By noon, Roku and Solara were gone.
The road out of Durnfield had swallowed them under layers of drifting dust, leaving behind wagon tracks and rumors. Too many kids were still arguing about what actually happened during the protection detail. Kel preferred the dust; it was quieter. Rumors always lasted longer.
"You know," Luno said as they headed back to the orphanage, "technically, I never said you actually beat Roku."
Kel didn't stop walking. "That sentence worries me."
"I just said you saved them."
"That's worse."
"But it's true."
"Luno."
"What?"
Kel stopped and Luno stopped beside him. The jar of insects hanging from Luno's side rattled softly. Kel pointed a finger at him. "Don't tell anyone else."
"Why?"
"I don't want people talking about me."
"They already do."
"Then stop helping them do it."
A tiny voice drifted from under Luno's hat. "He's got a point."
Luno froze. Kel walked two more steps before realizing Luno wasn't there and turned around. "What?"
Luno touched the brim of his hat, slow and deliberate. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
Silence. Then the voice came back. "Nothing."
Luno's eyes went wide. It was clearer this time. Spark had always been there, but this wasn't just a feeling or a thought he could mistake for his own. It was a voice. Right there.
"Spark?" Luno whispered.
"What?"
Luno nearly jumped out of his skin. Kel just stared. "You're getting weirder."
"That's impossible," Luno managed to say.
Before they could argue, a voice called out from the road. "Captain wants you two. Now." A Durnfield guard was waiting.
Kel sighed. Luno just grinned. "Promotion."
"Punishment," Kel muttered.
***
Captain Harven was waiting in the command building. Four young guards stood in front of his desk. Kel knew them from the lower details. Toma couldn't keep his foot still, and Mira stood so rigid she looked like she might snap. Doss had been written up twice for fighting. Then there was Puck, who looked like he'd walked into the wrong room and was too scared to leave.
Kel stopped and Luno counted the heads, then looked at Harven. "Oh."
Harven folded his arms. "You've been given a squad."
"No," Kel said immediately.
Harven raised an eyebrow. "No?"
"I don't want one."
"Good. That means you're less likely to enjoy having power over people."
Luno raised his hand. "I'll take the power."
"No."
"You didn't even think about it."
"I did," Harven said. "Long enough."
Doss snorted. Luno looked like he'd been insulted.
Harven walked around the desk. "Kel, you're field lead. Luno, you're his second."
"Vice Captain?" Luno asked.
"No."
"Strategic Commander?"
"Luno. Second is fine."
Harven looked at the six teenagers. "These aren't just titles. Outside the walls, mistakes end in people dying. If something goes wrong, they'll look at you."
Kel looked over the recruits. Toma looked like he was about to vomit and Doss looked bored. Mira was watching Kel like he was a test. "You gave us the leftovers," Kel said.
The recruits' faces tightened.
"No," Harven said, his tone shifting. "I gave you people who need work."
"Same thing."
"People aren't scraps, Kel."
That settled it. Kel went quiet. Harven told them they'd get their first assignment tomorrow morning. Luno asked what they'd be doing, but Harven just said they'd find out then.
Doss crossed his arms, looking at Kel. "You expect us to follow him?"
"I don't care if you like him," Harven said to Doss. "Tomorrow I'll find out if you'll follow him when it actually matters. Dismissed."
As they headed for the door, Harven called Kel and Luno back. "Come back after sunset."
"Why?" Luno asked.
"Because I said so."
***
That evening, Luno was behind the orphanage with his jar. Beetles were crawling over bark and twigs while Luno tapped on the glass. One beetle turned and Luno tapped the other side. It followed his finger.
Warmth tingled in Luno's hand. He didn't notice it, but something thinner than breath slipped from his fingertips and toward the jar. Qi.
Every insect in the jar turned toward him at once. Luno's eyes widened. "You're learning."
"No."
Luno nearly dropped the thing. "Spark!"
"Too loud."
Luno grabbed his hat. "I can hear you!"
"You could hear me before."
"Not like this. You sound like you're right next to me."
Spark was quiet for a second. "You feel closer, too."
Luno frowned. He asked what that meant, but Spark didn't know. Or didn't want to say.
Kel appeared around the corner. "You coming? Harven's waiting."
Inside the jar, the bugs shifted toward the hand holding them. Luno didn't see it, but Spark did.
***
Harven was waiting outside the town. No guards, no squad—just three lanterns on the ground.
"Sit," Harven said. He sat across from them. "Tell me the Three Paths."
"Internal, External, Soul," Luno said.
"What do they mean?"
Kel shrugged. "Different Qi, I guess."
Harven sighed. "You two have survived on instinct mostly. Listen. Internal Qi strengthens the body—endurance and movement. External is about what's outside of you—elements, forces. And Soul Qi comes from deeper. Your identity."
Kel thought of Fire Sight but stayed quiet.
"Each path has a core," Harven said.
Luno asked if you could touch them or cut one out. Harven just stared.
"Good question," Spark whispered under the hat.
"Close your eyes," Harven ordered. "Breathe. Don't look with your eyes. Feel what's inside."
Kel listened to his own heart. Underneath it was a current. Familiar. His fingers twitched and Harven told him not to grab it.
"Your cores grow with use and control," Harven told them. "Techniques are useless if the core can't feed them. Never stop training them."
Luno asked how they'd know if they were getting stronger. Harven said you learn to sense them and give them shape in your mind. Luno asked if he could make his look like numbers.
"If that helps," Harven said, clearly regretting the answer. He told them they needed to check their cores every day—before and after everything they did.
Kel noticed a tiny stream of Qi still leaking from Luno into the jar. Harven saw it too but didn't say anything.
"Stand up," Harven said. He put out two of the lanterns. "Get to me. Without separating."
He walked twenty paces into the dark and set the third lantern down. Kel and Luno started walking, but a stone hit the dirt right in front of them. Then another flew from the dark and Luno ducked.
"Keep moving," Harven called out.
The stones weren't meant to kill, just to keep them moving. Kel stepped in front. "Stay behind me." He blocked a stone with his arm.
"Left!" Luno yelled.
They moved together, Luno watching the sides and Kel watching the front. Spark whispered "Behind," and Luno told Kel to get down just in time. They reached the lantern and Kel grabbed it.
"What was that for?" Luno asked, annoyed.
"Training. You'll find out why later. Check your cores again."
Kel groaned but did it. Harven watched them. For years he had tried to keep Kel out of this life—out of the mess that had killed his parents. He'd made a promise to the dead. But Roku and Solara were a reminder that the world doesn't care about promises. Kel was growing up and he'd leave Durnfield eventually. Harven couldn't protect him forever.
He didn't tell Kel the whole truth. Not about the Fireborne Realm, and certainly not about being more than just his captain.
"Why now?" Kel asked, opening his eyes.
"You're sixteen," Harven said. "The world won't wait until you're ready. Neither will I."
He walked away toward the lights of Durnfield.
"He's definitely planning something," Luno said, adjusting his hat.
"You're both slow," Spark's voice came from the brim.
Ahead of them, Harven didn't look back. They had a mission tomorrow, but they had already started their real test tonight. Kel and Luno just didn't realize it yet.