Luke’s magical specialty was water. When he closed his eyes, he could feel it around him; the clouds in the sky, the humidity of the air. It had called to him since the day he’d chosen it at twelve years old.

  The river that bordered their town back home was wide, calm, like an old dog that just wanted to get somewhere comfortable to sleep. The giant lake next to Goldvale was that comfortable place; it felt like a warm house at the end of a cold winter day, happy and safe. The lake by Lakeshore was small, but it felt playful, tricky, like a puppy that kept chewing up shoes.

  Over the next hill, though, Luke could feel… power. It was big, almost infinite. It was strong, not like a monarch who relied on others for power, but like an ancient castle which no number of magical attacks had been able to break. It seemed to recognize his magic, most bodies of water did, but it solidly did not care. No matter what he tried with his magic, he would never be able to stop it from doing whatever it damn well pleased.

  Maeve touched his hand. “You ok there?”

  Luke twitched, realizing his tail was poofed out. “Yeah, sorry, I… I can feel it.”

  “The ocean?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I think I can almost see it,” Cali called from the front of the wagon. “Not the water yet, but if you look behind us, there’s all kinds of hills and mountains blocking the view. Ahead of us, it all stops.”

  “We’re almost to the top of the last hill,” Maki added.

  There was a pause, then without discussing anything, they all left the wagon and walked.

  Echo watched them, walking slightly ahead. “I just hope the surf is up, so you get the best first impression.”

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  Maki’s ears perked up. “Do you know how to surf?”

  “Yeah,” she said casually. “I can’t make the best ice boards, I always cheated and used wood fins, but they come out decent.”

  Cali asked something, but Luke didn’t hear what. He’d reached the top of the hill, and there it was.

  The ocean.

  It went on forever. Waves curled and crashed onto tan beaches that also stretched on forever. The day was calm, the sun shining and the breeze faint, but even now all his magic wouldn’t be able to stop a single wave. He knew it, and the ocean knew it, too.

  And Bonnie had told him to stop a tsunami.

  Next to him, Maeve took his hand. “It’s amazing.”

  “It’s terrifying,” he corrected.

  She looked at him, then back at the ocean. “Sure, it’s big, but-”

  “No, it’s strong,” he said. “It… It feels like it sees my magic and smiles at how tiny and cute it is. I’m a little, baby, Level 1 kit, and it’s a thousand-year-old dragon.”

  She gave him an odd smile, but next to her, Maki was concerned.

  “You might want to ask a water specialist here how to treat the ocean,” he said. “There might be tricks that you never learned on the river.”

  “Good idea,” Luke said. “I might not be able to do this.”

  “Well, that’s what you have us for,” Maeve said with a grin.

  “And we’re getting our magic boosted to the void,” Echo added. “Sure, we can't do anything now, but we will be able to when the time comes.”

  “Turtle,” Cali said.

  They all looked at her.

  “I’m gonna meet a sea turtle.” She clicked her tongue and led the horses down the hill, oblivious to everything else. As usual.

  One by one, they climbed back into the wagon.

  Luke couldn't shake the feeling the ocean was watching him. But Maeve was also watching him, so he smiled and tried to enjoy the view.