Water pooled around my feet, rising at an alarming rate. I stared-panicked-at the palms of my hands, willing the water gushing out of them to stop as miraculously as it had begun.

I only sneezed!

But there wasn't time to complain about how it had started. I needed to make it stop.

The water was already up to my ankles, drowning my feet along with my favourite boots.

My hair, streaked with vibrant violet strands, hung in drenched ringlets down my back as I reached, desperate, for the door to my bedroom, but the force of the water pushed me back from the handle before I could grip it.

I screamed in frustration. This was not happening! I was stuck in my own bedroom, water rising up rapidly around me. All I had to do was open the door, but I couldn't even do that because my hands were the source of the water!

It was up to my knees now. At this rate, it wouldn't take long to fill the room entirely and then...

No. I wasn't going to think about that. I was going to stop the water before then. I could do that. I could control my powers; I would not let them kill me.

Stop, stop, stop, I willed.

Think of something dry, Jasmine. Think of the Helian Realm; all that sunshine and heat.

The force of the jets increased. "No!" I screamed again.

The water was already at my waist. Tears were streaming from my eyes-as if I wasn't already producing enough water to contend with.

I spotted my dressing table by the window, the top of which was above the water line-for now. I climbed up onto it, dripping, and directed my hands towards the part of the room furthest from me; the bathroom door. Now, if that had been open, I would have been okay-I could have held my hands over the plug hole in the bath until the water stopped.

That was what I had done last time.

And the time before that.

But, of course, this morning I'd had to kick the bathroom door shut on my way out, hadn't I?

The water had already made it over the top of the table. I wanted to tear at my hair, clench my fists or hit something really hard. But I couldn't-my hands were completely unusable.

Defeated and frustrated, I settled for standing on my dressing table, cursing my out-of-control powers at the top of my lungs.

And then the bedroom door burst open and a torrent of water poured down the stairs, soaking my best friend, Brae, in the process.

"Oh," was all I could say in response.

The water stopped.

I cursed again. "These stupid powers are going to be the death of me!" I was being overly dramatic, but I didn't care. Things had been getting desperate.

But then Brae splashed across to the table, stretched out his arms for me to climb down into and held me tight against his dripping T-shirt. And I knew I was going to be alright. This time, anyway.

Unfortunately, my eyes hadn't taken their cue from my hands and were still streaming with hot, salty tears.

"Hey! It's okay, Jazz, I've got you now," Brae said soothingly, stroking my hair as I continued to cling to him.

"Sorry," I mumbled between tears and I pulled away, embarrassed by my water works. Both of them.

He smiled back at me. "How do you get yourself into these situations? I thought I was coming over for a nice, quiet chat and then I see you through the window: stood up on your dressing table, with water rising past the sill! You're even worse than Devon was! We're all going to have to start walking around in raincoats-fireproof ones at that!" He laughed softly, still holding me close. Safe. "I think I gave Caleb a bit of a fright though. Speaking of which..."

He trailed off as we heard Caleb's footsteps climbing up to my bedroom.

I looked round the room frantically, my sore, red eyes taking in the soaked bed, the ruined carpet, the drenched wooden furniture. Not to mention all of the water that had gone pouring out of the open door. The landing must be in a state.

"He's going to kill me!" I said dramatically, which only made Brae smile, since Caleb-as the chief priest of the Arcan Realm-was about as likely to kill someone as a Sephan was to have table manners.

I was right to be nervous though, I had been creating disaster after disaster since we had returned from the Helian Realm and it was starting to wear down even Caleb's saintly patience.

"Jasmine Dystros, what am I going to do with you, child?" Caleb sighed as he finally appeared in the doorway. "What happened this time?"

"I sneezed... and then the water started and I couldn't stop it-I tried Caleb, really I did-and all the doors were closed so I couldn't get out."

He shook his head, his face a picture of despair. "Perhaps we should build you some temporary accommodation in the garden-it's my flowers that need watering, not the house!" The corners of his mouth twitched up at the sides to show that he was joking and he opened his arms as I barrelled into him for a hug.

"We probably should come up with some sort of an emergency system though," Brae said, his face dark with concern. "If I hadn't seen her..."

"Then water probably would have started dripping through the ceiling before long!" Caleb interrupted, trying to lighten the mood. "Although, I agree that something needs to be done. We can't go on like this."

I panicked again. I had been waiting for Caleb to kick me out ever since we got back. At first, I thought that it would be because I was some kind of monster, but now I realised that it was because I was too much of a nuisance. And I couldn't count on Brae to take me in either, there was enough going on at the palace at the moment without my uncontrollable waterworks.

It was different with the Arcan Protectors. Sure, their powers were uncontrollable too to start with, but at least they knew what was going to happen. They could prepare. With me... We were learning to expect the unexpected.

But that didn't mean they should give up on me! I would get there eventually.

As I was about to protest, Caleb continued. "Perhaps it's time we got in contact with someone who can help. Someone with experience in these kinds of disasters."

I stopped panicking for long enough to look at him in confusion. "What do you mean, Caleb?"

He sighed. "The Brizans have been in touch. They want a meeting to follow up on what happened in the Helian Realm. They would like Brae to go across, since the King is still too ill to travel and... and they have requested that you go too. They're very interested in you, well, your powers more specifically.

"I wasn't sure at first. But your powers are growing more and more erratic and perhaps the Brizans could help you learn to control them-the water side at least."

Caleb had a theory about my parentage, and it would appear that the Brizans shared it too if they wanted me to go over to their Realm.

When we had returned-after the initial debriefing on the disaster of our mission and before Caleb had the chance to chastise me for going off without telling anyone-our conversation had turned to my powers.

Caleb had been quick to remark, rather matter-of-factly, that purple is a mix of blue and red, so it's likely that my parents were a Helian and a Brizan. This sounded a little too crazy to be true; Helians and Brizans avoided each other at all costs, so it would be unlikely for two of them to hook up.

Yet Brae had added that my age corresponded perfectly with the Brizan Occupation-the only time in the last few decades that Brizans and Helians had come into contact with each other.

It sounded absurd, but at least it gave a perfectly legitimate reason for my parents to have given me up. If I was a product of the Occupation... Well, keeping me around wouldn't really have been an option once the Helians were overpowered. My skin tone would have made me a pariah in the Brizan Realm and my eyes an outcast in the Helian one.

Brae nodded in agreement. "It's a good idea, Jazz. I would have never got the hang of my powers without my Mum's help. I wouldn't mind meeting the Brizans again either; we need to decide how we're going to act next."

Caleb looked wary.

"Why do I get the feeling that you don't think this is a good idea?" I asked him. I shuddered slightly from the cold of the water and was suddenly aware that I was still dripping on the carpet. "Actually, hold that thought. I'm going to go and get changed-if I have anything dry that is! Why don't the two of you go downstairs? I'll join you in a second." Without waiting for a response, I went over to my wardrobe and was relieved to see that it had remained watertight.

Shivering, I grabbed a woollen jumper and a dry pair of trousers and headed into my bathroom.

I eyed the shower sceptically. Normally, my favourite way to calm myself down was to run the water until the room filled with steam, then stand in the shower until the stress was washed away. Right now, I couldn't think of anything worse than more water. Instead, I settled for grabbing my towel and trying to rub my circulation back into action before changing into the dry outfit.

Before I left the bathroom, I took a look at my reflection in the mirror. Wet, most of my hair looked inky black, but the purple streaks remained as vibrant as ever. It no longer hurt to look at them though. They were a part of what made me, me, and without them, I knew that we wouldn't have escaped from the Helian Realm. There were benefits to being a freak.

Caleb and Brae were in deep discussion when I arrived downstairs.

"Okay," I said, throwing myself down on the sofa, next to Brae. "What's wrong with the idea of us going to the Brizan Realm? It sounds like a perfect fix to me: Brae can discuss politics and the Brizan Protectors can show me how to not drown myself."

"The Brizans have always hated the Helians and after the Helians' recent attack, they're going to be even more frosty than usual. If you go to the Brizan Realm, the result of a Helian and Brizan relationship, I'm not sure how safe you are going to be."

"The Brizans would never hurt an Arcan citizen," Brae replied fiercely. This was clearly something they had been debating while I was getting changed.

"They won't see you as an Arcan, Jasmine," Caleb said sadly.

"I guess I'm not. Not really."

"Yes, you are." It was Caleb who spoke. "You have lived in this Realm since you were a few months old. You have grown up under our customs, attending our services and living by our laws. You are an Arcan in every way that counts. Who your birth parents are doesn't change that. But that doesn't mean the Brizans will feel the same." He sighed again. I was beginning to get a sense of just how much of a toll recent events had taken on him, he looked weary and tired and-for the first time-old. "There are still more benefits to this trip than risks, so you should go. Just be careful."

"When should we leave?"

"As soon as possible," Brae said at once. From the look of steely determination on his face and the disappointment on Caleb's, I could see that this was something else they had been debating while I was upstairs. And I could guess why: Brae's father had been deteriorating steadily since our return. If Brae left now, it was unlikely that the King would still be alive when he returned home.

But Brae had no interest in moping around the palace watching his father die slowly; that was why he had been spending so much time at our house. I could see why he would jump at the opportunity to escape the Realm completely. That didn't mean that he wouldn't regret this decision later.

"Are you sure, Brae?" I asked softly. "Really, truly, sure?"

"Yes." He looked at me, his eyes full of resolve. I took his hand in mine and squeezed. There was nothing more that I could say.

{Thank you so much to @manohar_m for the fan art}