"You mages surely love exerting your aura on others….."
His gaze remained locked on her, his expression calm and unaffected. "With how things are in the academy," he said, his voice cutting through the cold like a blade, "are you confident that you will not face any repercussions if you do such a thing?"
Seraphina's eyes narrowed, her frosty aura intensifying for a moment. She leaned closer, her silver eyes gleaming like ice under the sun. "Repercussions?" she repeated, her tone mocking. "You underestimate what I can get away with, Astron."
"Perhaps," he replied, unfazed. "But even those with power know that the wrong move can cost them everything. Unless you're confident enough to bear that cost?"
The words hung in the chilled air between them, and for a moment, the frost around Astron lingered, unmoving. Then, slowly, it began to recede. Seraphina sat back in her chair, her smirk returning but her eyes sharp with calculation.
