Page 15 of Light Magic

“Thanks,” I muttered.

Maggie patted the empty seat by her side and I went to her.

Belinda was on the end, with Abbie, Britt, Lacey, and Levi to her left. And on her right was one empty seat, then Gwen, Maggie, and me.

I was about to ask Maggie in a faint voice why the empty seat when two others entered the dining room—a middle-aged man and a young boy.

The man didn’t say anything to anyone. He strolled to the other end of the table and took a seat. But the boy ran to Gwen and Maggie, who squeezed him tight.

“This is Trent, our brother,” Maggie said with a smile. “He’s ten.”

“And that’s our uncle,” Gwen said. She had looked shy and quiet before, and now her voice was soft, as if she was afraid of speaking up.

“Uncle Magnus,” Abbie started. “This is Ariella, our guest.”

He nodded, his hazel eyes skimming through me as if I was a fly on the wall. “Is dinner ready?”

Myg popped beside him a second later. “Yes, sir.” The goblin snapped her fingers, and suddenly, the table was set and covered plates appeared in front of us. She snapped her fingers again and the covers disappeared.

“Hm, calamari and shrimp puffs. My favorite,” Trent said from his seat between Belinda and Gwen. He dug in and everyone followed suit.

Even the animals who were in a special corner of the room with rugs and pillows, had their bowls and were eating their dinner. I saw the tiger’s bowl, but no tiger.

Maggie followed my gaze. “You’re wondering where Rune is? He’s moody and prefers eating alone. He’ll probably come when we’re gone.” She shoved two shrimp puffs into her mouth and smiled at me.

“Myg, where’s the parsley?” Britt asked.

A small silver shaker with parsley popped beside her.

Levi told Abbie about the harpy and she mentioned going to the dungeon with him later to release the monster. Trent told something funny about one of his earlier lessons to Belinda, and she listened intently. Gwen told Britt to thank Myg, but the younger girl shrugged. Lacey started a conversation with Maggie about her latest vision.

I tried eating, but I couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed. There was so much going on, so many people, so much liveliness … I wasn’t used to this anymore.

I had had something similar when I was in the Guardian Academy and had Rachel and Jeremiah. And even though my mother didn’t like that I had gone to the academy, she was always protective of me, and my little sister saw me as a role model.

Then I experienced that here and there, with Farrah and Wyatt, with Kayden, the queen fae, and with the other supernaturals I had met over the years.

But it was always fleeting, like this one would be.

I looked up and found Levi watching me. My chest hurt at the intensity of his gaze. Why didn’t he ignore me? It would be so much easier. I turned to Maggie and paid attention to her conversation.

“I don’t know what it means,” she said. “Everything was dark, but I could see oval-shaped stones, and fragments of white light inside them. Then the lights faded from the stones and floated together, forming one bright ball that spun in the air among the darkness.”

“Hm, maybe you should read one of Mom’s old diaries,” Gwen suggested. “Some of her visions are detailed, and anytime she found out what they meant, she wrote it down.”

“Visions?” I asked, curious.

“Oh yeah,” Maggie said. “Each of us has a special gift, like something that make us different.” She sounded excited about the topic. “Grandma has the gift of touching something and seeing some of their history and some of their future.”

“She said you guys are going to be able to help me.” That was promising.

“She said we’re going to do everything we can to help you,” Britt said from across the table. “That doesn’t mean it’ll work.”

She was right and that sent a wave of sadness and frustration through me.

“But we will try,” Maggie said. “That’s what we do. Anyway, Abbie is gifted with plants. Being the eldest and the real protector of the Grand Eternity Hall, she is connected to the house more than any of us. When the hall allows, she can control the plants. And because of that affinity, she’s really good with potions.”

“And cooking,” Trent said, licking his fingers after having devoured the appetizer. “She makes a great chocolate cake.”