The Glitterfrost exploded between her teeth. With each bite, their sweet freshness crumbled on her tongue and invaded her palate. Sitting on the inside windowsill, Ember leaned her back against the glass. The hum of the electromagnetic field made it vibrate, and though the sensation was mostly annoying at first, it had become soothing. Like a gentle massage, it loosened her tired muscles.

"When I said you needed to gain weight, I didn't mean it like that." Lightara held a file of papers in her hands and stood in front of her. Her red half-cloak fell at her side, and with the Academy's artificial light casting a majestic shadow on the wall, she appeared even taller than usual.

Ember stood with the Glitterfrost stick inches from her lips. She blushed and bowed her head, but didn't hide a smile. "I ran all morning, faced a Velanthra, sparred with Viola for half an afternoon. I can afford a treat, can't I?"

Lightara let out a puff of air through her nose. "Glitterfrost is just crystallized sugar. I don't see how you can eat that stuff."

"Kind of like this?" Ember bit into a small sugar crystal and slid it off the stick, then chewed on it with her mouth closed. They tasted like what every child imagines snow tastes like before discovering it is nothing but dirty, cold water.

They tasted like dreams. Like childhood.

Ember ate them all the time as a little girl; her mother bought them for her at every party. The unmistakable flavor of Glitterfrost took her back to those days, to the feeling of her mother's hand holding hers, protecting her from the winter cold, to the smile that had once convinced Ember that she was worth something.

Mama's girl.

That smile had faded over time. Ember's hand had been in the cold ever since, forced to hide in her sleeve for warmth.

Lightara snapped her tongue against her palate in a bitingless 'tsk'. "At least don't get indigestion."

"All right, Mama - I mean, Sarge." Ember covered a giggle with her free hand.

"I still say a steak would be better."

"A steak after dinner?"

Lightara closed the file with a dry gesture. She lifted her eyes to the other girl, a bright blue but not so cold anymore. "If you were hungry, you could have some extra meat for dinner, that's what I meant."

Ember smiled, swinging her foot into the void. "It's not so much hunger as... a craving for something good."

The Sergeant tucked the file under her arm and lifted her chin quizzically. "Dinner was more than good," she said, but there was a puzzled note in her tone. As if she couldn't understand the need to change the flavor and opt for a breath of absolute sweetness.

"Yes, but don't you ever feel like eating something different?"

Lightara remained motionless for a few moments before barely shaking her head. "No," she admitted, though the hesitation was obvious. Then she let out a sigh. "You have my sister's taste, but at least she's twelve."

Ember leaned forward. The first button of her blouse undid itself, she moved a hand to fix it, but changed her mind halfway through. It was more comfortable that way. "You have a sister?"

That's who she meant that day. Who was the 'she' who wouldn't listen to her. Lightara was talking about her little sister, Ember had no doubt. A feeling of warmth entered her chest.

Lightara turned her torso to the side, as if to escape her gaze. For once, she was the one who escaped. Ember's eyes dropped to the other woman's hand, closed at chest level; she imagined herself grasping it. Would it have been warm? Would that little contact have been enough to drive away at least an ounce of the cold that enveloped them both?

Don't be ridiculous; she doesn't need you. It's you who needs her.

Ember blinked a few times. A gesture that served to bring her back to reality. She realized the Sergeant had no intention of answering her, so she focused on the Glitterfrost stick she held between her fingers. Three remained. Three small, crystal-shaped pieces of sugar.

She jumped down from the windowsill. Her hips twitched with pain, bruised from the Velanthra's tail squeeze. Ember gritted her teeth and pretended to be fine. Her cheeks flushed, she lifted the stick and offered it to the Sergeant. She thought to speak, but her voice caught in her throat.

You really wanted to look like a baby, huh?

Lightara tilted her head, not understanding. "I just told you, I don't like them."

"How long has it been since you tried them?" Ember asked. She sent down a lump of saliva that clogged her throat.

The other woman frowned. Then she huffed, "I can't remember. When I was a kid."

You think you're brilliant? You just look like a petulant child.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and for some reason the image of Lightara helping her to control her breathing in the woods came back to her. Ember followed that rhythm again: she inhaled deeply, counted to seven, and then exhaled. She found that it only took that much to drown out her father's voice inside her, at least this time.

"You know, maybe your sister just needs to see that you can enjoy a treat once in a while," she said, waving the stick slightly in front of the other woman's nose. "I swear a bite won't make you too sappy."

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

It was obvious that Lightara was skeptical, but after a moment of reluctance, she actually took the stick. Their fingers brushed together. Ember waited a split second to enjoy the small warmth before releasing her grip. "I doubt a sugar cube will do much more than give me a cavity."

Ember chuckled. "It sure helps with the mood."

She rolled her eyes, but that only made Ember smile more.

Lightara grabbed a Glitterfrost between her incisors and slid it down the stick. As she bit into it, the crunch of the crumbling crystal resonated with the hum of the electromagnetic field. She swallowed it and immediately her tongue flicked out to lick her lips. And a reddish blush clouded her cheeks; it was barely visible, so much so that Ember wondered if she hadn't imagined it.

"What's it like?"

"Stupid," Lightara replied. Her lips immediately curled into a half-smile. "But it's not as bad as I remembered."

That was enough.

Ember took the stick back and stared at it for a long time, realizing that Lightara had actually touched it with her mouth. She knew it was a silly little-girl thought, but she couldn't stop thinking of that exchange as more intimate than it actually was.

Lame.

"Anyway, I didn't call you at this hour to eat treats," the other woman said.

Ember lowered the Glitterfrost stick. It was better to distract herself for now. "Any news on Oblam or Jason?" She hadn't liked talking about Jason since the day he'd snuck into her room, and she felt her shoulders automatically contract.

"Nothing really. As far as I know, Oblam is preparing an alliance. With whom, I didn't understand."

If it was an alliance in the making, it was highly unlikely to be with the Ysnians.

"I suspect it's an alliance with the Islands of Alyandra," Lightara said after a while.

Ember grabbed the stick between two fingers and turned it over in front of her as if it were meat on a barbecue. "Why the Islands of Alyandra?"

"The Ysnians recently conquered two islands, and as far as I know, they are trying to impose their traditions. It would make sense to ally with Valestria; we could give them a chance at freedom." Lightara paused, then added, "And it would explain Oblam's sudden fixation with tea."

Ember didn't hold back a chuckle, but quickly returned to seriousness. "That just leaves Jason as the prime suspect?"

"That is, assuming his wasn't just a stunt to scare you because he and Mark are the usual jerks."

Normally, Lightara never made insulting comments about cadets in front of them or the officers. Since she had begun to let loose just enough to lower the wall of her defenses by a brick with Ember, her opinions had become glaringly obvious. It was clear that she regarded Mark as a spoiled, bullying child who needed to learn to duck, and Jason as his spineless sidekick. Just as Alpes was a pushy pain in the ass, Oblam an incompetent tea addict, and Phoenix an asshole who needed to learn to use his head more and his sword less.

Ember had been tempted several times to ask her opinion about Ciel and Viola, but had always refrained. She preferred not to know. After all, she liked them, those two, and if Lightara had spoken ill of them, she would have been saddened.

"So what's the plan now?" she asked, her voice cracking.

Lightara sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "We have to try to find out why Jason broke into your room. What was he really hoping to achieve?"

Ember nodded, though inside she feared the rest of the answer. The Sergeant was an intelligent woman, but she usually lacked the patience to come up with effective plans. "You're not going to tell me we have to sneak into his dorm, are you?"

"No, that wouldn't do any good." The other woman dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand. Thankfully. "No, I think we should just press him. Maybe he'll let something slip."

"And how do we pressure him?"

"We'll ask him a few questions and make him believe he'll get a bad punishment if he doesn't confess."

Ember raised her eyebrows in doubt. "No offense, but it just seems like a good way to expose ourselves."

"If we never expose ourselves, we risk staying where we are, Ember."

True, only she wasn't sure if there wasn't a better way to keep investigating without getting caught. But really, if Jason had been the traitor, this argument didn't hold: his breaking into Ember's dormitory already indicated the possibility that he knew.

She was about to reply to the Sergeant that all in all it was an acceptable plan when she noticed a figure charging down the hall. Ember turned just in time to meet Alpes' lanky gaze; he quickly turned away, as if hoping to get out of the girl's mind, and continued on his way. He wasn't even wearing a uniform; he was in civilian clothes, with a jacket and a neat, loose tie.

Ember blinked, confused. It was unusual for Alpes to see her and not pry.

"Um, Sarge?"

Lightara followed her gaze only then, but Alpes was already gone. "What?"

"Is the Lieutenant acting strangely, or is that just my impression?"

"Why?"

"He just flew through the corridor in a suit and tie, pretending not to have seen me." Ember pointed to where she had seen Alpes enter - and leave - the scene.

"Strange," Lightara said. "He told me he was going to be in the office all evening; he had some urgent paperwork to do."

The two exchanged a complicit look. There could very well have been an innocent motive, they both knew. Still, Ember couldn't help but think back to the day she'd seen him leave his own office late at night, looking completely disheveled, as if he'd been on a run... .... or some other kind of physical activity.

Throw in that a little lie and the unusual behavior, and it was impossible not to find him suspicious.

What if he had gone to meet someone? What if that someone was the reason the mission to the Ysnian ruins had been a total failure?

Lightara moved suddenly. At a brisk pace, she walked down the corridor, but in the opposite direction: towards the offices. Ember trotted behind her. "Send Lumen to track his movements."

"You want to follow him?" she asked, already putting on her glove and unbuckling the drone from her belt.

"Yes. But if he's in a suit and tie, he's probably headed into town." Lightara paused in front of her office. "Go change into civilian clothes, the more unnoticed we go, the better."

Ember sent Lumen in pursuit. She had learned to set the automatic tracking: when it found Alpes just outside the Academy, she ordered it with a double twist of her fingers to follow him everywhere.

Then she raised her head to Lightara and nodded firmly. She wasn't sure if this was a good idea.

If you never expose yourself, you risk staying where you are.

It was a risk they had to take.

"Yes, Sarge."