Then the full import of Marr's words registered, and the relief curdled into an even deeper anxiety."Sir," she said, trying to keep her voice steady, "which coastal cities have fallen?"
Marr's eyes met hers, and in them she saw a flicker of sympathy that sent ice through her veins."Saltmarsh, three weeks ago," he said."Southhaven, ten days after that.And three days ago, we received word that Verdant Port has been overrun.Its council was deposed by the Wardens.A survivor sent a raven to us with the news."
The mention of her home struck Thalia like a spearpoint between the ribs.Verdant Port.Her mother.Her sister.The small herb shop with its worn wooden counter and shelves lined with glass jars.The narrow street where she'd grown up, the bustling market where she'd run errands for her mother, the harbor where she'd watched ships come and go and dreamed of a life beyond poverty.
Her home.Overrun.
She felt a hand in hers.Luna's.Of course, her friend would also be stricken, desperate for word of her father's safety.Luna's father was a pariah among the other politicians who administered Verdant Port for his stances against the Selection, but he was still a city official.Thalia doubted that invading Isle Wardens would discriminate between the leaders who stood with Frostforge and those who opposed it.
"Have there been any refugees from Verdant Port?"she asked, her voice a whisper."Any word of survivors?"
Marr shook his head."The first refugees only began arriving yesterday, mostly from Saltmarsh and the surrounding villages.They're coming over land, by caravan, and the journey is long.It's too soon for news from Verdant Port."
Thalia nodded mechanically, unable to form words past the tightness in her throat.She didn't know if her mother and Mari had escaped, and the uncertainty felt worse than a raw wound.Were they among the refugees making their way toward Frostforge?Were they prisoners of the Isle Wardens?Or were they—
No.She couldn't allow herself to complete that thought.
Luna’s fingers tightened around Thalia’s hand.Beside her, Kaine had gone still, his eyes fixed on Thalia's face with an intensity that she might have found unsettling in any other moment.Even Brynn looked shaken, her usual hauteur replaced by genuine concern.
"Report to the western courtyard at dawn," Marr said, his voice gentler now."Instructor Wolfe will assign your duties then."He hesitated, then added: "For what it's worth, Greenspire, Meadows, I'm sorry about Verdant Port.When we have news of survivors, you'll be the first to know."
He turned and strode away, the sewn glass on his cloak rippling like water in the forge light.Thalia stood frozen, Luna's hand still clasped in hers, the heat of the forge suddenly insufficient against the cold that had settled in her bones.
Her home was gone.Her family might be gone.Everything she had fought to protect might already be lost.Verdant Port wasn’t just a place on a map — it was the salt-scented air in her lungs, the bells that tolled at dawn, the warm glow of the harbor lights spilling across black water.It was her mother’s voice calling her in from the wharf, her sister’s laughter echoing between the narrow streets.And now, if Marr’s words were true, it was nothing but ash and silence.
She felt Luna’s hand still in hers, anchoring her against the undertow.Kaine stood nearby, his expression carved from the same steel he forged, though the tightness around his eyes betrayed the thought he wouldn’t speak: that she couldn’t fight every battle, couldn’t save everyone.Brynn’s gaze was fixed somewhere far away, her mouth pressed into a line sharp enough to cut.
Distantly, Thalia remembered that she, too, was from Verdant Port.It was likely that her family had already fled the city months before the attack.They'd had the wealth required to do so, the contacts in other cities to ensure safe passage, but these means were a distant dream for Thalia's mother, who had already confided in her daughter that exodus from the slums of Verdant Port would be impossible.
The forge seemed to tilt beneath her feet, reality shifting like snowdrifts in a storm.She had come to save Roran, and in the dark of night, around a campfire with three allies and several slain Rimwolves around her, she had allowed herself to imagine that it was possible.That she could return to the world she'd known.That she might be able to intervene in Roran's fate.That she might be permitted to fight on the front lines instead of being sent back to the doldrums of the Reaches.That she would find her way back to the Southern Kingdoms once the war was over, return to her family's herb shop and lay down her blade.
Now, those fragile hopes lay scattered like shards of ice underfoot.
CHAPTER SIX
The mess hall smelled of roasted meat and hot bread, a welcome relief after two months of the thin, frozen rations at their Northern outpost.Thalia sliced into a steaming slab of roasted venison, savoring the warmth radiating from the meat.Beside her, Luna picked delicately at her stew, eyes darting around the crowded hall, ever watchful.
“I never thought I’d say this,” Brynn said from across the table, “but the food here is actually edible.At least, compared to that gruel they served at the outpost.”
Thalia nodded in agreement."I almost forgot food could be seasoned."
“I don’t know if I’d call this seasoned,” Luna said, stirring her stew.“It’s still barely tolerable.”
“All three of you are so fussy,” Ashe said.“It doesn’t get better than —” She broke off, her gaze fixing on something behind Thalia’s shoulder.Thalia turned to see Instructor Wolfe approaching, and at once, she sat up straighter.
Wolfe, the former overseer of the Howling Forge’s operations, had taken on the role of Head Instructor after Maven’s treachery in Thalia’s third year.She was tall and muscular, with a short tuft of mouse-brown hair and a perpetually grim expression.Her severity, Thalia knew from experience, was less alarming than her smile; her incisors were pointed, like a canine’s teeth.
“Instructor,” Thalia said, inclining her head.
“Greenspire.Meadows.Firstborn.”Wolfe greeted each of them in turn, her voice cool and eyes narrowed.“I’ve just finished sending a raven to your commanding officer explaining the situation, and informing him that you’ll be serving at Frostforge for the time being.”
“Thank you, Instructor,” Luna began, but Wolfe cut her off with a sharp jerk of her chin.
“Don’t thank me.Frostforge isn’t taking you three out of charity.You are soldiers assigned to posts here, and you’ll fulfill the duties of soldiers, or you’ll be sent back to the North.The four of you can find shift postings in the weapons lockup.You’ll be reporting to me, and serving under the command of all instructors—and Senna Drake.Understood?”
Thalia nodded, and out of the corner of her eye, saw Brynn, Luna, and Ashe follow suit.She’d expected no less than this after Marr’s lecture; Frostforge’s instructors didn’t act out of fondness for their pupils, but out of a cold, ruthless pragmatism.The academy was a central part of the war effort, and its faculty acted accordingly.
"Redwood, Greenspire, you've both been assigned to the inner patrol tonight," Wolfe continued."From the end of your meal until three hours past midnight.”
