The Sky-Ray did not land; it latched.
The massive flying beast glided toward a vertical wall of blue ice, extending its hooked claws to grip the frozen surface. It hung there, defying gravity, while the wind howled around them.
"Dismount!" the rider shouted, pointing to a fissure in the ice wall. "Inside! Before the heat trace lingers!"
Julian, Lyra, and Skid scrambled off the beast's back, slipping on the icy ledge before tumbling into the dark opening. The rider followed, smacking the beast on the flank to send it flying away, erasing their trail.
They weren't in a cave. They were in a Ship.
The fissure led directly into the hull of a massive, ancient ice-breaker that had been frozen into the glacier centuries ago. The interior was lit by lanterns filled with glowing bioluminescent jellyfish.
The rider pulled off her fur hood.
She was young, with pale skin that matched the snow and hair cropped short and dyed a violent shade of crimson. A jagged scar ran from her lip to her jaw. She didn't look like a savior; she looked like a knife that had learned to walk.
"I am Isolde," she said, her voice sharp. "Captain of the White Raven and Warlord of the Drift. And you three are the most expensive bait I've ever fished out of the snow."
"Bait?" Lyra stiffened, her hand hovering over her pistol.
"The Legion doesn't mobilize for tourists," Isolde snapped, walking deeper into the ship. "They woke up because he is here." She pointed at Julian. "The Empire is offering a bounty that could buy this entire glacier. 'The Conductor'."
Julian stepped forward. "If you wanted the bounty, you would have let the mortars hit us."
Isolde stopped. She turned, looking at Julian's crystal hand.
"The Empire took my sister," she said quietly. "They put her in that prison. If you are the man who can break machines... then maybe you're useful."
The War Room
Isolde led them to the bridge of the frozen ship. It was converted into a command center. Maps of the ice shelf were pinned to the walls.
"This is the target," Isolde pointed to a schematic of the spire they had seen earlier. "Blackgate-Zero. It's not just a mine. It's a parasitic extraction rig."
She tapped the drawing.
"They aren't just mining ice, Julian. They're drilling into the Titan's skin. They're siphoning its blood—pure, liquid Earth Resonance—and refining it into 'Frost-Aether'. It's the most volatile fuel on the planet."
"That's why the Titan is sleeping," Julian realized. "They're keeping it sedated by draining it."
"Exactly," Isolde nodded. "And the Warden of Blackgate is a man named Vakgar. A sadist who mechanized his own nervous system so he can't feel cold. He works his prisoners until they freeze, then feeds them to the Legion's furnaces."
Skid shuddered. "Lovely guy. I assume we're not planning to knock on the front door?"
"We can't," Isolde said. "The perimeter is guarded by the Legion. And the skies are patrolled by the Vultures."
She pressed a button on the console. A grainy audio recording crackled to life.
"...yes, Warden. They are heading North. The boy, the girl, and the mechanic. I can give you their trajectory. Just guarantee my payment..."
Julian froze. He knew that voice.
It was Captain Blitz.
"He's alive," Skid whispered, her face twisting in rage.
"He crashed his pod near the perimeter three hours ago," Isolde explained. "He surrendered to the Warden immediately. He sold you out to buy a warm cell."
"The Copper Betrayal," Julian murmured. "He didn't just leave us to burn. He served us up on a platter."
Isolde looked at Julian.
"The Warden knows you're here. He knows you're coming for the Titan. He's moved his entire garrison to the entrance."
"Then we can't get in," Lyra said.
"Not through the door," Julian said, staring at the map. He pointed to the Titan's position beneath the ice. "But the Titan is five miles long. The prison is only on its chest."
He looked at Isolde.
"Does the White Raven have a drilling laser?"
Isolde smirked. "Honey, this ship is a drill. The forward cannon was stripped from a siege tank."
"Then we don't attack the prison," Julian said, his eyes glowing blue. "We go under it. We dig into the ice, find the Titan's hand or leg, and I wake it up from the extremities."
"If you wake it up while the drill is still in its chest..." Isolde warned.
"Then the prison gets shaken off like a flea," Julian finished cold.
"And the prisoners?" Lyra asked. "Isolde's sister?"
"We time it," Julian said. "I destabilize the rig. Chaos ensues. The Legion moves to contain the Titan. While they're distracted, Isolde and her raiders hit the cell blocks."
Isolde looked at the plan. She looked at Julian. She saw the rage burning behind his calm demeanor.
"It's suicide," Isolde said. Then she grinned, touching the scar on her lip. "I love it."
She turned to her crew—a dozen hardened ice-pirates watching from the shadows.
"Prep the ice-skiffs! Load the thermal charges! We're going to break a Titan out of jail!"
Later - The Observation Deck
Julian stood alone on the frozen deck, looking out at the shimmering Aurora.
He twisted the Black-Iron ring. He felt the Titan beneath the ice. It was suffering. He could feel its slow, pained heartbeat.
Thump... drain. Thump... drain.
"We're going to war, Julian," Lyra said, appearing beside him. She had wrapped herself in a white fur cloak.
"We were already at war," Julian said. "I just didn't realize how dirty it was."
He looked at his crystal hand. It was evolving again. The geometric patterns were spreading up his wrist. The blue light was sharper, more intense.
"Blitz is in there," Julian whispered. "Waiting for his reward."
"What will you do when you find him?" Lyra asked.
Julian looked at the distant glow of the prison spire.
"I'm going to pay him," Julian said. "With interest."
He clenched his fist.
The Aurora above them flared bright blue, as if answering his anger.
The journey was over. The siege was about to begin.