"I will not let you die to protect a secret, angry human. That is not the oath I swore."

After a long, tense moment, the strange sensation fades, leaving only an echo of dread in its wake.

"What was that?" I ask, my voice barely audible.

Raith's jaw works as he slowly sheathes his sword. "Don't know."

He studies me for a moment longer, then nods once. "I'm walking you back to your tower."

I should protest. Should remind him I can take care of myself. But the memory of that cold, watching presence is still too fresh, and the warmth of him beside me too comforting to refuse.

"Alright," I agree.

As we walk, our shoulders occasionally brush, sending jolts of electricity through my skin. Neither of us speaks for a while, but the silence isn't uncomfortable. It's charged, full of all the things we're not saying.

"He does not mate with you, yet he acts as though you belong to him. As if you are his charge to protect," Typhon observes. "Humans are strange creatures."

"It's complicated."

"It seems very simple to me. You desire him. He desires you. I fail to see what complicates this natural process."

"Everything else in the whole damn world complicates it, Typhon. He's keeping secrets. I'm keeping secrets. We're surrounded by people who want to kill us. There's possibly a siphon hunting on campus. And that's not even counting the Crucible."

"Ah, yes. The human tendency to overthink simple matters. In the elemental realm, desire is acted upon or it is not. There is no... what is the word? Angst."

"Well, I'm sorry we're not as evolved as you are."

"Apology accepted. Though I must note that even with all these complications, your body still responds to his proximity.”

I can't argue with that, so I don't try.

"So," Raith says suddenly, breaking the silence. "You can heal now."

I stumble slightly, caught off guard. "How did you⁠—"

"Pyrin told me."

I stare. "I only just figured it out. How the hell would he know?"

"Typhon told him."

There's a trickle of embarrassment and guilt through the tether.

"Perhaps I mentioned it in passing. I am proud of your power and wished to share with someone who would understand its importance. Nothing more."

I can't make myself feel mad, though. I only smile and shake my head. "An ancient and a fucking gossip," I mutter under my breath.

"Such disrespect," Typhon scoffs.

"The healing is a good thing, Nessa. It's incredible." There's a kind of sadness in his eyes I can't figure out as he speaks.

"He thinks of someone who could have used your ability. Someone he lost."

"How do you know that?"

Raith stops walking, turning to face me. "You know how many people die here from injuries that could have been healed with the right skills? How many lives could be saved in battle with a single person who can do what you did?"