The dead zone announced itself with silence.
Victor raised his fist and Snow Team froze instantly. "Formation C," he said, calm and unhurried.
They moved without question. Rose and Kai widened the perimeter. Voss stayed just behind Victor's shoulder, eyes already mapping angles and collapse points.
Felicity remained centered, posture relaxed, magic resting beneath her skin like a held breat
"They are not roaming," Voss murmured. "Too still."
"They are stacked," Victor replied. "Waiting for pressure."
The pressure came from below. The first dead burst from shattered doorways and alley mouths, bodies moving with intention rather than hunger. Their steps were coordinated. Their eyes tracked.
Victor went first.
His wings snapped open, frost racing across the pavement as he surged forward. The front line broke on him, bodies folding and shattering under the impact. Fire followed ice, searing through clusters before they could regroup.
"East side surge," Voss called. "Two lanes deep." Tommy lifted his hands, panic flaring. "I can not hold that."
Felicity turned to him. Her voice was soft. Not loud. Not commanding.
"You can," she said gently. "You already know how."
Tommy swallowed hard. "I do not."
She stepped closer, careful not to crowd him. "Yes you do. You listen better than you think. The water listens to you."
His ears flushed red. Victor glanced back once. "Tommy. Flood the east block."
Tommy squeaked something unintelligible.
Felicity smiled at him, warm and encouraging. "It does not have to be perfect. Just start."
Something in her tone clicked.
Tommy slammed his palms down. Water tore free from underground pipes and burst through basements, surging into the street in a roaring wave.
Zombies lost footing instantly, bodies tangling and colliding.
"I am doing it," he breathed.
"You are," Felicity said softly. "You are doing wonderfully."
Tommy froze for half a second. Then panicked harder. "Oh no." The street shuddered.
"Large mass incoming," Voss warned. "Under us."
The ground split open as a fused horror dragged itself free, bodies stitched together by sinew and old magic. Its scream vibrated through bone and concrete.
Victor stepped forward immediately, wing arcing around Felicity as debris flew.
His hand pressed briefly to her shoulder, steady and grounding.
"Stay with me," he said quietly.
She rested her fingers against his wrist. "I am here."
"Tommy," Victor called. "Vertical pressure."
Tommy turned, eyes wide. "I am still processing the praise."
Felicity laughed softly. "Focus for me, yes. Lift it."
His face went completely red. "For you," he squeaked.
Water surged upward, spiraling around the fused mass.
Felicity closed her eyes and threaded calm through him, her magic riding her words, reinforcing confidence instead of force. "Breathe," she murmured. "You are safe. You are capable. I am right here."
Tommy inhaled shakily. The water stabilized.
"Now," Victor said.
Felicity opened her eyes. "Freeze it." Tommy snapped his fingers.
The column crystallized instantly. Victor launched upward, fire blazing, and drove straight through the core of the frozen mass. It shattered, raining debris and body parts across the street.
Silence followed.
Victor turned immediately. "Report."
"Still alive," Rose said.
"Emotionally compromised," Kai added, eyeing Tommy.
Tommy stared at his hands. "She said I did wonderfully."
Felicity stepped beside him and placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Because you did."
He made a small, broken noise and nodded furiously.
Victor brushed blood from Felicity's cheek with careful fingers and leaned down just enough to rest his forehead briefly against hers.
"Well led," he said. She smiled, soft and luminous.
"Always." Behind them, the fog thinned. The dead zone was quiet again. And Tommy would never recover.
Victor led them back into Tidehaven at dusk.
The gates opened before he reached them, water parting smoothly as if the city itself recognized him now.
Snow Team followed in tight formation, blood rinsed from armor, fatigue worn openly.
The residents watched from balconies and walkways again, but the looks had changed. They were no longer curious.
They were impressed. Tommy nearly tripped over a raised stone lip just inside the gate.
Rose caught him by the collar without breaking stride. "Careful, hero. Try not to drown in the victory lap."
"I froze an entire monster," Tommy protested. "An entire one."
"You screamed first," Rose said sweetly. "That was emotional preparation."
Felicity hid her smile behind her hand. Victor did not slow.
He nodded once to the guards and continued forward, presence calm and assured, like he had always belonged inside walls like these.
Voss walked beside him, already murmuring about choke points, traffic flow, and what districts would riot first if food shipments failed.
"They are watching who you follow," Voss said quietly.
Victor glanced back at Snow Team, then at Felicity walking in the center, relaxed and glowing faintly with spent magic. "Let them."
Housing assignments were announced that night.
Pia framed it as generosity. "Contracted mercenaries require rest," she said, gesturing toward a cluster of buildings overlooking the inner basin. "Private quarters. Reinforced. Close to command."
Rose squinted. "That is suspiciously nice."
"It is also very visible," Voss added.
Felicity tilted her head, thoughtful. "You want us close."
Pia met her gaze. "I want to know where my investments sleep."
Victor stepped forward. "We will accept."
Pia blinked, surprised.
Victor continued evenly. "Because refusing would turn this into a problem. And we do not need problems."
Felicity smiled at him. The housing itself was beautiful.
Wide rooms carved from pale stone, water flowing through narrow channels along the walls, warm light embedded into the ceiling like trapped sunset. Each room locked independently.
Each window overlooked a different section of Tidehaven.
Rose flopped onto a cushioned bench. "I hate that I love this."
Tommy wandered to the window, pressing his face to the glass. "There are fish inside the building."
"Focus," Rose said. "You almost died today."
"But she said I did wonderfully."
Rose sighed. "We are never getting rid of that."
The knock came later. Calder did not wait for an invitation. He leaned against the doorway like he owned the hall, armor stripped down to a reinforced undershirt, arms crossed comfortably. His presence filled the space the same way Victor's did, heavy and undeniable.
"Good work today," he said, eyes on Felicity. "That thing under the district was old. You handled it cleanly."
Victor stepped half a pace forward. Calder noticed. Smiled wider. "You lead well," Calder said to him. "But she anchors you."
Felicity raised a brow. "I am standing right here."
"I know," Calder replied easily. "That is the problem."
Rose made a gagging noise.
Tommy looked between them, alarmed.
Felicity studied Calder with gentle curiosity. "You use earth."
Calder's smile shifted. "Stone, pressure, fault lines. I grew up underground. Mining town before the coast fell. Learned early how to feel what was about to collapse."
He tapped the wall with his knuckles. The stone hummed softly in response. "I do not throw rocks," he continued. "I persuade them."
Victor's eyes narrowed slightly. Calder leaned closer, voice dropping. "You do that too. With people."
Felicity did not retreat. "I listen."
"That is worse," Calder said warmly.
Pia watched from the far end of the corridor, expression unreadable.
Calder straightened. "If you ever want a team that does not orbit you like moons," he said lightly, "mine is available."
Felicity smiled, kind and absolute. "Thank you. I am very happy where I am."
Calder laughed, genuine and unbothered. "For now."
He nodded once to Victor, respectful but challenging, and walked away.
When he was gone,
Tommy exhaled loudly. "I did not like that."
Rose smirked. "Congratulations. You have instincts."
Victor closed the door himself.
Snow Team settled into the quiet hum of Tidehaven around them. Above the water. Inside the walls.
And entirely too visible for comfort.