I dashed from Mot over to knock on Theo’s door.

“Is the elf gone?” Theo called.

“Come and play with us. Please?” I requested.

“. . .”

“You’ll be the best brother ever for doing this,” I added the incentive.

He opened the door a peep and frowned. “What game?”

I took his wrist and pulled him out of his room. “I’m the damsel in distress and you can be the dashing rogue to save me or the evil charlatan who kidnaps pretty girls.”

Theo glared at Mot until a smirk took over his expression. “I’ll be the hero who has never been defeated ever. You can be the bad guy who never wins.”

“Sounds good to me.” Mot took me between the fireplace and bench. “Ha ha! I’ve stolen the fairest maiden in the land and no one can stop me! Ha ha ha!”

“Not so fast, you villain!” Theo said, enjoying getting into character. He grabbed a wooden sword and approached in small steps as if he crossing a vast distance. “I’ll defeat you and save her! Even if I have to cross treacherous mountains to get to your lair!”

Mot went to meet him at the side of the bench and pulled open a flask on his hip. Water pooled up into the air as Mot swiped his hand up in an arc.

“Let’s see if you can avoid my acid!” Mot sent flicks of water at a wide-eyed Theo. He ducked and dove out of the way, avoiding some of the splashes.

I set my arms on the armrest of the opposite side of the bench in rapt fascination. Being the damsel in distress was more of a waiting game at times, but Theo usually kept things interesting. Theo pretended to be pained for each splash of water that hit him. He staggered forward, sword outstretched.

“You cannot best me, vile bad guy. I will rescue the girl! You can’t have her!” He swung his sword as I worried he was driven by personal conflicts.

I took one step closer, but the swing wasn’t vicious, not meant to hurt. Mot took the fake blow with all the professionalism of an actor portraying their death.

He gurgled as he slumped to the ground. “But—I—loved her.” He fell forward and went still.

I put a hand over my heart. The first person outside my family to say such a thing about me touched me, despite it being pretend. My heart hammered harder as I stared at Mot. My vision tunneled as static filled my ears and something important teased at the edge of my knowing.

I sat on the bench and my senses returned to normal, that strange sensation dissipating as fast as it came. I brought myself back to the moment. If I acted off or sick, Mot might go home.

Theo rounded around the back of the bench as I considered throwing a twist to our skit, but didn’t want to alienate Theo by taking Mot’s side, as fun as it would be. Having Theo play alongside Mot proved he could put prejudices aside and rise above his preconceived notions.

“Thank you for saving me, dear hero!” I draped my hand over my forehead. “I was so scared!”

“No need to fear, for I am here!” Theo puffed his chest out as his fists set against his hips in a superhero pose.

I gasped dramatically and pointed with a shaky hand at Mot, who had risen. He dragged one leg behind him as he slowly came after us.

“No. I won’t let you have her. She’s mine!” Mot said. His hand swept behind him and the water on the floor jumped into the air.

“Never! You didn’t get her parent’s permission to marry her so you can’t have her!” Theo charged slowly as Mot brought forward his hand and the water with it. The water hit Theo’s face as he drove the sword below Mot’s armpit.

They both enacted the most drawn-out death scenes I had ever witnessed, gurgling and writhing like they were both wanting the other to end first.

“If only a healer were around! To save me from dying!” Theo tossed the plea very much my way.

“Oh! Of course I’ll heal my savior!” I dropped down next to where Theo laid and summoned my light above him.

Mot bolted upright. “You’re a light elementalist?”

Theo sat up and poked his shoulder. “Yeah, she is. And now you’re dead and we’re going to ride off into the sunset.”

Theo stood, but Mot didn’t lay back, the game forgotten in his wide eyes. “That’s amazing! Light users are so rare!”

And here I thought his water magic was a sight. “I didn’t know that.” I glanced worriedly at Mother, who had paused her knitting, looking just as concerned.

I put on a disarming smile and tilted my head with closed eyes. “Heh heh. I guess I should do my best to learn more magic then. I doubt I’m that rare though. It’s just that we live in a small town so there isn’t a lot of people.”

Mot shook his head. “There are only two other light users in town. That’s rare!”

I wondered how many of the other elements were around if three was so special. I thought my fast progress of magic had set me apart, not the element itself. “Well, I think your water magic is amazing. It’s incredible you sucked it right off the ground.”

“Maddie’s the best. She’s going to heal me after I fight monsters,” Theo said, not helping my tactic to turn the topic away from me.

Mot gaped at me in wonder. “That’s so amazing.”

I fumbled for something to diffuse the attention on me. My mind whirred uselessly, proud at the acclaim but worried if this would get out of hand. I thought I was considered old enough to display the first stage of magic.

But wait, two other light elementalists? If they were in town, surely this wasn’t enough to be taken to the magic tower. As long as I kept my stage-two healing a secret.

“I want to learn healing magic. I think it’s important,” Mot said with the same fervor Theo talked about puppet shows and fighting monsters. “But I have to master water control first.”

“I’m sure you can do it,” I said, nerves rattling my demeanor. Mom appeared to have calmed, but I worried I disappointed her in revealing my secret so foolishly.

“Mot, I think it’s best you head home before it gets dark,” Mom said.

“I can see pretty well in the dark so it’s no big deal,” Mot said, missing the hint. He trotted over to me. “Have you started learning healing yet? Who am I kidding? There’s no way. Once you learn to, then you can help me with it.”

“Wouldn’t you need someone to heal to learn how?” I asked, having spent most of my healing on my family’s most minor of scrapes.

“Oh, you’re right for practicing. But watching someone use healing magic is how I’ll unlock it for myself,” Mot told me.

“What about one of the other light users? Can’t they show you?” I asked.

“I want the real deal healing magic. Not stage-two,” Mot said. “And they don’t have that. One is an old lady who uses her magic mostly to light up her house and the other is a little girl like you.”

“Oh.” That gave me relief. I was far from the advanced healing stage. “Well, if I ever learn it, I will happily help you unlock it for yourself.”

Mot took my hands in his. “Really? You would do that?”

I nodded.

Theo eyed our clasped hands, the high of playing fading back into dislike for the elf. “Hey, let go of her hands.”

Mot released me, still in awe. “Thank you! This is incredible!”

“Well, it’s probably going to take a long time before I get to that level, but I’d be happy to help,” I said, hoping this would blow over, not up.

“That’s great! And I can help you get there. When you get to stage-two, I’ll find you people to heal.”

“That sounds good.” My gaze flicked to Mom, hoping to get a timeline later for when a normal stage-two is reached. “Should we play again and switch roles?”

***

“Ten years old?!” I repeated Mother’s answer. “I have to wait five years to let people know I’m at stage-two? That’s so long.”

“We don’t want to be suspicious or attract attention,” Mom said apologetically.

“We want to keep you safe,” Dad said, sitting beside her on the bench as a unified front. I had to wait until Mot left to ask Mom about stage-two and Dad had gotten home by that time. There hadn’t been any more mishaps with Mot. I hadn’t used my power again and pushed imaginative plots on him to keep his mind preoccupied.

“But stage-one is okay, isn’t it? Elliot had his power around my age and Theo too,” I checked.

“It should be okay, now that word is probably going to get out. But it’s better to not show even your light off,” Mom said, ever the cautious one.

“I’ll be careful,” I reaffirmed.

“It will be fine. We’ll be okay,” Dad said to bolster our hope.