Through the window, I can see the first hint of dawn lightening the eastern sky. Another day closer to the Crucible. Another day closer to facing the windborne.

"They think us weak," Typhon says, his words laced with barely checked rage. "They think us prey."

"They don't know what I am," I reply, running my fingers along the edge of the new rapier. "What we are."

Typhon's eyes gleam in the darkness. "Then perhaps it is time to show them."

As I slip beneath my blankets, exhaustion finally claiming me, one thought burns in my mind: our enemies will find we're not such easy targets.

I may be unbound, but I'm no longer afraid of what that means.

And that makes me more dangerous than they can possibly imagine.

35

The quiet of the evening seems to amplify each footfall as I walk back toward the dormitory with Beck, Brunhild, Mireen, and Ambrose. We've spent most of the day training until our muscles ached, then refining our strategy for the Crucible. We still don’t know what will be asked of us tomorrow, but we did our best to prepare as much as we could. I also slipped out for another private session, working with Typhon on fighting as a team and even riding on his back in an emergency.

Raith had to spend time drilling with his fires and the earths they've recruited. Apparently, they even absorbed a few airs to the cause. He was adamant that we work as a group of five and let him handle the management of other teams. From what I understand, there are four major groups among the first-years. The legacies, those with Malakai, those with us, and the few outliers who haven’t declared their allegiance.

I hate admitting that I've already been missing Raith after just one day apart. I know I shouldn't let myself feel so much for him, but I can't stop it. The fact that I can feel pulses of faint emotion and thoughts from him, even halfway across campus, certainly doesn't help. Especially when half of those emotions involve me and how much he wants to see me. How much he's worried about me. How desperately he wants to protect me.

"Get some sleep tonight," Mireen says, nudging my shoulder. "We need you sharp."

"I'll try," I reply, though I know it won't be easy to calm my mind.

Beck yawns, stretching his arms overhead. "I'm telling you, there's nothing to worry about. We've trained for this. We're as ready as we'll ever be."

Brunhild wraps her arm around Beck's broad shoulders, pulling him in for a sideways hug. "No one will touch my sexy bear. Brunhild and Dora the crab will make sure of it."