Evan did not sleep He came close once or twice His breathing got slow His shoulders dropped His eyes got heavy Then the pool in the center of the room would hum again and he would snap awake It felt like sitting night watch after a big fire call His whole body tired His mind refusing to shut down because it knew it would not like waking up

Time moved strange in the blue light No sunrise came through any window He only knew it was near morning when the hum in the academy changed He could feel motion above him He could feel bodies moving through halls He felt water shift in walls and floors like the whole building was stretching He also felt a new current coming toward him from beyond the door Something colder Something sharp and steady like a blade put in water

The stone door opened Mara walked in She did not smile She did not waste words Up she said Hall Master is ready

Evan pushed himself up from the bench His back hurt His jaw still ached from holding himself against the pool He rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck He felt heavy but steady He felt ready the way you feel ready walking into a fire You know it is bad You go anyway

Mara looked him over You are still here She said Good A lot of men are gone by now Still Water likes to claim first breath She tilted her chin toward his mouth Let me see He frowned What She tapped her own lower lip with a finger Tongue He opened his mouth a little and she leaned in fast with a trained eye Hm No blood You did not bite down when it pulled you You held with will alone

He did not know if that was supposed to impress her but her tone had a little respect in it You listen I like that

She jerked her head again Move

The hallway outside Still Water was colder than before and darker Mara walked fast without looking back He matched her pace The air around them felt tight like the academy itself was awake and watching and not fully happy about it He heard water move through the stone walls like veins He wondered if the whole building was alive He would not be surprised at this point

Mara spoke low while they walked Listen Ean The trial is controlled by Corren not by me I cannot interfere I cannot pull you out You win or you drown That is how it is Do not ask me for help I will not answer He nodded I get it She said No You do not get it yet So listen harder

Her voice dropped He will not attack your body You already proved you can hold your body He will go after your mind Memory Fear Guilt He will try to turn your own thoughts against you You feel like you are falling You feel like you cannot breathe You feel like you killed someone and cannot fix it He will push all of that and more If you give in to the feeling the pool inside his hall will take that pain and pull you under You drop You fail You die Or you drown slow and he studies you for days Which is worse

Evan swallowed His chest felt tight already He kept his voice steady What happens if I hold He felt Mara look at him from the side for a half second like she was checking something Then she faced forward again If you hold You live If you hold He may let you train If you hold He may still lock you in a cage She rolled her shoulder like this was normal But at least you will be breathing in that cage And breathing is step one

They reached another arch Another curtain of water hanging still Mara did not pass through yet She pressed her palm flat against the surface The water glowed for a second then cleared Master she called He is here

A voice from inside Come in

Mara dropped her hand The water curtain relaxed again She gave Evan one last look Breathe from the stomach not the throat Stay in your body Do not let him drag you into memory without a fight You hear me He nodded I hear you She stepped aside Go

He walked through the water

The room beyond was not like the Still Water chamber and not like Corren’s office before It was round and open and darker The floor sloped down like a shallow bowl Toward the center the floor ended and turned into a pool A deeper one than last night Darker Still The air smelled like salt and storm

Corren stood barefoot near the edge of that pool His long blue coat was gone He wore plain dark clothes that clung to his frame and moved like wet cloth His hair was tied back tight His feet were in the water ankle deep His face was calm His eyes were not

Three other people stood in shadow near the wall Mara joined them and crossed her arms She watched with total focus The other two he did not know One looked like an older woman with pale hair braided close The other a young man with ink lines running up both arms in looping wave patterns Nobody spoke to Evan Nobody welcomed him

This was not about comfort This was not about teaching This was not training This was evaluation

Corren lifted a hand to Evan and pointed at the pool Come stand here

Evan walked down the slope His boots hit damp stone cold and slick He stood near the pool edge across from Corren The water in the pool was so dark he could not see depth It did not reflect light It felt like looking into the mouth of a tunnel

Corren said This is the Hall of Still Water The pool you see is not only water It is a binding It does not answer to fear It does not answer to anger It answers only to truth This is how we test The fireborn call it torture The tide calls it judgment

Evan held his eyes Fireborn he said You mean flameborn Corren’s mouth moved in a small line I do not use their word for themselves They do enough naming on their own

Corren’s voice dropped and got sharper Three things Ean First You will not move unless I tell you Second You will not try to shape the pool Third You will not lie to me If you do any of those you will not leave this room on your feet Do you understand

Yes Hall Master

Good

Corren reached forward fast and put his hand flat on Evan’s chest again Same spot as before Right over the sternum The touch sent a cold shock through him so fast Evan almost gasped The pool answered at the same time The surface lifted in a slow rise like breath The air thickened The pressure rolled out from the water and wrapped around Evan’s shoulders and neck like a harness

And then it hit

He was back in the fire

No build up No slow fade One second he was in the stone room with Corren The next he was in the hallway on the third floor again Smoke so thick he could not see more than a foot in front of his face Heat rolling low like a live animal crawling under the floor The alarm screaming steady A kid coughing into his neck

Evan Almost lost his balance His body reacted and reached for his mask and his radio but he was not wearing gear His bare hands hit drywall so hot it burned He felt panic slam into his chest fast and vicious Oh god oh god where is the window Did I pass it Did I miss the exit Did I take him the wrong way Did I just kill him

No He forced the thought down That voice was not his He would not let that voice run him He moved forward in a crouch Another memory hit The building groaned and shifted The kind of sound that means you have seconds left before collapse The kind that freezes young guys the first time they hear it

You did this A voice hissed in his ear It sounded like his own voice but twisted You brought him down the wrong hall You went deeper instead of out You thought you were a hero and now he dies with you because of you

Shut up Evan said out loud His throat burned with smoke He kept moving toward where he remembered the window frame had been The kid’s arms were tight around his neck He could feel the small chest press against his back He could hear the ragged panicked breathing He could feel the heart pounding against his spine

You are not sure are you The voice pressed in You are not even sure he is alive You cannot feel him moving now maybe he already passed maybe you are just carrying a body You think you are saving someone You are just carrying weight

Evan felt his stomach drop Fear shot through him for one hard second His hands shook He could not tell if the kid was moving He could not tell if he was still breathing He could not hear anything over the alarm and the roar He felt heat behind him like flame rolling down the ceiling and licking at his shoulders He felt his lungs starting to scream for air and he felt the blind wall of smoke pressing in and his brain started to slide toward panic

Then training cut in Calm in the fire

He said it inside his own head Calm in the fire He had said it a million times in drills He said it now and forced his legs to keep moving forward even when the floor dipped even when his boot landed on nothing and his knee crashed through weak wood He kept one arm tight on the kid and the other hand forward fingers searching knuckles scraping until his hand hit glass

There Window Go Go Now Move

He kicked The glass cracked He kicked again The heat behind him roared up like the whole hallway lit at once He felt it bite the back of his neck He yelled and drove his heel into the frame The window blew out in a shower of light and air and noise and he could hear voices below Brooks We got you We got you Drop him We got him

His heart surged with relief He looked down White light surged up from below that was not the street light from the truck Not normal He felt the building shift under his boots and he knew He knew he had seconds left He took the kid in both arms and put his mouth by the kid’s ear Hey Hey buddy You are going to be okay I promise you I promise you I got you He could not tell if the kid heard him

Jump now

He stepped into the window frame and leaped

And the world tore open

White blue blinding water crashing through fire Silence then impact then pain then nothing

Evan gasped His knees almost buckled He was back in the chamber again Corren’s hand still on his chest The pool still flat But his heart was slamming so hard he felt sick His shoulders shook Sweat rolled down his back even though the air here was cold His throat hurt like he had just breathed real smoke

Corren’s eyes were sharp but calm Speak truth he said low Did the child live

Evan swallowed His mouth was dry My last memory is I held on I jumped I shielded him I do not know after that

Corren searched his face As he watched Evan felt the pool under his feet reach again This time it did not pull him into smoke It pulled him somewhere else Somewhere worse

A firehouse bay Night shift Quiet Lights low The bay doors down Rain outside Slow and steady He recognized it in one second His station He could smell coffee and hydraulic oil and wet gear He could hear low chatter from the bunk room He could hear Captain Ross laughing at something stupid Mendoza said He could hear the normal breathing of tired people who just came off a bad call and are telling themselves it is over

He felt tears build fast and sharp He never cried at the station Not in front of the guys He almost did now