Beck, Ambrose, and Mireen did most of the planning, and I'm relying heavily on their information. If Malakai or his people realize we know where the weapons are, I have no doubt blood will spill before the Crucible. Maybe worse—if the academy guards catch us near the weapons cache, we'll likely have no way to convince them the weapons aren't ours. We could wind up facing dismissal if caught, which would mean certain execution.

We're walking a tightrope, and my confidence isn't at its highest.

"Ten academy guards," Ambrose whispers, pushing his glasses up his nose with nervous precision. "Two in this wing. Beck's diversion should draw them all to the eastern end of the courtyard long enough for us to get inside."

As odd as it feels, the guards don’t pose a physical threat to us. Any one of us could probably handle the whole group using magic and our elementals. But none of us want to hurt innocent guards. That means being caught is a sure path to dismissal and death.

"And if it doesn't?" Mireen asks, her red hair braided tight and her eyes so blue they nearly glow in the dark.

I draw a shaky breath, trying to calm my racing pulse. One mistake, one moment of carelessness, and it could all end tonight.

It's then that I feel it—a sudden surge of anticipation that isn't mine. A ghost of emotion flowing through the tether, bringing with it a familiar warmth. I turn my head instinctively toward the sensation just as a shadow detaches from an alcove, and Raith steps into view.

"You weren't part of the plan," Mireen says suddenly, tugging at her hair. "Passcode?" she demands.

"Malakai’s crooked cock," Raith says plainly.

Ambrose mutters under his breath. “We seriously need to stop letting Beck pick these damn passcodes.”

“I’m helping whether I’m in your plans or not,” Raith says. His gaze sweeps across the corridor before settling on me, his eyes blazing like embers, fierce and protective.

I should be annoyed at his presumption—his automatic assumption we'll be willing to have him along. Instead, I find myself fighting a smile. "More help is a good thing," I tell the others, trying to sound practical rather than pleased.

What I don't say is that I knew he'd come before he appeared. Our tether has grown stronger since he swore his oath to me, since the bathing pool, since...

Echoes of heat lash at my insides, pleasant and vibrant as the whispers of what we did still curl through my body like smoke.

I can feel his presence now at the edge of my consciousness, his determination and protectiveness flowing into me as surely as his fire magic. And I knew he was coming for us minutes before he arrived. I also didn't need to hear the passcode to know he wasn't a siphon. I could feel it was Raith down to my core.