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She would not become another resource to be "redistributed."She would survive, no matter what Frostforge threw at her.

Even if that included Brynn Firstborn.

CHAPTER FIVE

Thalia woke to the sound of her teeth chattering.The dormitory air bit at her exposed face as her muscles convulsed in tiny spasms.Each breath was a painful reminder that Frostforge Academy had been built for those accustomed to the North's bitter embrace.She curled tighter beneath the furs that lined her cot.Her fingers, stiff and aching, clutched the edges of the pelts close to her chin while she blinked at the frost patterns etched across the stone ceiling above her bed.

"You're awake."Ashe's voice carried from across the room, matter-of-fact and already fully alert."You’ve been shivering all night."

Thalia pushed herself up on one elbow, wincing as her skin met the frigid air.Her breath billowed before her face in clouds that dissipated toward the high ceiling."Do they not believe in fires here?"she asked, her voice still rough with sleep.“Couldn’t there be a furnace in each dormitory – for warmth?”

"Cryomancy is our strongest weapon," Ashe replied, already dressed in multiple layers.She moved with the confidence of someone born to this climate, her red-streaked black hair neatly braided along the sides of her head."Northern magic thrives in the cold, as do we.”

Thalia bit back a retort.In Verdant Port, the morning air carried salt and spice from the harbor markets, warm and inviting even in the winter months.On a cold morning, her mother would be stoking the small hearth in their herb shop, Mari curled beside it, sorting dried flowers for the day's remedies.The thought sent a pang through her chest, sharper than the bitter chill that stung her lungs with each inhale.

"Here."Ashe approached, holding out several folded garments."Put these on beneath your uniform.Layer thin fabrics rather than one thick one; it traps the heat better."

Thalia accepted the clothes, surprised at Ashe’s kindness."I… thank you."

Ashe shrugged.“It’s no trouble.”

"None of your fellow Northerners seem to be keen on helping us adjust," Thalia commented.As soon as she'd said the words, she regretted them.She didn't want to be rude to Ashe when her roommate had been helpful.

"Survival isn't a competition,” Ashe said simply.“The elements kill enough of us."

From the third bed, Luna sat up suddenly, her short dreadlocks swinging with the motion.Her hair was adorned with tiny metal beads that caught the wan light filtering through the narrow window.Her eyes, normally darting about as if chasing invisible butterflies, were oddly focused on the frost-rimed glass.

"The glass has faces," she announced, her voice dreamy yet somehow precise."Seventeen distinct patterns that repeat across the academy.I counted."She yawned, seeming not to notice the frigid temperature that made Thalia's lungs ache with each inhale.

Thalia exchanged a glance with Ashe, who raised an eyebrow but said nothing.Luna's peculiarities had already become familiar during their journey to Frostforge.

"Aren't you cold?"Thalia asked, watching as Luna slid from beneath her covers, wearing only a thin night shift.

Luna blinked at her, then down at her bare arms where goosebumps should have risen."Oh," she said as if noticing the temperature for the first time."I suppose I am."She reached for her clothes and began dressing, humming tunelessly.

Thalia dressed quickly, grateful for Ashe's advice.The layered garments beneath her uniform — a severe, high-collared tunic of slate-gray wool with matching trousers — did indeed trap heat against her skin.She tied back her thick black hair, tucking stray strands behind her ears as she tried to calm the flutter of nerves in her stomach.

Today would determine everything.First impressions meant survival at Frostforge, according to every whispered story that had reached Verdant Port.The North broke those who couldn't keep up.

"What classes do you think they'll start us with?"Thalia asked, trying to sound casual as she laced her boots.

"There are four classes at Frostforge," Ashe replied, checking the edge of a small knife before slipping it into her boot."Cryomancy, combat, metallurgy, and beast-bonding.They'll sort us into groups at breakfast.Personally, I’m hoping to begin with combat – that’s always been my strength.”

"Your strength?"Thalia echoed, a new worry surfacing.It sounded as though Ashe had already been introduced to these subjects; Thalia had never so much as held a blade, aside from the short knives she’d used to cut stems in the herb shop.What if she was found lacking before she'd even begun?

"Don't fret so loud," Luna said suddenly, her dark eyes fixing on Thalia with unexpected clarity."They're not looking for what you know.They're looking for what you might become."She smiled, the expression transforming her face from vacant to knowing in an instant."Or what might kill you in the attempt."

The walk to the dining hall led them through corridors carved directly into the mountain, the stone polished to a glossy sheen by generations of footsteps.Thalia tried not to gape at the enormity of it all — the vaulted ceilings that disappeared into shadow, the intricate ice formations that served as both decoration and light source, refracting the pale morning sun into shimmering patterns across the walls.

Students streamed from dormitories along the passage, their faces set in masks of determination or fear, sometimes both.Thalia noticed the divide immediately — Northern students moved with confidence, their bodies already accustomed to the cold, while Southerners hunched and shivered, clustered together like sailors bracing against a storm.

"Remember," Ashe murmured as they approached the massive iron-bound doors of the dining hall, "sit up straight, eat quickly, and speak only when spoken to.The instructors watch everything."

The dining hall stretched before them, a cavernous space dominated by long tables of dark wood polished to a mirror finish.Enormous windows of thick, bubble-filled glass lined the far wall, offering glimpses of the jagged mountain peaks beyond, their summits disappearing into low-hanging clouds the color of bruises.

Thalia followed Ashe to a table already half filled with students.The benches were hard, the table bare of any ornamentation — utilitarian, like everything else at Frostforge.Servants moved silently among the tables, placing bowls of steaming porridge and plates of dark bread before each person.Thalia found herself staring at the retreating back of the girl who had brought her porridge, wondering whether she had taken this job willingly, or if her servitude was punishment for a past failure.

The porridge was bland but hot, specked with dried berries that burst with unexpected tartness against her tongue.Thalia ate mechanically, her attention divided between the food warming her from within and the faces around her.Luna sat beside her, stirring patterns into her porridge without eating, her eyes tracking the movements of the servers with unusual intensity.