On a perch inside a steel cage sat a bullfinch, only as large as my hand. If not the magic coming from it, and the strange gleam of its feathers, Reynard could have mistaken it for an ordinary bird.
Marien gasped.
Frozen Balance turned its head, looking at Marien and Reynard with a black, round eye. The bird's motions were jerky and robotic.
Reynard leaned closer and realized that its feathers sparkled because the bird was made from colored and textured ice. The replica of an actual bird was almost perfect, save for the way it reflected light.
"It really is a bird! I had my doubts," Marien said. "Does it speak?"
The bird opened its beak, and a female voice came from somewhere inside it.
"Who wishes to seek the wisdom of the unforgiving frost?"
"Worthy people, Frozen Balance. I vouch for them, as the heir of the Gelum bloodline," Amelia said.
"Then release me, and I will commence the lesson."
