"I don't see why those lumps of muscle make your heart rate rise so much, angry human. They are like dragon scales, but worse and less functional in every way. Why do they only cover the stomach? What protective purpose do they serve?"

I decide to ignore Typhon. He's talkative tonight, which I've learned is something that happens when he's worried about me. He can talk a big talk, but sensing his emotions through the tether in addition to his words makes it hard for him to hide his true motivations. He's worried about me. Just like Raith is. And he rambles when he's worried. Raith apparently turns into a cold asshole.

"An ancient does not worry. We prepare. I am simply preparing a battle plan to dismember your enemies and perhaps snack on their corpses if time permits."

I send a quick pulse of gratitude through the tether.

Raith is staring at me. "Hasn’t he been training with you? What the hells is he thinking?"

I can tell from the way Raith's eyes move over my shoulder and then go up, up, and still more up that Typhon just revealed himself. He doesn't like when people question him. And he does like getting to show people his dragon form, even though there's only a handful he's allowed to show.

I can feel the cool moisture of his water magic behind me as he looms closer to Raith, teeth bared.

"Tell him I do not need a partner in combat. I am more than a match for any human or elemental. I am ancient. I am Typhon."

"Typhon doesn't seem to think we need to train together. He's... pretty confident in himself. We also can only train with him in his flying fish form in class. So it’s not like we aren’t practicing at all."

"That was not the message I told you to convey, angry human."

Raith shakes his head. "No. That's not good enough. You two need to learn to fight together. That's half of being a primal. You should be practicing fighting from his back. His voice grows more intense with each word. Hells, I saw him fly on Confluence Day. Have you two at least been practicing flight? Can he still fly in our world, or was that only when he was larger?"

"Did he just call me small?" Typhon takes a step forward, his teeth bared as mist rolls from his mouth in waves that quickly chill the room.

Raith's fire panther, Pyrin appears behind him. He's growing faster than most elementals, and he already stands taller than Raith, with his shoulders just above Raith's head. His fiery body is growing more solid, too—less like a shifting cluster of flames that takes the shape of an animal. I still don't think he'd stand a chance against Typhon, but it would be less of a mismatch than I'd expected.