Frost-bound

The rebel transport's cargo hold was barely heated, but the cold I felt had nothing to do with temperature. I sat on a bench welded to the wall, turning Zhang's data chip over and over in my hands while Marcus worked to bypass its security protocols.

"She knew," I said quietly. "Zhang knew something was different about me. That's why she gave me this instead of just transmitting the coordinates to my suit."

Ash nodded from where she stood checking her weapon systems. "Zhang was our intelligence specialist. She had contacts throughout the queen's territory. If anyone could have uncovered information about your father's research, it would have been her."

"Got it," Marcus announced. His cybernetic eye glowed as he interfaced with the chip's contents. "It's... damn. This is more than just safe house coordinates. Zhang had been collecting data for months. Research files, classified documents, even security footage from some of the queen's facilities."

"Show me," I demanded.

Marcus hesitated, looking to Ash. She studied me for a moment, then nodded. "She needs to know. We all do."

The first hologram that sprang to life between us showed a younger version of my father in a lab, speaking to a camera. The timestamp indicated this was nearly thirty years ago – before his death, before Eleanor.

"Trial three-seven-nine successful," his recorded voice filled the hold. "Subject shows enhanced cellular regeneration and improved neural plasticity. The genetic modifications appear stable, with no signs of rejection or deterioration." He smiled, and my heart ached at how familiar that expression was. "She's perfect. My daughter is perfect."

The image changed to medical data – DNA sequences, brain scans, cellular analysis. Marcus's cybernetic eye flickered as he processed the information.

"This is... incredible," he breathed. "Your father didn't just enhance you – he completely rewrote parts of your genetic code. Enhanced healing, optimized neural pathways, improved adaptation to external interfaces... no wonder you took to the suit's systems so quickly."

"Why?" I whispered. "Why would he do this to his own child?"

Another recording began playing. This time it showed Eleanor, looking much as I remembered her, speaking urgently to someone off-camera.

"The modifications were never meant for military application," she was saying. "James designed them to help humanity survive what he knew was coming. The climate crisis, the need for enhanced human adaptation... he saw it all. Seraphina isn't a weapon – she's a prototype for survival."

The image cut out abruptly. Marcus frowned. "That's all there is. The rest of the data is technical – research notes, project details, facility locations."

"It's enough," Ash said grimly. "Now we know why the queen wants you so badly. Your father's modifications... they're the missing piece she needs. The key to perfecting her Frostbane technology."

I stood up, needing to move, to do something with the energy suddenly coursing through me. "Explain."

"Think about it," Marcus said. "The queen's elite forces use suits similar to ours, but they can interface with them at a much deeper level. They can literally control ice and cold, channel it through their armor. But the process is imperfect. The neural load burns through operators quickly – that's why she's always looking for new recruits for her Guard."

"But I'm different," I realized. "My enhanced nervous system, the genetic modifications..."

"You could potentially interface with Frostbane tech without the degradation issues," Ash confirmed. "Your father designed you to adapt to exactly these kinds of technological interfaces. If the queen gets her hands on you, on your genetic code..."

"She could create an army of enhanced soldiers," I finished. "Perfect operators for her Frostbane technology." I slammed my fist into the transport's wall, frost crackling around the impact point. "All this time, I thought I was normal. Just Eleanor's ordinary stepdaughter."

"There's more," Marcus said softly. He projected another image – a map showing multiple locations marked in red. "These are other research facilities where your father worked. Places where he might have stored more complete records of the enhancement process."

"And this," Ash added, "is why we're not taking you to another safe house." She moved to the transport's viewport, gesturing at the frozen landscape below. "We're going to one of those facilities. Zhang's data suggests the queen hasn't found them all yet. If we can get there first..."

"We might find answers," I said. "About my father's work. About what I really am."

"And maybe," Marcus added, "about how to stop the queen's forces. If we understand how your enhancements work, we might be able to develop countermeasures against Frostbane tech."

The transport banked, heading east toward mountains that gleamed like razors against the perpetual twilight sky. I touched the viewport, watching frost patterns form and fade around my fingers.

"Zhang died to get us this information," I said quietly. "To get me out alive."

"She believed you were worth it," Ash replied. "Now you get to prove her right."

I thought about the queen's words about what I could become, about my father's research and Eleanor's protection. So many secrets, so many lives shaped by choices made before I could even understand them.

"The facility," I asked, "how long until we reach it?"

"Three hours," Marcus answered. "Assuming we don't run into queen's forces."

I nodded, squaring my shoulders. "Then let's use that time. Show me everything Zhang found. Every piece of data, every scrap of research. I need to understand what I am if I'm going to use it against them."

Ash smiled grimly. "Now you're thinking like a rebel."

The transport continued east, carrying us toward answers that had waited nearly three decades to be found. Behind us, somewhere in the endless night, the queen would be mobilizing her forces, preparing to hunt us down.

Let her come, I thought, watching frost patterns dance beneath my fingers. I'm done running from what I am.

Time to become what I was made to be.