Page 62 of Legacy

“Yeah,” I murmured.

Ariana stroked my cheek. “All is well. I promise.”

I sank into it for a few moments.

Into them.

And then I managed to pull from it with the help of Kai diverting the subject matter, as he asked Ariana, “So, how did it go with the big family get-together?”

She brightened as she told us, “It was good. Really good. My mom was working hard to keep things open and honest. We had a whole ridiculously extravagant feast.” She chuckled. “Oh, they go big. So big. And then we talked. We talkeda lot.Grandfather feels so guilty and he’s putting so much of the burden on himself. I think I managed to talk him down, but it’s hard to tell with him, because he doesn’t put a lot on the surface. Fortunately, Gramps is really good at dealing with that aspect of him.” She let out a peaceful sigh. “All in all, it was leaps and bounds of progress. And it was really nice. Especially with all of them being there.”

“Yes, it was rather pleasant, wasn’t it?”

In the next moment, Gabriel materialized in a burst of amber teleportation smoke.

Jeez.

It had me jolting and inadvertently pulling back from Kai and Ariana in my surprise.

His thick, white spiky hair was a shocking contrast to his all-black ensemble. His three-quarter-length coat with leather lapels and cuffs was embellished with silver buttons. Beneath was a turtleneck and tailored black pants. He was barely over five-foot-ten, all compact muscle. In human years, he was in his forties, but really he had centuries under his belt.

“Gentlemen,” he greeted, looking at me and Kai in turn. “Granddaughter,” he said, shifting his attention to Ariana.

She chuckled and he winked at her, a moment of familial intimacy passing between them, before he then stiffened and became all business, telling us, “Now, to focus on this challenging session before us.” He eyed Kai. “Yes, it will even pose a challenge for you, Kai.”

We all gathered in a semi-circle before Gabriel, this class consisting of a dozen students only, including Kai, Ariana, and me.

Magic-wielders, including those of Dark Fae and Light Fae gathered with us.

I was the only hybrid.

Par for the course with Maven Academy.

Not for much longer. Thanks to Crossborn.

“Welcome to Apex Magic Theory and Practical Application,” Gabriel spoke, his voice booming through the room, not with force, but with a deep-rooted confidence. “This first class isThe Nature of Mastery.”He linked his hands behind his back and glided up and down in front of us, making eye contact with each of us in turn, holding our attention almost effortlessly. “Mastery is not merely the means to wield great power. For wielding power without understanding is a fool’s approach. It invites both weakness and corruption.” The corner of his mouth turned up as he caught Kai’s eye. “Power without knowledge is a verydangerous thing.” That had me smiling, too, because I knew it was Gabriel who’d taught Kai that, something he lived by really well. He’d had to come to Maven Coven in the past to assist when Kai had proven atadarrogant with his abilities as a kid. Gabriel had managed to help calm him and he’d taught him to see things in a safer way.

Gabriel continued on, “Throughout this course, you will grow your knowledge base. However, today, we will focus on something perhaps even more vital—restraint. Understanding when to employ it, how to employ it in a range of scenarios, as well as how much.”

In the next moment, Gabriel called his amber magic, then brought his hands together, uttering an incantation that definitely had roots in ancient languages and magic.

Very carefully and slowly, he pulled his hands apart, bit by bit, creating a shimmering amber prism that grew and grew, until he thrust it forward just feet from us and it hovered before all of us, spanning over thirty feet.

“This is a Harmonic Attunement exercise,” he informed us, as we all gazed out at it. “You will each channel your magic into this prism, however, you must do so without disrupting the balance of each other’s individual power in the process. This will measure your restraint, discipline, control, and also precision.”

He stepped back and dropped his hands, then gestured at the first person to his right of the semi-circle. It was Nexi, a member of the Dark Fae clique, standing next to their leader, Kelsana, with the third, Zephyra, on her other side.

“Begin,” Gabriel instructed her. “The goal is to infuse your magic within the prism, to fill it up, but not to alter the outer walls, nor change the size or the shape.”

She fiddled with her pastel blue pigtails that were a shocking contrast to her deep red glittering romper. Although, with whatI’d seen of her, shock value in the appearance department was kind of her thing. Good for her.

In the next moment, her magic, the color of her hair, slowly gravitated toward the prism, like whispers of glowing smoke seeping through the air in a controlled linear path. She went for the top right corner of the prism, filling a small part of it up with her magic, then holding steady.

“Next,” Gabriel spoke.

Kelsana took a different approach, making a performance out of it as she spun, then twirled her hands, the right one emanating indigo magic and spiraling in dance-like movements toward the prism. She headed straight for the middle—of course she wanted to be front and center, it was her whole personality. I’d be down with the confidence of that if it hadn’t been marred by her really believing onlyshedeserved that honor in everything.

Cliques… not the best thing for anyone clearly.

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