We set up camp for the night. Moving Rai just isn't possible; one minute, he's fighting like some kind of sorcerer – his powers look like magic. They're so fluid, so effortless, the waves obeying his every command.

But as soon as we get through the wormhole, he collapses. Eldred finds a cave for us to shelter in from the storm, but still, we're all frozen stiff. Kass reluctantly offers me a space under his mohair cloak but, to his relief, I politely decline. Musa very much on my mind.

Rai falls asleep immediately, his face pale and tear-stained. He looks so out of place amongst us, with his gadgets and shock of blue hair. Kass and I give him a sneaky once-over: the clip on his tragus, hoops all down his cartilage, the stud through his eyebrow, and the sucker-pads on the back of his neck. They look sore. Not to mention his drone – a silvery-white ball the size of a pumpkin. It buzzes around Rai's head in circles for hours before admitting defeat, blinking its lights mournfully as it settles in Rai's arms.

'I let you guys down.' Kass stabs at the fire Brie started with a stick, wrapped up in his cloak like a giant morose moth.

'It's alright, Puffin,' Eldred pats him on the shoulder (he's thrown off immediately). 'We all have shaky starts sometimes. You helped, that's what matters.'

'Not as much as Sammi. Or him.' Kass throws a glance at Rai, sleeping peacefully, hugging his drone like a teddy.

'Do I spy some jealousy?' Brie chuckles, ripping off a chunk of bread with her teeth, earning a disgusted glare from Kass.

'No.'

'You did do exceptionally well, though, Sammi.' Eldred turns to me with an almost fatherly expression. 'I was very proud of you out there.'

'Thanks,' I smile. 'Practising with Dr Keller's really helped. Why don't you go see him when we get back, Kass?'

Kass grunts, but otherwise ignores me. I catch Eldred's eye, and we shrug.

'So, what's wrong with Rai?' I ask Eldred instead. 'I mean, I feel a bit tired, but nothing like him.'

Eldred picks the edge of a scraggy fingernail, his nose scrunching in thought. 'I'm not too sure, to be honest. I'd like to get Keller to run some tests. In theory, Elementalists should be able to use their abilities without major consequence. Unless we're missing something, he shouldn't be exhausted.'

'Weird,' I mutter, rubbing the air between my fingers. There's the familiar thickness of the mist, the friction of different particles scraping against each other. It doesn't feel tiring. No more than breathing. What I did earlier, summoning the winds – it was like running a race. A little tiring, gave me a bit of a stitch, but, nothing a few deep breaths couldn't sort. No need to collapse or anything.

After dinner, Eldred calls it a night. We're headed back to HQ tomorrow, and he warns us we're in for a busy day.

'Things are going to kick off now, for real,' he grins.

I've got no way of knowing what tomorrow will "kick off", but I do know that I'll see Musa again. We didn't part in the best of terms – understatement of the year.

'Why can't he come with?' I'd yelled at Eldred, when he delivered the bad news. The thought of leaving without Musa. . .

'It's alright, Sam, course I'm coming,' Musa glared at Eldred, hands on his hips. 'Aren't I.'

'Er, 'fraid not.' Eldred handed Musa a letter. As Musa read, his eyebrows knitted together into one long caterpillar across his brow.

'Y-you think I'm going to be persuaded by this?' He looked up, incredulous. 'Where Sammi goes, I go. End of story.'

'Oh,' Eldred blinked. 'Our mistake. We thought you were the kind of person who wanted to take a stand. For your dying cousin. For all your loved ones suffering under FUTURE. For Samma.'

Musa looked utterly taken aback. 'I – I am!'

'Oh.' Eldred cocked his head. 'But you just said you're only here to follow Samma around.'

'Don't twist my words, you know what I meant.'

But Eldred didn't seem at all bothered by Musa's defensiveness. 'Just think about it,' he said, wrenching himself to his feet. 'I need a decision before I leave.'

For all of Musa's reassurances, the note had bothered him. Something in his protests made me uneasy. I begged him to tell me what it said, but eventually, he ripped it up.

'You want to stay here, don't you.' It wasn't a question – I knew the answer. Musa swallowed, and began fiddling with the bun at the nape of his neck. A sure sign he was anxious.

'No,' he said, his voice quiet for a change. Longing. 'I want to stay with you.'

'So, what's the problem?'

Musa took a deep breath. 'Cotton's made an offer I don't think I can refuse.'

'What?'

'She says I can't tell you. Or the offer's off.'

'Then it's off.'

'You don't understand.'

'So explain!'

'I told you, I can't.'

Things deteriorated from there. When Musa and I fight, we're vicious, hungry wolves. We both said things we didn't mean: you're selfish – you don't care – you've used me – you don't have a clue.

Eldred eventually intervened. 'It's for the best,' he said. 'It's not good in any relationship to be joined at the hip.'

My insides cringed into a knot as Musa spluttered his own rebuttals. Of course, Eldred carried on regardless.

'The boy means well, Sammi. This really isn't his fault. Have a little faith, won't you? Has he ever let you down?'

No, he never has. He's always been there. Always on my side, even as kids. It drove Nura mental; the image of her stamping her feet whilst Musa laughed, his arms around me, brought a smile to my lips.

I looked into his eyes, now so full of hurt. And we held each other until the hurt started to fade.

'I'll see you soon,' Musa whispered, his lips on my forehead with uncharacteristic gentleness.

'Promise?'

'Promise.'

At which point, Kass spoilt the moment. 'Ugh, get a room.'

'Just wait till you're in love,' Eldred chuckled, amidst our protests. 'If anyone will put up with you, that is.'

A crack of thunder jolts me back to the cave, and I stare through cracks in the ceiling, watching the stars twinkling up above. Lares, a lost emerald. Ra, a drop of blood. And despite today's drama, all I can think about is Musa. Missing him with every fibre of my being, but scared stiff of how it will be when we see each other tomorrow. The look on his face when Eldred said that word – I shrink from the memory, my face flushing in the darkness.

I fall asleep praying he's forgotten, unlike me, who can't get it out of my mind.

*

'Lazy git.'

Kass and I sit side by side, watching Eldred try to shake Rai awake. Not helped by Rai's drone, who keeps butting him out the way. Brie is out in the rain, checking if the Wormhole's clear; I can tell she and Eldred are skittish to be back.

'You think?' I ask Kass. 'Maybe he's ill?'

Kass shrugs a shoulder reluctantly. 'He's a bit weird, isn't he.'

'Aren't we all?' Sighing, I find myself scratching Musa's name into the dust, only realising when I hear Kass laughing at me. Furious, I scrub it out.

'Touché,' he grins. 'But I don't mean weird, like, we've suddenly sprouted magic powers and are writing our cousin's name in the dirt.'

I stick my tongue out at him and he laughs again. It's nice, seeing him laugh for a change.

'I mean, he just seems weird. All Futurists do in real life, they're nothing like how they seem on TV.' He pauses, biting his lip. 'Me and my friend, Niven, wanted to go to Singavere so badly. All we wanted was to be relocated with them. We watched all Jinaka's shows, followed all the races. . . we were just so blind.'

'Hey,' Eldred cries out, and our heads whip up. 'He's waking up!'

'W-what's going on?'

We leap up and hurry over, falling to our knees beside Rai. He's blinking fast, his eyebrows twisted upwards in confusion.

'You've been asleep, Rai,' Eldred says, his voice soft. 'Do you remember what happened before you collapsed?'

Rai shakes his head and rubs his eyes. As Eldred helps him upright, the drone dives into his arms with a flurry of beeps. Rai's face lights up instantly.

'Henry! You're okay!'

'Your drone's called Henry?' Kass' lips twitch.

'Yeah,' Rai smiles. It's the last thing I expect – his smile is so sweet, so sunny, it's as though we're chilling in some fancy Singaverean hotel, not cowering in a cave. It's so inappropriate.

'How are you feeling?' Eldred asks, shoving Kass out the way and hunching by my side to get a closer look.

'Fine,' Rai yawns, stretching. 'How are you?'

Eldred chuckles. 'I'm fine, thanks. You're the first person to ask me that in a while.'

Rai smiles again, and this is apparently too much for Kass, who gives a derisive snort. Rai looks surprised.

'Is something wrong?'

'Er, yeah,' Kass says. 'You just got attacked, abandoned, almost killed, then told you can never go home. Before you passed out, you seemed pretty bummed out; now you're acting like nothing's happened. What the hell's wrong with you?'

Rai's breathing stops, just for a moment. He stares at Kass through wide, blue eyes. Then he shakes his head, hard; the smile instantly returns.

'Yeah. . . it sucks.' He rubs the bridge of his nose, looking a bit uncomfortable. 'So, um, what now?'

Kass throws up his hands in exasperation. 'See?' he turns to me. 'Told you he's a weirdo.'

'None of that now,' Eldred scolds, waggling his finger in Kass' face. 'Just because Rai doesn't wave his emotions around all over the place screaming look at me, look at me, feel sorry for me all the time, doesn't mean they aren't there.'

Kass looks like he's going to punch Eldred in the face. Rai's watching us, an increasingly nervous expression replacing the annoying smile. But Kass doesn't; instead, he storms outside, muttering swearwords under his breath.

'Look at me, look at me.' Eldred turns back to Rai. 'Sorry, Rai, where were we? Ah yes. What now. Well, we need to head back to RESIST, where our General will fill you in on everything important.'

'Okay.' Rai sighs, resting his chin on top of his drone. 'I knew it. I knew you were Resisters.'

'And?' I ask, unable to check the bite of hostility in my voice.

'And nothing,' Rai says. 'I've worked with Resisters before.' He's staring hard at his knees, and I wish Kass could see this slight show of vulnerability too. 'I know what they want from me.'

'No, Rai.' Eldred suddenly scoots back, waving at me to back off too. 'Your clients on the black market were not Resisters. They might have supported RESIST, but that does not make them one of us. We would never do anything to hurt you.'

'What did they do?' I blurt out.

'None of your business,' Eldred says and I blink; up until now, Eldred's saved his sharp responses for Kass. The pang of hurt in my chest makes me realise that for some reason, I care what this man thinks of me.

'She did,' Rai mutters.

'Who?'

'Cadence.'

'Ah.' Eldred's lips purse into a line of disapproval. 'I'll be having words with her, don't you worry. But surely not all your clients were bad news?'

'No, not all of them.' Rai's face has gone very pale; he gives another vicious shake of his head, and colour floods back into his cheeks. 'But enough to make the thought of going into a resister-nest not very appealing.'

'Fair.' Eldred offers a hand to Rai, who regards it, his placid features tinged with reluctance. Then he takes Eldred's hand.

'I'll go with you, 'cause I don't exactly have anywhere else to go. But I can't promise I'll stay.'

'I'll work with that,' Eldred grins. 'And I promise you – once you've heard the full story, you won't dream of leaving. Sammi – grab your things and go fetch Puffin. Tell him we leave in five.'

*

'Sammi! Sammi!'

'Did you use your powers?'

'Musa is going to freak when he sees you!'

The crowd that awaits us upon our return is insane; Labelle has to literally fight to get through to us, then once he's grabbed hold of Kass and I, physically force our way back out again. Eldred is herding Rai in a different direction and they're quickly lost from view.

'Where is Musa, anyway?' I ask Labelle. Just hearing his name gives me butterflies. Stop, I scold myself, as they flutter in my belly. He's my cousin. Nothing more. It doesn't matter that we're not related.

'I don't know. I'd have thought he'd be here – he's talked of nothing else since we heard you were on your way,' Labelle frowns, spotting a gap down a side passage and shoving us ahead. 'He's been going off his nut ever since you left.'

'She's been going off her nut too,' Kass quips. 'Honestly, she's been a nightmare.'

'Like you haven't been,' I snarl, but feel a stab of remorse as his face flushes scarlet. He's been a nightmare because of his family... Whereas I've just pining over a boy.

'Sorry.'

'S'okay.'

'Come on, guys,' Labelle sighs, putting an arm around each of us. 'Let me get you to the lunch hall – I'm putting your grumpiness down to hunger.'

We eat a furious meal, Kass and I competing over who can eat the most (I win) – then Labelle takes to Keller's lab, where everyone's waiting.

Rai is sat on Dr Keller's gleaming white hospital chair. I usually avoid looking at it; it reminds me of the disgusting hospital we used to take Nura to, and all the times we had to listen to: there's nothing we can do. He's clutching Henry to his chest, like he's worried someone's going to snatch him away. Although he greets us with a smile, I notice red circles under his eyes. Next to him, on either side, stand Keller and General Cotton.

'You're here!'

I spin around to see Eldred in the corner of the room, looking happier than I've seen him in days.

'How does it feel, Keller? Your best creations under one roof for the first time in over sixteen years?'

'It brings hope to my heart,' Keller smiles, his eyes flashing behind his spectacles. 'But one is still missing, remember.'

'Yes, yes.' Eldred waves his hand dismissively. 'You always focus on the negatives. Three out of four 'aint bad, you know.'

'We wanted to see if we could get to the bottom of your sudden exhaustion,' Cotton interrupts, putting a hand on Rai's shoulder. Eldred and Keller's bickering stops instantly.

'Oh.' Rai wrinkles his nose. 'What, is this a hospital, or something?'

'Too basic for you, is it?' Kass scowls.

'A bit' Rai shrugs, not seeming to notice Kass' hostility. 'Depends. But, you don't need to do anything, doctor, I know why I got so tired. You just need to ask.'

'Well, I'd be happier running some tests.' Keller disappears into a cupboard for a moment, before emerging with a handful of probes. He plugs them into his computer, then turns back to Rai. 'T-shirt off, please.'

'No.'

For the first time, Rai frowns. His drone scoots out of his arms into Keller's face, who bats him away with a yelp.

Cotton rolls her eyes. 'This is not the time to be coy.'

'You said.' Rai turns to glare at Eldred.

'It's nothing bad, Rai, I promise. You have my word. They just want to stick the probes to your skin so they can run some tests.'

'But why? Can't I just tell you what I was doing?'

'Do as you're told!' Cotton's hands slam the back of the chair, and Rai jumps out of his skin. She clears her throat, a dot of pink colouring each cheek. 'Please,' she adds as an afterthought.

Rai sighs. He strips off his t-shirt, letting it fall to the floor, staring straight ahead, his eyes dull and blank.

I gasp. I can't stop myself.

His torso is covered in bruises. Some clearly old, faded plum and sulphurous yellow, but others are so new, and dark against his pale skin, they're almost black. Shaped in fist. A foot.

Kass looks away first, and then, it seems like nobody knows what to say or do. Then Kass pipes up, still facing the door –

'For god's sake, hurry up. He'll get cold.'

'Oh yes.' Keller blinks, snapping back into action, positioning the probes on Rai's chest. He glances up, biting his lip. 'Tell me if I'm hurting you.'

'It's fine.'

Even when Keller allows him to put his shirt back on, the dullness doesn't fade from Rai's eyes.

'So, go on then. Explain what you did.' Keller clasps his hands together, all earlier concern forgotten.

Rai shakes his head. 'Have you got a glass of water?'

'Er, sure. Kass, get one from the sink.'

Kass sprints off to fill up a glass, and without meeting Rai's eyes, hands it to him.

'Thanks. So, usually, I manipulate the water around me, see?' Rai hovers a hand over the glass, and the water inside rises up to swirl around his hand in a silvery-blue orb. 'I'm not altering anything, or changing anything, just moving what's already there. Most of the time, I stick to that.' He makes the ring of water circle around his head, and grins at us through the sheen of water. 'It's easy! I could do this for hours and not even break a sweat.'

He siphons the water into the glass, and hands it back to Kass. 'Can you get rid of it, please?'

Kass scowls, and downs the glass in three gulps. 'I'm not going to waste it.'

For some reason, that makes Rai smile. 'That's nice.'

Kass mutters under his breath.

'But my jobs,' Rai continues. 'Were rarely that simple. Sometimes, the client wanted water and there wasn't any around. They expected me to create something from nothing. Sometimes, they only had toxic water that they needed purifying. And people don't like not getting what they pay for. They get nasty when they don't get what they want.

'So, I had to get a bit creative, you know? Like, removing the impurities from water isn't hard. But, touching it hurts like an absolute bitch. I needed a way to protect myself. I figure I should be able to suck the moisture out of the air, but, for some reason I can't seem to do it. Much easier is to do this.'

He raises one hand again, but this time just stares at it, his brow furrowing in concentration. At first, it looks like nothing's happening. But then, after a few seconds, I notice something drip from his wrist to the floor.

'How the –?' Keller gasps.

A thin layer of water slowly spreads across the skin of Rai's hand. It shapes like a glove, covering his fingers, his palm, the thin bones on the back of his hand. It shimmers, dazzling, and a bead of perspiration trickled down Rai's forehead.

'Stop, stop!' Keller yells.

Rai jumps, the droplets falling to the floor with a splash. 'What?' he asks, summoning the water back across his hand. 'It's okay, honest, I've done this thousands of times. It's what I did at the lake – if the water had touched my bare hands, it would have burnt me down to the bone.' He shudders. 'I've made that mistake before.'

'I said stop!'

We all blink at Keller. He's leaning heavily against the side of Rai's chair, aghast.

'What?' Rai dries his hand on his jeans. 'I'm just telling you what I did.'

'Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?'

'Dangerous? To who?'

'Yourself!' Keller runs to the computer, his finger jabbing at the screen. 'Just look, look at that!'

We peer over Keller's shoulder at the squiggly results on the screen. They meant absolutely nothing to me.

'What does it mean?' I ask.

'Well, Rai basically said it himself. When water is already present, he only has to manipulate it. When it's not, and he does that, he is not simply conjuring it from thin air. Rai is not an ethereal Elementalist like you, Sammi – he can't, as he correctly guessed, access any water stored in the atmosphere.

'So, where else can the water come from? He must be drawing it directly from his body; the human body is over seventy percent water, you know. But by doing this –.' He turns to Rai, imploring to him directly. 'You put your body under incredible strain.' He snatches the empty glass from Kass and hurries to the sink, refilling it and plunging it into Rai's hands. 'Drink this now, you need to replenish what you've lost. Just look at your electrolytes, they've plummeted, and they were already too low.'

'Probably from yesterday,' Rai nods, sipping the water under Keller's furious gaze.

'You must NEVER to do that again, Rai. No matter what we or anyone asks of you – you must never use your body as a source like that. You could die.'

'As if,' Rai sniggers. 'You don't understand how many times I've done this before.'

'Promise me,' Keller thunders, startling us all; Rai spills the water all down his front.

'O-okay,' he stammers, dabbing his t-shirt. 'I promise, I guess. It's just. . . Not that big a deal. I got tired, that's all.'

'Yeah, well one day, you might go too far. Dehydration is a terribly dangerous thing, you know.'

'I know.' Rai must sound abashed enough for Keller to relax; he turns to Cotton and shakes his head, still looking incredulous.

'Well, that certainly explains everything – he should be absolutely fine for duty. With a day's rest and plenty of fluids, he'll be right as rain to leave tomorrow.'

'Tomorrow?' The word slip from my mouth unbidden. 'But I haven't seen Musa yet. Where is he?'

'He's not here.' Cotton's voice is so clipped and business-like; a cold hand of iron closes around my heart.

'Where is he?' I hiss, soft, deadly.

Cotton raises her eyebrows. 'We were a man down on one of our missions, and Musa went in his place. He's young, and strong, exactly the type of person we need. He relished the opportunity to prove himself.'

'Liar.' Kass narrows his eyes. 'You're not as good at lying as you think you are.'

'Musa would never have left knowing I was coming back,' I whisper. My mouth is so dry, I can barely get the words out. 'You. . . You tricked him, somehow.'

'I did nothing of the sort,' Cotton huffs. 'He'll be back before you leave tomorrow, I'm sure. Take some time to calm yourselves down, then I want all three of you in my office for a briefing. Văn will go through your first Mission with you there.'

And with that, she strides from the room, leaving me open-mouthed and wide-eyed, staring at her retreating back.