Evan woke before full daylight His throat felt dry and his shoulders were stiff from sleeping on stone The air around him was cool and gray The blue fire from last night had faded to a slow glow like the last light at the bottom of a camp lantern Lira was already awake sitting on a flat rock near the path Her cloak was wrapped tight around her and her eyes were scanning the trees She did not look relaxed

He pushed himself up and rubbed the back of his neck Morning he said She did not answer with morning She said Quiet now We are not alone

That cleared the sleep from his head fast He sat up straight Where Lira did not point She spoke low in a voice that barely carried Three men Two to the left One behind The one behind is close Evan frowned I did not hear anything She gave a small nod You are not trained yet You will be

Evan leaned forward like he was just stretching His left hand pressed against the dirt His fingertips felt damp The ground here was not wet but he felt something in it anyway It was not like the river yesterday This was lighter Thinner Like the memory of rain instead of rain itself The water in the soil moved when he touched it like it was waiting for direction He did not call it He only noticed it

He whispered So what is the plan Lira said soft and flat The plan is you do not die The plan is I do not die The plan is we keep moving to the academy

That worked for him He reached for something to use as a weapon His old training kicked in He did not have his axe He did not have his Halligan tool He did not even have a real knife Lira saw him looking and slid a short blade across the ground toward him The handle was wrapped in dark leather The blade had no shine at all It felt heavier than it looked She said Keep it low Do not show it unless you use it Bandits like fear Do not give them any

He nodded His heart was picking up but his breathing stayed even He had taught himself long ago how to push fear down where it could not shake his hands He had done that in burning hallways He did it now in a forest of a world that was not his own He stood slow and rolled his shoulders loose Nothing fast nothing loud Look normal look calm

A shape stepped out from the trees to their left He was tall lean sunburned and wrapped in mismatched armor He carried a short spear in one hand and had a rough scarf pulled up over his mouth His eyes were not calm His eyes were hungry

Look at this he said in a rough voice Travelers on the dry road without escort That is not safe The way he said safe made it clear he did not care about their safety at all Two more men came out behind him One with a bow One with a long hook blade All three watched Lira more than Evan That was something useful Evan filed it away

Lira did not flinch She stood with her hands loose by her sides Her voice stayed even We are on the tide path That is marked as safe passage by Queen Nerissa The lead man laughed Queen Nerissa does not walk this road he said His eyes moved over Lira’s cloak and then to Evan Where are you headed

Evan felt Lira almost tell him not to answer He spoke first anyway His voice steady Seattle he said The man blinked What Evan shrugged Farther than you can walk

The bandit with the bow grinned and spit into the dirt I like him He thinks he is funny The leader kept his eyes on Evan You from a city He asked You smell like city You talk like you never bled in the flats

Evan said You do not want to try me today man The leader lifted his chin like he was amused Try you For what I am not here for sport I am here for tax Your coin Your gear And her cloak We take those You two walk free If you hand them over now there is no problem

Lira said There is a problem The leader turned slow to look at her Is that so healer Her mouth was tight but her voice did not shake If you touch him the river will answer

That made the man laugh even harder The river The river is a day behind us little tide girl We are standing on dry rock His teeth were not in great shape His smile was not kind He waved with two fingers and the man with the bow raised it and aimed at Evan’s chest

Evan felt it then Like a snap in the air The water in the dirt around him lifted It had not been rain It was more like mist trapped in the shaded ground And it heard the threat before Evan moved His right hand opened on instinct The moisture under his palm pulled together fast It felt like muscle memory from a body he did not have yesterday

He did not think He moved

The bowstring snapped forward The arrow fired The air seemed to slow and bend The water from the dirt rose in a thin wall between Evan and the bandit and turned solid for just a second The arrow hit that thin sheet of water and twisted off path It spun sideways and dropped into the rocks with a dull sound

Everyone froze for one long beat

The archer stared at his empty hands The leader stared at Evan Lira stared at the ground near Evan’s boots with something close to alarm Evan stared at his own hand He had not even meant to do that He had only felt danger and reached and the water had answered like a partner in a drill

The leader dropped the smile His eyes went sharp and cold You are tideborn he said voice low That cloak should be mine You give him to us healer You walk free Lira answered with ice in her tone You will not touch him

The leader raised his spear a little I am not asking Her eyes narrowed I was not asking either

What happened next felt like a training burn when the ceiling gives out and everything turns fast Evan saw the man shift his weight forward He knew that stance A lunge was coming He had seen people charge before in close quarters calls drunks in panic people high on adrenaline This was the same but this guy had steel too

Evan stepped in before the man moved His body just went He closed the space and shoved his left forearm into the base of the man’s spear arm jamming the elbow up The spear tip went wide The guy grunted and swung with his other hand A fist went straight for Evan’s jaw

Evan blocked with his shoulder The hit rang his head but did not drop him He drove his knee up into the bandit’s thigh hard and fast The man staggered and cursed Lira moved at the same time Her hand snapped out and hit the archer’s throat with two fingers The archer gasped dropped the bow and fell to his knees choking The third man with the hook blade ran forward yelling

Evan turned toward him just in time to see metal coming low He tried to back up but not fast enough The hook caught his arm and cut a shallow line across his skin White hot pain flashed He hissed through his teeth and grabbed the man’s wrist with his right hand His palm was slick with his own blood The water heard that

The moisture in the air around his fingers thickened His grip became more than a grip It became weight Like a clamp The bandit’s wrist locked hard and he screamed The hook blade fell from his hand Evan kicked it away and drove his shoulder into the man’s chest knocking him flat on his back

The leader saw the opening and tried to drive the spear point into Evan’s side Evan twisted and caught the shaft with both hands He felt the wood flex He pushed down The spear tip hit the dirt inches from his ribs He shoved again The man lost his balance and went to one knee Evan stepped forward fast and brought his elbow down across the back of the man’s neck Not full force Not kill force But enough The man dropped face first and did not get up

The clearing went quiet fast Only the sound of Evan’s breathing and the soft rasp of the archer trying to pull air into his throat Evan stood still for a moment letting his heart slow The cut on his arm stung Lira moved to him at once Show me She said He lifted his arm She touched the cut light with two fingers and closed her eyes

Water gathered where she touched It formed a thin clear layer over the wound and pulsed once Twice Then the pain faded The bleeding slowed to nothing The skin under the water knit itself back together The water slid away leaving only a pale line There she said You are fine He stared at his arm and let out a slow breath That is useful She said Try not to need it too often

The archer was still alive but down He was curled on his side wheezing The third man was groaning and holding his wrist The leader lay still face down in the dirt Evan looked at Lira and asked You kill him She shook her head No He sleeps

Evan nodded Good I am not looking to rack up bodies out here Lira looked at him with a strange expression You spared them He blinked Yeah They are not on fire trying to kill a kid I am not here to execute people if I have another choice She studied him for a long quiet second That is not how most flameborn act when they cross Not at first He frowned You keep saying flameborn Stop saying flameborn What does that even mean

She answered Flameborn are those who cross through fire The gate between worlds only opens in great heat You fell through flame and landed in tide This never ends quiet Evan Brooks It always shakes both sides

He let that settle in his mind Great heat Great pressure The gate between worlds A bridge made from fire and water His last memory before waking here flashed again The jump With the kid in his arms The white light The fall

He swallowed and asked If more flameborn come here are they like me Lira shook her head No Most are not like you Most burn inside They bring anger and hunger They take They look at this world and want to own it Her eyes moved to the men on the ground And some people here want to take them and point them like weapons You are different You move like a guard You cover people without being told

He almost smiled That is called training Lira Seattle Fire Department Engine Fourteen Ladder Seven We cover each other He paused then said That is my crew My family Lira gave a small respectful nod And they are not here He felt that hit hard in his chest He looked away for a moment

Lira stood and took the leader’s spear She snapped it clean across her knee and tossed the pieces into the brush She also pulled a small leather pouch from his belt and tossed it to Evan He caught it and opened it expecting coins but what he saw was not money Not money like he knew anyway Inside were four small blue stones Each one glowed faint like the lake

What is this he asked Lira said Tidemark Very valuable in the cities Very dangerous in the wrong hands Do not let anyone see you have it Do not trade it Do not even show it to the academy unless you trust the person in front of you He raised a brow Sounds serious She answered It can buy protection Or it can buy a blade at your throat

He tied the pouch to his belt and pulled his sleeve down to cover the pale healing line on his arm He looked at the men on the ground and said We should move in case they wake and bring friends Lira nodded Yes We are close now Once we cross the next ridge we will see the outer watch of the academy

They left the bandits in the dirt and followed the trail deeper into the trees The land began to slope up and the air lost some of the damp weight The smell of the marsh faded Behind them the birds and insects started singing again like the world had let out a breath

After a long stretch of quiet walking Evan said Lira Back when water moved for me It felt fast Like it already knew what I needed Before I even formed the thought Is that normal She shook her head No That is not normal Water answers everyone with the mark But it does not lead It does not move first Not unless it has already claimed you Her eyes slid toward him The tide has already chosen you Evan That is why you scare me a little

He let out a laugh You You are scared of me You have been calm since I woke up in the dirt You dragged me across a living river and talked back to bandits and neck punched a guy with a bow And you are scared of me She kept walking but the corner of her mouth lifted I did hit the archer well I am proud of that Then her face went serious again You are strong too fast You are untrained and still strong That means others will feel it when you walk near them Some will want to test you to prove you are not a threat Some will want to destroy you before you become one This starts today when we reach the gate

The gate he said repeating the word The academy gate Yes Her jaw tightened Evan Listen now When we enter you do not speak unless I tell you You do not show anger You do not show fear You do not tell them your real origin You are not from another world You are a survivor from the tide flats and you were hidden You understand

He frowned Why lie She answered Because if they know you are flameborn then word reaches the queen by nightfall And then you belong to her whether you like it or not Evan let that sit in his chest for a long breath He did not like the way she said belong He had seen that tone in the faces of people who signed bad contracts People who got owned by systems and could not get out

Okay he said at last fine I will keep my mouth shut I will act like I am from here She nodded Good Say little Listen much That is how you live

They climbed the last rocky rise The trees opened The ridge leveled Then Evan saw it

The Water Academy did not look like a school It looked like a fortress It sat in the middle of a valley ringed by high pale stone Walls ran in wide circles like ripples from a dropped stone Each wall shone faint blue and he realized with a chill that they were wet Not painted wet The walls themselves were layered with moving water held in place like clear armor Tall watch towers rose at every curve and each tower had a long narrow banner hanging down The banners were the same deep blue as Lira’s cloak marked with a pale symbol that looked like a wave breaking around a circle

Between the outer wall and where he stood he saw lines of figures moving in formation Some wore armor that flowed like liquid metal and some wore plain clothes like Lira Each one carried long thin blades that curved like a river bend He could feel the water here before the wind even touched his face It was in the ground in the air in the stone It hummed through the valley like a slow drumbeat

Lira stopped beside him and pulled her hood up over her pale hair Her voice dropped You do not bow to anyone unless I bow first You do not raise your voice No sudden moves No showing off And Evan She turned to look straight at him Her eyes were serious in a way he had not seen before Whatever happens do not heal anyone unless I say so

He blinked Wait What You heard me If someone bleeds you let them bleed until I tell you She held his stare Promise me Evan

He swallowed That went against everything in him Every instinct he had learned Every part of his work Every part of who he was But he could see in her face that this rule was not a joke This was survival Do you understand She asked

Yes he said at last His jaw set I understand

Good Lira said Because they are already watching us