Klare’s hostile intrusion several days prior had done Azia exactly one favor. She remembered where Seleth’s room was, rudely confirmed at the time. Borrowing his bed felt strange for far too many reasons. Bound to a bubble above her own, he hadn’t given her a choice.

  Azia was immensely thankful that no one had come for her, let alone done the same for him. The idea of explaining was miserable. Ultimately, she awoke with the sun, she awoke without issue, and she awoke with what relief came with accomplishment. She’d totaled fourteen pages by the end of her writing marathon.

  Her hand was stiff the moment she made to sit up, and flexing her fingers was more difficult than she would’ve liked. Still, if it left her with an ample record of an anomaly, the effort was well worth it. She hoped Rae appreciated the same.

  She awoke without pain elsewhere, too. Where Azia had grown used to her skin protesting against the fabric of the pillow, she was devoid of stinging aches this morning. Splotchy reds spared her more than usual, when she cared to inspect. She still splattered each blister with medicinal creams and careful attention anyway. Ideally, no one would press her on the wound when she returned home. Realistically, she knew Mikhail better than that.

  What souvenirs she’d earned in the span of roughly one week had ranged from phenomenal to reprehensible. Her face was a testament to the latter. The refined model Cailin had rushed to entrust her with qualified as the former. To return with further details of an anomaly alongside a replacement for a failing hypothesis would be tremendous--if not funny. She was already imagining the look on Yvette’s face, and Azia was all but convinced she’d soon be earning her own designated Dissemination day. Whether or not she wanted one was debatable.

  Seleth had earned his own souvenir in the form of a knife, and Azia couldn’t get him to stop fidgeting with it. She’d had to remind him to resheath it countless times already, largely on the tail end of scolding. She’d had to remind him to thank his gracious benefactor in the first place. He’d already done so once, to be fair. It was easy to get him to do it again, given that the researcher was being more or less dragged down the stairs on the way out.

  “I’m gonna miss you so muuuuch,” Kassy whined.

  It was a miracle that Klare could walk at all, just barely finding her footing step by step downwards. Given the librarian clinging eternally to her arm, Azia had expected her to tumble all the way to the sand by now. “This is literally your fault. You chose to move to the Alchemist Institute.”

  “But it's fun there,” Kassy whined yet more. “I don’t like having to choose.”

  “And I don’t like being pulled on.”

  “Thank you for everything,” Azia offered. “I appreciate all of your help.”

  Somehow, Klare made it to the bottom step without injury. “Oh, now you appreciate it. You didn’t want me to fight him. You didn’t want him to fight the Rain. I give you my brilliant ideas, and you reject them until they work.”

  Her smirk was only partially irritating. Azia sighed, not immune to a smirk of her own. “Fine. I’ll admit that they were helpful. I learned a lot that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise, so thank you for that.”

  Klare nodded approvingly, albeit with more pride than was necessary. “Rae said you can always reach out for whatever you need. You can come back, too, if you feel like making the drive. You gave him a report, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “He’ll probably distribute it. We’ll start looking into what we can, from there. It’s definitely easier when Seleth’s actually here, though, so we’re all kind of jealous. Not fair that the alchemists get to have him.”

  “Hey, I found him first,” Azia teased. “I have the right.”

  Kassy frowned, uncurling from Klare’s arm at last. “Seleth doesn’t belong to anybody. He’s a person.”

  “Oh, no, Seleth can belong to people,” the anomaly in question said, his grin concerningly satisfied. “Seleth is perfectly fine with that. By all means, keep talkin’. This is a good conversation.”

  When he side-eyed Azia, the sparkles in his eyes were equally as concerning. She fought to quash whatever impure thoughts she could physically see on his face. “Look, if I find out anything new, I’ll keep you guys updated,” she interrupted for Klare alone.

  Her newly-freed hands settled onto her hips. “You better. Don’t go getting him killed, or we’re gonna be pissed.”

  “You’re the one that fought him,” Azia shot back sharply. “If there’s one hazard I’m more worried about than the Rain, it’s you.”

  Klare’s grin was awful. She still couldn’t decide whether or not she preferred Seleth’s. “Again, I’m fine with a ‘thank you.’”

  Azia didn’t bother with scolding, nor with arguing. Whatever soft smile the researcher melted into instead beat her to bitterness. “And…Azia,” Klare began plainly.

  She adjusted the straps of her bag on her shoulders, trading awareness of the climbing sun for what departing warmth she could still embrace. “Yeah?”

  Between the two sisters, one harbored far less sunshine by nature. The glow Klare did carry was pleasant in its own way. “Thanks for the…stuff with the Thunderstorm. I would’ve been screwed.”

  Azia’s own smile was a reflex. So, too, was the teasing, gentle as it came. “We were all screwed, anyway.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “If you’re going to thank anyone, thank him,” she insisted, jabbing one thumb half-heartedly towards an anomaly at her side.

  Seleth waved playfully. When Klare’s eyes stayed locked onto Azia alone, he didn’t press. “You…know what I mean,” she repeated slowly. “I appreciate you.”

  Azia half-expected Kassy to interject, if not solely for the sake of reassurance offered to a beloved researcher. Instead, the librarian was simply aglow in a different manner altogether beside Klare. The alchemist kept Klare’s gratitude for herself. Jeering or not, she had no plans to compromise the smile it came with.

  “If I came back, I don’t know if everyone would be happy about it,” Azia began quietly. I still don’t know how the rest of the researchers feel about--”

  Klare shook her head. “Screw them, Azia. You saved their lives. You stood up to a damn Thunderstorm at our Institute. If anyone gives you grief, I’ll kick their ass.”

  Azia chuckled. “You know, you’d make a good alchemist, if you ever wanted to be one. You’ve got the personality for it. I think researchers are supposed to be a little more refined than this.”

  “Maybe I’ll kick your ass, too,” Klare muttered, albeit not without the tiniest of smirks once more.

  “But that means you’d get to live with me and Azia!” Kassy exclaimed much too loudly. “Maybe you can think about it?”

  If anything, the concept of reuniting with a librarian permanently might’ve been a catalyst for the opposite. Klare flinched. “Kassy, I’m a friggin’ researcher. We’re not doing this again.”

  “Do you want to come with us?”

  It was a question Azia expected to find on Kassy’s lips, first and foremost. If they came from her own, they’d be generous at best and naive at worst. When they came from Seleth, they were outright baffling.

  Azia’s gaze shot to his. Instead, his eyes were offered solely to Klare. He slipped his hands comfortably into his pockets. In the midst of collective silence, the researcher only stared.

  Klare found words, eventually. They didn’t mean much. “I…what?”

  Seleth shrugged, unfazed. “I mean, if we’ve got an alchemist and a researcher in the same place, wouldn’t that be helpful? We wouldn’t have to do all of this running-back-and-forth crap. You’re the one that said you were interested, anyway.”

  As to what she’d be interested in, Seleth didn’t tease. If Klare found his words to be cocky, she bit her tongue, just the same. He was being genuine. It was almost surreal, given the combination of an anomaly and a researcher left to blink in confusion.

  He turned to Azia, ultimately, still just as unhurried. “Would that be alright? It’d help, right?”

  Azia was quiet for a moment. “I…it might be useful to--”

  “She can do stuff besides fight, right?” Seleth asked, freeing one hand from his pocket to gesture lazily towards Klare.

  Whatever befuddlement Klare still held fizzled into aggravation. Her face did the same, and she scowled. “Do you think the ‘researcher’ part is just there for fun? Are you serious? Do you have any idea how hard I had to work for this?”

  “So, that’s a ‘yes,' then.”

  “Of course it’s a ‘yes,' you idiot!”

  Kassy was, again, more or less vibrating. She’d surpassed that much, really. Azia somewhat feared that whatever bubbling excitement was visibly spilling from her pores would kill her. At the very least, she hadn’t seen fit to smother Klare with love yet. “You’re gonna come back with us?” she asked, her voice oozing delight.

  It was enough for Klare to pinch the bridge of her nose. Azia figured it’d be Kassy who pushed her that far. Seleth probably wasn’t helping. If she consented, it would be a miracle. “I don’t know how useful I’m gonna be. And we’d be down one combat-certified unit. Out of, like, less than twenty. God forbid we get another Thunderstorm.”

  Whether or not it was Seleth’s idea, defending it was almost instinctive. “They’ll survive without you. They’ll get more units soon, hopefully. There’s a lot that I could use a second set of eyes for, to tell you the truth. I feel like having another routine perspective on things would be nice.”

  “And you won’t even have to deal with me by yourself,” Seleth joked. “Azia’s the only one who’s actually allowed to study me.”

  Klare lowered her hand, once more trading annoyance for confusion. She raised an eyebrow. “Who made that rule?”

  Azia didn’t dare let him say it. She cut Seleth off the moment she had the chance. “Look, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to. The offer is…there. If you’d prefer to stay here, I understand.”

  Klare paused. Her eyes fell into warm sands underfoot. “In all seriousness, I almost feel like I owe you for the--”

  “Azia.”

  The voice that carried down the steps was louder than she was used to it being. It was stronger, firmer, drifting far and interloping. Azia had learned it to be gentle, and she’d learned it to stay hidden behind four grand walls rising high. It wasn’t at all that she’d forgotten to say goodbye. If he intended to do so twice, he was apparently urgent about it.

  Azia’s eyes snapped to the top of the stairs at Klare’s back. Three gazes followed along, every bit as surprised by his presence alone. He was almost disheveled, his cloak ruffled and his hair much the same. Adjusting tipped glasses in the wake of his hurried flight seemed difficult, doubled over against his knees as he was. Azia was content to watch him catch his breath. At the very least, she returned his name in place of her own.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “Cailin?” she tried.

  When he raised his head, he was still gasping for his breath. If nothing else, it was steadier. Cailin did what he could to straighten up, with or without oxygen in full. “I…I was worried you…left already.”

  Seleth’s two-finger salute was to be expected, as was the shining grin that erupted almost instantly. “You came to say bye again, huh?”

  “Azia,” he repeated, if not softer. That, by comparison, was what she was used to.

  Plain as it came, she still eyed him with gentle confusion. “Is…everything okay?”

  Where Klare and Kassy only watched him in the same quiet, Seleth was content to tease. “You gonna miss us? If you want us to stay, all you’ve gotta do is a--”

  “Please take me with you.”

  His words were delicate and strong all at once. His gaze was the same, and he was unflinching atop the steps. Where Azia’s eyes widened, Cailin’s were just as firm. It was a confidence she hadn’t known him to carry.

  Cailin said nothing more, for a moment. Hesitantly or not, Azia pressed. “What?”

  Azia doubted she was the only one shocked, whether by five words in general or the shaky fists curled at his sides. His voice, instead, was level, and he stared her down from on high. “Take me…back with you,” Cailin repeated, just the slightest bit quieter.

  It took time to find words of her own. “You…want to come with us? Back to the Alchemist Institute?”

  Cailin inhaled. He exhaled. Azia could see the way each breath rattled by his shoulders alone. Again, his steady voice didn’t show the same. “Our objectives are…similar. I want to get rid of Precipitation. You want to bring the water back. I don’t think those are mutually exclusive goals, necessarily. I know you said that he’s the closest you’ve ever come to a solution, but…”

  His eyes drifted to Seleth, and Azia caught the way they softened. When she followed along, Seleth’s own eyes widened in turn. “He’s the closest I’ve ever come, too,” Cailin finished gently.

  Azia didn’t dare interrupt him. Cailin folded his hands together in front of him, content to embrace the rippling breeze as he spoke. In a way, blessed by desert winds ruffling his cloak, his delicate presence above was strangely strong. It was still unlike him. “I’m an astronomer. I’m a meteorologist. I’m a researcher at heart, and I can help with anything that you need. I can help the alchemists, if that’s what it takes to earn their trust. I’m willing to go as far as I have to.”

  “Cailin, you don’t have to ‘earn’ anything,” Azia insisted at last.

  “This is all I’ve ever wanted,” he begged, his tone finally faltering. “Please.”

  Again, she was silent. Two sisters and an anomaly echoed her quiet, for a moment, and only the same breeze against her scarf filled the gap. Azia wasn’t sure why she waited to begin with, and she lamented her hesitation after the fact. The suspense was unfair to Cailin, for how she’d known the answer from the moment he’d stepped onto the marble.

  Azia smiled up at him. “You didn’t have to ask.”

  Cailin was speechless. In place of words, briefly, she could just barely catch the shimmer in his eyes from here. When he found his voice, it was thick with disbelief. “You mean…”

  She declined to let him keep it. “Of course.”

  A shine so soft became brilliant starlight. It was the brightest smile she’d ever seen him offer up, still gentle in its own right. Azia enjoyed it for what it was, and she wished she could wipe away the tears that bubbled at the edges of his eyes.

  Seleth’s sparkle was infinitely more radiant, and always would be. His grin was almost blinding. His curt words very much did not match the explosive happiness on his face. “Thought you’d never say it.”

  “Well, damn. If he’s going, I guess I have to,” Klare mumbled to Azia's left. “If you take him and leave me, I’m gonna be pissed.”

  Azia side-eyed the girl endearingly. “I thought you had to think about it.”

  “Thought about it. Decided. You get two souvenir researchers, so be grateful for that.”

  Azia had expected Kassy to be overjoyed, actually, if not by Klare’s acceptance alone. Instead, her eyes were on Cailin, still stagnant atop the steps. She tilted her head. “Don’t you take care of all of the stars, though?”

  Cailin dabbed at his wet eyes with his sleeve. “I…yes, that’s true.”

  “Who’s going to run the observatory while you’re gone?” Kassy asked.

  When Cailin’s face fell in the slightest, his slipping smile was enough for Azia to lose her own. Her eyes on Kassy were sharper than they should’ve been. “You left the library, and someone stepped in to deal with that. You leave the library all the time, regardless. Don’t be a hypocrite.”

  Kassy took her venom well, blunted or not. She clasped her hands behind her back. “But that doesn’t take a lot of work.”

  “It’s supposed to,” Azia snapped.

  “We’ll get Shouri to do it,” Klare interrupted, stretching comfortably. “Drag him back by his ankles, if we have to. He’ll get over it.”

  Azia raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that the guy you said quit over the paperwork?”

  “He’s got a sister. Aura doesn’t screw around. If she says he’s coming back, he’s coming back. Whether or not he likes it is between the two of them.”

  “Which means you’ve got nothin’ to worry about,” Seleth continued, his eyes flickering up the stairs.

  Even devoid of further melancholy, Cailin’s eyes were forever shining. “That’s…thank you very much.”

  Azia put her hands on her hips. “Can you follow behind us? I’m not that good at handling three people on my bike at once.”

  His smile was back. That was much better. “That won’t be a problem. I have no issue driving.”

  Seleth’s eyes lit up for a different reason altogether. “Oh my God, he has a bike, too?”

  “Dude, most of us do,” Klare answered on his behalf, shifting her weight onto one foot.

  “You’re taking Kassy,” Azia insisted.

  “Seriously?”

  “It’s getting late,” she went on, her attention rising up the steps to Cailin once more. “How soon can you be ready? It’s a decent drive, and I wanted to make at least one stop in the middle of that. I’d still like to be back at the Institute before nightfall, so we really need to get going.”

  “Are we stopping in Raverna again?” Azia heard beside her.

  She was impressed that Seleth remembered the name, actually. Azia forewent praise, lest his possibly less-than-pure reactions end up before an audience of three. “Yeah. I want to keep Ginger involved with as much as I can, so there’s a few things I’m hoping to tell her on the way out. It’s more convenient than anything.”

  “As long as she’s gentle with me,” Seleth mumbled.

  She stifled a smirk in favor of Cailin, already nodding hurriedly in time with his words. “I-I won’t take long at all. Give me several minutes. Is that alright?”

  For how much he’d have to handle in several minutes alone, Azia almost felt bad pressuring him. The climbing sun wasn’t leaving her with much of a choice. “That’s alright. Do what you need to.”

  Cailin turned on his heel sharply enough that she feared he’d catch his own cloak underfoot. Ultimately, he was fine, and he carried the same glowing smile with him all the way past the doors. When he was out of sight, Azia side-eyed Klare once again. “You, too, you know.”

  “Fiiiine,” Klare conceded with a sigh.

  Her hands in her pockets spoke to anything but urgency, and her leisurely pace up the steps was much the same. Azia bit back a different kind of smirk. “Today,” she pressed.

  “I get there when I get there.”

  It had taken long enough for Kassy to start vibrating yet again, let alone cheering. She was amazed the librarian didn’t outright chase Klare up the steps. In lieu of pursuit, she bounced on her heels forever. “She’s coming with us, she’s coming with us, she’s coming with us!”

  There was an immense relief that came with knowing she wouldn’t have to transport a party of three again, at least. Bringing Seleth along was always a challenge enough. Still, for what glimmering happiness had settled onto his face over twofold company, Azia had more blessings than one. Seleth was of collective interest, and that had been bluntly established. The joy he got out of it, pure as it was, was finally a fair trade.

  Azia was fairly certain that the drive was faster, actually, if not by virtue of lessened weight on her bike. It was the first time in ages that she’d traversed in what vaguely resembled a caravan, two vehicles flanking her left and right respectively. Above the roar of every engine in unison, their voices were drowned and muffled. Kassy was easy enough to hear, as was always the case to begin with.

  The librarian offered up her exceedingly-vocal excitement to her sister alone, a prisoner to elated rambling for what literally amounted to hours. Azia was somewhat impressed that Klare didn’t opt to crash the bike solely for the sake of escape. She did, if nothing else, catch the absolute misery on Klare’s face each time she drove near enough. For as bad as she felt, it was a mildly hilarious way to kill time.

  Devoid of immediate company as he was, Cailin faced sprawling sands with calm. Azia had expected that much out of him, and he followed her lead without question. They both did, really. She’d forgotten to ask if either had ever been to Raverna, let alone if they’d ever set foot in the Alchemist Institute. As to the latter, she doubted it.

  Azia was somewhat excited to see their faces, in terms of experiencing the grand halls of her home. The town would be underwhelming, by comparison, and yet still sweet in its own right. If they were nervous about the Institute, foreign researchers as they were, neither one showed it. Azia respected their courage, given that she’d lacked the same before. To be fair, the circumstances weren’t quite identical.

  The journey had more benefits than one, granted. If possible, Azia would’ve preferred to avoid exposing Klare to an apothecary, for what clash of personalities that entailed. She feared the same with Cailin, albeit slightly less. It offered time for reprieve, at least, if not fuel and solid ground on which to stretch. She took her chances.

  The route to Ginger’s storefront wasn’t as difficult to chase the second time around, and she trailed every winding road with far less apprehension. Again, Azia was somewhat surprised at how well they kept up with her, weaving in and out of what traffic served to sever their lines of sight. If they were strangers to bustling towns, small or not, it didn’t show.

  She didn’t bother slowing down the second time, given her timetable and the dulling novelty for the anomaly at her back. The other three were independent, and they could explore as they pleased. He was stuck with her. She’d already gifted Seleth what visuals she could, and he was somewhat obligated to follow her focused path. Azia didn’t quite feel bad about it.

  He seemed happy enough with the flowers, anyway. Seleth hopped down from the back of her bike the moment she’d stilled, the vehicle lurching uncomfortably in the process. “So, does she actually sell these, or are they just for show?”

  Azia tapped the kickstand with her foot. “Most of the ones out here are decorative, if I remember correctly. The ones inside are medicinal. She’s an apothecary. Natural healing is a big part of what that comes with.”

  It probably wasn’t healthy for the little azaleas to succumb to prodding. Seleth did it anyway, one curious finger poking at what blossoms spilled beyond the sides of the pot at his feet. “Huh. At least they’re easy on the eyes.”

  “Even if they don’t do anything, they’re still really pretty!” Kassy added, swinging her feet over the edges of Klare’s bike.

  The researcher had never done more than steady herself in the road, just barely grazing her boot against the sidewalk. She was lucky that she wasn’t blocking traffic, frankly, given what trucks still passed her by on occasion. “You guys gonna be here awhile?” Klare asked.

  Azia nodded, adjusting her windswept scarf. “Not for too long, but long enough. I have a friend I want to talk with for a bit.”

  “We’re gonna get lunch. Do you want us to wait for you? Before we leave town, I mean?”

  Azia waved one hand dismissively. “You’re fine. We’re all going the same direction, anyway. Do you know how to get to the Institute?”

  “I do!” Kassy shouted gleefully, one hand shooting high in excitement. “I can help!”

  “And,” Klare interrupted, “I can figure it out.”

  She patted two confident fingers against the compass for emphasis. Azia smirked. “If you get lost out there, I’m not coming to find you.”

  Klare scoffed. “I can navigate fine. I wouldn’t need your help, anyway.”

  “Wouldn’t that mean you’d lose Kassy?” Seleth whispered to Azia alone.

  It wasn’t quiet enough, apparently, passing vehicles be damned. “No one’s losing anyone!” Klare snapped.

  Azia laughed. “Drive safe. Don’t forget to refuel before you head out. I’ll see you guys back there.”

  Already, she was tugging her wrist against the throttle impatiently. “You be safe, too. See you in a bit.”

  Klare didn’t quite kick up debris in her wake so much as she did scatter gravel, speckling Azia’s boots with the same. Even above the rumbling engine, Kassy’s voice was still unmistakable. It came with a wave, cast well over her shoulder as she disappeared down the road. “Bye, Azia!”

  She waved back. Seleth did the same, mildly distracted by flora or otherwise. Azia still wasn’t fully convinced that Klare actually knew where she was going. At this point, that was her problem.

  Seleth straightened up, still eyeing the array of blooming ceramics lining the walkway. “You should take me out to lunch, too, I think.”

  “You don’t even eat,” Azia shot back, gesturing aimlessly with confused hands.

  “Yes,” he said, “but I’m more interested in the atmosphere. I’ve been good lately. I’ve been behaving. I think that deserves a reward, right? One little date wouldn’t kill us.”

  She stole a scoff from a researcher long since departed. “I’m not taking you on a date, Seleth.”

  The way he leaned in fell somewhere between amusing and annoying. Azia went with the latter. “We could always switch places, instead. Happy to take you out wherever you want. My treat.”

  He didn’t even have any money. Azia would’ve been amazed if it had touched his hands since she’d learned of his existence. The whole concept was ridiculous, and she ignored him altogether. She was far more interested in the gentle click of different metal behind her, adjacent to her bike and just as soft as its rider. She’d almost forgotten that he was here at all, for as loud as three more travelers had been.

  Part of Azia thought he would’ve followed in Klare’s lead, if anything. The fact that he shook out his ruffled hair instead of leaving was a surprise. He greeted flowers with a smile equally gentle.

  “You’re not gonna go look around? Or get something to eat, or anything?” Azia asked.

  Cailin folded his hands in front of him. She was starting to get used to the politeness that came with the gesture. “Would I be…intruding if I stayed?”

  Azia returned his smile. “Not at all. I don’t know how much you’ll get out of this place, though.”

  She swept one arm across the length of the storefront, motioning towards glass doors and sprawling blossoms below. “This is my friend Ginger’s shop. She’s an apothecary. There were some things I wanted to talk to her about while we were in town again. I just wanted to make a quick stop here, if that was alright. You’re not obligated to stay, if you’d rather go do something else.”

  Cailin shook his head. “That sounds interesting, actually. Provided you’re willing to have me, I mean.”

  “This should be good,” Seleth mumbled with a grin. “She’s gonna eat him alive.”

  Azia elbowed him harshly. “Hush. You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t do the same to you.”

  He laughed it off. Cailin was immune to the quip, thankfully. He followed close behind an anomaly, and the latter followed behind Azia in turn. She was being somewhat genuine about her own jab, granted. As to how Ginger would react to several choice revelations, Azia was afraid to guess.