"Either way, it's someone who can pose a threat even to me, if they lure me in an ambush alone." Faluel said.
"What does that mean?" Friya swallowed a lump of saliva as Faluel's voice became colder by the word.
"It means that you're a liability that I can no longer tolerate." The Hydra replied.
"Wait. What's the difference between her, me, and Phloria?" Quylla stood between them, in the attempt to stop whatever Faluel had in mind.
"She made a blood oath to me, whereas I'm trading knowledge with you, just like I'm doing with Nalrond. As for Phloria, she is Lith's responsibility, not mine. Friya is the only one besides Lith I have an obligation to." Faluel said.
"Are you going to kill me or to make me into your Harbinger?" Friya needed sheer willpower to not make her voice quiver. Death was far from alluring while becoming a Harbinger meant losing all of her privacy and part of her free will.
In case you wonder, this was heavily foreshadowed for a long time. Do you remember how even at the academy Friya was presented as "someone equally attuned with all elements" and a rare dimensional mage? Do you remember how the elves saw her? ("the elements flowed in harmony inside her body and orbited around her in the form of a star belt comprised of six small suns of different colors.")