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"You're not as slow as the others, are you?"Luna said.Her eyes held a challenge, but beneath it, Thalia caught a glimpse of something like relief, as if maintaining her facade had become exhausting.She leaned forward, close enough that her next words required barely any sound."I told you that my father was a councilor in Verdant Port.A respected position, until he started questioning the recruiters."

Thalia remained perfectly still, afraid that any movement might cause Luna to retreat back behind her mask.

"He insisted that the council and city guard should do more to protect our youth," Luna continued, her dark eyes never leaving Thalia's face."He said that collaborating with Frostforge made us complicit in their methods."A bitter smile touched her lips."That didn't go over well with those who profit from sending us here."

A cool draft swept through the hall, causing the candles to flicker and sending shadows dancing across Luna's face.For a moment, she looked much older than her eighteen years.

"My Selection was a punishment.It was meant to fit the 'crime.'My father could’ve easily afforded a bribe.I was never meant to come here, but the recruiters refused to take his money."Luna's voice remained steady, but her fingers curled into a tight fist on the table."Everyone on the council knew it was meant as a death sentence.A message to others who might speak out."

The implications staggered Thalia.She'd volunteered for Frostforge to protect her sister, knowing the risks.But Luna had been sent here as punishment for her father's dissent — a political sacrifice.

"I'm sorry," Thalia whispered, the words utterly inadequate.

Luna's expression hardened."I don't need pity."She straightened, shoulders squaring beneath her academy uniform."I don't intend to die here, Thalia.I plan to survive Frostforge and return to my father."

The determination in her voice rang with conviction — not the desperate hope of most first-years, but the cold certainty of someone executing a plan.

"And while I'm here," Luna added, lowering her voice again, "I intend to learn everything I can.When I return to Verdant Port, I'll make sure my father has evidence of exactly what happens at Frostforge.Information that can be used against the recruiters."

Thalia's mind raced.Luna's words could be interpreted as treason against the academy — the kind of talk that would earn severe punishment if overheard.Yet she'd chosen to share this with Thalia.

"Why tell me this?"Thalia asked, wary despite her growing trust in Luna.

Luna's gaze became calculating once more, assessing Thalia with the precision of a master jeweler evaluating a gem."Because you're observant.Because you notice things."A ghost of a smile touched her lips."And because you didn't come here to become one of them."

The unspoken question hung between them:Are you with me?

Thalia thought of her mother and sister back in Verdant Port, of the tampered gloves in front of her, of the shattered blade that had nearly killed two Southern students.The hierarchy at Frostforge wasn't just unfair — it was deadly.And students like her were expendable in ways the Northern-born weren't.

"We should be careful," Thalia said finally, neither accepting nor rejecting Luna's implicit offer of alliance."These walls have ears."

Luna nodded, seemingly satisfied with this cautious response.She picked up her spoon and resumed poking at her food, her demeanor shifting seamlessly back into distracted disinterest.Only the newfound awareness between them suggested their conversation had happened at all.

Thalia returned her gloves to her pocket, mind churning with possibilities.Luna had revealed herself as both a potential ally and someone with her own agenda.Could Thalia trust her?Not entirely, perhaps.But in a place like Frostforge, where death stalked the hallways disguised as "training accidents," having someone watching her back might make the difference between survival and becoming another statistic.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Thalia wiped the sweat from her brow, the heat from dozens of forges washing over her in suffocating waves as she weaved between workstations toward her assigned spot.Her hands trembled slightly — not from fear of the flames, but from nerves.She'd entered the Howling Forge expecting to find Instructor Wolfe and, instead, came face-to-face with Maven.Today, the first-year students were to face an evaluation of their metallurgy skills.

The massive chamber stretched before her, a cavernous space carved directly into the mountain's heart.Thick stone pillars held aloft a ceiling lost to shadows while uneven walls glistened with moisture that somehow survived the intense heat.Rows of forges lined the central pathway, each one a small stone hearth with an adjacent anvil and water barrel.Overhead, metal hoods captured most of the smoke, funneling it through a complex system of vents that gave the forge its haunting, wind-like moan.

Thalia spotted Luna three stations ahead, her small frame almost comical next to the imposing forge, though the determined set of her shoulders told a different story than her usual distracted facade.Roran was further down, already examining his tools with practiced hands that betrayed his merchant background—always checking quality, always assessing value.Thalia allowed herself a moment to watch him, remembering his encouragement during her disastrous first cryomancy lesson, before forcing her attention back to the task at hand.

Instructor Maven stood at the chamber's center, her single amber eye sweeping over the assembled students like a predator assessing which prey to strike first.

"First-years," Maven's voice cut through the nervous chatter like a blade through flesh."Today, you will demonstrate whether you deserve the resources Frostforge spends to keep you alive."

The chamber fell silent save for the persistent moan of the vents and the hungry crackle of flames.Maven paced a slow circle, her footsteps echoing with deliberate heaviness.

"You will forge a simple dagger," she continued, "with a blade that holds an edge and a hilt that won't snap in your hand.Once forged, you will imbue it with a basic frost spell — the same one you've been failing at for the past two weeks."

A few nervous laughs rippled through the group, quickly extinguished by Maven's glare.

"When struck against armor or shield, your frost-imbued blade should spread ice from the point of impact."She demonstrated with a swift stabbing motion."The blade must remain intact after three such strikes.Those whose blades shatter" — her eye fixed momentarily on Thalia — "will be given additional night watch shifts, so that they might have time to reflect on the root causes of their failure."

The threat hung in the air.Night watches at Frostforge meant standing guard in the bitter cold atop the academy's highest towers, where the wind cut like glass and frostbite claimed fingers and toes within minutes.

"You have two hours.Begin."