And I’ve come to enjoy watching the flow of students across campus. Noticing the differences in older students compared to ourselves. Paying attention to the way the lines between affinities seem to have blurred ever-so-slightly with each year of survival here at Confluence. In a way, it’s encouraging. It makes me think that things could get better with time.

I know I should hurry to class, but something tugs at me as Cade pulls open the door. He's slender with close-cropped dark hair and the red-gold eyes common among fire affinities, probably around my age but with a smaller build that makes him appear younger.

I'm about to move on when I hear a loud crash from inside the room, followed by a cry of pain that makes me freeze. I look around to see if anyone else has reacted, but nobody is stopping. Nobody else cares.

"Perhaps we should continue on our way," Typhon suggests, his tone disinterested. "The affairs of small fire humans are of no consequence to us."

"What if he's hurt? Or in trouble?"

"Then that is the natural order of things. The weak perish. The strong survive. This is the way of all worlds, angry human."

I roll my eyes. "The strong should protect, not just survive. I know you believe that too, deep down."

Typhon says nothing, but I do feel a faint pulsing of approval through the tether as I approach the door, pressing my ear against it. There's another crash, followed by muffled voices. I ease the door open just enough to peer inside.

It's a smaller room with a few pieces of equipment lying around as if students have been using it as a makeshift training arena. There are blunted weapons lying haphazardly and a fighting ring marked out by chalk on the stone floor.

Cade is on his knees, surrounded by three earth students who tower over him. All of them are large and racked with muscles, the green mountain marks glowing on their hands. Their expressions are hard and unforgiving. The largest of them—a thick-shouldered student with a shaved head and a cruel smile—holds a thick warhammer in two hands as if he's thinking about slamming it down on the fire affinity.

"Please," Cade gasps, "I was only coming to practice. I didn't know you all were here."

"Practice what?" the earth student sneers, pressing the blade closer. "How to be a Red Kingdom spy?"

"I'm not. I've never even been near Red Kingdom⁠—"

"Liar," another earth student hisses, kicking over a weapon rack with a thunderous crash. A boar that looks like it's made of pure stone materializes behind him, eyes like emeralds as it prowls a circle around the kneeling fire. "Fuckers like you are the reason nobody trusts us. Malakai says he can help us weed out the traitors. And that if we don't, you turncoats will stab us in the back during the Crucible at the first chance you get."