Ambrose, who sits beside Beck, leans his head forward, voice low. "When are you going to tell us what happened in the Lake, Nessa? I'm hearing wild rumors, and as your friend, I should be the one spreading wild rumors."

"Later," I say, glancing toward Malakai. Even with three of his soldiers dead, Malakai’s "army" is still intimidating, but I think others are starting to wonder if his group is as untouchable as they thought. Malakai's lowered eyes as he focuses on his channeling tells me he feels it too. The confident swagger he normally carries is dimmed, though so slightly I could be imagining it. "Common room after Military Tactics?"

"We'll be there," Beck says, rubbing his hands together. "This is going to be juicy, isn't it? I heard you punched an instructor in the face and grabbed a handful of echoes from the bowl itself."

Ambrose leans in closer. "I heard she wrestled a water serpent by its horns, then rode it back to shore."

I can't help laughing softly, which earns me a stern look from Sestra. We all sit back in place and resume working on our spells, but my mind is spinning with a thousand thoughts, making it hard to concentrate.

Confluence Day is only three days away. I still have no idea why those instructors were talking about siphons. I don't know if Malakai is planning to get revenge for what happened, or if he's going to avoid me now that he knows what I'm capable of.

And it doesn't even end there.

The more I read of the unbound book, the more it dawns on me that Bastian read all of this too. He knows all of this about me and more. Considering he's supposed to be reporting back to his father in some kind of important council, I have to wonder if he has mentioned me.

From what I'm reading, I know enough to say that would mean deadly consequences for me.

And Raith… I'm still pissed from our encounter in the middle of the night. I know he doesn't owe me anything, but it stings to think he could even imagine I'd be working with Malakai—that I'd be helping to murder people. The accusation burns like acid in my chest, all the more painful because part of me had started to trust him. An even smaller part of me had started to think he cared about me. Worried about me.

Stupid. I see that much now.

The rest of the classes pass in a blur as my thoughts twist and turn over everything that has happened and is yet to come. I'm the first one to the common room in the water tower after Military Tactics because I can't find an appetite tonight.