"We need to move your professor to proper healing facilities," Mistress Delmare said, rising from where she'd been observing Osa's remarkable display. "The corruption may be extracted, but she needs time to recover her full strength."
Professor Nyala nodded gratefully, though she still looked pale and drained. "How far?"
"Not far. The Azure Depths maintain a sanctuary here, tidal pools blessed by generations of water-singers." Mistress Delmare gestured toward Elena. "It's why this village prospers despite serving two domains. Sacred waters have a way of encouraging cooperation."
As they helped Professor Nyala to her feet, Saguna realized how exhausted they all were. The adrenaline that had carried them through the night's escape and morning's revelations was fading, leaving behind bone-deep fatigue. When had any of them last eaten a proper meal, or slept without fear of pursuit?
"The sanctuary has guest quarters," Mistress Delmare added, noticing their condition. "You look like you haven't rested in days."
"Feels like longer," Osa admitted, swaying slightly as the effort of healing Professor Nyala finally caught up with him.
The sanctuary lay at the village's heart, but hidden behind what appeared to be an ordinary grove of palm trees. Only when they passed through the natural screen did the true space reveal itself. A series of interconnected pools carved into living coral, fed by both freshwater springs and tidal channels. The water glowed with soft bioluminescence, and the air itself felt somehow cleaner, more vital.
"Beautiful," Radji breathed, his analytical mind immediately cataloging the engineering required to maintain such delicate balance between fresh and salt water.
"Functional," Mistress Delmare corrected with a slight smile. "The pools filter corruption, amplify healing properties, and provide neutral ground for negotiations between domains. Very useful when your village serves two masters."
She led Professor Nyala to the central pool, where stone steps descended into water that seemed to shimmer with its own inner light. "The blessed waters will complete what young Osa began. An hour's soaking should restore your magical pathways completely."
As Professor Nyala settled into the healing pool with visible relief, Mistress Delmare turned to the three students. "Your quarters are through there," she indicated a path leading to small but comfortable buildings nestled among the trees. "Each has a private bath fed by the sanctuary springs. Rest, eat, recover your strength."
"Is that an order?" Saguna asked, too tired to keep the wariness from his voice.
"It's practical advice," Mistress Delmare replied. "Tomorrow, representatives from the Verdant Coils will likely to arrive to investigate the elemental disturbances in their territory. You'll want to be at full strength for those conversations."
"Verdant Coils?" Osa asked, fighting to keep his eyes open.
"This village serves two domains, remember? The Azure Depths control the waters, but the Verdant Coils claim the jungle resources. When elemental power manifests in dual territory..." She shrugged. "Both sides have legitimate interests."
Radji adjusted his glasses, trying to focus despite his exhaustion. "That creates complex negotiations."
"Very complex," Mistress Delmare agreed. "Which is why you need rest. Political maneuvering requires clear minds."
The guest quarters were simple but comfortable. Wooden structures built to complement the natural grove, with large windows that could be opened to the sea breeze or closed for privacy. Each had a small bath carved from coral that connected to the sanctuary's spring system.
Saguna's room was the first along the path. As he sank into the blessed waters, he felt tension he hadn't realised he was carrying begin to dissolve. The warmth seeped into muscles strained by constant flight and fighting, while something in the water itself seemed to soothe the burning sensation that had plagued the marks on his neck since Teluk Jati.
For the first time in what felt like forever, he was truly alone. No whispers, no immediate threats, no companions depending on his decisions. Just silence, warmth, and the gradual return of his own thoughts.
Little brother...
Sahara's voice, but different now—fainter, less urgent. As if the distance from Teluk Jati had weakened their connection.
Rest now. You'll need your strength for what's coming. The hardest choices lie ahead.
"What choices?" he whispered to the empty room, but her presence had already faded.
The blessed water continued to work on his exhausted body, and despite his questions and concerns, Saguna found his eyes growing heavy. For the first time since the Academy, he felt truly safe.
In the next building, Osa had discovered that his room's bath responded to his presence in unexpected ways. The water level rose slightly when he entered, and small currents formed patterns that seemed almost like writing, though in no language he recognised.
"Water spirits," he murmured, remembering Mistress Delmare's explanations. The blessed springs were home to entities that had been partnering with the Azure Depths for generations. Now they were trying to communicate with him.
He extended his hand into the water, letting his healing affinity flow gently outward. The response was immediate — warmth, welcome, and something that felt almost like gratitude. Images flickered in his mind: corrupted pools growing clear, sick fish swimming strong again, darkness being driven back by flowing light.
They were thanking him for cleansing Professor Nyala's corruption from their domain's waters.
"I don't really know what I'm doing," he admitted to the spirits. "This is all new to me."
The water currents shifted, forming new patterns. Not language, but somehow still communication. Patience. Learning. Growth. Time.
Despite everything that had happened, Osa smiled. The water spirits weren't demanding immediate mastery or threatening consequences for mistakes. They were offering to teach, to grow alongside him.
For the first time since the Academy, he felt like he might have allies who wanted nothing from him except partnership.
In the third guest house, Radji had fallen asleep almost immediately upon entering the blessed bath. His dreams were filled with the steady pulse of the earth beneath the sanctuary. Stone foundations extending deep into the island's bedrock, root systems from the grove above, the slow circulation of groundwater that fed the springs.
But there was something else in his dream: a vast network extending far beyond the sanctuary, connecting to other groves, other sacred spaces throughout the Verdant Coils domain. The earth itself carried messages, he realised — information about weather patterns, plant health, the movement of animals and people.
The Verdant Coils weren't just interested in jungle resources. They were connected to a living information network that spanned their entire domain.
And somehow, through his earth affinity, he was now part of it.
When he woke hours later, Radji found detailed knowledge in his mind that he was certain hadn't been there before. Not just about the village and its surroundings, but about the broader political situation facing the Verdant Coils. Corruption spreading through their sacred groves. Ancient protections failing. And growing pressure from other domains to share resources and information.
They would want him, he realized. Not just for his abilities, but for the connections his earth affinity could provide to their network.
In the central pool, Professor Nyala floated peacefully, the last traces of silver corruption finally fading from her temples. Mistress Delmare sat nearby, monitoring her recovery while contemplating the political complications that tomorrow would bring.
The Triumvirate was safe for now, healing and resting in blessed waters. But word of their abilities was already spreading, carried by water spirits and earth networks to interested parties throughout the domains.
By morning, the sanctuary would no longer be the peaceful refuge it appeared tonight.
Outside the grove, Elena maintained her watch from the village docks, noting the positions of fishing boats that moved with too much purpose for normal evening activities. Representatives were already en route, though they wouldn't arrive until tomorrow.
The Azure Depths and Verdant Coils were about to discover that sharing territory sometimes meant sharing problems as well.