FROST

Water, fire, earth, air—none of the elements seemed to have any interest in listening to Silvermist. Each time she tried to harness their power, they eluded her grasp like shadows at dusk, mocking her lack of control. She could only stare at the water jar on the table, wishing for another stroke of luck like the one that led to its explosive demise earlier. She even considered that the jar breaking was her greatest achievement so far. At least it proved she could do something—even if it was just shattering things.

"This is not w-working," Sebastian groaned, his frustration growing. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to work through his own impatience.

He's only watching at Silvermist waving some unknown pattern in the air as though she's summoning an unknown entity.

"I tried my best, but this woman is above and beyond useless."

Silvermist couldn't find the words to argue, pausing in embarrassmeny. He was right. She was doing nothing but fumbling her way through this, completely out of her element.

She wasn't even sure why he bothered to help her—Sebastian was arguably one of the best at bending air, second only to Amethyst Stormhunt: Zephyr's apprentice, the Wind Guardian.

Amethyst... The thought made Silvermist wince. She had heard enough about her from Ezekiel. A perfectionist with a tendency to berate others for their shortcomings.

Ezekiel had mentioned Amethyst had attitude problems, comparing her to West—someone who could likely sweep Silvermist out of the Academy if given half the chance. Maybe that's why Silvermist felt like an outsider here. She didn't belong in the world of these skilled apprentices, these beings who were so effortlessly proficient.

She could only guess, being tarnished is a curse or maybe, she herself is.

The room was almost empty now. Only Adeline, Ezekiel, Silvermist, Sebastian, and West remained, though West's attention was elsewhere.

His eyes were fixed on the massive windows that stretched across one side of the room, the moonlight casting a soft glow across his features. The windows were like something from another world, which it is—vast, shimmering panes of glass that framed the landscape like a painting.

Outside, the sky was an impossible shade of blue, and the trees swayed gently in the breeze. There was a calmness to the scene, but West wasn't looking at it. His gaze was distant, as though he was somewhere far away, not truly present in the room with them.

"I give up!" Sebastian suddenly sighed loudly, throwing his hands up in frustration. The sound of his voice broke through the stillness, catching everyone's attention. "I've been at this for an hour and—"

"You've been at this for an hour, and nothing's changed," Ezekiel interrupted, a slight grin playing at his lips. It was hard to tell if he was amused or concerned.

"Exactly!" Sebastian snapped. "I've tried everything. She can't even manage the basics! She's useless with air bending, just like—" He stopped himself before he could finish the thought aloud.

Silvermist just stood there, staring at the mess she'd made, feeling smaller by the second. She couldn't even master the simplest things. She could barely feel the elements, let alone manipulate them. Everything she tried felt like a failure, like a waste of time.

Sebastian walked over to Ezekiel, clearly done with the whole exercise. "I told you, this won't work," he muttered, looking at the ground. "You should've just let her train alone. At least she wouldn't have been wasting our time."

"Oh, come on," Ezekiel raised a finger in the air between them, like he was about to lecture. "East said we had to help her until they figure things out. And as an apprentice, I'm doing my part. I can't be the only one getting stuck with all the 'helping' while you two just stand around complaining especially East's apprentice!" He purposely said it louder for West to hear, but West's imaginations had already reached other realms, still staring outside like a complete idiot.

Ezekiel sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You know, sometimes I wonder why East keeps sending me on these ridiculous 'heroic' acts," he groaned, clearly referring to the impossible tasks he had been burdened with.

"But on the bright side, at least I get some one-on-one time with Silvemist, so please excuse me..." Ezekiel said, his voice light with a hint of mischief.

Adeline and Sebastian exchanged wary glances, both eyes narrowing as they watched Ezekiel approach Silvermist with an almost too casual swagger.

"You think he likes her?" Adeline asked, a teasing tone in her voice. Sebastian didn't respond immediately, his lips pressing into a thin line, but his silence spoke volumes.

Adeline grinned like a cat who had just spotted a mouse. "Oh~ You think love could actually quench all the grudges Silvermist has been holding?"

Sebastian, who'd been about to walk away, stopped and gave her a sidelong look, clearly unimpressed by her line of questioning. He couldn't be bothered by the drama unfolding in front of him, but the question was so absurd, he couldn't let it slide.

"I don't know, kid. Maybe you should ask your mom," Sebastian replied with a sharp hiss, turning his back with a dismissive wave, the irritation clear in his voice.

Adeline, undeterred, rolled her eyes. "How original," she muttered under her breath. But her gaze didn't stray far from Ezekiel and Silvermist. There was something about this developing situation that caught her interest more than it probably should.

Sebastian, on the other hand, shook his head in disbelief as he walked toward West, who was deep in some personal ritual. "Unbelievable," he muttered, but his thoughts were already miles away, filled with questions about Ezekiel's true intentions.

Adeline's eyes glinted with a mix of curiosity and amusement as she watched the two of them interact.

But suddenly, Adeline's smile faltered. Her eyes flickered with something unreadable before she quickly turned away, a quiet, sharp breath escaping her lips.

She stilled, fighting the temptation that whispered to her curiosity to see what lies beyond Silvemist and Ezekiel, reminding herself how dangerously close she was to making a choice she'd regret, a choice that might make her vanish forever.

Adeline Skyborn, apprentice to the Time Guardian, possessed the rare and perilous ability to peer into the future. Only Silvermist knew this ability, but even Adeline herself do not have the idea to its full extent.

All she knows that every time she take a glimpse through the threads of time, a heavy cost was extracted—a year of her life, gone in an instant.

The toll was unbearable, and Adeline could feel the years slipping away, each one more precious than the last. She couldn't afford to lose any more time—not unless the end truly arrived, and even then, the price was steep. If she kept using her power, she would disappear five years before her natural death.

She wasn't ready. Not yet. She had her mother, sick and alone now that she's in an entirely different realm, and Adeline couldn't let her fade into memory too so soon. She had to go back to her after they defeat the opposing forces, one that Tim somehow agreed.

She had no guarantee of when her time would run out, and the uncertainty clawed at her, pushing her to protect every last year, every breath.

"Adeline? What's wrong?"

Adeline blinked, her eyes struggling to focus. She lifted her gaze, only to be met with the distorted figure of Silvermist, her image warped as though a powerful force had unsettled the air around them. Even Ezekiel, standing beside her, was caught in the same strange shift. Both their appearances were altered, their hair swept unnaturally to the right, as if a gust of wind had swept through them—though there was no wind to explain it.

"I should be asking you two the same thing," Adeline muttered, her lips curling into a grimace.

"Ahh yeah~" Ezekiel scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I kinda messed up. I thought she'd be able to handle a swirling wind if I handed it to her."

"Wow, very clever," Adeline gasped, her eyes narrowing in disbelief at Ezekiel's typical reckless nature. "She couldn't even move an atom, let alone handle a swirling wind."

"Hey," Silvermist chimed in, rolling her eyes. "Why are you talking like you're older than all of us here, huh?" Her voice was laced with the same stubbornness that refused to admit they'd been lectured by someone younger.

"Anyway, I think that's all for today," Ezekiel said with a shrug, clearly trying to wrap things up. "Which, to be honest, is basically nothing. But we'll get there…" He sped up the last part, hoping Silvermist wouldn't linger on the frustration.

"We better head to our rooms to rest. Another great day tomorrow, yeah?!" Ezekiel's usual cheeriness filled the air, and he reached out to fix Silvermist's hair with exaggerated enthusiasm.

With that, they bid each other goodbye. Sebastian, still clearly irritated, didn't so much as glance at anyone, and West appeared lost in his own trance, hovering to his room like a sleepwalker.

Ezekiel leaned closer to Silvermist, his voice softer now. "Remember," he glanced at her wrist, "whenever you need me."

Silvermist offered a smile, her tone light. "Thanks for everything, Kiel."

"Anytime," Ezekiel replied, flashing a grin before following Sebastian and West in the opposite direction.

Adeline and Silvermist walked in silence, the weight of the evening settling in around them.

Finally, Adeline broke the quiet. "Perhaps," she said, her voice tinged with curiosity, "will your anger issues disappear if you fall in love again, Sil?"

The question caught Silvermist off guard, and a low chuckle escaped her. "You mean between me and Ezekiel?"

Adeline nodded, her eyes thoughtful. "Maybe if you fall in love again, things between you and Frost will be okay?"

Silvermist's smile faltered as she bit her bottom lip, a flicker of something darker crossing her face. She hadn't told Adeline the full story about her encounter with the Lunar King, nor the unsettling part where she met a demon who looked far too much like her.

"Emotions are fleeting, Ad. Love, jealousy, hatred… they come and go. If it were just about emotions, things wouldn't have turned out the way they did," Silvermist murmured. Her voice grew quieter, heavier. "But the truth is, I'm the problem. I am the hatred. And that's not something that fades with time. The only way it ends is with my death."

Adeline fell silent, piecing together what Silvermist had just revealed. Her heart tightened as she considered the weight of those words.

"But if I disappear," Silvermist continued, her voice almost a whisper, "so does Frost. And I won't let that happen. Not when he chose to save me."