Page 128 of Rookie Rules

"Half a beat," Rowan agreed.

"He'll reverse if we seal the wall."

Rowan nodded once. "Luca, stay above his weak-side winger until we own the puck."

Luca sat on Rowan's other side and watched them translate Kaito into mechanics. Finn knew the rival center's habits with the resentment of a player who had studied too much tape. Kaito seemed to know exactly when Finn would abandon patience.

No first names today.

During warmups, Kaito had placed three pucks into the same upper corner without appearing to aim. Across the red line, Finn stretched against the boards and never turned his head. That refusal took effort. Luca recognized effort.

The broadcast version of their rivalry had been assembled from safe pieces: two gifted players from the same junior program, hard matchups, one fight eight years ago, playoff clips slowed until hostility became entertainment. A montage on the arena screen had ended with Finn knocking Kaito into the glass. The crowd cheered. Kaito watched the replay without expression. Finn skated away before it finished.

None of it explained why Finn had gone quiet over breakfast or why Kaito tracked him only when Finn faced elsewhere.

Rowan tapped Finn's shin pad before the anthem. Finn acknowledged him with a short nod. Whatever passed between them required no explanation Luca was allowed to hear.

Northstar spent the first five minutes defending. Kaito changed the point of attack with short passes, never holding the puck long enough for Finn to hit him. On his third shift, Finn chased below the goal line. Kaito reversed the puck before contact, leaving Finn behind the net while the attack moved up the opposite wall.

"Middle," Rowan called.

Luca collapsed toward the slot and cut off the return feed. He chipped the puck past the defenseman, accelerated through neutral ice, and heard Rowan's stick strike once behind him.

The sound meant delay.

Luca held at the right circle. Both defenders retreated toward him. Rowan drove the middle, drawing the inside stick, then sent the puck back across the grain.

Luca shot above the goalie's pad.

1-0.

The celebration was immediate and public. Rowan's glove struck Luca's helmet. Finn wrapped an arm around both of them. Their shoulders collided against the glass while the visiting section rose behind the bench.

"Good hold," Rowan said.

Luca wanted to ask whether Rowan had loved Graham.

"Good pass," he replied.

On the next shift Kaito won a draw against Rowan, then glanced at Finn as the puck traveled back. Finn stepped forward before the defenseman committed. The return pass went through the lane Finn had vacated.

Gabriel saved them with his blocker.

"He baited you," Rowan said when they reached the bench.

Finn pulled at the cuff of his glove. "He got one look."

"He got two."

"You counting for him now?"

The edge in Finn's voice drew a quick glance from Jace at the next stall.

Rowan did not react to the challenge. "I'm counting threats. Play the one in front of you."

The rival team tied the game late in the first. Kaito carried below the goal line with Finn on his shoulder, absorbed contact, and sent a blind pass into the slot before Finn completed the switch. Their right wing scored before Gabriel could recover.

1-1.