Total pages in book: 214
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
"What is it?" I whisper, my hand automatically falling to the practice rapier at my hip.
"I don't know," he mutters. "Something... wrong."
I follow his gaze but see nothing—just shadows gathering as twilight deepens across the courtyard. Yet I feel it too, a creeping coldness that has nothing to do with the winter air. A presence that raises the hair on my arms and sends a shiver down my spine.
"Typhon?"
"I sense it, angry human. Something that does not belong. Something... hungry."
"Is it what I think it is?"
"Perhaps. There is a void where there should be presence. A darkness that consumes light. I have felt such things before, long ago."
Raith's hand goes to his sword, the metal whispering against the scabbard as he draws it partially. "Stay behind me."
"I can fight," I remind him.
"I know." His voice softens slightly, even as his body remains tense and ready.
We stand frozen, watching the shadows, the moment of passion between us now replaced with shared vigilance. The presence feels like it's circling us, assessing, calculating.
"If it attacks, I will reveal myself," Typhon warns. "The consequences be damned."
"You can't. People will know."
"I will not let you die to protect a secret, angry human. That is not the oath I swore."
After a long, tense moment, the strange sensation fades, leaving only an echo of dread in its wake.
"What was that?" I ask, my voice barely audible.
Raith's jaw works as he slowly sheathes his sword. "Don't know."
He studies me for a moment longer, then nods once. "I'm walking you back to your tower."
I should protest. Should remind him I can take care of myself. But the memory of that cold, watching presence is still too fresh, and the warmth of him beside me too comforting to refuse.
"Alright," I agree.
As we walk, our shoulders occasionally brush, sending jolts of electricity through my skin. Neither of us speaks for a while, but the silence isn't uncomfortable. It's charged, full of all the things we're not saying.
"He does not mate with you, yet he acts as though you belong to him. As if you are his charge to protect," Typhon observes. "Humans are strange creatures."
"It's complicated."
"It seems very simple to me. You desire him. He desires you. I fail to see what complicates this natural process."
"Everything else in the whole damn world complicates it, Typhon. He's keeping secrets. I'm keeping secrets. We're surrounded by people who want to kill us. There's possibly a siphon hunting on campus. And that's not even counting the Crucible."
"Ah, yes. The human tendency to overthink simple matters. In the elemental realm, desire is acted upon or it is not. There is no... what is the word? Angst."
"Well, I'm sorry we're not as evolved as you are."
"Apology accepted. Though I must note that even with all these complications, your body still responds to his proximity.”
I can't argue with that, so I don't try.
"So," Raith says suddenly, breaking the silence. "You can heal now."
I stumble slightly, caught off guard. "How did you—"
"Pyrin told me."
I stare. "I only just figured it out. How the hell would he know?"
"Typhon told him."
There's a trickle of embarrassment and guilt through the tether.
"Perhaps I mentioned it in passing. I am proud of your power and wished to share with someone who would understand its importance. Nothing more."
I can't make myself feel mad, though. I only smile and shake my head. "An ancient and a fucking gossip," I mutter under my breath.
"Such disrespect," Typhon scoffs.
"The healing is a good thing, Nessa. It's incredible." There's a kind of sadness in his eyes I can't figure out as he speaks.
"He thinks of someone who could have used your ability. Someone he lost."
"How do you know that?"
Raith stops walking, turning to face me. "You know how many people die here from injuries that could have been healed with the right skills? How many lives could be saved in battle with a single person who can do what you did?"
"I'm still figuring it out," I admit. "I don't even know if I can heal others, or just myself."
His eyes hold mine, intense and searching. "Just be careful who knows about it. There are people here who would kill for that kind of power."
"Bad news for them. Killing me isn't going to grant them the power."
"No, but it might convince them to go to desperate lengths to coerce you."
"People like Malakai?"
"Among others."
At the entrance to the water tower, Raith stops. His fingers graze mine—brief, barely there, but deliberate, sending a trickle of fire into my body.
"I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Nessa. Or your friends. Not even during the Crucible," he tells me. "The fires are with me on this. You know we're not what the others think of us. We're good people. Honorable, loyal. They know what Malakai and Serena are doing and they think it's fucked up. Veeni and Jirai excluded, of course. The rest of us will be there and we’ll be ready to watch your backs.”