Then a smile split Brynn's stern features—a real one, sharp and sudden as a crack in ice."That’s true.I did."
She sat back down on the edge of her bunk and gestured for them to continue.
"I'm listening.”
Roran moved to stand beside Thalia, his presence solid and reassuring."We've found a way to banish the Deep Tide," he said."Not just push it back temporarily, as Thalia did when she activated the Founders' Price chamber, but to drive it into the abyss where it was originally bound by the Founders."
"How?"Brynn asked, her attention sharpening.
Thalia took up the explanation."Through my visions while unconscious, I witnessed how the original Founders created the seal.It requires a fusion of all three magical traditions—cryomancy, storm-calling, and root-singing."She paused, choosing her next words carefully."One practitioner from each discipline, channeling their power into a unified ritual."
"And you two represent storm-calling and the other one," Brynn said, quick as ever.Her gaze flicked between them, understanding dawning."You need a cryomancer.The best cryomancer you can find."
"Yes," Thalia admitted."The magic we need to channel is ancient and powerful.It requires complete precision, perfect control."
"And what happens to the three practitioners during this ritual?"Brynn asked, her voice carefully neutral.
The question Thalia had been dreading.She met Brynn's gaze steadily, refusing to look away."In my vision, when the original Founders completed the ritual, they collapsed.Their bodies went still.The magic...I think it killed them."
A heavy silence filled the room.Thalia could hear the soft hiss of Brynn's hybrid blades as residual electrical currents traveled along their edges.From somewhere in the distance came the muffled sounds of Frostforge preparing for war—hammers striking metal, orders being shouted, boots marching along stone corridors.
"You're asking me to die with you," Brynn stated finally, her voice flat.
"Yes," Roran answered when Thalia couldn't."Though we can't be certain death is inevitable.The vision wasn't entirely clear on that point."
It was a small mercy, this sliver of uncertainty that allowed them all to pretend there might be survival on the other side of sacrifice.Thalia was grateful for Roran's words, even as she knew in her bones the truth of what awaited them.
Brynn's face remained impassive as she absorbed their words, though Thalia thought she caught a flicker of something—fear, perhaps, or resignation—in the brief moment when Brynn's gaze dropped to her weapons.Then her expression smoothed back into unreadable calm.
"When would this happen?"she asked.
"Soon," Thalia replied."We don’t have long before the final assault, but we need to perfect our fusion technique first.I've been training with Tamsin to master root-singing, and Roran has been honing his storm-calling abilities with Naj."
"And me?"Brynn raised an eyebrow."I'm already the best cryomancer in this frigid place."
"You'll need to learn to channel your power in conjunction with ours," Roran explained."It's not enough for each of us to be skilled individually.Our magics must flow together, become a single force."
“That will take work,” Thalia said.“A lot of work, particularly since neither of you have much knowledge of root-singing.”
Brynn nodded slowly, processing this.Then, without warning, she stood and strode toward the door.Thalia and Roran exchanged a confused glance, uncertain what to make of this sudden movement.Was she leaving?Refusing their request?
At the threshold, Brynn paused and looked back at them, one eyebrow arched in impatience."Well?"she said, jerking her head toward the corridor."Come on, then.It sounds like we have preparations to make."
Roran blinked, surprise evident in his expression."You're agreeing to help us?Just like that?"
A smile spread across Brynn's face—not her usual smirk of superiority, but something more complex, tinged with resignation and a strange, fierce pride.
"This place never deserved me," she said, her fingers trailing along the hilt of one of her blades as she tucked it into her belt."But if this is truly the only way to defeat the Deep Tide for the long term, then yes, I'll do it."Her gaze hardened."Not for Frostforge.Not for the Reaches.For the world this one will become, once this is all over."
Something tight and painful unwound in Thalia's chest, relief washing through her so powerfully that for a moment she felt lightheaded.She moved forward, clasping Brynn's arm in a warrior's grip.
"Thank you," she said simply.
Brynn's fingers returned the pressure briefly before releasing."Don't thank me yet.We still have to make this work."
Roran stepped forward to join them, clapping a hand on Thalia's shoulder.The three of them stood together at the threshold of Brynn's quarters—not friends exactly, but united by a common purpose more binding than friendship.
"I always imagined going out in some glorious last stand," Brynn said with a sigh as they moved into the corridor."Preferably saving a group of children or defenseless villagers.Something they'd tell stories about for generations."Her lips quirked up at the corners, though the smile still didn’t reach her eyes."Never thought I'd be a third wheel to you two in my final moments."
