"The Academy is miles away. Governor Thorne is a weakling who owes me favors. There is no one here to protect you. Now, give me the research."
Alvian looked up. His expression didn't change. He looked at Valen the way a wolf looks at a noisy rabbit.
"You seem confused, Magistrate," Alvian said softly.
He activated a sliver of his [Heart of Frost] aura. The temperature in the room plummeted instantly. Frost began to creep up the legs of the table. Valen's breath turned into a visible cloud.
"I didn't survive a God just to be threatened by a bureaucrat."
Valen flinched, taking a half-step back. The cold was unnatural. It cut through his magical defenses. For a split second, he saw it in Alvian's eyes—the void, the indifference, the absolute lethality. This wasn't a student. This was something else.
