The mess hall looked simple from outside Stone walls Low roof Narrow windows No color No banner No welcome Walking in felt like stepping into an engine bay at two in the morning Quiet low light people half awake and not in the mood for talk The smell hit first Warm broth cooked grain salt herbs Nothing sweet Nothing rich Just steady fuel for bodies that would be pushed until they shook

Long tables ran down the room with benches on both sides Some people wore training gray Some wore darker coats with rank marks stitched at the shoulder Some had the wave crest Some did not Mara walked in with him and every head turned for a second to look at her then at him Some eyes narrowed Some watched in silence One or two looked at him like he was already trouble

Normal he thought People always stare at the new guy when he walks into a station Especially after a bad call They all want to know if he is going to pull his weight or make them carry him

Mara pointed to an open bench Sit She said Eat I will be back Do not leave the hall If you leave the hall I break your knees and tell Corren you fell Evan raised an eyebrow Sounds fair She gave him a flat look I am not joking Flame She caught herself Brooks He nodded Good effort

She walked off through a side door He watched her go Then he sat His legs felt like rubber His arms felt light and shaky His chest still buzzed from the trial with Corren He was not sure if that was normal or if he had left part of himself in that black pool and just did not know it yet

A young trainee in gray brought him a bowl and a cup without being asked The bowl was full of thick grain stew The cup was full of water Not normal water The surface glowed faint blue like the lake When Evan looked up the trainee would not meet his eyes The kid dropped the bowl and cup then walked away fast like getting too close to Evan might explode him

Evan almost laughed Then he ate He did not care what it tasted like He did not sip slow He shoveled it in like a man who had not had real food in too long He had eaten worse in the back of the truck between calls He had eaten worse on long wildland fires out in the hills when nobody slept and everyone ran on old protein bars and black coffee

The stew was heavy and plain It sat warm in his stomach and forced his hands to stop shaking The water tasted like clean rain He felt it spread through him fast and even It did not taste like tap water back home It tasted like something alive

He was halfway through the bowl when someone sat across from him He did not look up right away He kept eating If you looked up every time someone sat near you in a firehouse you never finished your food He learned that day one

The person across from him said in a quiet voice You are alive Good

He looked up Lira sat on the other side of the table Her cloak was off and folded in her lap Her pale hair was braided tight Her eyes had shadows under them She looked tired Not wounded Just tired

He swallowed and said You are here I thought they would not let you in She gave a small shrug They said I could see you under Circle duty I told them if they did not let me see you then Corren could patch his own bruised trainees for the next month They let me in

He tried not to smile You blackmailed the academy with medical work Lira lifted her chin That is correct She paused and looked him over slow Her eyes moved to his hands his jaw his shoulders She said softly You are shaking a little but you are still here That is good I was worried

He leaned back on the bench and let out a breath You and Mara keep saying that Still here Like this place is trying to eat me Lira did not smile This place is trying to eat you She spoke calm like she was explaining weather It does not know what you are yet So it will try to pull pieces off you and see how they taste

He made a face That is disgusting She nodded Yes Welcome to the academy

He took another drink from the cup and let the water sit in his mouth for a second before swallowing He looked at her again and lowered his voice Corren knows I came through fire Lira shut her eyes for a second then opened them I thought he would see it She said His sense is too strong He can smell gate burn better than anyone in Aqualis Did he call you flameborn in front of others

Yes Evan said Mara heard Two others heard Lira let out a slow long breath That is bad

He frowned I kind of figured that out already but spell it anyway She leaned in No one here trusts flameborn Flameborn do not come through calm Most come through in rage with hungry fire wrapped around their bones They burn first ask questions later They see our water and think it is weak They think they can take our cities and rule them They think we will bow

Did they try Evan asked Lira nodded Yes Fire clans tried to push the tide cities twice in the last seven years They sent flameborn shock units first No armor No shield Just bodies that walked through boiling water like it was nothing and set buildings screaming with a touch She swallowed Her voice dropped lower The last time one of them made it to the queen’s steps before the guards drowned him His fire burned through twenty men before they got him under stone The mark of that day is still on the palace wall

Evan listened He could feel the weight in her voice This was not a story told to frighten This was history You hate them he said She shook her head No Hate is not the word We fear them And we bury them fast

He nodded So when they see me they think I am one of those She held his gaze Yes Unless I can prove you are not

He sat with that for a second He did not like being grouped with men who burned cities He did not like being feared without earning it He did not like walking into a room and making people reach for weapons just by breathing It made his skin feel too tight

What do I do then he asked You said Corren will not drown me today That sounds like step one What is step two I cannot hide in a box forever