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"C areful," Serena says, hips swaying as she walks into view, her figure outlined against torchlight like a predator stalking prey. "Her water dragon will be here, too. Nobody try anything stupid."

"At least someone recognizes my power," Typhon mutters in my mind.

A sharp pulse hits through our tether—hunger, raw and demanding. He's asking, again, if he can eat them.

"Let's be smart, Typhon. Even you probably couldn't fight off fifteen students and elementals."

"It would be a glorious death."

"Right. Death. So we're going to be smart. I have no interest in dying tonight, no matter how gloriously."

"Shall I alert the fire touched about your situation?"

I go rigid, eyes darting between the students slowly circling me like wolves. My heart hammers so hard I wonder if they can hear it.

"You can do that?"

"I can communicate with his elemental. I suppose I could also reach out to the air touched you are rumored to vigorously mate with."

"Bastian?"

"Yes. I should also admit I am only asking to give you the illusion of choice. I already reached out to them several minutes ago when I suspected the humans who led you here of treachery."

"And you didn't think to warn me?"

Rage explodes in my chest, hot and vicious. Typhon is supposed to protect me, and he just let me walk straight into this?

"Yes. Better to face our enemies than hide in the shadows from them. I will admit I didn't expect... quite so many of them, however."

The slight throb of apology through the tether softens my anger. We’re still screwed, though.

Serena slides inside my space and plucks my rapier from my waist. Blunted or not, I still feel naked once she takes it.

"Just to be safe," she says, eyes holding mine as she steps back, her smile cutting like a blade.

"Are they close?" I ask Typhon through our tether.

"Yes."

"I didn't see anything," I say, trying to keep my voice steady despite the situation. "Just let me walk out of here, and I won't talk about this. Whatever it is."

"Hmm," Malakai says, lips curving into a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "Serena mentioned she gave you the opportunity to work with us. Said you weren't particularly receptive, though. We could use your dragon, Nessa. Maybe there's bad blood between us, but we're willing to leave it in the past."

"You tried to kill me during the water trial. And you had your goons try to kill us in the training arena. And you've murdered dozens of innocent students." I lift my chin, refusing to cower even as my insides quiver with dread. "So fuck leaving anything in the past. I want nothing to do with you bastards."

Malakai's smile widens, teeth flashing white in the torchlight. "I'll admit I like your spunk, Nessa. Almost as much as I like the idea of having that water dragon on our side."

"It's never going to happen."

He nods, eyes falling to the floor for a moment as if he's considering something. "I believe you. That's too bad. Because it means you're also too dangerous to keep alive." His gaze flicks to the two first-years. "Veeni and Jira, you did good bringing her here. Titus, it’s your turn to get rid of the body. It has been a while since we threw one over the cliffs. That should do for her.”

My stomach clenches and bile rises in my throat as I take a step back, only to bump against the doors. If Veeni and Jira turned to Serena’s side, how many other fires can’t be trusted? My pulse hammers in my throat, but I start preparing to fight. If they're really going to try to kill me, I'm taking some of these fuckers down with me.

Typhon moves in front of me, spreading his wings wide, his long body rippling with power.

Malakai, Serena, and the gathered students all take a huge step backward, eyes suddenly wide with fear.

"Let them see what they threaten. Let them see Typhon. First of his name!"

He throws his head back and lets out a roar that rumbles through my chest, shaking dust from the ceiling and rattling my bones. The sound vibrates through every inch of my body, making my teeth ache and my ears ring.

Elementals flash into view around the room as the students draw weapons and prepare for a fight. Three fire elementals and twelve water elementals bathe the room in magical light, red and blue.

Veeni and Jira, the first-year fires who led me to the room, make the first move. Just as Typhon engages with four elementals, biting into one and throwing it hard enough to shatter stone, the girls rush me.

They're both holding daggers, and I'm unarmed. Unarmed, maybe. But not defenseless. Fucking far from it.

I reach into the stone beneath their feet, shifting the earth upward. A stone rises in front of Veeni's feet, tripping her and sending her flying forward.

I step back, pull water from the air, and form a small buckler of water over my right wrist. I barely raise it in time to knock away Jira's dagger, the impact sending shockwaves up my arm that make my teeth rattle.

There's a chaos of movement around me as Typhon creates a deadly barrier between me and most of the students. He's biting, clawing, and spraying magical torrents of water at elementals and students alike, but there are too many of them. He's only able to keep them back. To buy time. And it's not without cost.

His body is already slashed with several wounds that leak blue energy, each gash making my own skin tingle with sympathetic pain.

"Stop worrying over me, angry human. Defend yourself."

He roars, slamming his claws down on a dog-like beast of water that explodes in a cloud of mist. He blasts away Titus and several other waters with a column of water that sends them flying back as if from an explosion.

Malakai's shark, which has grown quite a bit larger since Confluence Day, slices through the air and bites hard on Typhon's shoulder.

I grip Veeni, who is trying to overpower me and plunge a dagger into my chest as we battle our way back into the corner of the room. I feel other students working their way around Typhon to get closer.

There's no chance. Death is coming. It's only a question of when.

I clap both hands to Veeni's face. Instead of letting her energy pass into me, I actively try to pull it from her.

Water magic rushes out of her body into my hands, faster and faster as her eyes widen and her mouth hangs open in a silent scream. The power fills me, electric and cold, coursing through my veins like liquid ice. It rushes through me in a torrent, drowning out everything but the sensation of raw power.

Her dagger clatters to the stone beside her as she slumps, but I don't let go. I keep draining her, filling myself with magic, feeling the power leak from her body as it floods mine.

She finally wrenches free, but it's too late. I'm full of water magic, brimming with it, power crackling beneath my skin. Jira is back on her feet and rushing me with three other students. I throw my left hand out in a swiping motion. Almost without effort, a crescent of thick water rushes out, catching all of them in the stomach and sending them flying away.

I could sharpen the water. I feel the possibility—know with little more than a thought, my magic could slice through flesh instead of bruise. But even now, even here… I still don’t want to be like them. I want to be better.

“Get her!” Serena shouts, rushing toward me with a pair of daggers.

I gesture, blasting away a dog made of fire and a watery lizard with one hand and slick the ground beneath Serena’s feet with the other. Without missing a step, she floods the area with fire, turning the water to steam and keeps coming.

And then the scent of smoke reaches my nose.

Smoke?

I risk turning my head halfway and see the locked double doors are consumed by flame. A moment later, a blast of thick air blows them inward, shattering the doors into splinters of sparks and ash that knock away several more students.

Serena skids to a stop, turning to raise a wall of flames that incinerates debris before they can hit her.

Raith and Bastian stand in the doorway along with several other first-year fires.

"Stop," Bastian says, voice clear and full of authority, even in the middle of the chaos.

To my surprise, everything does stop. Well, almost everything. As soon as the students and elementals stop moving, Typhon casually lowers his head and bites Veeni's arm off.

My eyes go wide as I stare at the gushing blood and screaming girl. My stomach heaves, and I swallow hard against the rising nausea.

"Apologies," Typhon says calmly through our tether. "But I do not allow humans to trick or try to kill my angry human. We can say the arm was eaten during the heat of battle, if anyone asks."

Veeni falls to her knees clutching the wounded remains of her arm as Jira slides to her side and tries to help. The rest of the students only watch warily as their wounded elementals nurse wounds and limp back to their sides.

Raith strides into the center of the room as his fire panther stalks behind him. He comes right for me, eyes searching me from head to toe with an intensity that makes my skin heat. "Are you hurt?" he asks, voice rough with concern.

I shake my head, unable to look away from the fierce worry in his eyes. "I'm okay."

He holds my gaze a few more moments, and I can see just how worried he was. It's practically boiling off him. As the relief of seeing me unhurt settles in, though, I see rage slowly taking its place, his eyes darkening to near-black.

“Veeni… Jira… There’s no coming back from this.”

Jira lowers her eyes, as if ashamed. Veeni is too busy clutching the stump where her arm was, eyes still wide in shock. She’s whimpering softly.

“And you. Serena," Raith says, voice cold as the edge of a blade.

She straightens, eyes hard. "It looks like an even fight, now. Is this how we're going to do it, Raith Hollow? Should we just have it out right here? You, the legacy, and your loyal first-year fires against us?"

Raith says nothing, but he unsheathes his sword with a whisper of steel that sends a shiver down my spine. At his cue, the first-year fires behind him begin drawing weapons, too. Their fire elementals wink into view like blazing stars in the night sky, casting a wall of orange light over half of the room.

Bastian steps between both groups of students and elementals, his majestic horse made of pure air behind him. He looks between both groups. "No," he says. "You're all Empire property. Valuable Empire property. I won't stand by and watch you slaughter one another. Disperse and return to your rooms now."

"And if we don't, pretty boy?" Malakai asks.

"There are systems for dealing with this kind of infraction. Systems that aren't public knowledge. If you carry on here and fight, you'll find yourselves envious of those who died. They, at least, won't survive to endure the punishment."

There's an uneasy silence.

Raith looks my way, and I can tell he's asking what I want him to do. He'll still fight them if I ask.

Gods. He really will. It's written in every line of his body, in the coiled tension of his shoulders and the fire flickering at his fingertips. The realization steals my breath for a moment.

But I shake my head.

At my signal, Raith slides his sword back into its sheath. He stands tall and proud in front of Malakai and his people. "Let me make something perfectly fucking clear." His voice is heavy, powerful, and feels more like the growl of a beast than something human. "She's under my protection." He points my way. "If any of you think you're going to hunt her down during the Crucible, you'll find us there to stop you. If you come for her on campus, it will be your blood on the stone. That's a fucking promise. Am I clear?"

Serena smirks and tilts her head. "Is she really so good in bed, Raith?"

He walks closer to her until he towers over her smaller form. I notice with satisfaction how she tenses in his presence, like she's already regretting her words.

"Am. I. Fucking. Clear?" he asks, words barely a whisper.

There's a long, tense silence before she lowers her eyes.

"Good." Raith steps back. "Malakai?"

Malakai gives a casual shrug. "Got it. We'll have to kill you and your little soldiers before we can kill Nessa. Did I miss anything?"

"Enough," Bastian says. "Nessa. With me. The rest of you get back to your rooms. Oh, and one more thing... The only people who know about him are in this room," Bastian points to Typhon, who is still chewing on Veeni's arm in a way that makes my stomach twist with nausea.

A twinge of panic rises in me. Even if the people in this room keep quiet about Typhon, I can see the truth will get out eventually. Now all the fires know. Any of Malakai’s people who might not have believed what they heard from Confluence Day have seen Typhon for themselves now, too.

Problems for another day.

"Can you even digest that?" I ask through the tether.

"I am chewing as an intimidation tactic. And for my enjoyment."

Bastian's finger is still aimed at Typhon. "If word about him spreads beyond the people here, I'll know it was one of you. That water dragon is an official academy secret. Speak about it, and I'll find you."

There are some murmurs and shared looks of confusion as Bastian gestures for me to join him.

"Come on, Typhon. Let's get the hells out of here."

"One thing before I go," he says.

Typhon transforms into a flying fish and swims right up to Malakai's face. I think he's about to actually say something to him, but instead, he spits a small jet of water in Malakai's only remaining eye.

Malakai flinches in shocked surprise, reeling back and clutching his face. A moment later, he roars in anger and reaches for Typhon, but the flying fish slips out of the way and weaves back to me.

"Direct hit," Typhon says with smug satisfaction.

Malakai, his shark, and his people try to come after me, but I hear Raith draw his weapon again. "Back the fuck off. I'll cut every last one of you to ribbons. Whatever mysterious punishment the legacy promised or not. Fucking try me."

I spare a glance behind and see Raith and the fires are forming a protective wall to stop Malakai and his people from coming after me.

Once we're in the hall, Bastian sighs. "You alright?"

I nod, though my hands are still trembling with leftover adrenaline. "Thanks. I think. Were you telling the truth back there? About the punishment?"

"No. If there was a bloodbath in that room, it wouldn't have made Empire happy, but the winners would simply go on with a slap on the wrist, assuming they were caught and held accountable."

I frown as we enter the courtyard again, and the wide open fresh air makes me feel like I can finally catch my breath. I nearly died back there. A few more moments and I almost certainly would have.

And even if she deserved it, I still keep replaying the way Veeni screamed when Typhon bit her arm off. Gods…

"To be what you are will require violence, angry human. You must be willing to show your enemies the price of crossing you. If we don't, they will only grow more bold. She should consider herself lucky if an arm was the only price for delivering you to your enemies."

"You're sure it had nothing to do with all her flying fish comments?"

"The comments are why I bit the arm off at the shoulder instead of the elbow. Words carry a price. She learned that tonight."

Bastian stops and gestures to a bench at the edge of the courtyard. "Let's sit a moment before you go back to your room."

I hesitate. “What about Raith? We just left him back there with Malakai and Serena.”

“I’m pretty sure Raith can handle himself. Nothing is going to happen. Not tonight, at least.” He gestures for me to sit.

"Word about Typhon may spread after tonight, regardless of what I said."

I nod. "Maybe it's for the best."

"I doubt that. Within these walls, sure. Students knowing how powerful you are will be good for your safety to a certain extent. But outside Confluence? You tethered an ancient, Nessa. The ancient elementals are known. There are only nine of them, and they're all mad by broken bonds and dead primals. There will be questions. People will want to know how you tethered an ancient. How you cleansed its madness."

"What do I tell them?"

He lets out a long sigh, shaking his head. "Eventually, people are going to find out you're unbound, Nessa. It's simply too big a secret to keep. It might not be this year, but I think by next year, it will certainly start to become known. We need to shift our focus. We can't hide you forever, so we need to gather allies we can trust. Powerful allies who can shield you from those who would rather see you destroyed."

"We?"

"I gave you that book because I believe in the good you can do. I won't be the only one who thinks having an unbound on our side could be the key."

"The key to what?"

"You've finished the book, which means you know about Lorkan Grace. Something the book doesn’t say for certain has to do with siphons. Lorkan Grace and Milena Grace created the siphons. We don’t know how, precisely, but we know it was them. We don’t believe the siphons could still exist if Lorkan and Milena were dead. And we have strong evidence that several siphons are still active.”

“So they’re still alive?”

“That’s the logical conclusion. We believe he's still alive. Still fueling the siphons somehow. Still using them to keep the war between Empire and Red Kingdom raging."

I shake my head. "What could I possibly do about that?"

"Frankly, I don't know. But I do know what we did in the past didn't work. We hunted down the unbound and tried to exterminate them. We killed the good and the bad, and now we have nobody left to oppose Lorkan and Milena. Maybe there's nothing you'll be able to do. But maybe there is. I intend to keep you alive so we can find out."

His words settle on me like weights until I feel like bending beneath their pressure. "I'm nobody."

"Whether you like it or not, that's not true. Not in the slightest."

"Agreed. You are the angry human. Loyal follower and distinguished side-kick of Typhon, first of his name. You have stopped me from eating several humans, despite my great hunger. You have only allowed me to eat one single arm. This, in itself, is a great feat."

"I didn't allow you to eat that arm. That was all on you."

I sense amusement through the tether, and I feel a wave of appreciation toward him. It may not have always been clear to me, but behind all his bluster and arrogance, Typhon is a little less dense than he comes off. He knows how to cheer me up, even after a disaster like the confrontation back in that empty classroom.

"Bastian?" I say.

"Yes?"

"Raith thinks there might be a siphon at Confluence. Is that possible?"

His elegant features twist. "It's quite likely. Yes. But how would he know?"

I open my mouth to say something, then worry I've already said too much. The last thing I want is to get Raith in trouble with Bastian or the people he's connected to. I may trust Bastian to an extent, but I have no idea if I can trust him to protect Raith. "Raith has helped me. A lot."

Bastian's eyebrows draw together. "I'm aware."

"So you won't... turn him in, or something, right?"

"I want to keep you alive, Nessa. Raith serves as a formidable guard dog, as far as I'm concerned. I should caution you, though... I suspect you may feel some emotional connection to him. I would strongly advise against it. As long as he thinks there's a chance of you sleeping with him, he may remain trustworthy. But giving him what he wants may cause him to grow bored, and?—"

"I'm not choosing when and where to spread my legs as a negotiation tactic, Bastian." My voice comes out sharp as glass.

He flinches at my tone, then nods. "I'm only suggesting caution. Raith volunteered to be here. We have no records of where he lived going back more than a year before he volunteered. It's highly likely he has ties to Red Kingdom. A spy for the enemy who wants to sleep with you is at least predictable. If you give him what he wants, it's harder to predict what he'll do. That's all I'm saying."

"And it's none of your godsdamned business," I snap.

Bastian smiles slightly. "Understood. I said my piece. The rest is up to you." He stands. "Speaking of guard dogs. It looks like yours wants a word. Stay safe, Nessa. And remember to use discretion during the Crucible. As I said, Empire will have plenty of eyes watching."

He walks off, quickly disappearing into a corridor.

And then I see Raith lingering at the edge of the courtyard. Once Bastian is gone, he approaches.

"Fuck him," he says simply.

I laugh at the unexpected words, the tension in my chest easing slightly. "He has saved me a few times."

Raith shrugs. "It's the only reason I don't kill him."

"You would kill a legacy? For what, exactly?"

There's a flicker of something in Raith's eyes. Something I'm almost tempted to read as jealousy. "I don't trust him with you."

"That's funny, because one of his favorite topics is how I shouldn't trust you with me."

Raith sits beside me, his body giving off that addictive scent of woodsmoke and something deeper—something that always makes my stomach flutter with warmth and my skin prickle with awareness.

"He wants you in his bed," Raith says bluntly.

"No. Definitely not. I'm not even sure Bastian is interested in women."

That earns a sharp look from Raith. "You think he's interested in men?"

"I think he's too busy... scheming to worry about things like that. I know the rumors, but?—"

"So you two haven't ever..."

I tilt my head at Raith, smiling despite all the tension still twisted up inside me from the last half hour. "Are you asking if I've slept with Bastian? Because if you're going to ask me that, I'm going to ask how many dozens of girls you've been with since we arrived here."

"None," he says simply.

The simple admission takes my breath away. I’d assumed…

"You haven't been with anyone here? You really expect me to believe that?"

"You can believe what you want. Have you slept with him?"

"No. And nobody else," I add after a moment.

"Good," Raith says.

That draws a chuckle from me. "Good? Why is that good, Raith?"

"It's just good." He stands suddenly. "Come on. I'm walking you back to your room."

"You are?"

"I just had to rush to a random classroom, burn down a door, and nearly fight a small-scale battle to stop Malakai and Serena from murdering you after learning two fires I thought I could trust had turned on me. So, yes, I'm walking you to your fucking room."

I try to ignore the swirl of pleasant, but confusing emotions his words trigger and the way my heart flutters wildly in my chest. "Okay," I say.

We walk in silence for a few moments before I blurt a question that has been on my mind for weeks. "Were you born in Red Kingdom?"

Raith pauses in the shadows of a corridor. It's several seconds before he answers. "Yes."

My throat goes dry, pulse quickening. The admission would be enough to get him thrown behind bars or worse. I know that much. Despite my pounding heart, I push for more. "Are you here to... hurt Empire somehow?"

"No."

I swallow hard. "Then why?"

His eyes are dark as he stares at nothing, memories seeming to swirl just behind his vision. "The less you know, the safer you are. But I can at least say I'm not… here to hurt Empire. My loyalty isn't to Red Kingdom, either."

"Then why would it be dangerous for me to know more? I don't understand."

There's another long pause, as if it goes against everything in his nature to answer my question.

"Because I'm supposed to be dead. Only a handful of people know I'm not, and if they found out I was alive. Hells, if they knew I was here? They'd burn this whole fucking place down if they could. Anybody and everybody I cared about would be ash, too. So I can't tell you more. I can't... I can't care about you, because then it would be my fault if they found me. It would be my fault that they'd come after you. Hurt you because of me. And I won't have that."

The barely controlled emotion in his voice breaks my heart. I open my mouth to say something, but no words seem to capture what I'm feeling. All this time, I don't know what I thought, but now I can at least see enough to understand.

He didn't try to shut me out after the kiss because he didn't want me.

He has been trying to shut me out because he does want me. And he thinks letting himself want me would get me killed.

"Raith..." I finally say, voice barely a whisper. "I'm already in danger from more things I can count. Malakai and Serena want me dead. Everybody who was just in that room knows about Typhon now, and if they think I'm a threat to them, they'll probably want to kill me when my guard is down. Bastian knows, and he says Empire is coming to watch the Crucible, so if I have to reveal Typhon to save myself, they'll know too. And I'm fucking unbound, whatever that even means. I don't think you could put me in more danger than I'm already in if you tried. So can't we at least just... be whatever it is our hearts want us to be?"

His hand lifts as if he's about to cup my face, but he frowns and pulls it away, shaking his head. "Yes, you're in danger already. But I'm doing everything I can to protect you from it. If Empire's going to be watching during the Crucible, then we'll just have to make sure you don't need to reveal what you are. We'll stop anybody who comes for you. Simple as that."

"I don't know how I'm going to survive, Raith. Even with your help. Even with Bastian's help... It feels like death is coming at me from so many angles I can't keep track of it all. I'm scared. I know I shouldn't admit it, but I am." My voice breaks on the last words. "And if I'm going to die, can't I at least have one thing I want before I do?" My eyes hold his, and I see the conflict there. The hunger. The need.

He licks his lips, eyes falling to my mouth. "And what is it... What do you want so badly?"

"You," I breathe. "Gods, Raith. Isn't it fucking obvious already? Can't you see how?—"

He's kissing me before I can take another breath. It's a desperate kiss, all heat and hunger. His big hands are on my body, squeezing and gripping me greedily as he pushes himself against me and lifting me like I weigh nothing—pressing my back against a stone pillar and spreading my legs around his waist.

The thin fabric of our uniforms does nothing to hide the perfect shape of him against me or the heat of his friction as our bodies press together. Every point of contact sends sparks of fire magic through my skin—his essence burning into me, tasting of smoke and cinnamon and raw power.

The red-hot magic flowing from his body swirls in a delicious mixture that rushes beneath my skin and fills me in a way that has me moaning against his lips. "Oh, Gods," I gasp.

His lips are perfect and soft against mine, but the kiss is hard and his hands are so strong, gripping my thighs with a possession that makes me dizzy. His tongue teases mine as it slides into my mouth, swirling and claiming with a need that makes my entire body tremble.

I thread my fingers into his hair, pulling him closer, desperate to erase any space between us. He growls against my mouth, the sound vibrating through my chest and igniting a fire low in my belly. His hips rock against mine, and I can feel exactly how much he wants me as it presses hard between my legs.

"Nessa," he groans against my mouth, one hand sliding up to cup my face. His thumb strokes my cheek, surprisingly gentle for how tightly his other hand grips my hip. The contrast sends shivers down my spine.

I break the kiss, gasping for air, and his mouth immediately finds my neck, teeth grazing the sensitive skin beneath my ear before trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses down to my collarbone. Every touch brands me, makes my skin prickle with heat.

"Raith," I manage, my voice a breathy moan as his hand slides under the hem of my shirt, fingers splaying across the bare skin of my back.

"I know," he says, voice rough with desire. "We need to stop."

But he doesn't stop. His mouth finds mine again, and I meet him with equal hunger, our bodies moving together in perfect rhythm. His hands slide lower, cupping my ass and pressing me harder against him as my legs tighten around his waist.

The friction is delicious torture, making heat spiral between my legs. I roll my hips, desperate for more, and he breaks the kiss with a hiss.

"Fuck, Nessa," he breathes, forehead pressed to mine. "If we don't stop now?—"

But I don't want to stop. I want to feel him everywhere. Want to drown in the fire of his magic and the heat of his body until everything else falls away.

He closes his eyes, jaw clenched tight as he battles for control. With obvious reluctance, he slowly lowers me to my feet, but keeps me caged between his body and the pillar.

"You have no idea what you do to me," he says, voice rough. "No fucking idea."

I look up at him, still breathing hard as a wicked smile plays at my lips. "I think I have some idea."

His mouth quirks in a half-smile, but his eyes remain dark, hungry. "I'll walk you to your room." He steps back, putting space between us, but his hand finds mine, fingers lacing together. "And I'll stay outside your door tonight. Make sure no one bothers you."

The simple gesture makes my heart ache more than the kiss. This connection between us, whatever it is, runs deeper than just physical attraction. And I know, no matter what dangers are coming for me, having Raith at my side means I won't face them alone.

"Okay," I say, squeezing his hand.

"I'm not going anywhere," he promises, and for the first time since arriving at Confluence, I almost believe I might survive this.