When nobody says anything for a few seconds, Beck's eyes narrow to slits. "Or… I will sleep with you? If that's what I'm supposed to say? Fuck, guys. I'm lost here. Uther is no help, either. He's just saying how hungry he is."

"Keep your fucking hands to yourself," Raith groans, surprising all of us. He coughs and sits up slightly, wincing as he probably aggravates his dozens of wounds.

"Hey, easy," I say, thinking twice before I reach out to touch his bare skin. The blanket has fallen down to reveal his ripped and muscular torso. My breath catches despite my best efforts.

And his scars.

There's a collective intake of breath as everyone else sees, too.

The entire left side of his body from his belly button to his pec and all around the side is twisted with more burn scars.

"Hands off," Beck says, holding both palms up toward Raith, who is glaring at him. "You got it, big guy."

Raith might be the only first-year Beck could actually call “big guy,” considering Beck already towers over most students with his size.

"How do you feel?" I ask Raith.

"Fine. Where is Serena? Where's Malakai?"

"I'm not sure. Last I saw them was in the elemental plane on our way out. But I assume they'll be back on campus by now. Unless… maybe Bastian could have killed them. But that doesn’t seem like something he’d do if he could avoid it."

He nods, pulling the blanket back over his body as if he's ashamed of the scars. It's a simple gesture, but it breaks my heart. A tightness seizes my chest that has nothing to do with my own injuries. Scarred or not, there's an unnatural beauty to Raith. And by now, all of us at Confluence bear our own scar tissue on the inside. The fact that he has to wear his for everyone to see isn't fair, and I hate it for him.

"You are soft for him," Typhon notes. "Perhaps you should mate with him. It would relieve some of the emotion I sense clouding your mind."

"Typhon… do me a favor and shut up." I feel heat rush to my face.

"Such a small, angry, insolent human. You are worse than Korthan. He at least respected my power and authority. He knew how highly esteemed I was among the elementals, and he would never dare speak to me so. Unless, of course, I interrupted his meals. Korthan was passionate about meal times."

I bite back a smile. For all Typhon's talk, I can feel something of his real emotions through the tether connecting us. I feel the bottomless well of his gratitude for saving him from the madness that trapped him for so long. Even if both of us are too stubborn to admit it aloud, I know he can feel my gratitude, too. Typhon is the reason Raith is alive. He's the reason I'm alive.