Flashback ( PDFDrive )

Mr. Forkle nodded. “The Council’s decision is final. They wouldn’t
even give me a permanent crystal, for fear I might try to copy it.
They’re being very cautious. So it will just be the five of us. And we’ll
be leaping there with this.” He held up a smooth stone with a single
fleck of glitter glinting in the center and waved for Sophie, Fitz,
Sandor, and Grizel to gather around him.
Sweat was dripping down his face—probably from the thick tunic
he was wearing, along with two layers of capes. But it might’ve also
been a hint of nerves.
His hand even trembled as Sophie reached for it, and she
realized . . .
This would be the first time he’d face one of his brother’s killers.
“You okay?” she asked him.
He nodded. “But let’s make today count.”
• • •
“H-how ar-are y-y-you n-not sh-sh-shivering?” Fitz asked Sophie as
they trudged through the knee-deep snow. The cave they were aiming
for was only a few hundred yards away, but given the way their legs
kept sinking in, it was quite the epic trudge.
“Keefe helped me practice body temperature regulation,” Sophie
explained, wishing she’d thought to use the skill when she’d been
sweating at Havenfield. “The trick is to focus on friction, like where
your clothes rub your skin or where your toes scrape the sides of your
boots. That’s all generating little bursts of heat your mind can
amplify.”
“Huh.” Fitz’s eyebrows crunched together—and so did Mr. Forkle’s
—like they were each attempting to apply the tactic. But neither