Chapter 2

The cold of Niflheim was the kind that forced even the strongest Asgardian warriors to retreat.

My powers had been sealed, so all I had left was a mortal body and whatever fight I could put up, day and night, against the frozen wasteland.

The cold crept into my organs without mercy.

My hair turned white in less than a month, strand by strand, until every last thread had gone to snow.

My eyes deteriorated just as fast. Weeks of staring into the blizzard and the blood of ice beasts left them clouded behind a pale film, and my vision faded until everything beyond ten feet was nothing but a blur.

But I didn't care. Swinging a sword didn't require eyes. All I needed were my ears and the memory locked in my muscles.

That day, I had just finished cutting down a swarm of frost scorpions that tried to breach the barrier. I slumped against a slab of frozen rock, drenched in blood and gasping for air.

Footsteps echoed nearby, and I could tell they weren't the heavy stomping of a frost beast. They were light and deliberate, the kind only a trained warrior would make.

"Lucas, this blizzard is terrifying. Do you think Evelyn already froze to death in there?" It was Claire's voice, soft and delicate, laced with rehearsed concern.

Then came Lucas' reply, low and indifferent. "She's too stubborn to die. Watch your step, Claire. The ancient Frost Core is just up ahead."

I gripped my broken sword and hauled myself to my feet from behind the rock. Two blurred figures, one dark and one pale, were moving toward me through the storm.

I stepped forward and blocked their path, following protocol. "This is Niflheim. No unauthorized entry."

My voice scraped out of my throat like two rough stones grinding together. I hadn't spoken in a long time.

The two figures stopped.

Claire let out a sharp gasp. "Oh my God, Evelyn? What happened to you? Your hair, oh God, your eyes—"

She started to move toward me, but Lucas grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him. "Stay back. She could snap and hurt you."

His tone was cold, full of suspicion and disgust.

He looked at me and let out a sneer. "Evelyn, you really think making yourself look like some kind of monster is gonna make me feel sorry for you? That pity act doesn't work on me."

I ignored what he said, and my brain automatically filtered out the noise.

I repeated my duty, nothing more. "If you don't have clearance authorization, I need both of you to leave. Now."

That set Lucas off. My all-business tone clearly wasn't what he'd expected. "Clearance? Evelyn, what kind of act are you putting on? I'm here to collect the Frost Core for Claire, so do yourself a favor and get out of my way."

Claire peeked out from behind him. "Evelyn, please don't be mad at Lucas. I'm the one who's sick. I need the Frost Core to survive. If you want to yell at me or hit me, go ahead. Just don't take it out on him."

She took two slow steps toward me as she spoke.

My vision was blurred, but my hearing was razor-sharp.

I caught the faint rustle of fabric at her sleeve, and a fine powder drifted toward me on the wind.

It was a beast-lure compound, a pheromone agent designed to drive apex frost beasts into a frenzy.

I didn't move. The system hadn't flagged it as a direct physical attack.

Claire watched me for a reaction, and when none came, the corner of her mouth curled into a smug little smile.

"Oh no!" She let out a theatrical shriek and pretended to lose her footing, lunging straight at me. Right before the impact, she drove her palm hard into my shoulder.

I was already weak. The shove sent me flying backward, and I tumbled over the edge of the frost canyon.

"Claire!" Lucas rushed forward and caught her in his arms as she played the helpless damsel.

I was already gone, rolling down the sheer ice wall into the ravine below.

The beast-lure compound spread fast through the blizzard.

A bone-chilling roar echoed from the depths of the frozen valley. The beast tide had come.

Hundreds of frost beasts, driven mad by the scent of blood, surged in from every direction.

Lucas stood at the ridge above the valley with Claire safe in his arms.

He looked down at me, surrounded by the swarm, and made no move to help.

He said, "Evelyn, you'd throw your life away just to compete for attention. You even threw yourself into a beast tide. How pathetic can you get?"

His voice cut through the wind and snow, reaching me with perfect clarity.

I didn't argue. I just tightened my grip on the broken blade in my hand and swung at the first beast that lunged for me.

Blood splattered across my white hair in an instant.

I fought like a machine, swinging the broken blade over and over without stopping. I lost count of how many I killed.

Wounds covered my body, some deep enough to show bone, and I was losing so much blood that my skin had gone cold as the ice beneath me.

But I didn't stop, because the mission was to survive.

I didn't know how long it lasted. The last frost beast finally collapsed at my feet, and my legs gave out. I dropped to one knee in a pool of blood and drove the broken blade into the ground to keep myself from falling.

Above the valley, Lucas and Claire had already retrieved the frost core. They were getting ready to leave.

Lucas glanced back at me. He seemed surprised that I was still breathing, drenched in blood but alive. But he looked away just as quickly.

He said, "Since you're not dead, stay down there and think about what you've done."

I didn't look up at him. I just wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, numb to everything. Then I spoke into the empty air, my voice raw and broken. "You're right. Rules are rules."