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"Kaine and I are connected by blood and experience that you cannot possibly comprehend," Senna continued, her voice dropping to a whisper."We have survived things together that would have broken someone like you.He may be temporarily distracted by your novelty, but when the trial begins and survival is at stake, he will remember where his true loyalties lie."

Thalia's hands clenched at her sides.The smith's hammer lay within reach, its familiar weight suddenly tempting.But violence would solve nothing — would likely only escalate the situation beyond her control.

"If your connection is so strong," Thalia said, measuring each word, "then you have nothing to fear from me."

"Fear?"Senna's laugh was brittle."I don't fear you, Southern girl.I pity you.”

She reached out suddenly, her fingers ice-cold as they grasped Thalia's wrist.Frost spread from the point of contact, crystallizing along Thalia's skin in intricate, painful patterns.

"This is your final warning," Senna said, her voice barely audible over the forge's mournful keening."Stay away from Kaine, or return to Verdant Port in a box — assuming there's enough left of you to send home."

She released Thalia's wrist with a dismissive flick, leaving behind a perfect bracelet of ice that burned like fire against Thalia's skin.Then she turned and walked away, her silhouette elongating as she passed near the forge before disappearing into the shadows beyond.

Thalia stood frozen, her breath coming in short gasps as she stared at the ice encircling her wrist.With trembling fingers, she broke the crystalline shackle, wincing as fragments fell to the stone floor and shattered like glass.

The wind howled louder, a banshee's wail that seemed to mock her solitude.The forge fire, which had burned so steadily throughout the night, suddenly guttered, threatened by an unseen draft.Shadows leaped and danced along the walls, transforming familiar tools into grotesque, threatening shapes.

Thalia turned back to her unfinished blade, trying to focus on the task at hand, but her thoughts scattered like sparks from an anvil.Her hands shook as she lifted the hammer, its weight suddenly unbearable.

The Frost Walk had always represented a deadly challenge, but now it felt like an execution waiting to happen.Thalia had prepared for the dangers of the ice constructs, for the biting cold, for the physical challenges of the trial.She had not prepared for a human enemy who could manipulate both the environment and the other students against her.

As she forced herself to continue working, hammering the blade into its final form, each strike echoed Senna's threat.The Golem Fields stretched in her imagination — vast, hostile, and now hiding something worse than mindless constructs.

Someone who wanted her dead.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

The first-years stood in rigid formation at the far edge of the Golem Fields, their breath crystallizing in clouds before being whipped away by the cutting wind.Thalia pulled her fur-lined hood tighter around her face, the material stiff with frost despite having only been outside for minutes.Before them stretched a desolate expanse where jagged metal constructs lurked beneath blankets of snow and behemoth ice formations rose like the twisted spines of ancient beasts.Somewhere across that wasteland lay the safety of the academy — the goal they each had to reach alone.

Storm clouds hung low over the mountains, painting the world in shades of slate and steel.The snow glittered dangerously, jagged crystals catching what little light penetrated the cloud cover.Thalia's feet had gone numb within minutes of standing in formation, and she shifted her weight subtly, trying to encourage blood flow without drawing attention.Around her, thirty other first-years stood like statues, their eyes fixed on Instructor Maven's scarred face as she paced before them.

"The Frost Walk is not a game," Maven announced, her voice slicing through the howling wind with practiced precision."It is tradition.It is a necessity.And for some of you, it will be the end."

Her single amber eye swept across the group, lingering on the Southern students.

"You will enter the Golem Fields alone.You will navigate to the far side using whatever skills you possess.You will reach Frostforge without assistance."Her lips curved into something too sharp to be a smile."Or you will not reach it at all."

A Southern student to Thalia's right — a boy with a persistent cough that had worsened since the supplies ran short — raised a trembling hand."Ma'am, with the shortages and the storm coming—"

"Did I ask for commentary?"Maven's voice dropped to a dangerous whisper that somehow carried over the wind."The Frost Walk has been conducted in blizzards, droughts, and wars.It will not be postponed for your comfort."

The boy lowered his hand, shrinking back into line.

"You have each been assigned a departure time.When your name is called, you will step forward and proceed into the fields.Spacing ensures fairness and prevents...collaboration."She pronounced the final word like it was poison on her tongue.

Maven unrolled a scroll of ice-paper, the material crackling as it unfurled."Brynn Frostborn."

Brynn stepped forward without hesitation, her back ramrod straight.Only a subtle grimace betrayed the echo of her bruised rib.She gave Maven a sharp nod before turning to face the Golem Fields.Thalia watched as she strode confidently into the wasteland, her hair whipping behind her like a battle flag.

One by one, names were called.Luna stepped forward when summoned, her typical air of frivolity nowhere to be seen.Instead, her face was set with grim determination, a glimpse of the shrewd politician's daughter.She caught Thalia's eye and gave a nearly imperceptible nod before disappearing into the swirling snow.

Ashe was called next among their circle.The Northern girl looked almost at home in the brutal cold, her movements economical and precise as she began her journey.Before crossing the threshold into the Fields, she turned and mouthed something to Thalia that might have been "Remember what I taught you."

Roran's departure sent a spike of unexpected concern through Thalia's chest.The whispers about him being an Isle Warden spy had grown louder in recent days, but watching him stride into danger — his curls partially tamed under a woolen cap — made her question the rumors again.There was something in the set of his shoulders that spoke of determination rather than treachery.He didn't look back.

"Thalia Greenspire."

Her name cut through her thoughts like a blade.Thalia stepped forward, feeling the eyes of the remaining students on her back.She didn't turn to acknowledge them, keeping her gaze fixed on the vast expanse ahead.With a deep breath that stabbed her lungs with cold, she crossed the boundary line and became one with the wasteland.