Page 2 of Frostforge: Passage Two

"I ranked fourth in our class," Thalia said instead.“The instructors say I have a natural gift for metallurgy.”

For a brief moment, pride flickered in her mother's eyes before worry clouded them again.Celeste's hands stilled on the jars."I didn't raise my children for war," she said quietly, barely above a whisper.

Thalia had no answer for that.None that would ease the ache in her mother's heart.Instead, she reached across the counter and covered her mother's herb-stained hand with her own — now callused from sword practice and rope climbing.

"But you raised us to survive," Thalia said gently."And I will."

***

The night wrapped around their small shack like a worn blanket, familiar and threadbare in places.Beyond the single window, Verdant Port's nightlife continued — distant music from the harbor taverns, the occasional shout of a sailor, the rhythmic creak of ships rocking against their moorings.Inside, the space that had once felt crowded to Thalia now seemed impossibly small.A single room behind her mother's herb shop, with three pallets laid out on the wooden floor, a rickety table, and whatever few possessions they'd managed to keep through years of poverty.Shadows danced across the ceiling as the single oil lamp flickered, casting wavering light that turned the familiar strange.

Thalia lay on her back, staring at the patterns of light and darkness above her.The wooden floor beneath her pallet was hard, nothing like the academy's surprisingly comfortable cots.Frostforge might be brutal in its training, but they ensured their recruits slept well.

Beside her, Mari shifted restlessly.Unlike their mother, who had fallen asleep almost instantly — exhaustion from a day of tending the shop pulling her under — Mari remained awake, her breathing too measured for sleep.Thalia waited, knowing what would come next.It was a pattern as old as their childhood.

Sure enough, Mari's small form shifted closer, curling against Thalia's side the way she had done since she was tiny.Her sister's warmth was familiar — the same bony elbows, the same smell of wild honey in her hair.But Mari had grown too, her body longer, less childlike than Thalia remembered.Another reminder of time's passage.

"You're still awake," Thalia whispered, turning to face her sister.

In the dim light, Mari's eyes gleamed too bright."I don't want to sleep," she confessed, her voice small."If I sleep, tomorrow will come faster."

Thalia felt a pang in her chest.She reached out, brushing a strand of hair from Mari's face.Her sister's skin was soft, unmarked by scars or calluses.They shared the same dark hair and warm-toned skin, but where Thalia's hands now bore the marks of combat training, Mari's remained gentle and unmarred.It was exactly as it should be.

"I don't want you to go back," Mari whispered, the words rushing out like she'd been holding them in all day."What if — what if this is the last time we..."Her voice cracked, unable to finish the thought.

"Hey," Thalia soothed, her voice firmer than she felt."That's not going to happen.I'm coming back."

The promise tasted like steel on her tongue — cold and unyielding.She had no right to make such guarantees.She'd watched too many of her classmates fall to the academy's brutal trials.Levi had nearly lost an eye during combat training.Lyn had suffered frostbite so severe she lost two fingers.And Joren...well, Joren hadn't made it home.

A tear slid down Mari's cheek, glinting in the lamplight before disappearing into the rough fabric of her pallet."You don't know that," she whispered."No one knows that."

Thalia pulled her sister closer, resting her chin atop Mari's head.The familiar gesture felt different now — her arms stronger, her embrace more confident."I do know," she insisted."Because I'm not going to let anything stop me from coming home to you and Mother."

Mari's fingers clutched at Thalia's sleep shirt, bunching the fabric."Promise?Really promise?"

"I promise," Thalia said, the words a vow she would fight to keep.She had survived one year already, against all expectations.She could survive more.She had to.

The weight of her purpose settled over her — the reason she had volunteered for Selection in the first place.Every family was required to send one child to Frostforge when they came of age, unless they could afford the substantial bribe to exempt them.Their mother couldn't possibly pay such a sum.By going in Mari's place, Thalia ensured her sister would never face the academy's trials.It was worth any risk.

Mari was quiet for a long moment, her breathing uneven against Thalia's collarbone.Then, hesitantly, she asked, "Was it scary?The academy?"

Thalia stared at the ceiling, considering her answer.The truth flashed through her mind — the bone-deep cold that never truly left, even indoors.The combat training that left recruits bloody and sometimes broken.The cryomancy exercises that pushed them until they collapsed from exhaustion.The Frost Walk trial, where they'd been abandoned in the Golem Fields in the midst of a blizzard, forced to navigate back to the academy or die trying.

"No," she lied, smoothing Mari's hair."It wasn't scary.Different, yes.Challenging.But not scary."

"Really?"Mari's voice held equal parts disbelief and hope.

"Really," Thalia confirmed, her tone gentle but firm."I'm stronger now than when I left.Faster.I can do things I never imagined."That, at least, was true.She had discovered abilities within herself she'd never known existed — affinity for metallurgy, tactical thinking, endurance beyond what should be possible.

Mari raised her head, studying Thalia's face in the dim light."Like what things?"

Thalia smiled, choosing the most benign example she could think of."I can forge weapons.And use cryomancy to make ice.”

"That's amazing," Mari breathed, momentarily distracted from her worry.

"It is," Thalia agreed."And I made friends who watch out for me."

She didn't tell Mari about the Frost Walk.About how it had been so cold that ice crystals had formed on her eyelashes.How she'd stumbled, half-blind, until she was nearly killed by roving ice-metal golems.

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