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 close my eyes and smile. "Okay. Yeah. I'm pretty sure that worked."
"Good." He runs a fingertip down my cheek. "I mean it, Nessa. Before you... I was fighting for revenge. It was only anger pushing me forward. Grief. Regret. But you've given me something I didn't have. Something that matters. And I'll do anything to protect that. To protect you."
I kiss him deeply, wishing we never had to leave these waters and this moment. It feels like a perfect bubble of time, a memory I know I'll revisit as long as I live, and yet I know reality is pressing in on us. Time runs on, and our survival might depend on how we spend these next hours before the Crucible.
Neither of us needs to say it. We both know, and we exit the pool, water streaming from our bodies. Raith flares his power briefly, creating a wave of heat that dries us almost instantly. The sensation of warm air rushing over my damp skin makes me shiver.
We dress in comfortable silence, occasionally stealing glances at each other. I feel different somehow—lighter, as if sharing this intimacy has lifted some of the weight I've carried for so long. The guilt over my family's deaths hasn't disappeared, but it's been acknowledged, brought into the light where it can't fester in darkness.
"Our elementals just watched that entire thing... didn't they?" I ask suddenly, the thought occurring to me with mortifying clarity.
A rare, full smile breaks across Raith's face. "I assume so, though Pyrin says he's been trying to give us privacy. In his own way."
"I busied myself with other things, angry human,” Typhon assures me.
As we prepare to leave, Raith catches me by the waist, pulling me against him for one last kiss. It's gentle, sweet, a stark contrast to the desperate passion of before.
"Whatever happens in the Crucible," he murmurs against my lips, "remember what you are. What you're capable of. You don't need to hide your power—you need to embrace it."
"I'm afraid of what happens if I lose control," I admit.
"You won't," he says with absolute certainty. "Not this time. Not ever again." His forehead rests against mine. "I believe in you, Nessa. It's time you believed in yourself."
The words settle into me, a balm for old wounds I've carried too long.
"Survive," he murmurs, pressing one last kiss to my lips. "Whatever it takes. And after..."
"After," I agree, understanding the promise in those words.
We slip from the washing chamber, making our way through darkened corridors toward the water common room where my friends await. For the first time since arriving at Confluence, I feel something dangerously close to hope.
Because no matter what tomorrow brings, I have tonight. I have this moment. I have him.
And maybe I'm finally beginning to have myself too—not the broken, guilt-ridden girl who arrived at Confluence expecting to die, but the woman I'm becoming. The woman who might, against all odds, not just survive, but thrive.
34
The castle corridors are silent save for our quiet footfalls as we make our way toward the eastern wing. Midnight has come and gone, the torches burning low, casting long shadows that dance across the stone walls. Every creak makes my heart skip, every distant sound has me jumpy.
Beck, Ambrose, and Mireen did most of the planning, and I'm relying heavily on their information. If Malakai or his people realize we know where the weapons are, I have no doubt blood will spill before the Crucible. Maybe worse—if the academy guards catch us near the weapons cache, we'll likely have no way to convince them the weapons aren't ours. We could wind up facing dismissal if caught, which would mean certain execution.
We're walking a tightrope, and my confidence isn't at its highest.
"Ten academy guards," Ambrose whispers, pushing his glasses up his nose with nervous precision. "Two in this wing. Beck's diversion should draw them all to the eastern end of the courtyard long enough for us to get inside."
As odd as it feels, the guards don’t pose a physical threat to us. Any one of us could probably handle the whole group using magic and our elementals. But none of us want to hurt innocent guards. That means being caught is a sure path to dismissal and death.
"And if it doesn't?" Mireen asks, her red hair braided tight and her eyes so blue they nearly glow in the dark.
I draw a shaky breath, trying to calm my racing pulse. One mistake, one moment of carelessness, and it could all end tonight.
It's then that I feel it—a sudden surge of anticipation that isn't mine. A ghost of emotion flowing through the tether, bringing with it a familiar warmth. I turn my head instinctively toward the sensation just as a shadow detaches from an alcove, and Raith steps into view.
"You weren't part of the plan," Mireen says suddenly, tugging at her hair. "Passcode?" she demands.