward me and whispered, "Congratulations. You have survived your first proper ice lesson."

I smiled at the little flower before carefully setting it on the table. For the first time since discovering my magic, I felt like I was finally beginning to understand it.