Doug thought his daughter would hold back. He was wrong. That arrow hit the ground like a dropped pin—and a tsunami of buckling dirt crashed into the barrier.

  To his grand relief, it didn’t send the barrier shooting out like a bowling ball, but it only gifted him the surreal opportunity to understand the destruction caused by the attack. The entire barrier turned black as the dirt struck it, and the same dirt and water moved so fast that he felt like he was experiencing time travel, with light flashing in and out of the murky darkness. The ground also tore away, leaving the ball suspended for three seconds while the area cleared. When his vision returned, the horror only magnified.

  The battlefield had become the bowl of a dormant volcano, and the crater stretched for five hundred feet.

  Malo… he thought—but he shouldn’t’ve been worrying about Malo. He turned and saw that the fight was still raging in the distance.

  Fire beams flashed from Malo’s sword as golden arrows rained down on him. It was almost as if Mira’s attack meant nothing.

  Doug turned his body to confirm that a ballistic missile had indeed destroyed the battlefield. He looked at Tyler, who was just as shocked as he was.

  “Uh… Tyler,” he said. “Is this… normal?”

  Tyler laughed with trembling eyes. “This is most certainly not ‘normal.’ I can’t believe they held back this much!” He looked pissed.

  Kai chuckled as he pushed himself up. “They’re still holding back.”

  Tyler spun around to face him. “Excuse me what?”

  “Malo uses void magic, and an expansion sword,” Kai said. “If he was serious, an injury would destroy everything at the cellular level. But even if he were using it, it would be pointless.”

  Tyler looked back to watch the streaks of red and gold. “Why?”

  “Because Mira could freeze him out. When the power differential is so high, fighters can monopolize the mana. That’s why Malo couldn’t handle Ikala on his own even though he had the skill to,” Kai joined them to watch.

  “Is Mira really that strong?” Doug asked.

  “That depends on how you interpret that question. In terms of raw power, they’re about equal. Mira has a stronger foundation, but she’s at the start of her second evolution—Malo’s reaching the peak. Mira can only freeze him out because her core’s special. But in terms of power…” Kai grinned. “She hasn’t even used her main power. She keeps it lock and seal—to be honest, even I’ve never seen it.”

  Doug turned back to fight, increasingly bewildered.

  Malo was just as bewildered. He was holding back, but Mira was holding back much more than he was. She had yet to use an illusion, let alone whatever she was learning in Helfine. It was like he was fighting the version of her that he had met years ago, but he was still pushed back by the sheer power of her acceleration spell.

  Mira called it Moxle Dilation, and after years of practice, it was all that was needed to level the playing field. It was clearly special magic, and it was frustrating. The only way he could win was if he used battlefield magic, but he had yet to do so for a simple reason—

  She could freeze out his attacks.

  If she wanted, she could prevent him from using any magic.

  “Is there a reason you’re not freezing out my attacks?” Malo asked as he dodged shining arrows from Nymbral.

  “Yeah,” Mira said. “I’m learning how to fight armies. I’m not going to be near most of my enemies.”

  “Interesting…” Malo said. “In that case… let’s simulate.”

  He lifted his sword, and the spent mana in the atmosphere caught fire and followed his blade. Mira’s eyes widened when she realized that the fireball was snowballing to incredible size as it flew across the battlefield.

  “How the hell do you fight something like this?” Mira screamed as she flew through the sky. The more she ran, the more mana it collected. It had already reached the size of a tree canopy, and it was still getting bigger.

  “You distract the host or freeze it out!” Malo yelled as the fire grew even larger. “The second magnetic magic is broken, it dissipates!”

  “Well that’s good,” Mira said behind him.

  “I wondered when you’d—” He dodged an illusionary machete—only for it to cut through his armor. It wasn’t a weak strike either. “Kira?”

  He activated Eyes of Life and saw that the Mira before him was the real thing—same mana channels and soul force. He stopped his fire attack and fought back, but when he stabbed at her, Mira didn’t move. His sword pierced right through her head, spewing warm liquid on him.

  His eyes trembled in horror. What have I done?

  Mira’s body suddenly warped, and a lurvine shot out of it.

  “W-What?” Malo stumbled backward, wondering when he last felt fear. He tried to strike, but Kira caught him from behind and held him in place as three lurvine ripped their way out of Mira’s body—and flashed with blue fire.

  “This is where the explosion happens,” Mira said, walking past him as if she were his teacher. She snapped her fingers, and a flashing explosion of blue fire cascaded across the battlefield.

  It wasn’t hot—just a dazzling illusion.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Mira clenched her fist when it was over, and the lurvine sucked into her hand. Kira also sucked within her, removing his support. Malo barely caught himself before hitting the ground.

  “That’s… incredible,” Malo said.

  Mira’s eyes sparkled with joy. “You really think so? That illusion was prime, wasn’t it?”

  “So that was an illusion?” he asked.

  “Yep. Watch.” Mira summoned Sina and wrapped her in an illusion to restore vitality and color to her fur. Malo could clearly see that Sina had the aura and neara of a normal lurvine, but there was a veil of mana around her that gave it away that she was an illusion. That changed a moment later when mana circulated within Sina, making her indistinguishable from a living lurvine

  Malo couldn’t believe his eyes. It was too… real. That power was frightening.

  “I spent a lot of time returning Sina’s fire to her,” Mira said, rubbing her cheek against Sina’s fur. “And then I realized I could do that to my own clones.” She created clones of herself and formed water balls in her hand. “It’s very limited compared to Aiden or Kline’s armies, but I’m hoping to bridge the gaps before the auction.”

  Malo tried to speak but found himself at a loss for words—at least on that subject. He couldn’t help but smile as he watched Mira snuggle with Sina, only to be pestered by Kline. Such love.

  He found that special.

  Usually, he’d feel guilty for enjoying the happiness of others, especially children, but Mira was a bridge. She wasn’t a child—she was just as tortured as he was in some regards, and so much was resting on her shoulders, yet she still felt love and happiness.

  Malo still had a long way to go before he could move past what had happened, but he knew he was lucky to have met Mira and Tyler—young adults who saw the world differently, kids with the drive and vitality to make it a place where children could thrive.

  Mira looked up. “Everything okay?” He smiled wryly before glancing back at the glowing barrier. “You should probably address your father. I can see him trembling.”

  Mira’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh shit! Thanks for reminding me.” She blasted across the shattered battlefield to reach her father, whose face was as white as dead coral. When he saw Mira waving her hands nervously, he couldn’t help but smile a little. It was just so absurd—to know someone with enough power to kill him without freezing out his mana was still a child.

  His mind then flashed to his daughter’s face—and his smile faded, but for the first time, his neutral expression didn’t fade. He then saw Tyler waving him over aggressively.

  Malo bounded over the crater in a few bounds and then landed in front of the barrier. “Yes, General Hill?”

  “Don’t you, General Hill, me!” Tyler snapped. “And don’t you dare say that foundation is absolute. What would happen if I faced…” He trembled and pointed at the crater and scorched battlefield. “That!” he was now yelling. “I’d be vaporized! What would solid sword skills do against that? Nothing! Come on, Malo—when are you going to teach me magic?”

  Malo cracked a slight smile at his response.

  “Next century,” Kai said with a grin, ruffling his hair.

  “Hey!” Tyler cried, slapping his hand away. “I don’t want to hear jack from the swirling light show.”

  “Did you just call me a light show?”

  “Damn straight I did.”

  “Well… thank you.”

  Mira’s father laughed, but his face was wrought with so much pain and worry that Malo flashed a genuine smile.

  “Did Malo just smile?” Tyler exclaimed.

  “Don’t be rude!” Mira smacked him up upside the head.

  “Did you just hit me? Dad!”

  Malo decided that while Mira and Tyler could never replace what he lost, he was damn lucky to be serving them.

  2.

  Dad didn’t like my battle. Not one bit. The first thing he said on the way home was, “What happened to playing with toxic plants? Any chance we could get you back into that? I’m sure your mom would… approve.”

  I giggled. “You know it’s bad when your mom will settle for you manhandling neurotoxins.”

  Dad smiled wryly, sighed, and looked at Tyler. “When Mom asks about this, what are you going to tell her?”

  “That Mira blindly tested the strength of her new ward by making us guinea pigs?” Tyler suggested.

  “You know, the name Lieutenant Colonel sounds nicer on your title,” I said.

  “What? You can’t do that? That’s… a lot of demotions!”

  “Major also sounds fancy.”

  “This is extortion!”

  “Not when you’re a queen.”

  “What difference does that make?”

  “It makes all the difference. See, when you’re not the queen, this is called a bunch of things. Retaliation. Extortion. You know, bad things. But when you’re the queen, it’s only called one thing…”

  Malo laughed.

  Tyler turned to him. “Did you just laugh?” Malo stopped laughing, and Tyler turned back. “What? What’s it called when you’re queen?”

  I smirked. “The law.”

  Dad laughed, and we continued our ride through the forest.

  Suddenly, a loud cry rang out, and my eyes lit up with excitement. A massive dragon, much larger than Thorvel, soared above the trees.

  Tyler frowned. “I hate dragons.”

  “Not this one, you don’t,” I said as the dragon lowered into the forest. “Come on.”

  “Nah, I think I’ll wait,” Tyler said.

  “Too bad,” I said. “Dain’s part of my soul.”

  We were riding my summoned lurvine, so they were literally connected to me. Sure, I could leave one a mile away, but what fun was that? I rode Sina, and Dain and Ryn followed, sending us blasting through the forest as Tyler complained.

  Dad was also holding onto my waist in fright. “Can’t you give me five minutes to let my heart recover?”

  “Dad, come on—it’s a dragon,” I said. “And it’s not just any dragon…”

  I came into the clearing, and Aiden stood up on Halten’s back, waving to us. Halten saw me with warmth, but when he saw Sina, Dain, and Ryn, his eyes widened.

  “That magic…” he said in his deep, ethereal voice.

  I flew off Sina with Kira’s wings and landed in front of him. “Been a while.”

  He turned his head to put his eye closer to me. His eye was as tall as my body and twice that in length, putting his size in perspective. “You’ve changed.”

  “You seem the least shocked of the lot,” I said.

  “Not your face. Your soul.”

  I smiled thinly. “That sounds like a pickup line.”

  I didn’t even notice your face. I was drawn to your soul. It really did sound like one.

  Halten’s face hardened. “Your joke has poor taste.”

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Does this mean you’re a Wraith?” I looked between Halten and

  Aiden expectantly.

  “How about you?” I asked. “Does this mean you’ve become a Wraith?”

  I didn’t get the answer I was expecting.