The command chamber of Frostspire was a circle of cold steel and glacial glass, suspended like a crown above the fortress. From its towering windows, Isabella could see the storm rolling across the mountains—carrying with it the flashing lights of incoming ships.
Not just one.
An entire fleet.
Alexander had come.
So had Cassia.
And behind them, the remnants of the Southern Coalition—those loyal to Isabella, to her vision of freedom, to a world not ruled by kings and monsters.
Shade stood at the center of the chamber, hands clasped behind her back, gaze fixed on the horizon.
"They came for you," she said, voice like ice. "Even after you told them not to."
Isabella moved beside her, heart pounding. "They're not here to start a war. They're here because they care."
Shade didn't turn. "Care is a weakness."
"No," Isabella replied quietly. "It's a choice. One you were never given."
She could see the tension ripple in her sister's shoulders, just for a moment—like a crack forming in a dam.
Then a soldier entered the chamber. "Orders, Your Majesty?"
Shade's lips parted—but she hesitated.
Isabella stepped forward. "Give me a chance. Let me talk to them—let me stop this before it becomes something we can't undo."
"You're asking me to show mercy," Shade said bitterly. "To look weak in front of the only army that has ever obeyed me."
"I'm asking you to be stronger than Voss ever imagined," Isabella said. "To make your own choice, not the one he programmed into you."
Silence.
The snowstorm thickened outside. The war engines of the Southern fleet loomed closer.
Then, finally, Shade nodded once.
"You have five minutes," she said. "If they fire, I respond in full force. No restraint."
"Agreed," Isabella said, already moving.
---
On the Icefield
The great gates of Frostspire opened again, this time revealing Isabella standing alone, no weapons, no armor—just her voice, and the weight of a world on her shoulders.
Alexander was the first to rush down the ramp of the lead ship, his rifle raised, panic in his eyes.
She ran to him and threw her arms around his chest. "I told you not to come."
"You're crazy if you thought I'd let you face her alone."
Behind him, Cassia descended slowly, her expression torn between awe and fear as she gazed up at the fortress that had once been her prison—and now housed her lost daughter.
"You shouldn't have come here," Isabella said. "She's not ready to fight… but she's not ready to surrender either. She's conflicted. And that's the only advantage we have right now."
Cassia's voice was low. "Did she say anything about me?"
Isabella hesitated. "Not yet. But she hasn't closed the door, either."
Alexander's eyes narrowed. "So what do we do?"
"We wait," Isabella said. "We give her the space to make her decision."
Behind them, the storm howled louder.
And above, from the icy crown of Frostspire, Shade watched her sister stand between armies.
And for the first time in her life…
She felt uncertain which side she belonged to.