"This doesn't mean I'm not still angry about you threatening my friends," I say, even as I lean into his touch.

His lips quirk in the ghost of a smile. "Angry is fine. As long as you're alive."

"And this doesn't solve anything," I add, my tone serious now. "There's still a siphon hunting you. And… maybe I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you, either. So you had better make sure you stay alive, too."

"That's the plan. I can't keep you alive if I'm dead. I can't protect my fires if I'm dead."

"Forget about that. I don't want anything to happen to you. Not because I'm worried I'll lose a protector. Because I'd be losing you. I'm sure the fires feel the same way."

I sigh, reluctantly putting a few inches of space between us. My body protests the distance, craving the warmth and strength I felt in his arms, but my mind knows we need to focus.

"One hour of training," I remind him, steadying myself. "Then I'll get some more rest."

Despite my words, rest is the last thing on my mind. Training, too.

I'm thinking about the kiss and the fragments of what I felt through the tether. I want him in bed with me. I want him stripping off my clothes. I want him touching me like I'm not fragile or about to break. Gods. I want him. So. Fucking. Badly.

Raith's lips curve upward. "You may need to find a way to keep your thoughts quieter if we're going to be tethered… I may have picked up on some of that."

"Oh gods," I say, covering my face with both hands as my cheeks burn yet again.

Through our tether, I sense his restraint, his desire carefully banked like embers waiting to ignite.

"For the sake of all that is elemental, just mate with the fire human and be done with it," Typhon grumbles in my mind. "The tension between you two is giving me a headache."

"It's not just about sex, Typhon. Sometimes, sex is just the cherry on top."

There's a moment of silence, and then, surprisingly: "I've seen many bonds in my time, angry human. Few as... intriguing as this one." He sounds almost uncomfortable with the admission, quickly adding, "Not that I care one way or another about your mating habits. Your mortal attachments are fleeting and mostly ridiculous."

But I catch it—that rare glimpse of genuine interest beneath his usual arrogance. It's gone as quickly as it appeared, leaving me wondering if I imagined it.

I glance at Raith, at the rigid set of his shoulders and the intensity in his eyes as we walk. Whatever this is between us—whatever it's becoming—it's far more dangerous and far more precious than either of us realized.