Azia did, ultimately, let Ginger have her way. Establishing her singular boundary took forever.

  Innocent checks of his reflexes were fine. Testing his hearing was permissible. The cognitive test was probably unnecessary, and there was no reason for Seleth to blush again as Ginger assessed his skin in full--short of the same rippling discomfort Azia almost pitied.

  It was skin left intact, ultimately, and that was what mattered most. Azia would never admit to the way that she did, in fact, lament losing her chance to have a turn with his blood. She’d have other opportunities to mess with it, ideally, and none would be born of unethical sharp objects.

  Azia didn’t let Ginger see the sleeping bubble, given what scrutiny that would’ve led to. She didn’t give the apothecary the chance to torture Seleth's digestive system, either--provided he had one at all, structurally. At the very least, Ginger hadn’t held them hostage at sunrise. By no means was Azia ungrateful for the help, particularly given that she’d sought out the woman in the first place. Sadistic company was still preferable to three more hours of infinite sand--vividly cramped as it would be.

  They were refueled in more ways than one, whether via gasoline, breakfast, or sunshine. Azia had enough sunshine at her back, granted, once more utterly glued to her waist and immune to quiet. Given their ultimate destination, she couldn’t fault Kassy. Still, she was again blessed with the relief that was the librarian’s eternal conversation partner. Seleth spared Azia of exactly one headache. That much was new.

  True sunshine, born of fire and beating down onto her head, was welcome. The forecast held up, and Azia prayed it would continue to do so. Just as had been the case yesterday, she still clung to the same paranoia all the way there. Not one drop of Rain fell to curse her skin, miniscule or otherwise. Three hours were cloudless, marked only by ambient discussion and sweltering heat. Versus what it could’ve been, she was blessed.

  Azia remembered the route, whether or not it had been a while. The little compass ticking away on her dashboard helped, tiny arrows spearing towards civilization she only half-missed. There was apprehension that came with sharing Seleth, in truth. It was still necessary. If nothing else, they couldn’t possibly handle him any rougher than Ginger had.

  The faintest speck of cream beyond eternal sands was a blur, at first. It grew larger with each passing second, and she no longer needed to squint. Azia always loathed the way her stomach lurched before she’d confirmed the color in full. Logically, she was going the right way. Logically, there were no hints of blue mixed with soft whites. Logically, the ocean was at her back. She was still far from home, and it was still instinctive.

  “That’s it! I see it! Azia, do you see it?”

  Were she wrong about the building, Kassy would’ve known first, anyway.

  For now, Azia could smile, with or without her shoulders being so forcibly shaken. “I see it,” she affirmed, albeit far more calmly.

  She didn’t need to clarify for Seleth. Kassy took care of that, too. “Seleth, that’s what it looks like! Can you see it from here?”

  Azia was somewhat curious as to how he could angle his head to see the Institute at all, given his positioning. Frankly, if he fell off, she wasn’t certain she’d stop to pick him up. He’d managed to glimpse the horizon, apparently. “The white thing over there?”

  “Yeah!”

  “Huh. Damn, we went far. They really couldn’t have built it any closer to the alchemists’ place?”

  Azia’s eyes were locked firmly ahead, clinging to the same soft shades as they grew yet taller. “That’s just how it is. They needed their space, and we needed ours. We were pursuing different things, and so our locations ended up being more distant.”

  “I’m guessin’ you don’t go here that much, then,” Seleth tried.

  It hadn’t changed since last time to begin with, and the same towering pillars still lined the curvature of the building. Shining eaves made for an excellent beacon. What sunlight didn’t blind her as it bounced to the world below instead guided her path. Azia doubted Seleth was the type to appreciate architecture.

  With certainty, it wouldn’t be his biggest concern. The tidal wave of shadow that crashed down onto arid sands was promising, and she spurned the bike just the slightest bit faster. Shelter was almost more welcoming than the environment itself.

  Azia drew to a steady halt in the midst of her shady sea, digging her boot into the sand. She’d circled the building correctly, much to her relief, and it left her two grand doors richer. The ignition never even surrendered before her waist was set free, and she’d hardly gotten a chance to deploy the kickstand. The entire bike lurched beneath her.

  Kassy nearly stumbled in the process of leaping onto the cool earth, scrambling for traction as her sandals betrayed her. The moment she found composure, she found marble in turn, rising and elevated. She stole the steps two at a time and abandoned an alchemist altogether.

  Azia hardly made it as far as her name. “Kassy--”

  “I’ll catch up with you later! I’m gonna go see where she is!”

  “Kassy, wait a--”

  She nearly slammed into the doors themselves. It was somewhat of a miracle that she didn’t hit her face, and her body weight sufficed to let the Institute swallow her whole. “Bye!” Kassy called, her voice splattered with unnecessary excitement.

  Azia sighed. She dismounted the vehicle in peace, by comparison, going through what motions left it silent. Part of her awaited Seleth’s voice, jeering or otherwise. When she found nothing, she sincerely wondered if she had dropped him in the desert.

  Turning her head brought relief, if not mild confusion. He was, by no means, immune to confusion of his own. Really, he seemed more overwhelmed than anything, wide eyes drinking in the magnificent splendor that was the scholarly haven. He slipped his hands into his pockets absentmindedly, his gaze crawling so high up the walls that Azia feared he’d break his neck.

  “It’s very…round,” Seleth said plainly.

  Azia stifled a laugh. “That’s how it’s built, yes.”

  With his eyes still nearly scraping the sky, he tilted his head. “Why’s the roof shaped like that?”

  She followed his line of sight upwards, albeit with far more care given to her spine. “That’s the observatory.”

  “Observatory?” Seleth echoed.

  Splashed with infinite sunshine as the roof in question was, there was no reason for lights less natural to be on. They were, apparently, peeking through tiny windows above. The dichotomy in color was disorienting. “Yeah. They study the stars up there. Other stuff, too.”

  Seleth finally found his grin. “Oh, they are fancy as hell here. You guys don’t have that at your place, right?”

  Azia smiled, pulling her eyes down to earth once more. “To be fair, they don’t have a laboratory. Like I said, we’ve both got our own needs. They’re researchers. They do research. We’re alchemists. We…do alchemy,” she concluded with a shrug.

  Seleth, too, reclaimed his gaze. She was still shocked that he hadn’t hurt his neck. He stretched comfortably, handing her the same grin instead. “It’s alright. I think I might have a bit of a preference for alchemists. I’m loyal. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”

  Azia raised an eyebrow playfully. “I wasn’t worried until you said that. I’m not dropping you off here, you know. Consider this an excursion.”

  Seleth’s smile caught something predictably annoying. “You wouldn’t be able to get rid of me in the first place. I’d track you down across this whole damn desert. I know you wouldn’t leave your anomaly out on his own, regardless. I’m too special.”

  She grimaced. It was the best she could do to contribute to swallowing harsher words. With one sweeping gesture towards doors much quieter than he was, Azia tried to be nice. “Welcome to the Tenaveris Research Institute,” she strained.

  Smug satisfaction never ended. For exactly one second of her life, Azia pondered what would’ve happened if she left him here.

  She hadn’t actually bothered to count how long it had been since she’d set foot on the marble. It didn’t matter how many times Seleth asked--nor Kassy, previously. It had been long enough that Azia had had to reacclimate, drinking in stretching corridors and curving halls. There was self-consciousness that came with an emblem usually so precious, borne proudly upon her shoulder.

  Stark oranges and gentle blues meant little in the face of those clad in red, pure shapes steeped in scarlet instead. She alone represented ideologies from the opposite side of the desert, and she probably deserved the stares she got for it. Azia wasn’t ashamed in the slightest. She was, at least, uncomfortable.

  As to whether or not the lead researcher was still the same, she wasn’t sure. Finding him was difficult enough, anyway, and her contacts within the Institute were scattered--if not limited. Provided Kassy didn’t beat her to finding one of them, she’d be fine. It left her wandering awkwardly, hesitant to reach out for guidance. The glaive jostling on her back, the gear she had little reason to don, and the oddly-dressed boy at her side most definitely were not doing her favors with blending in.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Do you know where you’re going?” Seleth murmured, leaning in close.

  Azia resisted the urge to snap at him. “I think so. I want to let the lead researcher know we’re here. I haven’t explained anything about this whole…situation yet.”

  “People keep staring at us,” he observed, his eyes drifting less-than-subtly to a peeking researcher so near. “Any particular reason?”

  “Well, yeah. You’re not gonna find an alchemist here very often,” she explained. “Or whatever you are.”

  Once more, his hands grew nestled comfortably into his pockets as he walked. “Did you tell anyone you were coming?”

  Azia’s eyes scanned endless halls for anyone less than foreign. “I probably should’ve. There’s one person I’d prefer to have help me out, if I can find them. I don’t remember which room is hers. I don’t…remember where everyone’s personal rooms are to begin with, really.”

  Seleth eyed her with a smirk. “You’re sure you’ve been here before?”

  “Shut up,” she spat. “I’ll figure it out.”

  “Why don’t you just stop and ask someone where she is?” he suggested. “Or, like, where we are.”

  Azia was quiet for a moment. “I don’t want to talk to more people than I have to.”

  Seleth’s face fell. “Why?”

  It would’ve been easier to count the windows that passed her by, or to track her every echoing footstep as they mingled with those of strangers. It would’ve been a welcome distraction from counting how many eyes fell to her again and again. Azia fidgeted with the hem of her shirt uncomfortably, whether or not she intended to. “Not all of them are huge fans of alchemists. I said this before, but we’re cordial. That doesn’t mean we love each other. We’ve got one common goal, yes, but that doesn’t erase people’s opinions.”

  It was his turn for quiet. “What kind of opinions do they even have? About alchemists, you mean?”

  Azia bit her lip. “Do you remember that thing you said about how we were ‘playing God?’ With the fish?”

  Seleth winced. “Azia, I was joking.”

  “I know,” she said softly. “You were joking.”

  “Azia?”

  She didn’t get to dwell on it, nor did she get to dwell on the way Seleth's face grew tinted with pain. It was only a flash, at least, and surprise in line with her own replaced it soon enough. Azia’s eyes snapped to her left. Within the walls of an Institute warm and cold all at once, the girl was one more thing that hadn’t changed.

  That was a lie, partially. Her hair was somewhat different. It suited her all the same. “Azia, is that you?” she repeated.

  For the first time in the embrace of the Research Institute, Azia could smile. “There you are.”

  The researcher nearly jogged down the hallway, another glaive altogether clinking on another back entirely. “Oh my God, where did you come from?” she asked.

  Azia folded her hands neatly in front of her. “I…it’s a long story. I was hoping to find you, actually.”

  “Did you drive here?” the girl pressed incredulously.

  It was a common question, recently. “I mean, it’s not impossibly far. Could’ve been worse.”

  “How did…why are you…” she sputtered, trailing off.

  Sharp eyes drifted to Seleth, confused or otherwise. “Who’s this?”

  The playful wave he offered was just as useless. Azia filled the gaps with words of her own and a smile she couldn’t fight. She gestured to the boy accordingly. “This is Seleth. He’s my--”

  Azia bit her tongue. She swallowed whatever was behind it. She fought for her phrasing, whatever it might’ve consisted of. Really, it left her cycling through moniker after moniker, given how new his presence was within the halls of the Institute. She could feel his patient grin growing brighter at her side, whether or not she looked for it. It was, absolutely, not in her best interest to look for it.

  She looked for it. It was as abysmally smug as she’d expected it to be. If he took over, whatever less-than-pure relationship he’d settle upon conveying between them would be awful. Azia cleared her throat before he had the chance.

  “He’s my friend,” she finally offered, her voice strained.

  Even that was enough to fuel the same smug smile. At this point, anything possessive probably would. Azia gave up.

  “Best friend, actually,” Seleth interjected, his hands settling onto his hips.

  Near as he stood, she contemplated crushing his foot.

  “What are you doing here?” the researcher asked, immune to Seleth’s interruption.

  Azia was grateful for that much. Even so, it was a different loaded question altogether. “I need…help with something,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “Is Rae still the lead researcher?”

  The girl raised an eyebrow. “He is, yeah. What’s ‘something?’”

  Azia winced. “It’s, uh…elaborate.”

  She earned a hard stare. She shrank under it, mostly. In a perfect world, she wouldn’t have to relay the full story more than once within the walls of a foreign Institute. Azia thought to beg for patience. It might’ve been a fruitless fight.

  Seleth was just as impatient--justified or otherwise. “You gonna introduce me, or what?” he whispered.

  It was better than dissecting his circumstances. Azia did what she could to forge a new smile, gesturing half-heartedly to the skeptical girl. “Seleth, this--”

  “Klaaaare!”

  She never made it all the way through. Someone far, far louder beat her to it.

  Where Azia had battled to soften her presence in a place so different, a librarian did much the opposite. Clacking sandals echoed off marble that deserved better, and Azia heard Kassy long before the librarian was visible. There was a stark contrast between the explosive sunshine that burst down the hallway and the horrified shadow that draped the researcher’s face. Azia was fairly certain that every muscle in the girl’s body had stiffened at once.

  Wide eyes snapped to hers, somewhere between frustrated and fearful. “You brought Kassy with you?” the researcher hissed.

  That should’ve been obvious enough, at this point. Azia winced twice over. “I…”

  She trailed off. It wouldn’t have mattered, anyway. Kassy outdid her energy in every way, whether with her volume or otherwise. Each passing gaze in the vicinity drifted to her as she sprinted, and still she was undeterred.

  Kassy threw her arms wide in anticipation of the inevitable, her smile utterly blinding. Her terrified victim got as far as turning on her heel, casting a gaze equally terrified anywhere except in a librarian’s path. She didn’t make it a single fleeing step.

  Kassy outright crashed into her, slamming into the researcher with such force that both in tandem nearly hurtled to the floor. It was nothing short of a miracle that Kassy’s target retained her balance, staggering severely as the librarian practically strangled her. Her embrace was ironclad by sight alone, and no amount of fervent wriggling served as a deterrent. Words were just as useless.

  “Let go!” the girl cried, futile palms pushing against Kassy’s cheek. “Get off of me!”

  It only left Kassy nuzzling harder against her touch. “Klare, Klare, Klare, Klare, Klare!” she repeated with joy, more or less vibrating on the tips of her toes.

  “Kassy, get off!”

  Kassy did anything but. “I missed yoooou!”

  Squirming, useless as it was, was probably instinctive. Given the glaive far too near to her shoulder, Kassy was lucky she hadn’t impaled herself on sharpened metal. In the moment, Azia doubted she would’ve cared. “Why the hell are you here?”

  “I wanted to see you!” Kassy said plainly, her voice still overflowing with happiness.

  Seleth’s eyes fell to Azia alone. He gestured slowly towards the tangled girls, nonconsensual as their embrace was. Azia smiled in earnest at last.

  “Seleth, this is Klare,” she began once more. “She’s a researcher. She’s a friend of mine, and she’s honestly one of the only people I know at the Research Institute.”

  Seleth nodded. “I see. And the…”

  His gesture was as endless as the researcher’s wriggling. Kassy’s physical strength was somewhat concerning, honestly.

  “She’s Kassy’s sister,” Azia concluded.

  “Oh my God, stop!” the suffocating girl shouted, finally making headway into escaping her restraints. Kassy had probably given it to her, granted, her endless embrace unwinding at last. It never left her devoid of contact, and she clung tightly to Klare’s arm. Progress was progress.

  “She’s not an alchemist?” Seleth asked of Azia alone. “Kassy is, right?”

  Azia shook her head. “Kassy’s not an alchemist at all. She’s only the librarian. She still does important work, though.”

  Again, Seleth was motioning between the girls. “Right, but if Kassy’s at the Alchemist Institute, then why--”

  “She’s not meant to be,” Klare snapped, a harsh glare flickering to the librarian in question. “Someone was supposed to be a researcher, actually.”

  Bitter words meant nothing. Kassy was eternally aglow, still bouncing on her heels. “I like all the alchemist stuff, though. It’s neat. And Azia’s there, and I like Azia.”

  “You wouldn’t have to complain about ‘missing me’ if you were here, you know!” Klare growled through gritted teeth.

  Kassy was effectively nuzzling her arm again. “But I’m here now, so it’s okay.”

  Azia’s hands settled onto her hips. “She insisted on coming. She wanted to see you.”

  Klare groaned. Azia probably didn’t need to tell her that much.

  Refocusing was a trial, particularly given the way that the researcher was still half-captive to her sister. The interruption had given Azia time to tailor her words, if nothing else. “What day is Dissemination for you guys?”

  Klare had resigned herself to the physical contact, apparently. At the very least, the disdain in her voice had begun to ebb. “Thursday. Why?”

  That left her with days to kill. Azia kicked herself for not considering the issue. “There’s something I need to show to Rae. Directly, indirectly, I don’t care. Dissemination might be easiest for it, honestly.”

  Klare raised an eyebrow. “You’re really hyping this up.”

  “Look, I’m sorry I’m being cryptic,” Azia apologized. “It’s…big. It’s really big, actually. It’s a finding I need more than just the alchemists’ help to unravel.”

  Klare’s face fell. “What’s it about?”

  Azia hesitated. One pointed finger to her left did the same, briefly. “Him.”

  Klare turned to Seleth. Seleth took her blank stare with poise beyond what Azia had expected, offering the tiniest wave once again. Eventually, Azia earned the same floating confusion for herself, neutral as it was.

  It didn’t stay that way for long. “What?” Klare finally spat.

  Azia bit her lip. “I really, really don’t want to explain this more than once. I know it sounds ridiculous. Can you just bear with me for a bit until we find Rae?”

  She’d already had to explain it more than once. She’d had to explain her personal scientific anomaly enough times that she contemplated creating a script. When Klare’s piercing glare eased in the slightest, Azia breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Sure,” Klare conceded half-heartedly. “I guess.”

  Seleth’s interruptions were welcome, for once. Where Azia had pointed at him, he pointed only at peeking metal. “She has the same weapon you do,” he observed aloud.

  Azia wished she had the capacity to smile once more. If it was in regards to that, she never would. “We all do, if we can fight. It’s the easiest way.”

  He tilted his head. “Easiest way to…what?”

  “To deal with the Rain, I mean. Without putting yourself in more danger.”

  “Helps keep your distance and still do damage,” Klare finished on her behalf, reaching back to tap the weapon in question. “He doesn’t know that?”

  Azia tensed. “He’s…still learning some things. Why do you have it out, anyway?”

  She was being a hypocrite, probably, given the fact that she was still well-armed and draped in guardian orange. She was deflecting, too, although Klare took that part with grace. “Supposed to Rain around four o’clock.”

  “Tier?”

  “Standard. Obviously.”

  “Eww,” Kassy murmured, gradually unwinding from her sister’s arm at last.

  “Yeah, ‘eww,’” Klare semi-scolded her. “You’re lucky you got here when you did.”

  There was an irony in the way she targeted the librarian over her escort, in truth. Azia didn’t point it out. “Do you want help? When it starts?”

  Klare’s grin was new. In a way, it was refreshing--particularly versus the smug one Azia was so quickly getting used to at her side. “I’ll never turn down the help. Whatever gets it over with faster. You up for it?”

  Azia returned a smile of her own, softer as it was. “I wouldn’t feel right doing nothing. Would anyone give me a hard time about fighting with you guys?”

  “To hell with them if they do,” Klare said, waving one hand dismissively. “They can get over it. It’s Rain, for God’s sake. They don’t want it, either.”

  Morbid subject or not, the words were kind enough. It was the first warmth Azia had found since setting foot in the Institute, and she embraced it. Given the storm that was sure to follow--born from on high and of science alike--she clung to what of it she could keep. For at least one moment, she could belong.

  No matter what of Klare she clung to, Kassy would still outdo Azia’s clinging. She didn’t bother trying to separate them the second time, protests or otherwise. It’d be a miracle if Kassy remembered the reason they’d come at all.