They cleared the platform in under two minutes.

  Evan barely noticed.

  He was guided to a bench near the far wall of the station, away from the tracks and the watching crowd. Someone handed him a bottle of water he didn’t remember asking for. His hands shook enough that he had to hold it with both hands to keep from spilling.

  Ms Calder stood a few steps away, speaking quietly into a small black device pressed against her palm. It didn’t look like a phone, but it behaved like one—soft light pulsing beneath the surface, symbols flickering briefly before disappearing.

  She lowered it and turned to him.

  Up close, she looked older than Evan had first thought. Late forties, maybe. Her face was narrow and serious, with sharp grey eyes and faint lines around her mouth, as if she rarely smiled. Everything about her suggested control.

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  “Evan Holt,” she said again, as though testing the name. “You live in the southern district of Westbridge. No registered magical relatives. No prior incidents.”

  Evan nodded slowly. “I think so.”

  “That wasn’t a question.”

  “Oh. Then—yes.”

  Ms Calder studied him in silence. The hum had faded now, the glowing lines gone as if they’d never existed. But the feeling remained. Evan could still sense something warm and restless beneath his skin, like a held breath that hadn’t been released.

  “Have you ever experienced anything unusual?” she asked.

  Evan hesitated. “Unusual how?”

  Objects moving on their own. Lights flickering. Sounds without source.

  He shook his head. “No. I mean—sometimes streetlights go out when I walk past, but I thought that was just… old wiring.”

  Ms Calder’s expression tightened, just slightly.

  “Anyone ever tell you that you make rooms feel warmer?” she continued.

  Evan frowned. “My mum used to say I was like a walking radiator.”

  Ms Calder looked away for half a second.

  That scared him more than if she’d shouted.

  “You won’t be boarding today’s train,” she said. “You’ll come with me.”

  Evan’s stomach dropped. “Where?”

  She met his eyes. “Somewhere with better answers.

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