I noticed him because he didn’t belong.

  To this city.

  No dust on his clothes. No weight in his steps. He sat high in the tree like the branches had grown around him on purpose, calm and still, as if the world below didn’t concern him.

  I slowed my walk.

  Something about him made my chest feel… tight.

  Two boys were walking ahead of me. I heard one of them laugh.

  “Look at that guy,” he said. “So clean. Bet he’s got gold on him.”

  The other followed his gaze and smirked. “Easy.”

  My stomach dropped.

  They changed direction.

  I told myself it wasn’t my business. People get robbed every day in Sagittarius. Fire teaches you to survive, not to interfere.

  But I couldn’t move.

  The stranger jumped down from the tree before they even reached him. Landed like gravity had forgotten its job.

  They surrounded him.

  “Hand it over,” one said. “Everything.”

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  The stranger smiled.

  Not nervous. Not scared.

  Smiling.

  “They’re mine,” he said calmly.

  I frowned.

  One of the boys grabbed him by the collar. “You think this is funny?”

  The punch came fast.

  I flinched.

  The sound of knuckles hitting skin echoed in my ears.

  But the stranger didn’t fall.

  He didn’t even look angry.

  He smiled wider.

  Something cold crawled up my spine.

  What kind of person reacts like that?

  Before I realized it, heat rushed through my veins. Fire answered my pulse, licking at my hands as I ran forward.

  “Hey!” I shouted.

  The boys turned just as I reached them. The flame around me wasn’t wild—but it was awake. Focused.

  “Leave him,” I said.

  They hesitated. Fear broke through their confidence. One cursed under his breath, and then they ran.

  I stood there breathing hard.

  The stranger turned to face me.

  And my world shattered.

  Colors—no, threads—moved around him. Around me. Around us. Gold twisting into blue, red colliding with silver. They weren’t illusions. They were alive. I felt them pull at something deep inside my chest.

  My head throbbed.

  His eyes met mine.

  I forgot how to breathe.

  “Why didn’t you fight back?” I asked.

  “I wanted to feel it,” he said.

  That answer made no sense.

  “Where are you going?” I asked instead, uneasy.

  He watched me like I was something rare.

  “The Watcher sent me,” he said. “I’m looking for a boy named Tavari.”

  My heart slammed so hard it hurt.

  “…Why?” I asked, my voice shaking despite myself.

  “To protect him.”

  Every instinct screamed danger.

  “That boy isn’t going to the Tower,” I said. “Tell your Watcher that.”

  I turned away before he could see my fear.

  I didn’t run.

  But I didn’t look back either.

  Home didn’t feel safe anymore.

  I stepped inside and stopped cold.

  Matt stood near the table. Sarah and Serena—identical smiles, identical eyes—leaned against the wall.

  And sitting there like he belonged—

  The stranger.

  Sarah clapped her hands. “You’re back!”

  Serena tilted her head. “Your friend was waiting.”

  My chest tightened. “He’s not my—”

  “Tomorrow,” the stranger said, standing. His voice was calm, gentle—and terrifying.

  “We go to the Tower.”

  The threads stirred again.

  And for the first time in my life, fire didn’t answer me.