We witness characters who seemed reliable under fair weather begin to calculate the mathematical cost of their alignment. Their shift highlights the thematic truth that fear is the ultimate solvent of superficial loyalty.
He looked up. At twenty-five, Kellan had the weary eyes of a man twice his age. The siege had taken its toll: food was low, morale was lower, and the faces of the guards who still remained were etched with the hollow look of men who had already said their goodbyes. But when he saw Elara, something flickered in his gaze—not hope, exactly, but the shadow of it. Lesson in Loyalty -Chapter 3-
"Read it," she said.