The question feels like a threat, and I find myself nodding.

A familiar voice cuts through the room.

"I've been looking for you."

Raith approaches, his expression neutral but his eyes alert, scanning Brunhild with barely concealed suspicion.

"Password?" Brunhild asks.

"Sexy bear," Raith says.

I grin. Sexy Bear? That's really the password they chose for today?

Brunhild nods. "Training finished anyway. She learns well. Quick. Strong for small one." She waves to us both before striding away, leaving me alone with Raith.

"Did I interrupt?" he asks, moving closer.

"No, we were done." I hesitate, then add, "I spoke with Bastian earlier."

A muscle ticks in Raith's jaw. "I thought we agreed to approach him together."

"He found me after lunch. It wasn't planned."

Through the thin tether connecting us, I feel jealousy, anger, and a touch of betrayal. His voice is calm and measured despite the feelings I know he's harboring. "What did he say?"

I relay everything Bastian told me—about Voss, the missing students, Malakai's suspected manipulation. Raith listens in silence, his expression growing darker with each revelation.

"So Bastian's father and the Council wants Voss gone," he summarizes when I finish. "And Malakai's being used to create chaos that will justify his removal. And Bastian agrees that you should stay the fuck away from those ruins."

"That about covers it."

Raith runs a hand through his dark hair, his frustration evident. "And we're supposed to navigate this minefield while surviving the Crucible and hoping there are no more siphons waiting to come for us. Wonderful.”

Despite everything, I feel a smile tugging at my lips. "When you put it that way, it sounds almost impossible."

"Almost," he agrees, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. His eyes meet mine, and for a moment, the rest of the world falls away. It's just us, standing together against impossible odds.

Then reality reasserts itself as a group of third-year earths and fires enters the room. "Oh," a girl at the front says. She notices we're first years, then jerks her head. "Room's ours, now. Out."

"Come on," Raith says, his voice dropping lower. "We should go somewhere private to discuss this further."

My pulse races at his words, at the memory of his lips on mine this morning, at the promise in his eyes when he spoke of taking his time with me.

"Lead the way," I say, my voice steadier than I feel.

We brush past the group of earths and fires who barely seem to notice us.

As we walk back toward the castle, I feel a strange mix of dread and anticipation.

Despite everything dangerous coming our way—or perhaps because of it—I find myself drawn to Raith with a ferocity that should frighten me. In a world where each tomorrow feels uncertain, the promise of tonight, of stolen moments with him, burns brighter than any fear.