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"G ood," Rector Voss says. "Very good."

I exhale, the magic hovering above my hands dispersing into the air like morning mist over water.

Every time I channel, I'm reminded of the storm three years ago. The image of my father's hand briefly rising above the churning, black waters—reaching for a life that was already gone.

The guilt comes fresh and hot, burning like acid under my skin.

But this same power that stole everything from me is now my only path to redemption. As the energy flows through me, I feel the chains of fear falling away. For years, I've been terrified of what lurks within me—the destructive force that turned my mother and sister against me. I try to focus on the future instead of the past. A future where I might master this power, make amends, and maybe even protect others instead of destroying them.

The possibilities feel endless.

"Limitless except for keeping your quarters in reasonable order," Typhon grumbles through our bond. "With the meager possessions they allow you students, your ability to create absolute chaos is truly remarkable. Undergarments were hanging from above your window this morning. How does something such as this happen?"

"I don't recall asking for commentary from grumpy dragon grandpa," I shoot back silently.

"There are humans who would prostrate themselves before me. Who would sacrifice limbs for the chance to tether me. And you call me a 'grumpy dragon grandpa?' Insufferable, ungrateful..."

Despite his complaints, a current of warmth flows through our tether. Typhon may grumble, but he can't hide the emotions that pass between the tether. It makes his constant complaints and chiding feel amusing rather than obnoxious.

Thank the gods for that.

"Your control is improving," Typhon concedes. "For a fragile, insignificant human, at least."

Voss scribbles furiously on his parchment, leaving me in one of those painfully long silences that Typhon typically fills with unsolicited wisdom.

"The fact that you're too foolish to solicit my guidance doesn't diminish its value, angry human."

My lips twitch into a smile. I've grown accustomed to having him respond to every stray thought that crosses my mind. "My control may be improving like you say, but I'm still miles behind everyone else at Confluence."

"The power of an unbound is different."

"Different,” I repeat. “So far, the difference seems to be that I have far less capacity to channel than my peers, but I can touch every element. Maybe it would feel useful if I could openly show my powers instead of searching for subtle uses that won’t be noticed.”

“In time, you will reveal yourself.”

“And then be hunted.” I know from reading the book that unbound weren’t just hunted for the potential to manifest unique and deadly powers. There was something else. Something else I have tried desperately not to think too much about because…

“Because it makes you feel like a monster,” Typhon says softly in my mind, finishing the thought.

I tense, eyes falling to the floor while Voss still scratches down notes on his parchment. "It's just a book, Typhon. I can't believe everything it says. Maybe I can’t really… do that."

"Then allow me to confirm the contents, because I witnessed unbound myself. As the book says, unbound have the ability to tether not just elementals, but humans as well. Just as it was with me, you can require your oaths to be sworn by a human and accept their tether. This joining will also increase your power and grant them a shadow of your own. This was the secret Lorkan Grace and Milena Grace discovered. It was the secret that ignited everything and led to the destruction of your kind."

"I'm not going to tether people," I bite back. From the moment I read it in the book, I tried to forget I'd seen it. The idea felt... wrong. Twisted. Dark.

"Whether you use your full potential or not is of no consequence. They will call you dangerous because they will fear what you could become, should you choose. With the desire, you could reshape this world of yours as you see fit."

"I don't want to reshape the world, Typhon. I just want to fix my own little corner of it. I want my mom and sister to forgive me. I want to survive this place."

There's a heavy shock of protective instinct through the tether. I feel it flood into me so strongly that it takes my breath away. "And you shall survive, because I will protect you. No matter the cost."

I spare a small smile for Typhon who lays in the corner, his serpentine body coiled around as his head rests on his scaled torso. His deep blue eyes gleam, somehow seeming as bottomless as oceans.

I glance at Voss’ paper and see he has drawn four sectors—one for each element. He's taking notes in each, as if keeping separate track of my progression with each discipline.

"In any case, even if you refuse to use your full potential by tethering others,” Typhon continues. “You demonstrated a unique gift when you stripped away my madness. If you could restore me to my senses, then you could free the other ancients as well. You could also free the elder elementals who have lost themselves. This alone would send shockwaves through both your world and mine. If those elementals chose to tether to your people, it would dramatically increase the power at your kind's disposal. If not... it would make my kind far more powerful in our own right."

"Do you really think I should do that? Try to free more elementals from madness?" The weight of the possibility settles heavy on my shoulders.

"The answer isn't simple. The other ancients... they are not perfect."

"Unlike you?" I tease.

"Precisely," he replies, completely missing my sarcasm. "We must consider carefully before deciding if healing them is wise. And we need you significantly stronger first. I could have easily destroyed you in the lake or on the elemental plane. We can't risk exposing you again until you're properly prepared."

"How have you been feeling?" Voss asks abruptly, yanking me from my internal conversation with Typhon.

"Fine, I guess?" The words come out more a question than a statement.

"Your powers. Do you feel they're progressing?"

My fingers flex unconsciously. "I'm improving some, but it doesn't feel like enough." A heaviness settles in my chest as I think about my limitations. "Sure, I can manipulate small amounts of elemental energy without drawing power directly from someone. A stone rising from the floor. A sudden gust of wind. A needle of water materializing from nothing. A flare of heat dancing across my palm. But my classmates—" My eyebrows draw together. "My classmates are becoming devastating now that they've tethered. Malakai crafts shapeshifting weapons from water. Mireen can summon entire waves of water from nothing. I can barely?—"

"You can do far more than them," Voss interrupts, his half-smile knowing. "Your powers are different, Nessa. Subtle. You're discounting that when you draw from someone, you can temporarily surpass their abilities. And you have access to all four elements, even if in limited quantities."

Memories from last night flash through my mind—draining enough water magic to blast people away like dust in a hurricane. But it required physical contact, and my enemies won't always stand still while I reach for them. It also exposes me.

The memory of last night also includes what happened with Raith afterwards. It's not an unpleasant thought, but it feels too private to have here with Voss staring at me. Heat rises to my cheeks as I recall Raith's touch, his intensity, the way he made me feel...

"And me subjected to your mating-obsessed brain. Let the scarred human dock with you, place a baby inside your body, and be done with it. All this time spent imagining the act is time wasted. You could be thinking of your training, of ? —"

"Typhon?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

Voss perches on the edge of his desk, long legs crossed and arms folded as he watches me. His silver hair is swept back from his face, revealing shrewd eyes that see too much.

"I should mention I heard about yesterday's confrontation," Voss says slowly, his gaze never leaving mine. "Veeni arrived at the healers missing an arm. She won't identify her attacker, of course. The stories we've gathered make at least one thing clear. It was Serena, two fires, and the waters against you and Raith Hollow with the rest of the fires. And Bastian, of all people, showed up in time to stop the fighting from getting worse, from what I understand."

I shift uncomfortably. "Something like that."

"Am I to assume... you bit Veeni's arm off? Or was it your flying fish, which seems rather small for such a significant wound."

My chest constricts, pulse hammering against my ribs. Does Voss know about Typhon? I've had no choice but to trust him with my unbound status, but I've managed to conceal the fact that I tethered a fucking ancient water dragon on Confluence Day. At least, I thought I had.

"I... don't know what happened to her," I manage. "There was nearly a fight, and then there wasn't. Bastian got there in time to stop it from happening.”

Voss cocks his head, amusement playing at the corners of his mouth. "Nessa. I'm not a fool, so don't treat me like one. What happened to Veeni's arm? What really happened?"

His tone sends ice crawling up my spine. Shit. Has he seen through my "Oceanus" the flying fish lie? Does he actually know about Typhon?

"Should I prepare to strike, angry human?" Typhon's voice reverberates with dangerous potential.

"No. He hasn't given us reason not to trust him yet. Everything he's done has been to help. Let's... wait and see."

I straighten my spine, forcing calm into my voice that I definitely don't feel. "I would rather not say, Rector Voss."

He studies me for several excruciating seconds before shrugging. "Veeni will survive, naturally. With sufficient practice, she may even learn to conjure a relatively functional fire-based arm for short durations. Such things are possible with adequate skill."

"Oh." I inwardly curse myself for the relief I feel. Despite knowing she deserved every bit of what happened, guilt has gnawed at me since last night.

"I should have removed her head instead. Let her magically replace that!"

"Typhon, don't be a dick."

"Elementals do not possess dicks. We have a far more sophisticated organ known as ? —"

I quickly block him out, refocusing on Voss who's watching me with undisguised curiosity.

"Have you and your friends secured a fifth member for the Crucible? I assume my early warning allowed you first selection."

"We're... working on it." I shift my weight on the chair. "But there's something else I hoped to ask about. Something related to finding our fifth."

"Oh?" Voss lifts his chin slightly, eyes sharpening.

"I heard a rumor. About… siphons."

Voss's expression remains perfectly neutral, and I find myself rambling to fill the uncomfortable silence.

"Here at Confluence. Is that even possible? Could there be a siphon on campus? I know they are just supposed to be monsters from children's stories, but I thought if anyone would know it would be?—"

Voss rises and circles his desk to sink into his chair. He leans forward, fingers forming a steeple. "It is possible. Yes."

His straightforward admission knocks the air from my lungs.

"Where exactly did you hear this rumor?"

"I don't recall." The lie seems to hang in the air, bright and obvious as it waits for him to strike it away and demand the truth.

But his only reaction is the smallest tick at the corner of his mouth. "I see. Little is known about siphons. Even among the powerful. Though encountering a siphon and living to tell of it is virtually unheard of, we know they exist. Would you like to know how, Nessa?"

My throat works against a sudden dryness, but I nod.

"It's the condition of the victim afterward. If they had no affinity, the eyes become empty sockets of shadow. The veins blacken, and every drop of liquid in the body evaporates, leaving a shriveled, horrific corpse. For those with an affinity, the mark is completely blackened, as if burned away. The sight is... deeply disturbing."

I think back to the hushed conversation I overheard with Raith months ago on the castle walls. "Has a body like that been found here? On campus?"

A troubled shadow crosses his features, like storm clouds momentarily blotting out the sun. "That would be extremely concerning. It would mean our protections have failed and the siphons are far more powerful than we anticipated—that they can move freely among us even in a place where the average student possesses enough power to overwhelm several trained soldiers."

"So... it wouldn't be possible?"

Voss interlaces his fingers, eyes never leaving mine. "I didn't say that. I merely said it would be concerning."

"Does anyone know what they look like? Siphons, I mean."

"Just like you and me. Identical, if they wished it. We believe they can adopt the forms of those they observe. Or perhaps physical contact is required to steal another's appearance. We don't know. But it's the only explanation we've conceived for how they evade detection so thoroughly." Voss sighs. "Centuries of confronting them and our knowledge remains pitifully limited."

"So what do we know?"

"Good," he says with a half-smile. "You're asking the right questions. We know they can kill elementals. Truly kill them."

A pulse of raw anger passes through the tether from Typhon. I know elementals can “die” in a fight in our world, but Typhon has assured me they’re just energy. Under normal circumstances, they can’t truly die. They can just be dispersed and need time to gather themselves back into being. But siphons can absorb them into nothingness. Real death.

I gnaw my lower lip, considering. "Elementals must despise siphons even more than humans do."

"Astute observation. Yes. And now you've discovered the root of conflict between elementals and humans. The histories claim siphons were created by an exceptionally powerful unbound with a unique manifestation. The specifics are murky, naturally. These events transpired over a thousand years ago. Ancient times."

"Do the histories explain why an unbound created siphons? Why do something so terrible?"

"No. It's not recorded. All we know is the elementals disagreed on how to address the threat. This division led to fires and earths primarily allying with the Red Kingdom while waters and airs mostly sided with Empire."

"So everything—our entire conflict—really began because of one unbound?"

Voss nods. "Thus the need for discretion regarding your status. Both elementals and humans fear what your kind can become. We need only examine our history to see the devastation wrought by a… single unbound individual."

His words carry weight. Nauseating weight. They drive home the point I’ve already been feeling poised at my throat since finishing the unbound book. They make me feel like the monster I fear I could be—the monster my mother and sister thought but worse in every way.

"Why help me, then?" My voice emerges smaller than intended. "Why not throw me over the castle wall and be done with it?"

"He could try," Typhon roars in my mind.

"Because I believe you can help us. How, specifically, is a matter for another time. For now, concentrate solely on improvement. You must survive to be useful to anyone, and I cannot personally shield you during the Crucible."

Voss suddenly claps his hands and offers a friendly smile as he stands. "In any case, these matters needn't concern you today. Focus on what you can control. Your training. Maintaining your academic standing. Finding a fifth for the Crucible. Surviving. Because you're useless to everyone dead. That is one certainty you can cling to.”

My fingers twist into the fabric of my clothes. "But you said siphons might assume any form. How can I trust anyone knowing that?"

His eyes lock with mine with an intensity that sends shivers cascading down my spine. Then he smiles again and the moment evaporates. "Trust is a luxury of the powerful. There's your answer. Continue developing your strength and you will earn the luxury of trust. You will trust because you will fear no one. Now, return to your room before darkness falls completely. There are monsters in the shadows, after all." He says this with a playful twist of his lips, but his words feel like ice-cold fingers on my neck all the same.

As I make my way back to my quarters, I can't shake the feeling that Voss is testing me. That behind his wisdom and apparent honesty, he's measuring my reactions, determining whether I'm capable of something more.

What that something might be, I have no idea.