Page 98 of Unbound

Again, it's as if Bastian reads my thoughts. "Whether I like it or not, Nessa, I have an obligation to Empire. If I thought you couldn't be trusted any longer with your power, I'd end you myself."

"He could try,"Typhon growls, shifting instantly from his fish form back to the massive dragon.

I decide not to acknowledge the threat as a question occurs to me. "How will they watch us during the Crucible? Won't we be in the wilderness?"

"There are forms of air magic. With enough power, vision can be carried long distances and bent at will. Just know there will be eyes on you, Nessa."

"Okay. So if you decide I'm a threat, you'll kill me yourself. But until then, I had better be careful so your father and his friends don't? Am I missing any important details here?" The sarcastic bite is clear in my tone.

Bastian lets out a slow breath, then rakes a hand through his blonde hair. It's a rare moment of vulnerability from a man who hardly ever shows anything but complete control. The glowing white cloud and wind markings on his left arm glow bright enough to show through his black sleeve. "I'm doing my best here, Nessa. This isn't the sort of thing I was trained for, if you can imagine that."

I give him a slight smile. "Sorry. Maybe they can add a pesky unbound awareness section for the next generation of legacies, then."

He licks his lips, glances up and down the hall, then lowers his voice more. "Look… even the Council isn't without ambition. If you survive the Crucible, you'll have a chance to make allies. Make strong allies, Nessa. It's your best chance of surviving. Help them see you can be trusted with this power, and they may start to view you as a potential weapon to wield instead of a weed to destroy."

I fold my arms. "Ever since coming here, all I ever hear about is how deadly we can become. How great a tool we can be for somebody else to wield. What if I don't want to be somebody's tool?"

His eyes darken. "Then you would be walking a very dangerous path. An unbound without loyalty is an existential threat. Not just to humanity, but to elementals. You want my advice? Learn your place. Embrace it. Because if you refuse to be wielded, they'll just break you instead."

He looks like he's about to say more, but a trio of girls approaches. "Remember," he says quietly. "There will be eyes on you during the Crucible."

And with that, Bastian disappears down the hallway.

I hug my arms to myself, suddenly cold and feeling more alone than ever.

21

"That's not good enough," Raith says. His face is plastered with sweat, handsome features twisted with frustration. "You know they're all coming for you during the Crucible, right? You've got to do better, Nessa."

I let my rapier fall by my side. It's late, and only starlight shines through the abandoned training room window. I mop sweat from my own forehead. My arms feel like they're made of lead, and my lungs burn with each breath. "Oh. Right. Now that you've reminded me my life is on the line, maybe I'll just magically be better. That's a great suggestion."

He has been pushing me even harder than usual all night, and my temper is admittedly running thin.

"I've heard humans often press their meat sacks together in mating rituals to relieve tension. I could close an eye, if you wished."

"An eye? Don't you mean both eyes?"

"I won't let your enemies sneak up on you just because you've shed your clothing and put your disgusting, fleshy body on display."

Raith raises his one-handed sword, then flicks it toward my legs. "Stance wider, Nessa. You know better."

Clenching my jaw, I widen my stance and raise the rapier. Sometimes, having Typhon interjecting in my head makes me feel a little like I'm going mad. But I put his prodding from my mind and focus on Raith.

Even when we're just training, Raith requires my full attention. He's the most skilled opponent I've faced by far. Every time I get better, he seems to ratchet up his own skill, proving he's still holding back against me.

"Mating rituals are nothing to be ashamed of,"Typhon continues, despite my attempts to block him out."Though the elemental mating ritual is far more beautiful than the human ritual. I've seen what you humans do. My last primal was quite fond of the ritual, and she would perform it most nights. Disgusting. She sometimes even performed a solo variant that was quite pathetic to witness."

"Typhon? Would you please shut up?"

"Insolent, small, insignificant?—"

I tune out his indignant words as Raith advances.

He performs a series of attacks like a whirlwind of death. I dodge what I can and block only as a last resort. Each block requires me to grip the tip of my rapier and the handle together. I have to brace my whole body against the attack, and the vibration sends a shock through my arms that makes them go numb and tingly.

It's like trying to stop a horse charging at full speed with nothing but a narrow sliver of steel. Each blow makes me think the rapier is going to snap in half, but by some miracle, it holds.

Part of me wants to ask him to take it easy. To ask why tonight of all nights, it seems like he has ramped his usual intensity up several dozen notches. But I don't say anything. I keep on training.

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