Azia had never taken a prisoner before. She’d never taken one that had gone willingly. In a way, it was gross.

  There was a chronic voice in the back of her head that labeled her threats useless. He’d already overpowered her once. To point a blade at his back and spurn him forward was, possibly, a terrible idea. It might’ve been by luck alone that she wasn’t dead. By absolutely no means had she figured him out.

  If you like this kind of thing, I’m good with it.

  She’d figured out enough. Maybe she’d kill him first.

  He was docile all the way back, his arms needlessly aloft and his grin facing only forward. Given what the latter had come with, initially, Azia was glad it was pointed away from her. His calm through the halls was shocking, in truth. It was possible that this was an awful idea, given how little of that part she understood.

  He didn’t seem aggressive, their encounter be damned. In his defense--for what of it he deserved--she’d attacked first. Azia would acknowledge that much. Were he to unleash the same unfamiliar prowess within the walls of the Institute, she wasn’t positive that she could put a stop to it.

  If a girl like you is asking, how can I say no?

  She probably could, in other ways. She very, very much did not want to.

  It was nothing short of a miracle that her path was unimpeded, by which not one soul found her coercing a boy to her quarters at blade’s edge. Even Kassy was absent, although that was another problem entirely. Confirming their mutual safety would come later--thirty minutes’ limitations or not. This took priority.

  The moment he crossed the threshold into her room, he was much too satisfied. “Never been in a girl’s room before. Didn’t think we’d get there so fast.”

  She really was going to kill him.

  With caution, Azia lowered the glaive, never once taking her eyes off his back as she steadied the polearm at her side. Closing the door behind her was difficult for the same reason, and she fumbled for the knob as best as she could. Even now, she still couldn’t erase the idea of him retaliating. If he fought back in such close quarters, she wasn’t sure how long she could hold him off.

  He was more preoccupied with exploring her room than anything. The boy slipped his hands into his pockets, his eyes traversing every speck of living space. “Nice place you’ve got. Very cute.”

  Azia couldn’t bring herself to doff the glaive entirely. At the very least, she slipped her bag onto the floor. Her soaked sleeves were growing incredibly uncomfortable, and she did her best to ignore them. In truth, she had absolutely no idea where to begin. She started with the easiest question of all.

  “Who are you?” Azia asked, her eyes narrow.

  Where she met him with hostility, he couldn’t have harbored less of the same. The boy turned to face her in full, bringing the same brilliant grin with him. “You know, it’s impolite to not introduce yourself first.”

  He made himself far, far too comfortable in her desk chair. Azia half-expected him to put his feet up on the actual tabletop. Resisting the urge to growl was difficult. If nothing else, he wasn’t a threat.

  She laid the glaive down onto the bed, the tip still spearing in his direction. If she had to lunge, she’d have the leeway. “I’m Azia. I’m an alchemist.”

  He cocked his head. “Fancy. Smart and gorgeous.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Your name,” she pushed.

  Still comfortable as ever, he tilted his head in the other direction. “Seleth.”

  Azia blinked. “What the hell kind of name is 'Seleth?'”

  “What the hell kind of name is 'Azia?'” he teased, resting his arms comfortably behind his head. “It’s my name. I mean, I like it.”

  “Where are you from?” Azia asked, somewhat softer.

  The boy shrugged. “Dunno.”

  What softness had touched her voice evaporated immediately. “What do you mean you ‘don’t know?' Stop screwing with me!”

  He’d moved on to trailing his fingers along straying papers, brushing against what loose notes she’d made the mistake of leaving accessible behind him. “I’m serious. I’m just here. It doesn’t really faze me much.”

  The sincerity on his face was extremely jarring. Azia fought for words for no less than five continuous seconds, coming up empty every time. Relenting was miserable. “What were you doing out there? In the desert?”

  Again, he shrugged. “That’s just where I was.”

  This time, Azia really did growl. “You’re starting to piss me off.”

  Seleth’s grin was growing just as intolerable. “I kinda like that face.”

  Were it not for every inquiry that was more pressing, she really, truly could’ve struck him down. She’d never tried to hide a body before. “Do you not remember, or do you not care?”

  He’d moved on to torturing her pencils, scattered as they were. “To be honest with you, the former.”

  Azia paused. It was progress. “You don’t remember anything?”

  “I remember lots of things,” Seleth clarified. “Just not that.”

  She couldn’t argue. With a sigh she gave up on restraining, Azia settled down on the bed beside the glaive. Even now, she refused to point its resting tip anywhere except towards him. He took the initiative, for once, his grin faltering at last. “What’d you go after me for back there? That wasn’t very nice. One hell of a first impression.”

  Azia winced. “I…thought you were someone else. Something else, really.”

  “What else would I be?”

  Admitting to it felt uncomfortable, for how tremendous of a mix-up it truly was. “You are a human, right? A human being?”

  Seleth raised an eyebrow. “As opposed to?”

  Azia kicked herself for even asking. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the shimmering blue that had held her captive was still eating away at her. Changing the subject was a reflex. “The…the liquid. What happened before. Was that you?”

  He only stared.

  Azia gestured widely with her hands. “The liquid that was everywhere. It was floating, and it touched me. It held me down. Did you do all of that?”

  The grin that was beginning to ruin her returned. “What, a guy can’t stand up for himself?”

  “So it was you.”

  “I don’t deny it.”

  That wasn’t the point. She said as much, in lesser terms. “Yes, but…what was it? What did you actually do?”

  Seleth paused. It was the first time he’d bothered to sit up straight, still leaning forwards in Azia's stolen chair just as comfortably. With little hesitation, he raised one hand aloft before him, just barely extended towards her. “Are you talking about this?”

  Azia never got to ask what “this” consisted of. He answered her with action, and action was every bit as beautiful as she’d seen once before.

  From beyond steady fingertips, something was born from nothing. The shimmering blues she’d admired in the dark were infinitely more resplendent up close. Beneath the soft lights of the room, each speck of radiance ensnared in wavering crystal was majestic. The delicate sounds of yet the same bubbles were far tinier and far more localized, quite literally blessing the palm of Seleth's hand.

  Compared to the rest of him, his touch was graceful. The fluid purity it wove into thin air left gorgeous droplets in its wake, shining aloft and lingering still. If Azia strained her ears, she could’ve sworn she heard it flowing. That, too, was a sound equally gorgeous.

  It wasn’t much. It didn’t need to be. It matched his eyes, somewhat, although his gaze was still far more striking. The most subtle motions of his fingertips guided every gentle curve, ebbing and flowing at his leisure. The second time she saw it, Azia still couldn’t wrap her head around the sight. Whatever it was, it was absolutely lovely.

  Seleth caught her staring. The ambling liquid was far more interesting than his grin. “You like it?”

  Even his teasing tone wasn’t enough to deter her fixation. Azia shifted closer to the edge of the bed. “This is…amazing. You’re doing that?”

  Her praise was a catalyst for movement. What was stagnant came to flow and drift, still mild as the motions were. He brought her the smallest of sparkling rivers, if that was what she could envision them to be. “I mean, yeah.”

  The word felt foreign. It was a guess, partially, born of reasoning alone. Azia almost felt stupid for bringing it up. “That’s…water.”

  Seleth scoffed. “Obviously.”

  “That’s really water,” she mumbled, inching ever nearer to him. Even he seemed taken aback by her proximity. Still, he was content to display the same swirling purity where her eyes could linger. “That’s…you…how?”

  He tilted his head. “How…what?”

  “How are you…how is…how do you…how?”

  Every question she could concoct was useless. Azia’s hands were on a collision course with her head, fidgeting with the hem of her scarf. Seleth only eyed her with confusion, crossing his legs comfortably.

  “You get a lot out of this, huh?” he half-teased, gentle twists of his fingers guiding the shimmering flow above.

  “You don’t understand,” Azia said hurriedly. “That shouldn’t be possible. None of this should be possible. Who the hell are you?”

  Her tone was enough for his grin to falter, briefly. “I’m just me. This is just what I do. What, you can’t do the same thing?”

  Azia shook her head fervently. By now, she risked falling off the bed altogether, gripping the edges of the mattress for dear life. “No! No one can! This is insane! You shouldn’t even have that! That shouldn’t even be here!”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Seleth rolled his eyes playfully. “You talk like you’ve never seen water before.”

  “I haven’t.”

  He fell silent, and the same confident smile fell in turn. Azia was shaking. She couldn’t help it.

  “What do you mean you…haven’t?” he pressed softly at last.

  Her eyes were still drowning in the same crystalline bubbles, static and awaiting his touch. “I haven’t,” she repeated. “No one has.”

  Seleth only stared. “Ever?”

  “Ever.”

  He was quiet for a moment. When he suddenly clenched his fist shut, the perfect stream he’d so beautifully cultivated burst in turn. It was almost enough to make Azia flinch, scattering droplets fizzling into the open air. Just as soon as it had come, his little bubbles disappeared in the time it took her to blink. She loathed the term "magic." She couldn’t settle on anything but.

  Devoid of a grin, his teasing was half-hearted. “You’re messing with me.”

  “I’m not,” Azia insisted. “I swear.”

  “That doesn’t even make sense.”

  They were even on that front, then. “You really don’t know where you came from, do you?”

  Seleth shook his head wordlessly.

  “What else do you…not know?”

  He chuckled, instead. “What kind of question is that?”

  The wording was her fault. Azia inhaled deeply. “There’s no water. There hasn’t been water, and there might not ever be water. We’re doing what we can to fix that. It just…doesn’t exist.”

  Seleth stared. She’d expected that much. More than likely, if his ignorance was to be believed, she deserved it. “All of it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Like, literally all of it.”

  “Yes.”

  “It can’t just not exist. It’s water. Where would it go?”

  Azia cast her eyes at the carpet. “No one knows.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Then…how are you alive?”

  “We adapted,” she said, one fingertip tracing the veins of her hand. “We did what we had to do to survive. I’m an alchemist, like I said. We helped.”

  Again, Seleth was quiet. Again, it was expected. Azia didn’t blame him. “How would that even happen?”

  He was innocent. She chose her words carefully, lest he distrust her altogether. “No one knows for sure. Something bad happened thousands of years ago. Ever since then, we’ve had nothing. It’s a miracle that we’re here at all. If the alchemists hadn’t intervened when they had, then…”

  She trailed off. He got the idea, probably. Seleth rested his cheek in his palm. “You’re sure you’re not screwing with me?”

  “I promise you, I’m not. I wish I was joking. I wish that more than anything.”

  He turned one pointed finger to himself. “But I’m right here. What’s that about?”

  Azia fidgeted. “Exactly. That’s...the problem.”

  Seeing him calm was jarring. She was amazed he’d listened for so long. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re not supposed to be,” she clarified. “You don’t make sense.”

  She’d probably given him too much credit. He did, eventually, smirk. “You know, you’re not making a whole lot of sense, either. You’re putting a lot on me at once, here. I’m being a good listener. I’m playing along. Be gentle with me.”

  It was her fault for shelving the urge to slap him for so long. Azia prayed he wouldn’t go down the flirtatious route again. “That’s not what I mean. Neither of us even know where you came from, apparently. My friend Kassy and I, both of us were trying--”

  She forgot Kassy.

  “I forgot Kassy.”

  Seleth tilted his head. “Who’s Kassy?”

  Azia leapt to her feet, still more than conscious of the discomfort that came with soggy clothes clinging to her skin. “I forgot to tell someone I came back. I’m…I’ll be right--”

  Leaving him here was a terrible idea. Bringing him might’ve been worse.

  Her eyes flickered between the boy rudely occupying her workspace and the glaive cautiously occupying her bed. He hadn’t shown one hint of hostility in the past hour. To haul a weapon through the halls would’ve been a disaster, should prying gazes come her way. To haul him in turn was still a bad enough concept on its own, and to bring him to the library--of all places--was an awful plan.

  Still, tearing her eyes from him was a risk. She hadn’t pinned him down. She doubted she would any time soon. Azia just barely stifled a sigh.

  “I lied. Get up. You’re coming with me,” she demanded.

  Her tone was an immediate mistake. The contrast between the gorgeous hues of his eyes and the less-than-pure satisfaction behind them was aggravating. “Yes, ma’am.”

  In truth, Kassy was the least of her problems. She’d been racking them up one after another tonight, a magnet for crisis that grew stronger by the second. Crisis was calm, somehow. Crisis was crystalline. Crisis was inexplicable in every way, and crisis was beautiful. Crisis was slowly but surely crafting the greatest headache of Azia’s life, for more reasons than one.

  Thirty minutes was, by no means, a long amount of time to track. The library had a clock. Azia had used it once tonight. Kassy hadn’t, apparently.

  The thought was almost annoying the moment it crossed her mind. The implications were equally so. Azia's irritation was offset by Seleth’s wonder, somewhat, although she couldn’t blame him. Her first time in the library had been just as surprising, and the sea of literature that enveloped him on every side was humbling--ideally. Surrounded by shelves and looming ladders, he was small. He’d stay that way, in a perfect world, even if his mouth wouldn’t stay shut.

  Seleth crossed his arms, the same grin eternal. “Damn. This place keeps getting better. Where the hell am I, anyway?”

  As to why that hadn’t been his first question with a glaive at his back, Azia had absolutely no idea. Flirting had taken priority, apparently. “The Alchemist Institute. The Tenaveris one, anyway.”

  Seleth nodded approvingly. “You’re not the only one here, then. Tenaveris, by the way?”

  He wasn’t a priority, either. Most of her was occupied with chasing every corner with her eyes, clustered as the shelves were. If nothing else, they were tidy enough, and she wasn’t tripping on carpetbound books today. Azia cupped her hands around her mouth. “Kassy?”

  “Azia?”

  This time, she was fairly certain Kassy did fall. The yelp and subsequent thud that followed were too closely timed. At the very least, it sounded low to the floor. She winced anyway.

  Hurried footsteps preceded worried eyes. “Azia! Are you okay? You’re all dirty.”

  Soaked clothes and skin marred by wet toxins were irrelevant. “What happened to thirty minutes?” Azia cried, gesturing aggressively towards the clock.

  Kassy’s face fell. “I was worried you’d get in trouble for being out late. I didn’t want you to get yelled at.”

  “Kassy, I wouldn’t have told you thirty minutes if I didn’t mean it,” she mumbled.

  Her smile was both expected and not. “If it was an hour, I was gonna go get somebody.”

  “It was an hour.”

  “I meant to say two hours.”

  “Kassy.”

  She clasped her hands behind her back comfortably. “But you’re here, and you’re okay, so everything’s fine, right? You’re strong. I knew you’d be alright.”

  “Is this in any way related to the pumpkin bread thing?”

  Her smile evolved into something far brighter. Azia groaned.

  What indoor sunshine had fallen to Azia breached her shoulder, cast beyond to a different visitor altogether. Kassy’s smile and Seleth’s grin in the same room were roughly as off-putting as Azia had anticipated they’d be.

  Still, in favor of wonder, the former lost hers altogether. “Who is this?”

  Seleth didn’t hesitate. A two-finger salute was enough. “Name’s Seleth. Nice to meet you.”

  Kassy’s curious eyes flickered to Azia. Hers, in turn, flickered to Seleth, and she motioned to the librarian. “This is Kassy. She’s a close friend of mine.”

  “We’re besties,” Kassy whispered behind one hand.

  Azia didn’t bother fighting her smirk. “She’s the librarian of the Institute,” she went on.

  “And this is my home!” Kassy exclaimed, throwing her arms wide. “All of these little books are safe with me.”

  To Azia’s surprise, Seleth entertained her. Once more, his gaze was left to scan the vast collection of literature climbing the walls. “Good stuff. You and Azia are besties, you said?”

  Kassy nodded fervently, her brilliant smile at war with his own. She risked burning down the library, at this rate. His was born of something more mischievous, and Azia distrusted it immediately. He didn’t flirt. That was progress.

  Seleth put his hands on his hips. “You know lots of stuff about Azia, right? You and I are gonna get along reeeeal good.”

  “Ignore everything he says,” Azia interrupted quickly, her head snapping towards the librarian. “Give him nothing. I’m serious.”

  Kassy tilted her head, immune to his questionable intents. “Where did you guys meet?”

  Azia gulped. There was no nice way of saying it. “He was…out in the desert.”

  “At night?” she pressed. “Where did he come from?”

  That, too, had no solid answer. Seleth couldn’t give one of his own, regardless--supposedly. Azia deflected, somewhat, although her change of topic didn’t lead anywhere better. “Listen, he’s, uh…there’s some things about him that are a bit…different. I don’t know where to start. Keep an open mind, alright?”

  Kassy never dropped her smile. “Uh-huh.”

  “Really open.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “I mean it.”

  Kassy only beamed forever.

  Azia turned to Seleth. To her credit, she’d tried to be tactful. He couldn’t have done less of the same, and his ridiculous grin evolved into something downright condescending. “You wanna see a magic trick?”

  Somehow, Kassy nodded, still equally as elated and equally as energetic.

  The moment he extended his fingers once more, Azia knew what was to come. In a way, it was her compensation prize for putting up with him, by which she’d be blessed with the same resplendent ripples and flows once more. The word still felt abnormal, almost out of place on her tongue, and she hesitated to use it.

  "Magic" really was easier to say than the substance itself, and she loathed which one was more believable. From beyond his skillful touch, Seleth brought the same bubbling droplets to life, pristine and glistening as candlelight set them aglow. The ambience of the library was softer, and his tiny tide was just the same.

  Kassy stared. She stared, and stared, and stared, wordless and motionless. Her reaction was enough to garner the most smug expression Azia had seen cross Seleth’s face thus far. “Tada,” he teased.

  Kassy's eyes fell closed. She collapsed. It was all Azia could do to catch her in time.

  “Oh, God, Kassy,” she muttered, fanning the fainting librarian with one desperate hand.

  Seleth flinched. It never occurred to him to dispel the sea in his palm. He was useless, in terms of alleviating the situation. Azia was immensely relieved when he kept his mouth shut, for once.

  When Kassy did finally return to the waking world, it was far faster than Azia had anticipated she would. That was probably her fault for doubting the librarian in the first place. She more or less leapt out of Azia’s arms, springing to her feet and skidding to a halt inches from the squirming bubbles at Seleth’s fingertips. He flinched for a different reason entirely as she leaned in close, her face alight in utter amazement.

  “That’s incredible,” Kassy breathed. “Is that…is…”

  Her head snapped to Azia so quickly that the alchemist feared she’d broken her neck. Azia crossed her arms. “Yeah. I’m almost positive. I’d still need to test some things, but I…don’t see what else it could be.”

  Kassy peered up at Seleth with wide eyes, sparkling as they were. “Can I touch it?”

  He smirked. “Get to know a guy first, will you?”

  Either way, he didn’t resist. Azia kicked herself for not having asked the question first--although, granted, being on the other end of his crass remarks would’ve dampened her burning curiosity. Kassy cautiously poked at the pulsating bubbles, recoiling the moment one fingertip made contact with the fluid. Clinging droplets followed her out, and her smile was still aflame.

  “Take him to Dissemination,” Kassy said, never pulling her eyes away from the inexplicable display.

  Azia tensed. “I…thought about it. I’ve been thinking about it since I brought him here.”

  “She took me prisoner,” Seleth offered, content to let Kassy inspect every angle of his personal sea. “Weapon at my back and everything. Got real demanding about it. Is she always that aggressive? I hope she is.”

  Ignoring him was a nightmare. Her words for Kassy overshadowed his own, ideally. “It’s going to stir up trouble. I already know that for certain. I’m not even sure where to begin, once we get there. I suppose I’d have to do it eventually. Trying to hide him is gonna be awful.”

  “You talk about me like I’m your pet, or something,” Seleth muttered. “I mean, if you like that kind of stuff, I’m down for--”

  “You don’t have anything else to present, right?” Kassy interrupted, her eyes meeting Azia’s at last. “Maybe it’ll be fun. The formulas were boring.”

  Her smile was for Kassy alone. “I don’t think ‘fun’ is the word you’re looking for.”

  Without moving his occupied hand, Seleth stretched the rest of himself comfortably. The way by which he was patient for Kassy’s sake was almost endearing--almost. “You taking me somewhere else?”

  “Once a week, the alchemists meet to discuss our recent findings and research. You’re my…recent finding,” Azia said.

  He tilted his head in her direction. “I get to meet all your friends?”

  “Colleagues,” she clarified. “Mostly. Just know that you’re gonna get a lot of questions. Both of us are, really. You won’t be by yourself, there.”

  Azia was so, so sick of his grin. “You’ll take good care of me. I know it. I’m not worried about a thing.”

  Just as he’d done for her, one swift clench of his fist confiscated his crystalline flow, every undulating droplet bursting into nothing. Kassy pouted over it, somewhat, and her disappointment was almost enough to garner a smirk from Azia.

  “Where is he gonna sleep tonight?” Kassy asked.

  The way he side-eyed Azia was borderline dangerous. She didn’t dare let the thought finish forming in his head. “No. Absolutely not.”

  “I didn’t say anything,” Seleth teased yet again.

  She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Look, just…can you just throw him in one of the vacant quarters? Don’t tell anyone. As long as the damn door’s locked and he’s up by sunrise, he’ll be fine.”

  Kassy beamed instead. “Sure thing!”

  Azia speared one finger in the boy’s direction. “You stay out of sight. You go where she takes you, and nowhere else. You lay low until the morning. I’ll come get you. Got it?”

  She caught her tone far, far too late. In that way, she probably deserved the extremely uncomfortable gratification in his eyes. “Yes, ma’am,” he nearly purred.

  Where Azia had hunted for clouds amongst starlight, she’d found him instead. She still hadn’t decided if she regretted it, nor if she’d come to do so moving forward. In truth, part of her was afraid of sharing what secrets laid at his fingertips--literally. There was an irony to it, given how hard she’d fought to find the same. In every way, he was an anomaly, born from shadowy sands and blessed by blue. Azia was just as afraid of trying to figure him out.

  Her eyes drifted to him once more. The moment Seleth caught her staring, he winked. The tiny, playful wiggle of his fingers that came with the gesture wasn’t subtle.

  Anomaly or not, leaving him to die in the desert was an option, too.