Flashback ( PDFDrive )

“I thought we’d start with cold temperatures because it’s a little less
miserable than training for heat,” he explained as he pulled off her
glove. “Though you’re probably still going to want to punch me when
you dunk your arm in.”
“My whole arm? Not just my hand?”
“Yep. The colder you are, the more it’ll trigger your instincts.”
“Of course.”
Condensation was dribbling down the sides of the metal basin, and
even touching the rim made her fingers sting. So she steeled herself
for a serious shock of cold—but the reality was a thousand times more
miserable.
“Aw, those little shrieking sounds you’re making are super
adorable,” Keefe told her. “Ready to punch me yet?”
“S-splashing y-you s-sounds b-better,” she said through chattering
teeth.
“I suppose. But we both know I’ll splash you back—and then you’ll
retaliate, because you may look all sweet and innocent, but you have a
feisty streak. And then it’ll be an ice-water war, and Elwin will ban me
from the Healing Center and you’ll be lost without my visits, and I’d
rather not make you suffer like that. So how about I teach you Alvar’s
trick to make it not feel so cold?”
“You c-c-could’ve o-offered th-that f-five m-minutes a-ago!”
“Ah, but then you wouldn’t have been as freezing as I needed you to
be. See how well I distracted you?”
She was very tempted to dunk his head.
“W-WHAT’S THE TR-TRICK?”
“This.” He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.