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)
I nod once in acknowledgment before following Raith out, feeling Voss's gaze on my back all the way to the door.
We don't speak until we've descended the tower and found a secluded alcove away from curious ears. Typhon materializes fully, his diminished form hovering between us with evident agitation.
"I do not trust him," Typhon declares.
Raith's expression is grim. "I don’t like it. There's no way in hell you're going with him to some mysterious ruin in the middle of nowhere."
"I need to do this. It might mean more information about who or what I am. It might teach me more about how to control my powers." I push off the wall, pacing the small space. "If there's even a chance—"
"At what cost?" Raith asks quietly.
The question brings me up short. It makes me feel reckless for even considering this.
"I don't know," I admit finally. “But agreeing to go with him might have just saved countless lives. Isn’t that worth the risk?”
Raith leans his forehead against mine, eyes closed. He shakes his head slightly. “It should be. But it doesn’t feel worth it. Not to me. I wouldn’t trade you for a thousand lives, even if that makes me an asshole.”
“I won’t tell anyone if you don’t,” I say, biting the corner of my lip. “But it’s not as if Voss is a primal. He doesn’t know I have Typhon. If he thinks he can ambush me somehow or coerce me, Typhon will be there to protect me.”
“And so will I,” Raith says. “I’m following. Wherever he plans to take you.”
"We should talk to Bastian. He seemed to know something about Voss, or at least, his father does. Maybe he could give us an idea about what we’re walking into."
Raith's jaw tightens at the mention of Bastian, but he nods. "Fine. But not alone."
"Not alone," I agree, offering a small smile. "I'm starting to think you just like being around me, Hollow."
His expression softens, and he tucks a stray lock of hair behind my ear. "Maybe I do, Thorne."
Heat blooms in my chest at the gesture, at the warmth in his eyes. We stand there for a moment, suspended in a sphere of connection that feels increasingly like home.
"If you two are quite finished," Typhon interrupts, his tone dry, "perhaps we might consider strategizing for the Crucible? Given that it is rapidly approaching and will likely involve numerous attempts on our lives?"
I laugh despite myself, the tension of the meeting with Voss dissipating slightly. "We'll see if Bastian is willing to tell us anything. Then we should find the others, see what they've discovered about those weapons."
As we leave the alcove, I can't shake the feeling that we're standing on the edge of something momentous, something that will change us all irrevocably. The Crucible, Voss's mysterious ruin, the siphons' interest in us—all threads in a tapestry still with no full picture in sight.
But with Raith's steady presence beside me, with our tether pulsing between us like a promise, I find I'm not afraid. I feel strong. I feel capable. And I feel ready to face whatever is coming.
32
The dining hall falls to a hush as I enter with Raith at my side. Hundreds of eyes track our movements across the stone floor, conversations stuttering to silence before erupting into fierce whispers. I can almost feel the speculation rippling through the room like a physical wave, even among the upper-year students who must have caught wind of what was going on.
"Dramatic as always. You would think these humans had never seen someone return from the dead before."
I smile at Typhon's comment. "To be fair, I was missing for days. And Raith's face..."
"Yes, yes. You removed his most of his scars. Quite vain of you, really."
"We both know that was an accident."
Before we can make it halfway across the room, a group of first-year fires approaches us. Cade leads them, his slight frame almost lost among his more muscular companions. When he sees Raith, his face lights up with unmistakable relief.
I know Raith was still keeping in touch with the other fires, but they’re probably happy to see me up and moving. It means Raith won’t be locked away in his room for hours a day anymore.
"Sir," Cade says, the title sounding natural despite the fact that they're all supposedly equals as first-years. The others echo the greeting with similar reverence, standing straighter as Raith's attention falls on them.
"Sir?" I mutter under my breath to Raith, but he ignores my comment.
"Report," Raith says, his voice taking on a tone of quiet authority I've rarely heard.
"No incidents since yesterday," Cade responds promptly. "We've maintained the patrol rotations as you instructed. Tifa and Jenner caught a couple of Malakai's waters trying to access the eastern training rooms, but they backed off when confronted."
Raith nods, his expression giving away nothing, but I can sense his approval. "Good. Any progress with the earths?"