I’m panting as Jesse follows me up the final hill of our run, keeping close on my heels and basically herding me like a sheepdog to ensure that I don’t slacken my pace and fall behind.“Jesse!” I gasp, swatting at him as he gets even closer when we reach the top of the hill, the door to the Castle o
“Yes,” he says with a sigh, “and you know me, always searching for the bigger and better responsibility. Always looking for another weight on my shoulders, like the obligation to defy the God of Darkness…just because I can.”“You don’t fool me, Jess,” I say quietly, making him look at me. “Given the
“You’re the only sniper, Ariel,” Rafe says, dry. “And your specialization was noted on the form, which I wasn’t happy about. I had hoped you would be a low-level candidate for picking as your specialization was a secret. We had to make…serious concessions to ensure that we got you.”“So you got me?”
And despite the fact that that’s supposed to be comforting, I pale because…Well, I think because I forgot, a bit, that this is all practice for real life.And that, one day, we could be doing this for real. And the consequences…Suddenly, I want nothing more than to pay a great deal of attention to
There’s a happy buzz in the magic classroom for perhaps the first time ever, with mom swinging her legs as she sits on the desk and Cora leaning against it next to her.We all turn when our final student arrives at the door.“Hello, enemies,” Tony says, laughing as he leans against the door frame, h
Jackson growls a little, not very pleased at the idea, but then turns to Tony with his hand out.“Sorry,” Tony says, looking cheerfully down at Jackson’s hand. “As nice as it would be to hold your hand, Jacks, what’s…what’s happening?”“I can give Ariel my energy,” Jackson says, bland. “Through our
We all watch quietly as Jesse becomes…acclimated to himself, to his new power. And I watch with a great deal of pride as Jesse’s breathing evens out, as he settles more comfortably into his chair, and as the shadows themselves become less chaotic clouds and instead more streamlined, flowing around h
“Yeah, I’m kind of jealous,” Tony says with a nod. “I can do one thing and…it’s sort of done. No developments for me.”“Well, we don’t know that,” Cora says to Tony with a small smile. “What Alvez said to you before was right – we should experiment.”Tony considers it for a moment and then shrugs, n