Some days later they reached a building hidden away into the woods.

"It's where we usually hide the Fair when we go overseas," Thalia said before Cora could even ask. "Nobody knows about its existence, so we'll be able to stay hidden and keep an eye on the harbour at the same time."

"We'll need to get food and drinks before leaving," Harry instructed.

"Shouldn't she..." One of the unknown fays suggested looking at Cora, and Harry gave him a glacial stare.

"We can't expect her to be able to make water for us all. She's inexperienced and I'm not taking any chances."

His words stung Cora a little, but she knew he was right. She didn't even know how long the journey would take, and she didn't want anyone to rely on her for their survival. Her magic so far was little more than a carnival trick, not enough for her to believe she was truly worth something as part of a crew. She was getting better day by day, but she knew better than to expect miracles.

Cora still had no clue of the meaning behind the crow's words; she'd spent days thinking about it, wondering which moment in time it was referring to, but the more she thought about it, the more confusing it got.

She'd given up on trying to make sense of it, but she couldn't shake away that nagging feeling that there was more to reality than what she knew—the truth was right in front of her, she just had to see it.

She hadn't seen the crow since, but she was sure it was close by. She could sense its lingering presence every single time she was alone. It made her want to strike up conversations with Iris or Harry to keep the silence at bay.

"I say you could provide us with water just fine," Iris murmured, sitting by her side, and Cora sighed.

"I don't think so."

Iris shrugged. "It's quite obvious to me that yours is magical water," she replied, "I don't know why everyone else refuses to see it."

Cora chuckled. "How would you know..."

"I saw you that one time at the river. No offence, but you weren't that good. And yet, whenever there isn't a body of water close by, you do wonderful things." Iris frowned. "I think you aren't able to manipulate what's already there well. Your strength resides in making water."

"And it's salty," Cora specified. "Like the sea. Harry told me so."

"I said you aren't bad, not that there isn't room for improvement."

Cora gasped, and Iris let out a laugh.

"Someone has to be honest with you."

Cora sat on the ground in front of the still-locked building. "I'm tired of this magic thing. It's more complicated than what it's worth."

"Is that so?" Cora turned around; Harry was standing behind her. "You should've told me earlier, you would've spared us both the trouble."

She sighed. "You know I didn't mean it like that. It's just exhausting."

Harry smiled and picked up a piece of wood. "Practice makes perfect, have I never told you?" He handed it to her, and her lips curved up when she saw he'd turned it into a wooden rose.

"This is one trick I'll never understand," she murmured, running her finger over its petals. It almost looked real. Almost.

He walked away, and Iris let out a low whistle. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he's flirting with you."

"Don't," Cora murmured, putting the rose in her lap and hiding her face in her hands. "I feel like I'm going crazy."

Iris laughed. "It can't be that bad." She took the rose and waved it in front of her. "Practice makes perfect," she quoted in a low voice, and Cora chuckled. It was so easy for him to say.

Practice makes perfect. It wasn't the first time she heard him say that. He repeated it often, as if it were a life lesson of some sort. She knew he wasn't necessarily wrong, either.

She too got better the more she tried to use her magic. She'd made the stars rain over the Fair. She could fill cups up with close to no effort now, too. She could do things she would've thought impossible not too long before.

Practice makes perfect. Like Harry's wooden roses, like his fireflies, like the shows of the Pavilion. Like her water and his fire and everything in between.

A sudden thought struck her and she let out a gasp.

His fire. His beautiful blue flames, explosive and dangerous all at once. The fire that had escaped out of him once, by mistake. The one he'd been terrified of. That one time he believed he'd lost all control over his magic, to the point that he hadn't even been able to meet her gaze for hours.

I completely lost control today. I don't know what happened to them, I only know they weren't pulverised by my fire, he'd told her back then.

Ask yourself why he was able to control it perfectly that one time he claimed to have completely lost control.

I completely lost control today.

He was able to control it perfectly.

Cora remembered that day. She remembered the darkness of the earth around them, burnt trees and grass all around. The destruction Harry had been able to save them from. And those men had disappeared. They'd disappeared, and she didn't know why.

He was able to control it perfectly.

That day had never been about the burnt grass and trees. She'd seen the ruination he'd created and believed it to be an instance of him losing control, but she'd been wrong. That desolation had never been the power of those white flames, it'd only been a mere side effect, the accidental burns on someone's hands when the fire that they're lighting up grazes their fingers because they couldn't move back fast enough.

The woods around them hadn't been able to move back fast enough, and so they'd been burned.

He was able to control it perfectly.

Harry's blue flame had made those men vanish, and it'd been a wonderfully controlled magic. The men had been scattered all around them, and yet only they had faced the wrath of Harry's fire. Everything else had been left exactly where it was.

Whether Harry knew it or not, there had been no mistake, no loss of control. His fire had done exactly what it'd been summoned to do.

What kind of power had been unleashed when she'd touched his hand?

A hand touched Cora's arm, and she jumped, wrenched out of her thoughts. Iris nodded towards the door at their back, that was now open. "Are you alright?" she asked as they stood up, brushing dirt off their clothes. "You suddenly went very quiet."

"I'm fine," Cora replied, though it wasn't true. Her eyes met Thalia's, that was standing near the entrance, and she sent her a long, sharp glance before walking inside. Cora had the sudden feeling Thalia knew exactly what she was thinking about.

She shook her head and stepped into the building as well, followed by Iris.

A large room opened around them. A sealed gate was on the right, and a place to tie the horses on the left. It was so silent Cora could hear the echo of the people around her breathing. But it was warm and hidden away from prying eyes, and she thought it was perfect.

"We will stay here while we assess the situation down in the harbour," Harry told them. "Prepare to leave soon."

•     •     •

As Thalia had said, it was easy to keep an eye on the harbour from their new hiding place. It took them four days to get everything they needed, and they spent every night studying a way to escape the continent without being seen.

Thankfully Harry's ship, the Scintilla, a small yet powerful thing with a depiction of flames etched in the wood at its rear, had been waiting for them to leave for solstice from there since before the fire in the Pavilion, so they didn't have to go through the trouble of having to steal one, but it mattered little. They couldn't be caught boarding the ship, if they didn't want to be brought to justice for Soren's crimes.

They visited the Scintilla every night in small groups, hiding all they needed for the trip under the deck. By the time the moment came for them to leave, they'd all been there multiple times.

On that night they let Eames and Oden go first, and then proceeded to board the ship in groups of two every few minutes. Cora and Harry were last, since he was the only one that could easily defend them if it came to it.

They watched Thalia and Iris go and waited around the corner for a while, holding their breaths and letting the darkness of the night hide them from view.

"Let's go," Harry whispered, and they moved towards the ship. They didn't run nor walk slowly, keeping the perfect pace as they tried to make their way towards their escape unnoticed.

Only a few people were around thanks to the late hour and none seemed to be particularly interested in them. They got on the dock, Harry's arm on Cora's shoulders in an attempt to pretend they were nothing more than a couple come to the harbour to watch the moon.

They neared the Scintilla and Harry stopped, moving Cora so that she was facing him. He brought his finger to his lips and then glanced around, making sure they were still safe before stepping towards the mooring. He crouched down, hidden behind her figure, working quickly to undo the knot on the rope.

He wasn't wearing his hat in an attempt to be less recognisable and the night wind disheveled his dark curls. After some minutes that felt like centuries Harry glanced up and gave her a winning smile.

He let go the rope and it fell into the sea with a splash. He jumped on the gangway and offered Cora his hand. She took it and let him pull her onto the deck right as the ship detached itself from the dock, following the direction of the waves.

Arnold and the others ran to unfurl the sails, working quickly in the darkness. Cora's heart was hammering in her chest. They were so close.

"Stop what you're doing!" A man ran down the dock. "Identify yourselves!"

Arnold turned to look at Harry, and so did Cora.

Harry gave the terrified man a little smile, that somehow made her feel a little uneasy. "You mustn't worry," he told him. "This ship belongs to me. I'm simply taking it back."

"Sir, your name!"

He glanced at the others and gave them a little nod.

One of them raised a hand, and a sudden gust of wind blew through the harbour, spreading the sails like ghosts in the night. The ship jumped forward and Cora lost her balance, falling on the wood of the deck and hitting her knees hard.

She was going to be sick.

"Your name! They're stealing a ship!"

More men were flocking to the dock, all wide-eyed, some running to other boats as if they hoped to catch up to them. Maybe they could.

Cora slowly got up again. Her legs hurt and she had to grab onto the railing not to risk falling again every time the ship shifted over the rough sea. There were lights turning on all over the harbour and people were shouting; there was no doubt the royal guards would come running soon.

She turned towards her travel companions; Iris and Thalia were sitting on the quarterdeck next to each other, cuddled into their cloaks to protect themselves from the cold winter wind that had been brought forward. Eames was shouting orders left and right and Arnold was behind the helm, slowly directing the ship out of the harbour. Oden was inside the cabin, she could see him crouched in a corner from the still open door, that was slamming violently with every jump and turn the ship made.

The man that had helped them set sail lowered his arms, exhausted. "I hope it'll be enough," he said.

Cora looked at the dock again. A group of men in dark blue uniforms had arrived—royal guards. All the shouting had alerted them at last, and they wouldn't let them go.

It wasn't enough. They would catch up with them easily. It was only a matter of moments.

She stared into the black sea where freedom awaited, close enough to touch.

The royal guards were now boarding another ship. Some boats had already set sail.

Something had to be done.

The sea was becoming calmer, and she ran to the quarterdeck, jumping past Iris and Thalia. Arnold gave her a puzzled look but she ignored him, running to the stern.

The railing slammed into her when she reached it. She had no control over air, she couldn't summon a wind to take them away. But there was something else she could do.

Cora raised a hand and a wave rolled towards them. The ship slid up and down, naturally following its course. She smiled and focused on the harbour.

The sea became rougher, water angrily splashing against the wood.

"Cora!" Harry shouted, running towards her.

"Hold on tight."

A wave came rolling towards them, taller than any other, hiding the harbour from view. Arnold spun the helm in an attempt to ride it out, but it crashed against the hull of the ship and raised it up in the starry sky. Screams rang out as the deck tipped dangerously, the sea opening behind them. The barrels in the corner rolled to the railing and into the water.

Harry fell on the stairs and Thalia reached out to him, Eames lowered himself to the floor and Arnold clung to the helm for dear life. Sails spread wide, the Scintilla was a bird ready to catch flight.

Cora closed her eyes, forcing herself to feel the water underneath the ship, that force of nature that would lend her its power if only she asked. All she needed to do was ask.

An ability was what someone was most alike, and she was like water. She could fit in every container, she adapted. But she was so much more than that. She was like the sea, powerful and unpredictable. She couldn't be controlled. Calm yet tempestuous, intense yet gentle.

Be like fire, Harry had told her once.

No, Cora told herself, be like water. They will not have you.

The wave rolled under the ship and from the sky they crashed back down to earth. The strength of the tempestuous sea pulled them far away into the dark horizon.

The harbour became nothing more than lights in the distance, and they sailed away into the night.