Page 16 of Light Magic

Everyone smiled at that.

“My gift is something like visions, or prophecies, depending on the severity of my visions,” Maggie continued. “But not everything I see comes to fruition, and honestly, most of my visions make no sense whatsoever.”

“I’m an empath,” Gwen said, her voice low. “If I’m attuned to people, I can feel what they are feeling. But sometimes, when there are too many people around me, with too many strong emotions, it’s hard to control. I feel it all.”

“You’ll learn to control it, Gwen,” Abbie said, sounding like a mother, even though she couldn’t be five years older than Gwen. “And when you do, you’ll be able to block everything.”

Gwen nodded, playing with the last piece of calamari on her plate.

“You’ll also be able to control others’ feelings,” Maggie said, nonchalantly. Gwen glared at her. “What?”

“You know she doesn’t like that,” Abbie muttered.

“Then she can ignore that side of her gift,” Britt said, sounding snarky, like she had earlier today.

“What about you?” I asked her.

The youngest of the girls regarded me as if considering if I was worth the answer. “I can see and talk to ghosts, and when I can, I help them pass over.”

I frowned. I knew all light and dark witches could do something similar, but to this coven, or whatever they wanted to call it, doing that was an affinity. It was incredible how magic worked differently for each of us.

“Are there ghosts in here now?” I asked, joking.

“Not right now, but earlier I saw two passing by the hallway,” she said, dead serious.

I straightened. There were ghosts in the Grand Eternity Hall? I mean … why not, right?

“I can talk to animals,” Trent said with a smile. He looked at Merlin, Bane, and Venom in the corner. “They already ate but want more food.”

“They always want more food,” Maggie said.

And everyone laughed.

Everyone expect Levi and Magnus.

“Speaking of food,” Magnus started. “Myg, we’re ready for the next course.”

The goblin snapped her fingers and our plates were replaced by new ones with the same silver cover. She snapped again and the covers disappeared.

Seared steak dripping with butter, baked sweet potatoes full of brown sugar, and roasted asparagus. The smell alone made my mouth water.

For a full minute, the table was quiet as everyone started eating. I almost moaned at the melting steak and the perfectly seasoned side dishes. I hadn’t eaten a meal like this in quite some time and I had to restrain myself to not attack my food and inhale it.

As I remembered our conversation, something came to me. “What about your uncle?” I asked Maggie in a hushed voice. “Does he have a gift?”

“If he touches someone, he can make them do or believe anything he says or thinks,” she whispered. “If he tells you to jump off a cliff, you would, without hesitation.”

I frowned. That was a dangerous gift. “That can be a useful gift during a battle.”

“It didn’t help us much during the last one,” she said, a little louder.

“What about the last one?” Britt asked.

“The last battle,” Maggie said.

“The one a couple of hundred years ago, right?” I asked, remembering what I had read about them before. “When the Grand Eternity Hall closed for good.”

“That was the second to last,” Gwen said.