FROST
Chapter 62: A Secret Not Meant to Exist

Chapter 62: A Secret Not Meant to Exist

"So... this is the Elixir," Sun mumbled, squinting at the glowing bottle now placed inside a water ball inside another chamber where treasures are kept.

He nudged Sebastian’s ribs for dramatic effect—unfortunately, Sebastian, still halfway in a trance, responded by spasming like he got zapped by lightning.

Sun blinked. "Woah, easy there, buddy. I said ’Elixir,’ not ’Exorcism.’"

Cloud, who had been silently observing West and Sebastian, turned with growing concern to East. "Is he okay?" he whispered, as if speaking too loudly would shatter what little brain function Sebastian had left.

East didn’t answer. He merely blinked slowly, then turned to Ezekiel with the subtlety of a confused pigeon.

Ezekiel, equally bewildered, tilted his head toward Silvermist, who—upon locking eyes with the line of questioning—gasped quietly and placed a hand over her mouth when she remembered West and Sebastian’s images with the nymphs.

Ever since they were summoned back in the Academy, none of the two had spoken yet and it’s already quite concerning.

Then Adeline, all of nine years old, deadpan and completely unfazed, spoke up like she was reading a grocery list: "They must’ve seen a couple of breasts back in the Nymph Forest."

Every single pair of eyes in the group swiveled toward her like synchronized owls. Except for West and Sebastian, of course.

Mila choked on her own spit. "Adeline!" she snapped, one hand flying to her hip in full ’disappointed mom’ posture. "You don’t just say that!"

Adeline only shrugged, completely unbothered, as if she’d just pointed out a passing cloud. "I’m just saying what they’re too embarrassed to admit and Silvermist saw them, making it above and beyond embarrassing."

Sebastian let out a weak, dreamy sigh. "There were... sparkles," he whispered, eyes still glazed over. "And petals. Everywhere. Everywhere," then he placed the back of his hand on his forehead. "And I hated it so much."

"You’re blushing, Sebastian," Sun grimaced, stepping a foot away from his apprentice.

East and Cloud exchanged a long look. Then, in perfect unison, they both nodded solemnly. "Ahhh... the nymphs."

"Do they always sparkle?" Sun asked, now intrigued.

"Sparkle, dance, hum ancient lullabies that melt your bones—" Sebastian began, voice a hushed reverence, before Sun slapped a hand over his mouth. "And suck your—"

"That’s enough!" Ezekiel groaned, finally losing patience as he yanked Sebastian by the back of his collar like a malfunctioning puppet.

The poor guy flopped against him like a sack of enchanted potatoes, mumbling something about butterflies made of silk and thighs.

Ezekiel didn’t dignify that with a response.

With his other hand, he latched onto West—who yelped like a kitten grabbed mid-mischief—and began dragging both of them toward the door.

Before stepping out, Ezekiel glanced back at East, Cloud, and Sun. His eye twitched. "We’ll be leaving first, Your Highnesses," he said with theatrical emphasis, as if politely reminding them that he’s not like West and Sebastian—that he had none seen those sparkles.

East gave a dignified nod, Cloud offered a diplomatic smile, and Sun only blinked. Carefully, Ezekiel closed the door.

Sun was about to say something clever—possibly something involving more sparkles—when he noticed Cloud and East had both turned their heads to look at Mila.

Mila blinked back at them, her mouth opening as if to ask what now? But before the question could even form, Adeline had already grabbed her wrist.

"We have to go now, too, Your Highnesses," Adeline declared solemnly as they reached the door, giving an overly formal bow that seemed like she’d practiced it just to mock adults. Mila, still half-spun from the day’s events, gave a nervous little curtsy while fidgeting with her sleeves before shuffling out behind her.

The door clicked shut then a quiet hush fell over the chamber. Silvermist, now blinking into the awkward silence, slowly turned her head left and right—and realized with mild horror that she was the last one standing.

"Oh," she said softly, turning toward the three princes. "Well then, I suppose I should—"

"We’d like to talk to you first, Miss Evermore," Cloud interrupted smoothly. There was something in his tone that made Silvermist swallow.

She froze mid-step, smile faltering just a little. She straightened like someone who’d just realized she might be about to get scolded for not filing her magical taxes and she barely have magic.

Did they notice the Elixir bottle was swapped? Did it lose... one drop? One single drop?! Oh no. What if I just made another catastrophic mistake—on par with, say, accidentally breaking Frost’s ancient, sacred, definitely-not-replaceable staff?

Silvermist loosen her collar, taking off Estes’ cloak to lessen the load she was carrying.

East folded his arms. Sun tried to look serious but mostly looked like he was debating if now was a good time to ask for snacks, but no, he needed to hear these things.

Silvermist chuckled weakly, brushing the remaining dusts on Estes’ cloak. "Of course you would," she said. "Shall I sit or will I be judged standing?"

Cloud’s lips thinned. "Actually," he began, tone clipped with the polished calm of someone who never quite gave away if he was about to knight you or exile you, "we’re commending you. For being able to retrieve the Elixir in just a span of two days."

Silvermist blinked.

"We didn’t expect you’d be able to exceed our expectations," Cloud continued, almost suspiciously smooth.

Silvermist smiled wryly. She wasn’t entirely sure if that was a compliment or a passive-aggressive jab—like someone saying wow, you’re actually useful. Who knew? But hey, at least it wasn’t about the other thing.

You know. The tiny, possibly world-tilting detail. The Elixir’s swapped bottle. A topic she planned to take with her to the grave as she’s not really sure if it’ll cause another trouble or what.

"And we’d also like to know something," East said, stepping forward, too close, Silvermist’s nose wrinkled when his jasmine scent basically punched her nostrils.

She immediately leaned back instinctively, eyes narrowing. "About what?" she asked, one foot subtly angling toward the exit. Just in case she needed to sprint. Or teleport. Or fake her own death.

East’s gaze sharpened. "I heard from Ezekiel that you’ve seen West’s magic."

Ah. Crap.

Silvermist swallowed. She hadn’t expected that to come up. Not so soon. Not with three Guardians staring at her.

Her brain screamed: Deny. Deny. Fake amnesia. Blame it on the elves. Say you were possessed by tree spirits and hallucinated.

But then—of all people—it was Ezekiel who said it. Mr. Might-Be-Related-To-The-Lunar-King. If he told them, that probably meant trying to lie was going to backfire in a very dramatic, probably public, and very possibly fireball-related way.

So instead, she opted for a slow nod and a cautious, "I... may have seen something."

Sun leaned forward. "Was it glowing? Was there chanting? Were there birds flying backwards?"

Silvermist stared at him. "What?"

"Just checking," Sun mumbled.

Cloud raised a brow. "So. You have seen it."

She sighed in defeat. "Yes. It was... accidental. And very brief. And, honestly, I think I was just slightly concussed at the time. It must even be just my imaginations."

"That was real," East said sharply, his brows furrowing. "And he’s not supposed to be using that anymore."

Silvermist’s eyes dropped to the floor. Her throat tightened, remembering what Xavier had said in that tension-thick moment when West unleashed something very cool and magical, Silvermist is still having fantasies remembering it.

She hesitated, then raised her eyes back to East, carefully. "Perhaps..." she started slowly, "is this something to do with West being a vessel?"

The effect was immediate.

Cloud stiffened. East’s expression dropped into a blank slate, too calm to be anything but deeply unsettled. And even Sun—who, moments ago, had been mentally composing a ballad about nymph sparkles and dinner—snapped to attention as if someone had slapped a frying pan next to his head.

"How’d you know that?" Sun asked, voice lower now.

Silvermist raised both palms slightly in defense. "It’s not my intention. Everything just happened so fast when we were on the island and we were—"

"Ambushed by the elves," Cloud cut in, already connecting dots.

"Yeah. That." Silvermist pointed a finger at him, relieved someone else already knew about the traumatic group project from hell. There was no way she could retell it without breaking into hysterical cringing or tears—or both.

It had to be Ezekiel. Classic Ezekiel. Probably spilled the whole thing and conveniently left out the part with the Nymphs-on-a-rampage incident just to save West and Sebastian a shred of dignity.

"One of the elves, one of their rulers—Xavier, was it?—he said something about West being a vessel. I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time because, you know, I was a little busy not dying."

Sun blinked. "That was Xavier? The Xavier? Pointy-eared, smug, weirdly fabulous cape with ethereal face?"

"Yes, that one," she said dryly. "He tried to skewer West, and West—well—he kind of lit up like a divine nightlight on vengeance mode. There was wind. Groaning. Possibly some thunder."

Cloud rubbed his temple like he was trying to massage answers into his brain. "This... complicates things."

East’s eyes narrowed, thoughts clearly racing at a speed normally reserved for meteor showers.

He then turned to Cloud. "But his mana should have been sealed. How was it able to resurface when the seal was not even broken?"

"I have no way to know," Cloud shook his head, his gaze still locked on Silvermist. "And besides, I didn’t just sense one mana source when all of you were summoned back to my chamber. There were two unstable mana signatures, but the second one disappeared before I could even figure out who it came from." He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "So, aside from West, has anyone else unlocked some... potential new magic? Perhaps, maybe because of the mist, your senses kept getting dull and even Ezekiel wasn’t able to sense any changes."

Silvermist swallowed, especially when she remembered the other her—the one who had lent her magic, the reason she was able to get her hands on the Elixir. But was it safe to tell them? Would they have answers, or would it just cause Frost more trouble?

Silvermist ended up shaking her head. "I-I’m not sure. Because aside from West, I’ve noticed that Ezekiel and Sebastian can use a lot of different magic types, other than bending air, wind, earth, and water. And Ezekiel isn’t even one of the Four Season Apprentices."

"Ahh, well about that," East scratched the edge of his brow with one finger, as if trying to find the right words. "Those three were actually at the arcane level."

"Hmm?" Silvermist blinked in confusion. "Apprentices also have levels aside from being ranked according to which master we serve?"

"Of course," Sun interjected, raising a finger as though he were about to impart some great wisdom. "There are seven ranks in total. Most apprentices whose masters are sorcerers fall under ranks 1 to 4. They have basic control over magic—like bending water, air, and other elements. They can cast simple spells or illusions, things that don’t require too much finesse or power. But those who are apprentices to one of the 12 guardians, like yourself fall under ranks 5 and 6. Their magic is more advanced, complex even, and they can do far more impressive feats."

Silvermist’s eyes widened, intrigued. "So, the twelve apprentices are like... mid-tier?"

"Exactly," Sun nodded. "And those who fall under rank 7, they’re arcane-level, like West, Ezekiel, and Sebastian. The arcane types are a whole different beast—they can manipulate forces beyond what most of us even comprehend. You saw it yourself."

"Wow," Silvermist gasped, impressed. "So, since I am one of the twelve apprentices and on top of that, Frost’s apprentice, I should be on level 6, right?"

Sun looked at her, then shrugged nonchalantly, a sly grin playing on his lips. "Meh. Might not be applicable for you."

Silvermist’s smile disappeared as she turned to East and Cloud. "Any more degrading words you’d like to add?"

East looked at Cloud, and Cloud shrugged. Silvermist could only sigh. "I think retrieving the Elixir is not yet enough to prove myself, ah."

"But you’ve improved a lot," East suddenly said when they saw Silvermist’s fighting spirit about to leave her body. "I also heard from Ezekiel that you defeated one of the Elven rulers with just one blow. That should be worth celebrating."

"Wow, thanks," Silvermist only smiled wryly. "So, anyway, what will happen to my purification? I shouldn’t be undergoing it now that I retrieved the Elixir, right?"

"Only if you won’t go on a rampage again," Cloud warned. "The only reason why the three gods agreed not to do it yet is to honor Frost’s pleas. Until then, be very careful with your magic. Keep it sleeping as much as possible until you are able to wield it safely."

Silvermist fell quiet for a moment before opening her lips to speak once again. "What if... my mana gets sealed as well? Would it help?"

"It will," Cloud nodded, but then sighed. "We would have already done it if we could, but sealing your mana is just like purification. We would still be contradicting Frost’s request if we do that."

"Then would you rather risk the fact that I might go berserk again?" Silvermist placed a hand on her chest for emphasis.

"And that’s where your responsibility should step in," Cloud answered solemnly. "Frost is fighting for you, isn’t he? You should at least do your part, train, and grow stronger until you are able to wield that unstable magic of yours. You are one, remember? He might not be fighting alongside you physically, but he’s always with you."

Silvermist paused. Her chest suddenly compressed, and it hurt that she had to look up to stop the tears that were threatening to blur her vision. Cloud was right. Despite the fact that she did not see Frost, he had always been there for her, appearing whenever she needed him.

"H-How is he, anyway?" Silvermist’s lips quivered. "Am I still not allowed to see him? Even just from afar?"

Cloud, East, and Sebastian exchanged looks once again, and then Sun spoke. "Just let her, Cloud. Frost sealed himself from any magic from the outside anyway, so he shouldn’t be reacting to her just like back in the auditorium."

Silvermist didn’t really expect that among the three of them, Sun would be the one to let her meet Frost. She would have hugged him to thank him, but just the way Sun’s brow furrowed after saying those words made Silvermist step back.

After a long silence, Cloud sighed and finally spoke. "Alright. I’ll just have to ask for the King’s approval. I’ll send Ezekiel to you once I get it. You may go now."

Silvermist smiled, and before she could thank them, Sun groaned, ruffling his hair. "Ahh, just when I thought Sebastian had remembered something already. I better go now, too." Just like that, Sun vanished into thin air, leaving Silvermist thinking.

"Remembered something?" she thought, but then shrugged the thought off right away. She was too excited to finally see Frost anyway. She bowed, then left the chamber, leaving Cloud and East.

"So, have the Furnace Creek and Eastern Antarctic already been stabilized?" East asked the moment the door closed.

"Barely," Cloud answered. "I shouldn’t even be here yet, but the Thunder God personally asked me to look into the Elixir to see if we could use it to bring Frost’s staff back."

East turned to him, brows knitting. "Are they seriously going to do it to Silvermist after she just proved something already? She’s even the one who retrieved the Elixir! Can’t they just give her more time to control her magic?"

"It’s not my decision to make, East," Cloud sighed. "Unless the gods see her do some kind of miracle right in front of them, they’ll vanish her despite Frost’s intervention."

"And we’re supposed to let that happen?" East argued.

"Unless you’re willing to risk all the human lives, you can side with Silvermist all you want," Cloud emphasized, turning to him. "I know that you know whose mana it was we sensed, other than West’s. It’s Silvermist’s. A magic that shouldn’t have existed, East. And if the gods knew about it, Frost would be questioned as well—for keeping it a secret."