[WARNING! Unedited! Don't buy!]
The rain did not cease when morning came.
It thinned to a silver veil, drifting across the manor grounds in a patient hush, as though the sky itself had decided to linger and watch. The air beyond the windows shimmered faintly, cool and unsettled.
Iris stood at the center of the east courtyard, her boots darkened by damp stone. The courtyard had been chosen for a reason: it was encircled by high arches and layered wards, old and deliberate, their sigils carved deep into the marble pillars. No stray surge of power would escape without my knowledge.
She drew a slow breath.
"You said water answered me," she began quietly, not looking at me. "What does that mean?"
"It means," I replied from the shadowed edge of the colonnade, "that your power is not one that must be forced. It listens. It waits for invitation."
She flexed her fingers unconsciously, watching the fine tremor that ran through them. "And if I don't invite it?"
"It will answer anyway."
