“He’s coming!” I hissed, panic

  flooding my system. The forge had only one entrance—the same door

  through which Eisenhart’s angry voice now echoed. We were trapped.

  Krelvin’s crystalline face paled to an almost translucent white. “If he catches us here—”

  Isabella moved with practiced

  efficiency, sliding the documents into her spatial ring with a subtle

  gesture. “Close it,” she commanded Krelvin, who fumbled at the wall

  panel.

  The frost patterns reversed their course, sealing the secret compartment just as Eisenhart’s booming voice grew louder.

  “USELESS APPRENTICE! I leave for ONE HOUR and you abandon your post!”

  We exchanged desperate glances. There was nowhere to hide in the open circular chamber, and Eisenhart would arrive in seconds.

  Aria’s eyes suddenly widened.

  “I’ve got it,” she whispered, a mischievous glint replacing her panic.

  Before any of us could question her, she grabbed Krelvin by his

  shoulders and pushed him against the nearby workbench.

  “Don’t question this,” she instructed, her fingers already working at the clasps of his garments.

  Understanding dawned on me

  instantly. I exchanged a quick glance with Isabella, who nodded subtly

  before moving toward Krelvin’s other side.

  Aria’s movements were swift and

  practiced as she partially undressed herself, revealing just enough

  skin to be suggestive without being fully exposed. I followed suit,

  loosening my top and mussing my hair while Isabella draped herself

  provocatively across Krelvin’s lap.

  “But—” Krelvin stammered, his frost patterns swirling in confused patterns.

  “Play along if you want to live,” Isabella whispered, her voice both sweet and threatening.

  We barely had time to arrange

  ourselves in a tableau of interrupted debauchery before the door burst

  open. Eisenhart stormed in, his short stature doing nothing to diminish

  the intimidating aura of frost magic swirling around him.

  “KRELVIN! What are you—” His

  words died as he took in the scene before him—his apprentice surrounded

  by three partially dressed succubi in various states of dishevelment.

  I forced a guilty expression

  onto my face while inwardly calculating escape routes. Had we been

  convincing enough? Would he buy our hastily constructed ruse?

  “GET AWAY FROM MY APPRENTICE!” Eisenhart bellowed, ice crystals forming in the air around him as his anger intensified.

  I gulped, the nervousness not

  entirely feigned. If he attacked, we’d have to defend ourselves,

  potentially blowing our cover completely.

  Aria pouted, playing her role to perfection. “We were just having a little fun…”

  Eisenhart’s eyes narrowed

  dangerously. “I know exactly what you’re doing. You think I don’t recognise a seduction attempt when I see one? You’re trying to extract

  information about your dagger!”

  Relief washed through me. He’d drawn exactly the conclusion we’d hoped for.

  “We wouldn’t dream of—” Isabella began, her voice a perfect blend of innocence and guilt.

  “SILENCE!” Frost crackled along

  the floor from where Eisenhart stood. “Get dressed and get out! If you

  try this again, our deal is off. I expect you to complete your end of

  the bargain—information on Sathek’s techniques—without these underhanded

  tactics!”

  We hurriedly adjusted our

  clothing, offering stammered apologies that sounded appropriately

  chastened. Isabella even managed to produce a convincing blush as she

  smoothed her dress.

  “We’ll get your information,” she promised demurely. “No more… distractions.”

  Eisenhart glared at us as we

  filed past him toward the exit. “And YOU,” he rounded on Krelvin once

  we’d moved beyond the workbench. “How could you let yourself be seduced

  so easily? Are you completely useless?”

  I caught Aria’s eye as we

  slipped through the doorway, the three of us fighting to keep our

  expressions appropriately shamefaced until we were safely out of sight.

  “Pathetic excuse for an

  apprentice!” Eisenhart’s voice followed us down the corridor. “Perhaps

  it’s time I found someone with actual talent who won’t be swayed by the

  first succubi to bat their eyelashes!”

  We maintained our charade until

  we reached the reception area, then hurried outside into Frostheim’s

  frigid air before finally allowing ourselves to breathe.

  “That was close,” I whispered, glancing back at the smithy.

  Aria’s laughter bubbled up, impossible to contain any longer. “Did you see his face? He completely bought it!”

  Isabella patted her side where

  the spatial ring concealed our prize. “We have what we came for. Poor

  Krelvin, though. I suspect his days as an apprentice are numbered.”

  “He was planning to leave anyway,” Aria reminded us with a shrug.

  We moved quickly through

  Frostheim’s streets, putting distance between ourselves and Eisenhart’s

  wrath. Whatever secrets the documents held, we’d soon discover who had

  commissioned the daggers—and perhaps why they were targeting purebloods

  at the Academy.

  * * *

  We hurried down a narrow alley

  between two ice structures, our breath creating small clouds in the

  frigid air. Once certain we weren’t followed, we ducked into a small

  alcove carved into one of the buildings.

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  “Let’s see what we actually

  grabbed,” Isabella whispered, glancing around cautiously before

  withdrawing the parchments from her spatial ring.

  The documents unfurled in her

  hands, their edges crackling slightly in the cold. Aria and I huddled

  closer, our bodies forming a protective circle around the evidence.

  “Is this what we’re looking for?” I asked, scanning the neat rows of writing.

  Isabella’s finger traced down

  the page. “It’s a client ledger. Names, dates, orders…” Her crimson eyes

  narrowed as she flipped through several pages. “Here—three months ago.”

  The page detailed a series of

  transactions, each entry meticulously recorded in Eisenhart’s precise

  handwriting. My gaze followed Isabella’s finger to an entry that made my

  heart skip:

  14 Ceremonial Daggers - Silver core, obsidian blade, enchanted with petrification and binding spells - House Viridia

  “House Viridia?” Aria read aloud, her brow furrowed. “Never heard of them.”

  I shook my head. “Me neither.”

  Isabella’s face had gone still,

  her aristocratic features hardening into a mask of concern. “That’s

  because house Viridia is from Silvanus—the Third Circle.”

  “The forest realm?” I asked, remembering Professor Scarlet’s lecture. “What would they want with daggers targeting purebloods?”

  Isabella carefully rolled the

  parchments back up. “That’s the question, isn’t it? This changes

  everything. We assumed this was part of the existing tension between

  Igneus and Glacius, but…”

  “Someone’s stirring the pot,” Aria finished, her usual playfulness replaced by uncharacteristic seriousness.

  “Exactly.” Isabella stored the

  documents back in her spatial ring. “Is House Viridia opportunistically

  exploiting existing tensions, or are they the architects behind this

  whole conflict? Either way, my mother needs to know immediately.”

  I opened my mouth to respond

  when a strange sensation prickled along my spine—a warning that seemed

  to bypass conscious thought and strike directly at my instincts.

  “Something’s not right,” I whispered, my voice dropping to barely a breath. “Be careful.”

  The words had barely left my

  lips when a massive icicle speared through the air where we’d been

  standing moments before, shattering against the wall behind us. The

  three of us had moved purely on instinct, diving in different directions

  as crystalline shards exploded around us.

  “There!” Aria hissed, pointing upward.

  On the rooftop opposite our

  position stood a figure in a hooded cloak, their horns visible even in

  the dim light. Their hands glowed with frost magic as they conjured

  another massive icicle, hurling it toward Isabella with deadly

  precision.

  She rolled sideways, the projectile missing her by inches. “Move!” she commanded.

  The figure, realising they’d been spotted, turned and disappeared across the rooftops, their dark form melting into the shadows.

  “Shit,” Isabella spat, brushing

  ice fragments from her clothing. “Someone knows we’re snooping around.

  We need to get back to Igneus—fast.”

  “And not get caught along the way,” I added, scanning the rooftops for any sign of our attacker.

  Aria’s eyes darted between us. “Why are they even trying to kill us? We’ll just reform anyway.”

  “Reformation takes time,”

  Isabella replied grimly. “Dying could mean weeks or even months before

  we return. More than enough time for whoever’s behind this to cover

  their tracks or accelerate their plans.”

  “The transport gate—” I began.

  Isabella shook her head. “Too risky. That’s the first place they’ll watch for us. We have to go back the way we came, on foot.”

  “We need to move either way,” I said, my voice low and urgent. “They’ll regroup quickly after this failed attempt.”

  Isabella nodded, already

  scanning the narrow streets ahead. “The eastern exit is closest. If we

  move fast enough, we might slip out before they can coordinate a proper

  ambush.”

  We hurried through Frostheim’s

  icy thoroughfares, keeping to the shadows where possible. The town’s

  crystalline structures refracted light in unpredictable ways, creating a

  disorienting labyrinth of glittering surfaces and dark corners.

  As we navigated the unfamiliar

  terrain, my mind raced. This conflict was escalating far beyond what

  we’d anticipated. A three-way war between the circles wasn’t just

  Academy gossip anymore—it was becoming reality. Should I tell my

  parents? Lucifer and Lilith would certainly be interested in a conflict

  of this scale, especially with the Third Circle’s involvement.

  It would also provide the

  perfect opportunity to officially acknowledge that Aria and Isabella

  knew my true identity. My mother had likely known for weeks

  anyway—Lilith rarely missed such details. The thought of finally

  dropping the pretence was oddly liberating.

  “Less thinking, more paying

  attention,” Aria hissed, yanking me sideways as an ice shard whistled

  past where my head had been moments before.

  I blinked, refocusing on our immediate surroundings. “Sorry.”

  “Save the daydreaming for when we’re not being hunted,” she added, scanning the rooftops.

  We ducked into a narrow passage between two buildings, pausing to catch our breath.

  “How exactly are we planning to

  leave unnoticed?” I whispered. “They’ll be watching the terrain

  surrounding the town, and we don’t exactly blend in.”

  Isabella’s expression was grim.

  “We don’t have better options. Frostheim doesn’t even have a transport

  gate—we’d need to reach another settlement for that. We either hide here

  indefinitely or risk leaving.”

  “And hiding just gives them time to bring in reinforcements,” Aria added.

  I nodded reluctantly. “Fine. Let’s go.”

  We emerged from the alley,

  moving with purpose toward the eastern edge of town. The streets were

  eerily empty now—word of trouble had spread quickly among the locals,

  who knew better than to get caught between warring demons.

  We’d nearly reached the

  outskirts when a figure dropped from an overhanging ice formation,

  landing directly in our path. Unlike the rooftop attacker, this assassin

  wore lightweight armour of silvery scales that shimmered like fish skin

  in the pale light.

  Before he could fully

  straighten, Aria’s hand darted into her pouch, emerging with a green

  vial that she hurled with practiced precision.

  The assassin was fast—clearly

  trained in close combat—but not prepared for alchemical warfare. The

  vial shattered against his chest, releasing a sickly green mist that

  enveloped him instantly. His limbs stiffened mid-motion, muscles locking

  into place as the paralysis took effect.

  “We should question him,” Aria suggested, already stepping forward.

  Isabella grabbed her arm. “No time. That won’t hold him long, and who knows how many of them are still out there.”

  I nodded in agreement. “We need to keep moving.”

  Frostheim wasn’t large, and

  within minutes we’d reached the edge of town. The vast white expanse of

  Glacius stretched before us, promising both escape and exposure. We’d

  barely taken three steps beyond the last structure when two more figures

  emerged from behind a snowdrift, their white cloaks making them nearly

  invisible against the landscape.

  Aria didn’t hesitate. Her hands moved in a blur, producing two purple vials that arced through the air toward our ambushers.

  The first assassin swatted the

  incoming projectile aside with practiced ease, sending it harmlessly

  into a snowbank. But the second made a critical error—slicing at the

  vial with his blade.

  The glass shattered, releasing a

  cloud of vibrant purple mist that enveloped both figures instantly. The

  effect was immediate and dramatic. Their disciplined posture melted

  away as hands that had been reaching for weapons now clawed desperately

  at clothing and armour.

  “The arousal potion,” Isabella murmured, a hint of amusement in her otherwise tense voice.

  We hurried past as the two

  assassins fell upon each other, their mission forgotten in the

  overwhelming chemical-induced need. Their groans faded behind us as we

  disappeared into the snow-covered landscape.

  “That was… convenient,” I said once we were well away.

  Aria shrugged. “They’re good at ambushes, not open combat. Besides, nobody expects a succubus to fight with alchemy.”

  “Three down, but there will be

  more,” Isabella warned, her eyes scanning the horizon. “We need to keep

  moving until we reach the Transition Zone.”

  I nodded, feeling the weight of

  the information we carried. Three circles potentially at war, and we

  held the evidence that might prevent—or ignite—the conflict.