Harper had spent months saying she wanted Brannor.

That was easy when Choosing Tide was still weeks away.

It became less easy when she stood barefoot at the edge of the basin with several hundred people watching.

A staff member checked her name.

"Harper Vale."

Harper stepped forward.

The water reached her ankles first, cold enough to make her flinch.

Mia was already standing on the Brannor platform wrapped in a towel, trying very hard not to wave.

Harper almost waved anyway.

Professor Ward had explained the rule one final time that morning.

Do not fight the current.

Do not swim.

Do not cast.

Let the ritual move.

Harper had made jokes about all three.

Now the basin did not feel funny.

She walked until the water reached her knees.

The stone floor beneath her feet was rough enough that she did not feel as though she might slip.

Good design, she thought automatically.

Ava would approve.

At the centre marker, the current touched her legs.

Harper's first instinct was to push back.

Not because it was moving her toward the wrong Order.

Because something was pushing her, and Harper's body had spent seven years treating that as an invitation.

She caught herself.

Do not resist.

The water curled around her.

For one horrible second, it moved toward the space between Brannor and Velmor.

Harper's stomach dropped.

She wanted Brannor.

Not because it sounded brave.

Because the Brannor students she had met ran toward problems only after learning what actually helped. Because they trained rescue work. Because they admitted that strength without control could make a situation worse.

Because Harper was still learning that last part.

The current shifted right.

Toward Calyx.

"No," Harper whispered.

Then immediately regretted saying it.

The current curved back toward the centre.

The gallery leaned forward.

Harper could feel every stupid joke she had ever made about swimming against the Tide waiting behind her teeth.

She could fight it.

She was a strong swimmer for seven.

She could probably move half a metre before three adults stopped her.

All Harper knew was that this moment was supposed to be about letting something choose without turning uncertainty into a contest.

So she stood still.

The current moved left.

Brannor.

Harper's whole face changed.

She laughed.

Not because she had won.

Because she had not forced it.

The water carried her across the basin.

When she reached the marked edge, Harper stepped onto the platform under her own power.

Mia hit her with a towel and a hug at the same time.

"Brannor!"

"Obviously."

"You were terrified."

"Shut up."

An older Brannor student pinned temporary gold edging to Harper's grey scarf.

It looked right.

Harper hated how much that mattered.

Then she turned back toward the basin.

Jasper and Ava still stood in grey among the remaining first-years.

The distance was only a few metres.

It felt enormous.

For the first time all year, Harper was standing on one side of something without them.

Jasper grinned at her.

Ava gave one sharp nod.

Harper lifted both thumbs before remembering this was meant to be ceremonial.

Mia whispered, "Too late."

The next name was not Jasper or Ava.

Harper was grateful.

She needed a minute to discover that getting exactly what she wanted could still feel strange.

Two more students were placed.

Then Ava's name was called.

Harper tightened her grip on the towel.

Ava stepped toward the water with the calm face she used whenever she was absolutely not calm.

Harper knew better now.

She had seen Ava label socks because she was nervous.

She had watched Ava make twelve plans because one uncertain future felt unbearable.

Harper wanted Ava beside her.

Very badly.

Then another thought arrived.

She wanted Ava to end up where Ava belonged more than she wanted Brannor to take her.

That hurt a little.

It also felt right.

Harper whispered, "Come on."

And waited.