Page 17 of Frostforge: Passage Four
He stepped into the light, and Thalia's heart clenched.A dark bruise blossomed along his jaw, stark against his brown skin.His wild black curls hung loose around his face instead of tied back in their usual knot, as if he hadn't bothered — or hadn't had time — to secure them.His knuckles were raw, scraped bloody.
"What happened?"The words burst from her, sharp with concern.
Roran tried to smile, but it twisted into a grimace that didn't reach his eyes."Turns out you were right," he said, leaning against a weapons rack with forced casualness."I should have been more careful."
Thalia set the blade down, moving closer to examine his injuries."Who did this?"
"Does it matter?"His bitter laugh held no humor."Wolfe makes her announcement about Isle Warden activity, and suddenly everyone's seeing spies in the shadows."He gestured to his face with a sardonic, mirthless grin."Guess who's the obvious scapegoat?"
Something cold and heavy settled in Thalia's stomach."I thought you said things had been better this term."
Roran shook his head."I was wrong.They never stopped.They just went dormant for a while."He ran a hand through his disheveled curls."All it took was Wolfe's warning about infiltration, and suddenly some Northern third-years decided it was time to 'question the Isle Warden' about his true loyalties."
The bitterness in his voice cut through her.She thought of Roran watching ship movements during the break, of his certainty that the Isle Wardens were planning something along the southwest coast — all while bearing their blood in his veins, a secret that would condemn him instantly if discovered.
"I'm sorry," she murmured.
"Not your fault."His eyes softened as they met hers, the anger in them giving way to something warmer, more vulnerable."You knew better.You tried to warn me."
She stepped closer without thinking, drawn by the pain in his expression, by the need to offer some comfort."Let me see," she murmured, reaching up to examine the bruise on his jaw.
Roran went still at her touch, his breath catching audibly.Without thinking, she reached to brush back his curls and found herself leaning closer, drawn by the raw vulnerability in his gaze.For a heartbeat, neither of them moved.For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to his pulse at her fingertips, the roughness of the stubble on his jaw, the look of genuine surprise on his face.Then, slowly, he raised his hand to cup her face, his storm-scarred palm warm against her cheek.
Thalia's heart hammered against her ribs.This close, she could see the flecks of gold in his dark eyes, could feel the subtle current of his storm magic pulsing beneath his skin like a second heartbeat, an electricity that raised the hair on her arm
She had been right about his feelings, about the connection between them.She wasn’t the only one who’d felt the tension lingering in glances held too long, in the way their arguments always crackled with something just beneath the surface.Not the only one who had wondered — feared, hoped — what might happen between them, if they let themselves act on instinct.
He leaned closer, his gaze dropping to her lips, and she found herself rising on her toes to meet him, drawn by an inexorable pull as powerful as any tide.
"Well, isn't this precious?"
The mocking voice from the doorway sliced through the moment like a blade.Thalia jerked back, heat flooding her face as she turned to find Senna lounging against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest, silver-gray eyes gleaming with malicious amusement.
"I'd honestly rather see you flirting with the Isle Warden traitor than trying to pursue Kaine," Senna continued, her smile sharp as an ice-pick."At least this pairing makes sense — Southern trash with stormspawn trash.They say that’s a natural combination."
Thalia's embarrassment flared into anger, but before she could respond, Roran stepped back, his expression shuttering closed.
"I should go," he muttered, not meeting her eyes."Early drills tomorrow."
He brushed past Senna without a word, his shoulders tense, curls hiding his face.The door thudded shut behind him, leaving Thalia alone with the Northern woman she despised most in all of Frostforge.
Thalia whirled on Senna, fury crackling in her veins.“What do you want?”she demanded, voice low and dangerous.“Why can’t you leave me be?”
Senna’s lips curved into a predatory smile.“And miss all this fun?”she replied, her tone like ice.“You’re lucky I walked in here, and not Kaine.If he’d seen this display, maybe he would finally stop his foolishness.Stop trying to win over the slumdweller who’s barely worthy of his attention.”
Thalia’s eyes widened.She’d almost forgotten that Kaine might join her to inspect the weapons.She’d known he might enter at any moment, and she’d still allowed herself to get swept up in the moment with Roran.She’d almost kissed him.Without thinking.What was wrong with her?How could she let herself be caught up in Roran’s storm, while she still felt the deep, steady pull toward Kaine?
The truth was that she would give anything for either of them.That she was drawn to both of them.That she was at the center of a tempest, her heart tossed on a turbulent sea, set ablaze within the heat of a forge.
Senna turned on her heel, her cloak whispering against stone, and vanished into the corridor’s gloom.Silence settled like snow in the emptied room, and Thalia’s racing pulse in her own ears was the only sound.
CHAPTER NINE
The Golem Fields stretched before them like a graveyard for metal giants, jagged wreckage and half-buried constructs jutting from the snow like the fossilized remains of some ancient, mechanical species.Thalia's breath clouded before her face as she surveyed the valley from the rim, the bitter wind carrying ice crystals that stung her cheeks and made her eyes water.Behind her, her squad huddled close, their shoulders hunched against the cold, their expressions a mixture of awe and trepidation at the forbidden landscape they'd been ordered to enter.
"Is this where we're supposed to be?"Daniel's voice cracked slightly, betraying his nervousness.The tall Southern boy shifted from foot to foot, his bronze skin paled by the harsh light reflecting off the snow.
Thalia nodded, scanning the horizon."Command Challenge, second phase.These are our orders."She kept her voice steady, though the location surprised her too.First-years weren't typically brought to the Golem Fields until the Frost Walk at term's end.The valley was notoriously deadly — even to fourth-years.
