The line disconnects.
Jay cannot be blamed for sitting there for an extra thirty seconds, rubbing his forehead with one hand and his chest with the other.
Nix is in labor.
At home with only Luca and Gideon to comfort him.
He’s bearing the agony alone, though, and if the pain in Jay’s chest is anything to go by, it’s worse than Jay can imagine.
Nix is afraid.
Jay can feel that now, when Nix lets the bonds sing at their full strength.
That’s what the pain in Jay’s chest had been.
But he also feels excited, determined, and oh so brave.
Jay doesn’t detect that last one through the bond.
No, Jay knows that one because he knows Nix Rhodes.
Putting the SUV in drive, Jay pushes love and pride along his bond before following Rowan home.
Magic: Grayson
The soil under his bare feet is cool, and even without using the immense flow of power it usually takes him to access his Earth magic, Grayson can detect the smallest of organisms going about their days beneath him. He’d like to let that minor success soothe his ego, but that’s not why he’s standing in the Earth magic Professor’s hut on the Nashville Guild’s grounds in the early evening on a Monday. Nope. He’s been told over and over that he’s too talented not to be able to do this small thing.
“Grayson, you must focus,” Professor Augusta Shaw says before nodding her regal head, indicating that Grayson should begin his flow again.
Straightening his spine, Grayson focuses on the dust motes trapped in the last of the sun’s rays. Breathing in, Grayson pulls on The Plain, letting it trickle in and fill him with power, magnifying every color of the rainbow, embraced through his shared soul.
He focuses on the elements of the earth and tries—futilely—to locate the rose quartz pebble in the black soil through magic alone. It’s the most rudimentary practice that even first-year apprentices can manage. But not Grayson, and not today. He’s been at this for an hour already and still has nothing but dirty feet to show for it.
Grayson’s focus has been shit this week; longer, if he’s honest with himself. But today, it’s made worse because he feels like he’s pulling a rope through the eye of a needle. Normally, The Plain flows like water, but not today, and it’s distracting, frustrating, and embarrassing.
Working with Earth magic has always been the hardest for Grayson. His natural Affinities are Fire and Air, which means Earth andWater—their opposites—come less easily. Standing barefoot in the fresh dirt carved from the floor of Professor Shaw’s hut, he knows he should feel the Earth’s magic humming close to the surface—it’s been there for him before, countless times during their lessons. But now, the connection feels distant, elusive.
He’s reminded of all the places he’s stood before and felt a trickle of the Earth’s magic: barefoot in the snow, in the forested expanse of the Smoky Mountains, on the beach in Florida, or even yesterday in the yard playing with Tsuki and Rowan-wolf. Despite Professor Shaw’s reassurances that his talents are vast, as plentiful as his deep access to The Plain, Earth lessons have always left him feeling limited. The most he’s ever been able to manipulate is sand and metal.
It’s hard to ignore the murmurs that it might be because of a developing Time Affinity. The thought sends a twinge through his chest. Grayson really hopes they’re wrong. He’s learned recently that Time Affinities are serious business, monitored closely by the Global Association Symposium on The Plain—GASP. Training isn’t just rigorous; it’s mandatory and takes three long, isolating years in Switzerland.
The idea of being shipped off, away from his pack—away from Nix—tightens something deep in his chest. Grayson hasn’t mentioned it to the pack yet. How could he? He has mates, children, and the fucking BBS to think about. He can’t be on the plane without Nix for the time it would take to fly there, let alone stay at the Aeternum Academy for three years. There’s a reason magic users are usually discovered and trained in their teenage years, rather than when they’re adults with lives and other commitments.
He’s already shielding most of his potential as it is. It seems to be growing leaps and bounds by the day, drawing the eye of Weres and human magic-users alike. Grayson can feel a mammoth confrontation brewing, his unique abilities and strengths a combination no one is willing to ignore for long.
“Grayson. Focus,” Professor Shaw says again, this time with a thread of irritation coloring her normally serene tones. He supposes that the students who normally study under her are more intimidated than he is.
“Professor Shaw, I apologize,” Grayson says. “For some reason, I can’t reach the full potential of The Plain today.”
The tall woman arches her eyebrow and adjusts the vest she wears over her mossy green dress. She’s somewhere over sixty, and the most skilled Earth Affinity in the country; he’s fortunate to be able to work with her at all. Despite her literal down-to-earth demeanor, she rules her domain with a stern countenance and iron will.
The large space is built in a ground-floor room, with floors made of dirt, sand, wood, and occasionally metal and stone. Every natural element is represented, from the stunning stained glass to the large purple geodes on the shelves. There are blocks of marble along one side of the room, some carvings in process, two pottery wheels, and a small door leading to a kiln.
His professor is a celebrated artist in working clay, and discussions about art quickly became the basis for a burgeoning friendship before and after their class time.
Sighing, she waves him toward the small sitting area beside her desk. “And how is Nix today?” She inquires, guessing correctly why Grayson is distracted. A distraction that should be at the mall with Luca, less than twelve miles away.
“I don’t know, because he’s…” Grayson says, and his stomach drops into his toes when he realizes what he is going to say. He doesn’t know, because Nix has narrowed their connection to a bare minimum. How had he failed to notice? The Plain had. “Excuse me for a moment?”
