I try to hide the disappointment I feel as I lean back, dragging my eyes up from his mouth. Right. Truths and secrets. These things are more important than talking about the kiss.

The fucking kiss that feels like it tipped my entire world sideways.

No big deal.

“Humans,” Typhon mutters in my mind.

"Okay." I tell myself I shouldn't be watching the way his hands move as he speaks, shouldn't be remembering the sensation of his fingers against my skin. But my body doesn't seem to care what I should or shouldn't do.

"Do you remember that night on the castle walls? You had a nightmare. We heard instructors talking about deaths. They mentioned siphons.”

"Rings a bell…" I say, as if I haven't thought about every single encounter with Raith on near repeat like a favorite song I can't stop coming back to.

"Siphons are real."

Words from the unbound book float into my memory unbidden: "Many common pieces of folklore and stories told to small children can be traced back to unbound and their unique manifestations. Old tales of vampires, for instance, are believed to be an unbound who could feed on blood for strength. Some say stories of siphons can be traced back to Lorkan Grace and his wife Milena.”

"How would you know that?" I whisper. Even seeing mentions of siphons in the book and hearing the instructors whisper about them hadn't quite convinced me. Somehow, the words coming from Raith finally make it hit home with an uncomfortable chill like a breeze carrying the stench of graves and rot on an otherwise clear and sunny day..

Siphons.

They're the things of children's tales. Stories to scare kids who try to sneak out of their house at night. Shapeshifting beasts who could suck their soul out through their ears, twisting it up and slurping it down like strands of spaghetti.

Surely the truth is less… that.

“Did you already know about this?” I ask Typhon.

“I know many things. Things you need not concern yourself with as you focus on your studies here in school. If relevant, I shall share them when the time is right.”

I decide that is a conversation I'll dig into with my prickly water dragon later, letting it drop for now.

Raith has been hesitating. Before he speaks, I can tell he's not going to tell me how he knows about Siphons. "Look… I just need you to know they're real. Okay? And most importantly, I need you to know there's at least one of them on campus right now. It's likely posing as a student or a member of the faculty. And it has already started killing. So I want you to make sure Typhon is always ready to protect you."