2.Hydration is Important

2. Hydration Is Important

Am I still dizzy?

My head is pounding after I wake up in the professor's office. Did I really hear what I think I heard?

"Sorry, I must have heard you wrong. It sounded like you said I need a brand."

"Yeah," Liam says. "At least your ears are fine."

I passed out in my friend’s office, yet somehow, I’m the only one making sense.

"Liam, what? I'm a water nymph. Water nymphs don't need brands."

"You're half human," he points out, offering me a hand.

I let him help me to my feet and manage the short journey to a chair without falling again, though he hovers like I might.

Technically, he's Professor Monroe to students on campus. But seeing as we've been friends for over a decade, he's just Liam to me when no other students are around. I'm not taking any of his classes, so there's no conflict of interest. When something was wrong, the first place I thought of going was to my friend.

"Do all supernaturally mixed people go through this?" I wonder.

"From what I understand, a connection to magic from one side of the family should compensate for the other side. This is an unusual situation.”

There's another possibility. “Or maybe you’re mistaken?”

Liam raises a doubtful eyebrow. Whether it’s the academic in him or the after-hours dominant, the professor really likes to be right. I brace myself for whatever he’s about to say next to win this debate.

"You know what? Maybe you're right."

Okay, not expecting that.

He sighs and moves to the other side of the desk, sitting down heavily as he mulls it over. "This was a normal situation. You've been channeling magic like a nymph since you were born, but things have changed."

Oh.

He's right. Things have changed. A lot.

The secluded community of water nymphs at Calypso Bay are fearful of the world beyond the sea. While I started sneaking to the surface world as a teenager, I never told any of the other nymphs. Not until recently when I found a purpose on land, becoming a nurse's assistant.

It made me realize that I wanted to split my time more equally between the land and sea. Wherever I was, I wanted to be free to express all sides of myself.

The nymphs weren't sold on the idea. That's why I was banished from Calypso Bay.

"Water nymphs are connected to bodies of water," I say. "So am I, even though I'm not physically bound to the water."

"But you haven't been back to the bay for months. You've lost your link to the nymphs, and you don't have the tokens or a brand that humans use to protect themselves against the strain of using magic."

Water nymphs are intrinsically connected to the body of water they serve. Once nymphs come of age, they merge their life force with the natural place they wish to serve forever.

It's a natural part of a nymph's life cycle, but not a human's.

I still draw on the connection I share with the waters I grew up in; I just can't bind myself there in the same way as other nymphs. Relying on that connection has always worked before, but I've always nurtured and maintained my relationship with the bay.

Until now. That connection is running dry.

"That explains why I've been exhausted lately," I realize. "I need a connection to magic." Either as a nymph or a human. "Right now, I don't have one. Am I in danger?"

"For someone who's been doing magic for months without the right foundations to lean on, your symptoms are incredibly mild. You'd be in trouble if you were fully human, but you're not. I think you'll be just fine, especially if you take care of the problem now."

To support my magic, I'd need to go back to the bay or gain a brand. But if I returned to the water, I'd have to leave this life behind.

"I need a brand," I say. Hold on. How am I going to get one of those? "Isn't getting a brand challenging?" Samson had just told me as much not even an hour ago.

The professor doesn't look concerned. "You've been a practicing water nymph for four decades. Somehow I doubt you'll have much trouble. Do you even need to prove yourself when the water element already knows you intimately? My suggestion is to start simple: ask for the brand."

"Guess I'll give that a try," I agree.

When I leave my friend's office, I lean against the wall and close my eyes, tuning into the innate pull inside that guides me to the nearest water. It's an instinct, like a compass needle pointing north, except my north is always liquid and flowing. For a moment, I wonder why I bother. No doubt I’ll end up at the pond or the fountain in the center of campus.

But it turns out, there’s a closer concentration of water nearby.

"Seriously? A freaking fish tank?"

I stand in the open doorway of a professor's office, at the other end of the hall from Liam's office. Nobody is inside right now, so I step in and examine the fish tank in the corner.

By fish tank standards, it's probably large. Compared to the bay and the vast waters beyond, it's nothing. Blue-green water highlights colorful fish that draw the eye and float by serenely.

A coral backdrop decorates the tank, dotted with sea grass and mermaid figurines peeking out from the greenery. There's also a little treasure chest that the mermaids seem quite interested in even though real mermaids would not have the first clue about what to do with human currency.

The tank is cheesy, but this is where my instinct led me. I might as well give it a shot.

Pressing my hand against the glass, I concentrate, opening myself to the water's essence.

"Ahem," I say uncertainly. "Hello there. It's, um, it's me. Argyle. May I have a waterbrand?"

Is something supposed to happen now? Should have asked Liam. Nothing happens.

"May I have a waterbrand please?"

The elements appreciate a little respect, right? Certainly the 'please' will do the trick.

I'm not too sure about that. Yet as soon as my palm leaves the glass, spouts of water shoot upward, knocking the lid off the tank. A brilliant blue flash erupts, and I feel a surge of energy course through me, raw and invigorating.

All the fatigue is gone. I feel amazing. My skin tingles where magic touches it, and I feel the brand etch itself on my scales.

The waterworks die down and everything goes still.

It's done. I have a waterbrand.

"Wow, that was easy."

It's surprising how easy that was. The tank bubbles as if laughing at me, and I can't help but join in on the mirth.

Okay, not that surprising.

I already have an innate grasp of water magic, and I lived as a water nymph with full control of my powers for years. This is more like a formality in my case.

Okay then. I'm not sure what I expected, but gazing around this office for answers reminds me of one thing: I'm standing in a complete stranger's office disturbing their fish tank.

I clean up, put the lid back, and get the hell out of here before the professor comes back.