A glimmer of light from the outside reflected on the pool’s water. Saia blinked and lowered the arm that was holding the torch, stretching her back. She looked at the bucket next to her: it contained the two snakes she’d caught, heads bound in pieces of cloth and dangling from the border, their bodies immersed in seawater.

“Saia?” a young voice called her from outside.

She stood, wiping away the sand from her blue gown.

“You shouldn't come this far,” she answered, wrapping a gloved hand around the bucket's handle. “You could step on a snake.”

She approached the entrance of the cave. Dan was leaning forward to look inside without stepping on the stone floor.

“See? I didn't enter.”

Saia raised her eyebrows. Dan ignored her, looking inside the bucket she was holding.

“Two? How are you calling them?”

“I don't give them names.”

“You should, though.”

He held out a hand and Saia gave him the bucket to carry. He had grown a lot in the last months, and if his brother's height was of any indication, he'd grow some more before the end of the year. Even if he still looked like a kid, with the freckles covering his cheeks, partially hidden by his tan.

They walked towards the village, following the gentle curve of the beach. Saia noticed that Dan was shivering in the cold breeze that came from the sea, hunched over as if he could keep the warmth inside just by folding on himself, his blonde hair ruffled.

“Do you have a coat at home?” she asked.

Dan shrugged, splashing some water from the bucket onto his leg. One of the snakes was sliding down, so he nudged it back with his bare hand.

“Careful,” Saia warned. “They're still dangerous.”

“But you catch them with your hands all the time.”

“Because I've practiced, and I always use my gloves.”

She opened and closed her hands to show him. He nodded and looked down at the snakes again.

“Can you teach me?” he asked.

They crossed the line of white stones before Saia was ready to answer.

“Is it something you actually want or you just had the idea right now?”

He shrugged again.

“I like animals. I already know how to handle sheep and cows. Maybe if I learn how to catch sea snakes, I could sell their meat and stop going around asking for jobs.”

Saia smiled.

“So you want to become my rival?”

He smirked back, then returned serious.

“I want to be your apprentice. If you need one, I mean.”

Saia stopped and gently grabbed his shoulder.

“Handling sea snakes is one thing, every fisher here knows how to do that when they find one in their nets. But I work in the cave.”

“I know.”

“It's dangerous. If they bite you…”

“I know,” he repeated a bit louder, then produced a small, apologetic smile. “I remember. It's fine if you don't want to, I have a job anyway.”

Saia let him go and resumed walking. The idea of having an apprentice remembered her of the days spent on the boat with her dad.

“But your boss still doesn't pay you enough, right?” she asked.

Dan sighed.

“Yeah, same old story. I don’t know how to make cheese, so if I ask for more he’ll just find another assistant to handle his sheep.”

They entered the village and followed the streets until they were in front of Saia's house. She looked for the keys in her bag.

“And your brother? Has he sold some carpets, recently?”

Dan hesitated.

“No. But I don't mind it, really. The sheep are nice.”

Saia refrained from commenting. She opened the door and glanced back at him.

“I have to feed the snakes. Do you want to help me?”

Dan’s eyes became wider.

“Really?”

“Only if you promise to be careful and listen."

He nodded vigorously.

“Promised!”

“Alright, then. Give me a second.”

She took the bucket from Dan's hands and entered, leaving him outside. She untied the snakes one by one and tossed them inside the tank, then crossed the room towards the only armchair, where she'd left the woolen blanket that was wrapped around Koidan. She glanced at the door to make sure Dan wasn't watching before checking inside the blanket: Koidan was still there, asleep. His light was a shining blue floating inside the sphere, rotating so slowly it didn't seem to move.

She put sphere and cloth inside her bag and called Dan.

“Here, put on the gloves,” she said, taking them off. They were a bit too large for his hands, which meant extra protection for the wrists.

“And here is the dried meat. You have to make sure they all eat at least one piece.”

Dan examined them.

“Dried meat? I thought they ate fresh fish.”

“Only when I go to the market.”

She didn't have the heart to tell him it didn't matter, since she’d have sold them soon.

“Take a piece of meat and raise your arm high above the water. Like that, exactly, but keep both feet on the ground. And don't stand on your toes!”

The snakes were all swimming near the bottom of the tank, agitated by the movement outside.

“Can I let go now?” Dan asked.

“Yes. Try to remember which snake catches it.”

He made a pained face.

“How do I distinguish them?”

“You’ll learn by habit.”

“It would be easier if you gave them names.”

He let go of the meat. As soon as the food touched the water, the snakes started a fight near the surface, teeth bare and tails lashing out. Dan laughed, putting a hand in front of his face to shield it from the splashes. Saia smiled and slightly bent forward to see which snake had caught the jerky. She pointed at it.

“Feed the others, now.”

Dan did his best, but the same snake caught two more pieces of the food destined to the others.

“I can't do it,” Dan said.

Saia moved her fingers near the surface to catch the animal's attention. It jumped, and she stepped aside, grabbing its head and forcing its mouth close.

Dan jumped and clapped, the sound muffled by the gloves.

“Thank you,” Saia said with a half bow, snake dangling from her hand. “Keep feeding them.”

“And that one?”

“I’ll spill some venom. The herbalist needs two vials this week.”

She stood in front of the table at the center of the room and grabbed an empty beaker. She eased her grip on the snake's head until it could snap forward and bite the glass. The venom spilled down from its fangs in two transparent trickles.

“That's so cool,” Dan said.

Saia smiled and turned towards him so that he could see better. She held her breath when he saw the piece of dried meat he was dangling too close to the water, without paying attention.

“Don’t…” she began, but one of the snakes jumped out of the water before she could finish.

Dan screamed and grabbed its body. The snake turned its head to face the arm that was holding it and bit the skin between glove and sleeve.

Saia put down the becker and yanked the snake away from Dan. Holding both of the animals by the head, she tossed them back into the tank and turned to examine the bite. Two drops of blood hid the holes in Dan's arm. He was breathing quickly, hands trembling.

“It bit me!” he said, as if he couldn't believe it had actually happened.

“They tend to attack everything that moves. You always need to look at them, and never grab their body. Only the head.”

She let go of his arm and approached the shelf next to the armchair, full of books and bottles with herbs. She pretended to look for something with a hand, while the other searched inside her bag.

“What are you doing?” Dan asked.

“Looking for something to slow down the venom until Koidan can take care of you.”

Her hand found the cloth and started to unwrap it.

“He's taking an awfully long time to heal me, uh?”

“Maybe he wants to teach you a lesson.”

“A lesson? Like ‘always catch a snake from the head’?”

“Also that. But mainly that you should be careful and not rely on his help, especially if you're going to fish outside of his territory.” She finally touched the cold glass of the sphere. “But yeah, if you learn how to grab a snake the right way you're going to do just fine.”

She tried to recall the sea of calmness, panicked when the sensations didn't feel right. She breathed slowly, reminding herself of all the progress she had made in the past week. She pushed her energies forward and glanced down: the light had turned golden.

“Good morning,” she heard in her ear. “I didn't expect to wake up so soon.”

Saia nodded in Dan's direction. She hoped he understood the problem without having to explain what happened.

“Look!” Dan yelled. “It's disappearing.”

He slid his fingers on the intact skin of his arm. Saia wondered how many days Koidan had just lost.

“Thank you,” she murmured, then touched the sphere again.

The light became blue. She stared at it for an instant, then retracted her hand and let the bag fall at her side.

“Look, I'm fine!” Dan said, stepping forward. “I can keep feeding them.”

“Absolutely not. I can't let you do that until you know how to handle them."

“But…”

“We begin this fifthday. Come here at dawn.”

Dan smiled. Saia fished three vissins from the pockets of her gown. Dan's eyes went wide when he saw the metallic shine of the coins.

“For carrying the bucket. Keep them for yourself, don't tell your brother."

Dan took them carefully.

“See you on fifthday, then.”

“Of course.” Saia opened the door. “And tell Morìc I say hi.”

After he was gone, Saia sighed and surveyed the room: there was a lot of water on the floor and the white line was a bit smudged. Not that the borders mattered, since Koidan lived in her house now; her room had become the center of his territory.

She crossed the room and sat down on the armchair, holding the open bag on her legs. She touched the sphere.

“Did they bite him again?” Koidan asked.

“No, I just wanted to talk to you. About Dan, actually.”

“Something’s wrong?”

“Could you find a way to give him some money? I don't like that he has to go door by door to ask for work, on top of his job as a shepherd. People could treat him badly, and you're not even there to protect him.”

“I can’t.”

“Because you're not able to, or because you don't want to?”

“I already gave him and Morin a house. I make sure they have enough food every time I'm awake. He wouldn't need more money, if his brother didn't waste every extra coin they have for his carpets.”

“I could tell Dan to keep them a secret.”

“It's not just that. There are only two ways I could find money for him: either I extract the metals directly from the earth and shape them into coins, wasting energy for an amount that would last less than two weeks, or I rob someone. Which is exactly what the sentinels in the mountain are looking out for.”

“Not if you do it at night. I bet Orver wouldn't even find out,” she added, thinking about the merchant.

“Saia, I won't steal anything from anyone. Not even the richest person in the world, not using my powers, not with the responsibilities that come with my role.”

Saia laid back on the armchair.

“You could ask for donations, then. We could use them to help Dan and whoever else needs it.”

“I’m forbidden to ask for money. Plus, I’m already helping people by making food more accessible, whenever possible. I can't do anything more, especially now that I'm asleep most of the time.”

The light became so bright Saia had to avert her eyes.

“Right now,” Koidan continued, “there are twenty people in front of the temple. I bet about three of them are there to thank me, the rest wants to ask for my help. And I get it, it's my job. But I'm literally dying just to listen to them. So I've decided my life is the priority, right now. If you really want to do something about Dan or the whoever elses you were talking about, do it yourself.”

The light faded into a glimmer.

“I’m sorry that you're going through this, but it's not Dan's fault. He's a kid, and he needs your help.”

“Let me sleep. Please.”

Saia sighed in disapproval, but obeyed. Her ears were ringing a bit after that discussion. She'd always thought that gods could talk directly into people's mind, but Koidan had explained to her that they just created voice-shaped vibrations inside their skull or the air around them. They didn't actually have access to anyone's thoughts, even if it was useful to have people think it worked that way.

She couldn't even begin to put into words the amount of relief that revelation had given her.

A glance outside told her that the morning was half gone, and she still had venom to spill. She put on the gloves and set to work.