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"That’s his story," Luna replied with a small shrug."But you saw him today.That wasn't just talent, Thalia.Those movements..."She trailed off, her eyes tracking Roran across the room."The way he anticipated those strikes, the fluidity — it's exactly how Isle Wardens fight.It's what makes them so deadly."

Ashe, who had been listening silently, set down her cup with a decisive click against the workbench."Those techniques aren't exclusive to Isle Wardens," she said, her voice low but firm."Northern warriors who live near the coast sometimes adopt similar methods.It's a practical adaptation to the environment, not evidence of treachery."

"And how many Southern merchant's sons have been trained in Northern coastal fighting techniques?"Luna countered, raising an eyebrow.

Thalia looked over at Roran, trying to reconcile the young man with the feared raiders she'd grown up dreading.His head was thrown back in laughter at something one of the other students had said, his entire demeanor open and friendly.Nothing like the cold, calculating killers she’d heard about in tales of Isle Wardens.

"He said he grew up dodging drunk sailors and angry merchants in port cities," Thalia said slowly."Maybe that's all it is — street reflexes honed by necessity."

"Maybe," Luna said, her tone making it clear she didn't believe it for a second."Or maybe that's just what he wants us to think."

The forge suddenly felt too hot, the air too thick.Thalia sipped her tea, letting the familiar herbs ground her while her mind raced.She wanted to dismiss Luna's suspicions outright, to defend Roran based on the friendship they'd been building.But doubt had taken root, and she couldn't quite shake it.

"If he were an Isle Warden spy," Ashe said thoughtfully, "why draw attention to himself by showing his skills so openly?Wouldn't a true spy try to blend in?"

It was a logical question, one that Thalia had been turning over in her own mind.

"Unless," Luna replied, her fingers tapping a thoughtful rhythm against her cup, "he wanted to gauge reactions.See who notices what.Or maybe he has other plans that require gaining reputation among the students.The best place to hide is sometimes in plain sight."

Across the forge, Roran's gaze suddenly met Thalia's.His smile widened, and he raised a hand in greeting.Without thinking, she returned the gesture, even as her stomach twisted with conflicting emotions.

"I don't know," Thalia said, turning back to her friends."It seems like a leap to go from 'good at dodging' to 'enemy spy.'"

"In normal times, perhaps," Luna acknowledged."But these aren't normal times.Food supplies dwindling, Isle Warden attacks increasing, students being sabotaged..."She gave Thalia a meaningful look."Someone tampered with your frost gloves.Someone packed magnesium into your forge."

"And you think that someone is Roran?"Thalia asked, her voice sharper than she intended.

Luna shrugged, her face settling back into its usual dreamy expression as a group of students walked past."I think," she said softly, "that we should consider all possibilities.Trust is a luxury we might not be able to afford."

Ashe's green eyes narrowed as she studied Roran across the room."In my clan, we judge warriors by their actions in battle, not rumors whispered behind their backs.If he is what they say, he will reveal himself eventually.All masks slip, given time."

The conversation lapsed into silence as they finished their tea.The warmth had returned to Thalia's limbs, but a coldness had settled in her chest.She found herself cataloging every interaction she'd had with Roran since their arrival at Frostforge, searching for signs she might have missed.

"Don't look now," Luna whispered suddenly, "but our topic of conversation is heading this way."

Sure enough, Roran was weaving between workbenches, making his way toward them with two other students in tow.His curls were wilder than usual, still damp from melted frost, and his smile was bright against his brown skin.

"Saw you brewing some tea, Greenspire," he called as he approached."Any chance you've got enough for a few more frozen souls?"

Thalia hesitated only briefly before reaching for her pot."I might be able to stretch it," she said, forcing a smile that felt too tight on her face."Though I can't promise it'll taste as good watered down."

"Anything hot would be a miracle right now," one of the other students said gratefully.

As Thalia poured the remaining tea into borrowed cups, she studied Roran's hands — the calluses that lined his palms, the small burn scars that matched her own from forge work, the slight tremor that still lingered from the cold.They looked like the hands of someone who had worked hard his entire life.Honest hands.

Thalia looked up and met Roran’s gaze.He smiled, and his brown eyes were soft.Warm.Open.They weren’t the eyes of a liar.

Luna was observant, but she wasn’t immune to paranoia.Thalia set the pot of tea back down and forced the remnants of suspicion from her mind.Trusting Roran was a conscious decision; she had already earned herself too many enemies to turn away a friend.

She could only hope that she wasn’t making a mistake, that her choice to trust wouldn’t one day be her undoing.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Thalia's breath clouded before her face as she hurried down darkened stairwells, descending into the Howling Forge.These early morning sessions with Kaine had become the part of her day she anticipated most, a private refuge from the academy's growing tensions and dwindling supplies.

She pushed open the heavy iron door, and a wall of heat struck her face.The contrast between the biting cold outside and the forge's sweltering interior made her skin prickle beneath her layers.Inside, the air shimmered with heat, thick with the acrid scent of hot metal and coal.The smell reminded her of blood and earth — elemental, ancient.

"You're right on time," Kaine's voice carried from the far corner, where he stood at a workbench arranging tools with methodical precision.His back was to her, shoulders broad beneath his leather apron, the muscles of his forearms shifting as he aligned hammers and tongs according to some system only he understood.When he turned, the perpetual severity of his expression softened slightly — not quite a smile, but something meant only for her.