Malakai, his shark, and his people try to come after me, but I hear Raith draw his weapon again. "Back the fuck off. I'll cut every last one of you to ribbons. Whatever mysterious punishment the legacy promised or not. Fucking try me."

I spare a glance behind and see Raith and the fires are forming a protective wall to stop Malakai and his people from coming after me.

Once we're in the hall, Bastian sighs. "You alright?"

I nod, though my hands are still trembling with leftover adrenaline. "Thanks. I think. Were you telling the truth back there? About the punishment?"

"No. If there was a bloodbath in that room, it wouldn't have made Empire happy, but the winners would simply go on with a slap on the wrist, assuming they were caught and held accountable."

I frown as we enter the courtyard again, and the wide open fresh air makes me feel like I can finally catch my breath. I nearly died back there. A few more moments and I almost certainly would have.

And even if she deserved it, I still keep replaying the way Veeni screamed when Typhon bit her arm off. Gods…

"To be what you are will require violence, angry human. You must be willing to show your enemies the price of crossing you. If we don't, they will only grow more bold. She should consider herself lucky if an arm was the only price for delivering you to your enemies."

"You're sure it had nothing to do with all her flying fish comments?"

"The comments are why I bit the arm off at the shoulder instead of the elbow. Words carry a price. She learned that tonight."

Bastian stops and gestures to a bench at the edge of the courtyard. "Let's sit a moment before you go back to your room."

I hesitate. “What about Raith? We just left him back there with Malakai and Serena.”

“I’m pretty sure Raith can handle himself. Nothing is going to happen. Not tonight, at least.” He gestures for me to sit.

"Word about Typhon may spread after tonight, regardless of what I said."

I nod. "Maybe it's for the best."

"I doubt that. Within these walls, sure. Students knowing how powerful you are will be good for your safety to a certain extent. But outside Confluence? You tethered an ancient, Nessa. The ancient elementals are known. There are only nine of them, and they're all mad by broken bonds and dead primals. There will be questions. People will want to know how you tethered an ancient. How you cleansed its madness."

"What do I tell them?"