“Show her,” said Ambrose. “I know you understand the Magic you’ve been face-to-face with on the battlefield. And you will be the Sentinel.”
“The what?” asked Maeve.
“When you alter reality with your Shadow Magic, there must be an anchor to reality. The Magic will demand it. You do not have a say over that. Reeve will be that anchor today.”
“Ambrose,” began Reeve hesitantly.
“How do you know all this?” asked Maeve, but her father ignored her questioning a second time.
“You will do this, Reeve,” said Ambrose. “You will do this for my son.”
“I’m certain I will,” replied Reeve gently. “But she is not ready. That is advanced and complex Magic she has no grasp of.”
Antony stirred. His paws twitched as a low groan reverberated through his body.
“There is no alternative! Not a single Magical alive is capable of producing this Magic,” argued Ambrose.
“We’ll be lucky if Maeve inherently pulls it off. And why aren’t you the Sentinel?”
“Because you are the Immortal one!” he hissed.
“Stop it,” snapped Maeve, her eyes on Antony as he writhed in pain. “I’ll do it just. . .” She looked up at Reeve at last. “Help me.”
And so Reeve did. He told her what she was capable of. That she could easily alter the mind of every living thing. He showed her, with his own Holy power, what ran through her blood, forced her to feel its ability at her fingertips. And when he was done, and she understood what she was about to do, tears streamed down her face.
“Maeve,” said Ambrose sweetly. “It’s alright.”
“But I’ll never see him again,” she cried.
“He’s in pain, my love,” answered Ambrose, holding her tighter, as his voice caught. “We have to let him go. He wants this.”
Watching Maeve alter reality on the first try was humbling for Reeve. She endured every bit of the Shadow Magic that wrapped around her as it twisted her own mind. She held an understanding of her Magic that, to his knowledge, was unprecedented.
And for Reeve to be impressed meant that he hadn’t been nearly scared enough of this woman.
Reeve moved Antony’s limp body to Heims with ease, fulfilling his agreement to deliver him there, but with every intention of turning right back around and making sure Maeve hadn’t accidentally shattered her own mind in the process.
When he returned to the Dining Hall at Sinclair Estates and closed the Portal to Heims behind him, Maeve was laid out across the rug. Ambrose kneeled before her, his mind empty and his eyes blown wide in a vast expanse of white. Golden orbs of light swarmed his body as Maeve’s Magic took hold, rewriting reality.
But Maeve herself was barely breathing. Reeve moved one arm beneath her back, lifting her off the floor. Her Magic was scattered, unstable and. . .breaking. She’d done too much, pushed too far, just as he feared. Learning her limitations appeared to not be so natural for her.
But it didn’t matter if she was on the verge of death. The Immortal who cradled her close to his chest loved her, and death was easily defeated by one who held the power of the gods.
A tiny glowing star burst from his chest and slowly lowered into hers. Her lungs filled with air instantly, and her Magic stabilized. Asmall thread of Magic materialized between his soul and hers. It was warm, fluttering like a heartbeat.
Her eyes shot open, just as veiled and white as her father’s. Reeve released her as Ambrose stood. He helped her to her feet as Reeve himself stood and stepped back from them. Together, the father and daughter blinked, and their blue orbs returned.
Maeve looked up at her father, then her gaze flicked to Reeve, only for a moment. The look of a stranger, quickly holding another stranger’s gaze. Realizing she’d been crying, she wiped her tears.
“Ah, Reeve,” said Ambrose. “Let’s go and have a cigar, shall we?”
But Reeve’s eyes were still set on Maeve.
“Oh,” said Ambrose casually, “terribly rude of me. This is my youngest, Maeve. Maeve, this is Reeve, the High Lord of Aterna.”
“Hi,” she said softly, then smiled up at Ambrose. “Enjoy your evening, daddy. I’m off to bed.”
He kissed her quickly on the cheek and then stepped towards Reeve, heading for his study as she turned her back to them.
