Azure came storming in like the door hadn’t slowed her at all. She burst into the living room, catching her breath like she had run all the way from Wellspring. The apothecary in the market district we inherited after our parents’ death. I stepped away from the pot of boiling stew simmering on the gas stove to greet her. Gently grabbing her shoulders and rubbing her frozen arms. Frost had begun nipping at her misted skin; she really must have been running fast for the wind to hurt her that badly. She was the more magically inclined out of the two of us, her ties to our elemental lineage much stronger than my own; hence her misty skin that turned to ice in the cold. It made winters here in the north deadly for someone like her should she forget an extra layer of clothing. I pity her condition, but still envy her magical abilities, having been granted them innately, unlike me. Though I suppose Wizard’s college isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be.

  “Bluebird, what’s the matter?” I asked her when I saw the concern etched on her gentle face. She looked at me as she shrugged off her coat, her big, round eyes like worried pearls.

  “The runes, Sight, Calling, Ruin. I think they’re talking about Leo and Yann?k!” She

  breathed.

  “You know how they’ve been acting distant lately. And I ran into Leo on the way back from work. She needed red glow powder.” She looked perplexed. Like she didn’t know what to make of the situation, even though she was far superior at reading runes out of the two of us. I didn’t know what to say. Yann?k had been distant lately, that much is true. I couldn’t say much about Leonora. I rarely saw her other than when she followed Yann?k around, which he never seemed to appreciate. Gathering my thoughts, I spoke.

  “Azure, I’m sure they’re alright. Yann?k would have told you if something was wrong, don’t you think?

  “I hope you’re right. Why would she need glowdust, though?” She asked.

  “It’s their birthday tomorrow. Maybe she’s doing something nice.” I shrugged, offering her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. She clearly needed comfort. Leave it to Azure to let her feelings run away with her. Another side effect of her innate affinity. That part I did not envy; my sister had enough feelings for both of us to last several lifetimes. I let her toss her coat and bag on the entranceway floor while I set the table. When she was in a mood like this, it was no use arguing cleanliness with her, lest I want my lungs filled with fluid.

  I ignored her sighs as I sat down in front of her bowl of food. She didn’t seem in the mood to talk, so I didn’t. Instead, while we ate, I buried my face in a textbook regarding the usage of ritualistic materials. I couldn’t deny that Leonora’s need for the glowdust intrigued me. She really wasn’t the type who had the patience for rituals, or for much of anything. Hence, the reason neither Yann?k nor I wanted her around much. Her volatile nature causing more trouble than it’s worth. Nothing the book detailed was of any help in making sense of what she could need it for. I could only hope it was for something birthday-related. Then it struck me, we’re supposed to be going out tonight. I had completely forgotten. I looked up from the book to see Azure already halfway through her bowl, like she was hurrying.

  “Are you sure you’re alright to go?” I asked her, not wanting her mood to turn tonight into a disaster.

  “Yes, I’m okay. I have to go, we’re celebrating his birthday. Plus, it’s my plan, I can’t really bail.” She laughed, trying to smile, ending in what looked more like a grimace.

  “Whatever you say, sister dear.” I smiled back at her.

  She nodded but kept eating quickly, eyes down. It wasn’t like her to rush a meal. Something in her shoulders was tight, wound up like a spring.

  And maybe it was the silence between us, or the runes earlier, or simply the way she worried, but I found myself thinking of Yann?k. Of how he’d been acting lately. I almost told myself I was imagining it. I wanted to. But the truth was, he hadn’t been himself for weeks now. Little things at first. Too little for Azure to notice, or maybe she just trusted him too much to question. He’d started pausing mid-thought, staring off at something nobody else could see.

  His smiles were delayed, as if he had to remember how to form them. Sometimes he laughed at things that weren’t funny, or didn’t laugh at things that were. And when he thought no one was watching, he’d look… hollow. Not empty, that was too simple. More like he was listening to something too far away for the rest of us to hear. Two days ago, when he’d stopped by the shop, sunlight caught his eyes, and for a moment, I swear, it wasn’t Yann?k looking back at me. Just something wearing him like a coat two sizes too small. Azure touched his arm, and he snapped out of it instantly. He always did with her. And I’d pretended not to notice. Pretended there wasn’t that flicker of dread curling low in my stomach. Pretended none of it mattered because the alternative was admitting that something was wrong with him.

  Azure sighed and set her spoon down. “If something had happened,” she murmured, “he would’ve told me.”

  “Maybe he didn’t want you to worry,” I said. My voice didn’t sound convinced. “You know how he is.”

  She nodded again, but the tension in her shoulders didn’t ease. Her magic thrummed under her skin like a quiet warning.

  “If he’s involved in something…” I hesitated, then forced the words out gently. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

  But as I said it, that hollow-eyed moment flashed through my mind again, and this time, I didn’t brush it off.

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  Something was going on with him. Something neither of us had the tools to understand.

  I knew she would be fine tonight, or appear fine, at least she was emotionally intelligent enough not to let her feelings run all too rampant. If anything, she’d be her usual giddy self all night, and I would have to deal with the burnout once we got back home. It wasn’t the first time she did something like this. Running herself into the ground just to make sure everything and everyone else was alright. I’d tried to tell her hundreds of times that it wasn’t going to hold, but she never listened. I can only hope that when she gets older, she’ll understand, she’s only eighteen after all, I sure hadn’t learned to carry myself like a proper adult until I was at least twenty. Funny how life thrusts that kind of responsibility onto you when you least of all want it. Now is not the time to sulk. With the sun dipping below the horizon, we had at most half an hour before the tables at the tavern would be filled, and our plans would fall all the way through. I drank down the last of my stew before standing and heading for my room to get dressed. I wasn’t going to meet my friends dressed in clothes reeking of smelling salts and tomato stew. I hadn’t found the time to do laundry this week, so clean clothes were embarrassingly difficult to find. Between my studies and Azure working at the apothecary, there was no one around to deal with the menial chores, leaving piles of not-quite-dirty, not-quite-clean clothing lying around our small home. I threw on a decently clean button-up shirt and a linen vest. Nothing all too fancy; I wouldn’t want to outshine the perpetually overdressed Yann?k. Hopefully, I don’t smell too much like dust and old books. Not that anyone would notice, as soon as we stepped into that dingy tavern, all smell other than stale mead and sweat would vanish. If Azure didn’t love the place, I never would have set foot inside. The things you do for your family.

  Azure was already waiting by the door when I emerged, arms folded, foot tapping an agitated beat against the floorboards. She’d tied her hair back in a loose knot, strands still damp from rinsing her face. Good, at least she wasn’t crying.

  “Ready?” she asked, though she was the one staring holes through the wood of the door.

  “As I’ll ever be.” I pulled on my boots and joined her. She stepped outside first into the evening air, cloak brushing my leg as I followed. The door clicked shut behind us, and the quiet of the street settled around us like a thin film. The walk to the tavern didn’t take long. The silence stretched between us, long enough that the usual city sounds, laughter, cart wheels, and a distant dog barking. It felt like noise intruding on something private. My thoughts drifted back to the runes. To the uneasy pulse in the magic of the city. To Yann?k, staring at nothing with eyes that weren’t completely his anymore. Azure shivered, rubbing her forearm again. The glow under her skin flickered faintly. “You feel that?” I asked quietly.

  She nodded. “It’s getting stronger.” “Does it hurt?”

  “No,” she said. Then after a beat: “It’s just… loud.”

  I didn’t like that answer. We passed a group of sailors throwing dice in an alley. One of them whistled when Azure walked by, but she didn’t even notice. Good, she wasn’t in the mood to drown anyone tonight.

  “You think the tavern’s gonna be crowded?”Azure asked me, rubbing her arms beneath her open cloak.

  “It’s always crowded,” I said quietly. “Especially on a market week.” “Hmm.” Her eyes drifted to the sky. “Storm coming.”

  I followed her eyes. The clouds were gathering thick and heavy, swallowing what little starlight there was. The wind picked up, brushing my cheek with a cold, metallic taste. Magic again, too familiar, too sharp. Not Azure’s. Not mine. Something else. Azure shivered, rubbing the glowing lines on her forearms through the cloak. They pulsed once in response, like a heartbeat.

  “You felt that?” I lowered my voice, more awake now, more alert at the sight of her reaction. “Yes.” She nodded with a grim look on her face.

  “What is it?”I asked.

  “I don’t know. Nothing good.” She sighed, concern back in her voice.

  “Do not tell Yann?k any of this.” She said, her voice cold and stern. “We can’t ruin his night.” Every time I’d tried to warn him before, it only made things worse. He shut down, or pulled away, or decided I was overreacting. I couldn’t risk that tonight. We walked faster after that. The streets grew narrower as we approached the lower ward, the part where the tavern always smelled like smoke, spice, and spilled ale no matter the hour. Laughter spilled out from the nearest alley, a rowdy chorus of half-drunk sailors playing cards under a flickering lamppost. We didn’t speak; there wasn’t much to say. Azure was stuck in her own bubble, trying to push her concern away. Hopefully, just seeing Yann?k and seeing that he’s alright will make her forget all about it. A shout echoed somewhere up ahead. We both stopped. The kind of stop that happens when your body feels the danger before your mind does. I stepped in front of Azure, doing my best to be an older brother. Then Azure relaxed when it became clear, some tavern drunk shouting at a stray dog. Nothing unusual.

  “Basin…” Azure murmured, watching me.

  Her magic didn’t relax. It curled tighter under her skin, restless, agitated. “It’s fine, Bluebird. Calm down.” I reassured her.

  We continued down the last stretch of road in silence. The tavern was only a few streets away now. I could already hear the muffled din of voices, clattering plates, and the occasional burst of laughter that sounded too forced to be genuine. A storm of social chaos, I had absolutely no desire to walk into. Azure slowed a little as the warm, flickering glow of the tavern windows came into view. Her magic pulsed again under her skin, not painfully, more like a warning tapping at her ribs.

  She swallowed hard. “Do you think he’s already there?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “But if he is, we’ll figure out what’s wrong.”

  She didn’t tell me she believed me. She didn’t have to.

  We reached the tavern door. The wood was warm from the lantern above, scarred by years of drunks slamming into it. I pushed it open for her, and the roar of heat, smell, and sound washed over us like a wave. It should have felt comforting, but I could tell Azure was still on edge even though she was trying to hide it. Elemental magics are known to be temperamental, water especially so. Surges weren’t uncommon for Azure, but to see her feeling like this put me on edge as well. Especially with everything that’s been going on. This wasn’t normal; usually, she would handle it and be alright. This is different, so I did the only thing I could think of to cheer her up. I felt bad for Yann?k, but it brought a smile to her face. Just like I knew it would. If Azure loves anything more than seeing her friends happy, it’s seeing her friends fall victim to her incessant games.