Averyn's POV
By the time we hit the second block, we split up. Nothing dramatic—no awkward goodbyes, no arguments about how to do things. Just this quiet understanding that sticking together made us stand out too much.
We caught each other's eyes, and that was it. No need to say anything. We all got it.
Carmira went with Ruelle. Earth and air—kept each other steady.
Jade grabbed Gianna and pulled her along. Lightning and fire together? Terrible idea, which probably meant it would work.
Vynessa stayed close to me. Water and light. We didn't bother explaining. We never did.
We moved fast, but not so fast that we drew attention. Not running, just going quick enough that talking didn't feel right.
The city felt packed today. Tires hissed on the wet streets. A bus groaned past, sounding tired, like it just wanted to go home.
People laughed—way too loud—and their voices cut through the air. Underneath everything, though, there was this hum. It pressed low and constant against my ribs.
Every time we passed a puddle, I felt it more. A dripping pipe, a line of water crawling down a shop window—suddenly, I noticed everything. My senses stretched out and just wouldn't snap back.
I tried to tune it out. Mostly, I managed.
Vynessa leaned in and whispered, "You feel it too."
Not really a question.
I just nodded. "Like the world's… listening back."
"That's what light does," she said. "It shows you things you'd rather ignore."
Honestly, that didn't help at all.
We walked down the old market street. Cracked tiles everywhere, stalls half-shuttered, tarps hanging low. Somewhere nearby, water splashed into a rusted bucket, dripping from a pipe that looked like it had given up years ago. The air tasted metallic and wet.
I didn't mean to, but my feet dragged.
Then I saw it.
A thin line of water crept along the curb, moving against the slope. I held my breath.
Vynessa opened her mouth. "That's not—"
"I know."
The stream stopped.
For a moment, nothing moved.
Then it twisted sharply, folding in on itself. Tight, tight, until there was only the spiral and the emptiness inside it. My heart hammered so hard it hurt.
No wind at all.
She didn't laugh. Didn't make a joke out of it.
No cars. Nothing on the street. This wasn't some random accident. Something was here, using this place.
I crouched, pressing my hand to the rough sidewalk. The second I touched it, everything snapped into focus. Water had carried prints along this path—always had, really. Cold bit at my skin.
Fear crept in. Footsteps echoed, but I couldn't tell if they were mine or someone else's. A command pushed me forward, not spoken, but sharp and undeniable. Go. Move.
I whispered, "Move." But it was already too late.
Suddenly, the spiral twisted up, thin as a razor, slicing through the air toward my face. Reflex kicked in, and I threw my hand out.
A flash—ice, bright and clear. The blade stopped, suspended just inches from my nose. My breath hit it, and everything froze.
Vynessa stepped forward, her light sharp and almost blinding. The silver bits from the frozen arc broke apart before they even hit the ground, fading into harmless mist.
"Prove yourself," she said.
Her voice didn't waver. Too calm, honestly.
No one answered. Still, that pressure didn't let up. It shifted. Footsteps started getting closer.
Jade showed up first, eyes sharp and searching. Gianna followed, a faint spark dancing on her fingers until she forced it away.
Did you feel that too? Gianna asked.
"Yeah," I said. "And whatever it is, it's testing us."
Jade muttered a curse. "Of course it is."
I got up, slow, trying to act normal. The water at the curb quietly slipped back where it belonged.
Lies.
Vynessa looked at me. "It wasn't random. It was aimed at you."
I said, "Because I reacted."
She shook her head, voice barely above a whisper. "No. It wanted to see how you'd respond."
Above us, the tarps shifted, even though the air was dead still. Not so much as a breeze.
Then, all at once, every shiny surface on the street seemed to ripple—windows, puddles, even the wet gleam on the stones. Subtle enough that nobody else noticed.
But we saw it. Gianna took a breath, let it out slow. "Well. That's new."
Jade stepped in close, dropped her voice. "Be honest. You wanted to freeze it, didn't you?"
I hesitated.
It felt like I'd been waiting inside forever. My hand tingled where the ice touched it. Not cold, just—tingling. Get up.
Vynessa looked at us. "We can't pretend this is just some accident anymore." The Codex didn't just wake us up. It outed us.
That word pressed against my chest: outed. Declared. But to who?
Thunder rolled somewhere above us, but the sky was clear. No clouds. No storm. Just a sign.
Something out there had figured out what I could do with water. It wasn't impressed. More like curious. Or maybe worse than that.
Jade snapped her head up. "That didn't sound like weather."
Gianna's voice barely carried. "It wasn't."
The hum under the city grew—not louder, exactly. Closer.
I let the feeling wash over me for a moment, eyes shut. The ground pressed up through my boots. Damp air clung to my skin. Somewhere below, pipes wound through Evershade like veins—leaking, always leaking.
Something brushed against all of it. Not touching, exactly. More like it was tracing the lines, learning the shape of things.
As it slid closer to Vynessa, her glow faded, pulling in on itself. She was bracing. Focused.
She whispered, "It's not attacking."
"Not yet," I told her.
Another ripple spread across the puddle at our feet. This one didn't break the surface. It bounced back instead, like it was turning the puddle into a mirror. For a split second, I caught a glimpse—something that wasn't us stared back from the reflection.
A shadow. Tall. Warped. Watching. Then it slipped away. The water stopped moving. The pipe resumed dripping. The market street began to breathe again.
Jade let out a slow breath. "Tell me you all saw that, please."
Vynessa and I together said, "Yes."
Gianna shook her head once. "So what?"
There was fear. It pulled at the edges of my mind. But beneath it—Something colder. Sharper.
Ready.
I muttered, "We stop reacting." "We start to listen."
Over the communication device we barely trusted, Ruelle's voice came through in a soft crackle.
"Averyn? Are you there?"
"Yes."
Near the park, something shifted. The air pressure dropped. As if a vacuum was forming.
It made my stomach fall.
Then it slipped away.
Vynessa grumbled, "It's moving."
No.
It didn't move. It was growing. It hadn't been enough to check one location. It wanted more.
This time, the thunder shook the ground below us. Not from above.bBut from below. Something ancient has detected our the awakened magic for the first time somewhere in Evershade.
It echoed too.
I looked down at the puddle one last time.
The water's surface looked back at me.
Unblinking.
Ripples are honest.
And this was only the beginning.