The canyon was a throat of black rock and white ice.
Vespera lay flat on the ridge, looking down into the darkness. Beside her, Kaelen shifted, trying to keep his teeth from chattering. The temperature had dropped to a bone-cracking twenty degrees below freezing. Even the furs he wore couldn't stop the bite of the wind.
Vespera felt nothing but a pleasant hum. The snow beneath her belly melted into water, soaking her armor, but her skin remained dry and hot.
"Stop shivering," she whispered, her eyes fixed on the narrow pass below. "They'll hear your bones rattling."
"I can't help it," Kaelen hissed back, clutching his sword hilt with stiff fingers. "We aren't all human furnaces."
"Hush."
Vespera saw movement. Shadows detached themselves from the darkness of the tree line.
They came silently. The Frostborn Elites. These weren't the mindless drones from the camp attack; these were tall, clad in heavy plate armor made of black ice. They moved with military precision. Six... ten... twenty of them.
Vespera waited. She watched the lead creature—a towering brute wielding a greatsword—pass the jagged rock she had marked earlier.
"Now," she signaled.
Kaelen didn't hesitate. He whistled—a sharp, piercing sound like a hawk.
On the opposite ridge, the squad of archers Vespera had positioned cut the ropes holding the rockslide.
CRACK.
Tons of shale and boulders cascaded down the canyon walls. The roar was deafening. The rocks slammed into the rear of the Frostborn column, crushing five of them instantly and sealing the exit.
"Kill zone!" Vespera roared, drawing her sword. "With me!"
She didn't climb down; she slid. She rode the scree slope like an avalanche, her shield held high. Kaelen was right beside her, a dark blur of steel.
They hit the canyon floor with the force of a hammer.
The Frostborn, trapped and confused, turned to face them.
"For the North!" Kaelen shouted, lunging at the nearest enemy.
The battle was instant chaos.
Vespera slammed her shield into a Frostborn's chest, the impact sounding like a gong. She didn't slash; she thrust, driving her blade into the weak point under the creature's arm. It shrieked—a sound like grinding metal—and dissolved into slush.
To her right, Kaelen was a whirlwind. He was faster than her—much faster. He ducked under a swinging axe, sliced the creature's hamstrings, and spun to decapitate another.
But there were too many.
"Back to back!" Vespera ordered.
They locked into position instinctively. Vespera's spine pressed against Kaelen's. She could feel him trembling—not from cold now, but from adrenaline.
"They're heavy," Kaelen panted, parrying a massive blow. "Their armor... my sword is chipping."
"Aim for the joints," Vespera commanded.
The massive leader of the Frostborn stepped forward. He raised a hand, and the ground beneath Vespera's feet turned to slick ice. She slipped, her guard dropping for a fraction of a second.
The leader swung his greatsword.
It was a killing blow. Vespera couldn't raise her shield in time.
CLANG.
Kaelen threw himself across her path. He caught the massive blade on his own sword. Sparks flew. The force of the blow drove Kaelen to one knee, the impact shuddering through his entire body. He cried out, his arms buckling under the supernatural weight.
"Kaelen!" Vespera shouted.
He looked up at her, grit in his teeth, blood trickling from his nose. "Move!"
Something snapped inside Vespera.
The Second Wind.
Her vision went red. The heat in her blood flared from a simmer to an explosion. Her heart hammered a frantic rhythm—thump-thump-thump—like a war drum.
She didn't just move; she blurred.
She grabbed Kaelen by the back of his armor and hauled him to his feet with one hand as if he weighed nothing. With the other, she swung her sword.
The blade glowed orange, superheated by her sudden magical surge. It sheared through the Frostborn leader's sword. It sheared through his black ice armor. It sheared through his neck.
The head fell. The body collapsed.
The remaining Frostborn hesitated. They sensed the shift. The prey had become the predator.
"Finish them," Vespera said. Her voice sounded strange—distorted, layered, like fire crackling.
She launched herself at the remaining enemies. She was a storm of heat and steel. Every blow shattered armor. Every step melted the ice beneath her boots.
Kaelen scrambled to keep up, finishing off the ones she knocked down. He watched her with wide eyes. This wasn't a soldier. This was the Phoenix.
Within minutes, it was over. The canyon floor was littered with black armor and melting slush.
Vespera stood in the center of the carnage. Her chest was heaving. Steam rose from her skin in thick clouds, swirling around her like mist. The orange glow on her blade faded.
The adrenaline crash hit her instantly.
She stumbled.
Kaelen was there. He caught her before she hit the ground, wrapping his arms around her waist to hold her up.
"I've got you," he breathed, his voice ragged.
Vespera leaned against him, her head falling onto his shoulder. She was burning up—her skin was fever-hot even through the layers of armor.
"The leader," she murmured, her words slurred as exhaustion took hold. "Did we...?"
"He's dead," Kaelen whispered into her ear. He held her tighter, ignoring the intense heat radiating off her. "You killed him. By the Gods, Vespera... I've never seen anything like that."
She looked up at him. Her green eyes were hazy, the pupils blown wide. For a moment, the General was gone, and there was only a woman pushed to her physical limit.
"I need..." she trailed off, her knees giving way.
"Rest," Kaelen finished. He scooped her up into his arms, carrying her bridal style. She was heavy with her armor, but he didn't care.
"I've got you," he repeated, turning back toward the horses. "I've got you, Vespera."