"Well," Ambrose says slowly. "If nothing else, I think we can say for absolute certain now that Raith isn't planning on killing Nessa any time soon. One could've argued he was worried about being caught if he did it on school grounds. You went outside the walls with him. Alone. And you're still alive. Reckless, but alive."

Mireen nods. "I hate to say it, but I agree. I think we can trust him for now."

I look down at my stew, suddenly fascinated by a floating carrot. "He's... not what everyone thinks."

"You would know," Mireen tucks a loose coppery-colored hair that falls from her braid, blue eyes locked on me. "The two of you spend quite a bit of time 'training.'"

I shrug, aiming for nonchalance. "He's good with blades."

"Oh, yeah," Beck says with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows. "He shows you how good he is at sheathing his sword a time or two, does he?"

My cheeks burn. "It's not like that. I've told you all millions of times."

"Your blush says otherwise," he teases.

"I do admire him," I admit, hoping a scrap of truth will throw them off the scent. "And he's obviously handsome. But he's not remotely interested in me, so it's pointless. Even if I did want there to be more between us, that's never going to happen."

"Right," Beck drawls, clearly unconvinced. "And I'm just friends with Brunhild."

"That's different," I protest. "You two are actually⁠—"

"Screwing like rabbits?" he supplies helpfully. "Yes, we are. And loving every minute of it."

"Too much information," Ambrose mutters, returning to his book. His eyes flick briefly to the next table where Serena's group sits, and I notice Beck's laughter quiets just a bit as his eyes follow Ambrose's.

Sometimes, the constant pulse of danger beating beneath everything seeps through and then I realize it's never really gone. It's like a faint ringing in the ears. You can ignore it for a time. Forget it entirely, even. But once you remember to listen, you realize it was there all along.

"Well,” Beck sighs and starts gathering his things. “Time for elemental history. Another fascinating lecture on how the Empire saved civilization from chaos and barbarism."

"Actually," Ambrose says, "I'm quite looking forward to it. Some of the things we're taught here are highly exclusive, you know. Things you would have to pay a great deal of money to learn on the outside. Things you'd probably have to know very particular groups of people to know. We should all feel privileged to⁠—"

Beck interrupts Ambrose by chucking a piece of bread at his face. Before it can hit, Arakon materializes in a blue flash and raises his wing, deflecting the bread. The water bird is gone again in an instant, leaving only a misty smear of blue sparks that fade to nothing.

"That's cheating," Beck says. "I would've got that straight in your mouth."