Page 57 of Frostforge: Passage Two

Thalia parried a strike from the broad-shouldered boy, the impact jarring up her arm and into her shoulder.Sweat stung her eyes as she pivoted to counter another attack.They couldn't keep this up — not against three opponents with fresh strength and clear intent to kill.

Then, amid the pressure of combat, Thalia felt something stir within her — that unique connection to metal that had first manifested during her golem training.She let her awareness expand, sensing the composition of the weapons and armor around her.Every piece of metal in the room called to her, whispering secrets about their make and quality.

There — a weakness in the riveting of the white-haired girl's shoulder plate.And there — a hairline fracture in Nash's blade where the steel had been improperly tempered.

The next time the white-haired girl lunged, Thalia didn't dodge away.Instead, she stepped into the attack, her own blade sliding along her opponent's weapon to strike precisely at the weak point in the armor.The girl cried out as the metal gave way, creating an opening that Thalia exploited with a sharp elbow to the exposed collarbone.

Behind her, Senna fought with savage intensity, her movements fueled by a rage that bordered on recklessness.Her face was a mask of cold fury as she countered Nash's attacks.

Despite her best efforts, Thalia felt herself tiring.A slash from the broad-shouldered boy's dagger caught her forearm, drawing a thin line of blood.Beside her, Senna was breathing hard, a bruise darkening on her cheekbone where she'd taken a glancing blow.

Nash seemed to sense their flagging strength.His lips curled into a predatory smile as he pressed his advantage, forcing them back step by step toward the wall of the cavern.

"You should have minded your own business," he said, his voice almost conversational despite the violence of his attacks."Now we'll have to make sure no one finds your bodies."

Thalia's heart hammered in her chest.Her limbs felt leaden, her reactions slowing by fractions with each exchange.Across the chamber, Kaine had managed to push himself to a sitting position against the wall, but his face was ashen, his breathing shallow.He was too weak to keep fighting, and though Senna fought with all the ferocity of a Rimwolf, she and Thalia were outnumbered.

The realization struck like lightning, searing through Thalia’s veins.They were going to lose.Nash was going to kill them and make good on his promise.Nobody would even know what had happened down here.

Thalia gritted her teeth.Her thoughts turned to Mari.To the look in her sister’s eyes during their goodbyes at the port.

I can’t die here.I promised her I would come home.

Then the chamber door flew open with a resounding crash.

"Greenspire!"

Thalia risked a glance toward the entrance, her eyes widening at the sight of Roran standing in the doorway, twin short swords already drawn.His curly hair was wild around his face, his chest heaving as if he'd run the entire way.

"Roran?"Thalia gasped, barely raising her blade in time to block a strike from the white-haired girl.

Nash's head snapped toward the newcomer, his expression darkening."The Isle Warden spy.How fitting you'd join this pathetic resistance."

Roran stepped into the chamber, his movements fluid and controlled.“I bet you found those rumors useful," he said, his voice unnaturally calm."Trying to cast suspicion on me while you ran your little smuggling operation."

Nash didn’t respond, merely bared his teeth in an animalistic snarl.

"I promised I'd help if I could," Roran said to Thalia, his eyes never leaving the smugglers."So here I am."

Without another word, he launched himself into the fray, his twin blades moving in perfect synchronization.The fighting style was unlike anything taught at Frostforge — each strike flowing seamlessly into the next, his body twisting and turning as if dancing between his opponents' attacks.

Nash's broad-shouldered companion moved to intercept Roran, swinging his war hammer in a devastating arc.But Roran wasn't there anymore — he'd slipped under the blow and inside the boy's guard, landing three quick strikes before dancing away again.

The arrival of a new combatant changed the dynamics of the battle instantly.Nash and his companions were forced to divide their attention, creating openings that Thalia and Senna were quick to exploit.

Thalia found herself fighting alongside Roran as if they'd trained together for years.When she stepped left, he moved right.When she engaged one opponent, he handled another.There was an unspoken rhythm to their movements, a natural harmony that struck Thalia as both surprising and somehow inevitable.

During one exchange, as Roran's blade clashed with Nash's, Thalia caught a glimpse of something unusual — a crackling energy that seemed to dance along the edge of Roran's weapons, like miniature lightning trapped in steel.It was there and gone in an instant, so quick that Thalia couldn't be certain she hadn't imagined it.

The white-haired girl lunged at Thalia, forcing her attention back to her own opponent.Thalia parried and countered, her movements more confident now.The tide was turning.

Across the chamber, Senna had backed Nash into a corner.Her eyes blazed with righteous fury as she pressed her advantage, her blade a blur of motion.Nash's sneering confidence had evaporated, replaced by grim concentration as he fought to keep her at bay.

"You're a disgrace," Senna hissed, feinting high before striking low.

Nash barely blocked the blow, his arm trembling with the effort."And you're a fool," he spat back.

Senna's response was not in words but in action.With a roar that seemed to shake the very walls of the cavern, she executed a complex maneuver that knocked Nash's sword aside and followed with a decisive strike to his solar plexus with the pommel of her weapon.

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