I dished myself a fat slice and then shrugged. “I think so. I mean, we only practiced within the confines of the Realm of the Dead, but I got a feel for it.”
Shoveling a large bite into my mouth, I nearly groaned aloud as the thick, fudgy icing melted on my tongue.
Grandpa was silent, and I dragged my attention away from the delicious confection to see why.
He offered me a wan smile. “Making a portal can take a lot of energy, even just a practice one. That’s partly why a mage must have so much capacity for spirit to be the high mage.”
Listening to him, I continued to shovel cake into my mouth, pausing only to guzzle the glass of milk my aunt set in front of me.
“It’s why I could never become the high master,” Sariah said, sitting down again. She cut another slice of cake and set it on my now empty plate. “Not that I envy you, Nai. The responsibility is significant.”
Rather than respond, I took another bite. They continued to chatter about how much power was necessary to do certain tasks, but my focus remained on filling the black hole that now occupied my stomach.
The room grew quiet, and I glanced up.
“I had no idea,” Reyna muttered.
Sariah chuckled, and a moment later, Grandpa joined in.
“What?” I asked.
“If you spent all day practicing, that’s probably why you’ve devoured the cake. Next time, take a break for lunch,” Reyna said, her eyebrows raised as she pointed at the platter.
Oh. My. Mage.
“Did I really just eat half a cake?” My gaze bounced from Sariah, who’d been serving me, to Grandpa, and finally back to Reyna.
She nodded. “That really happened.”
Yikes.
“I guess I was more hungry than I thought.” I washed the last bite on my plate down with the rest of my milk and then turned to Gramps. “Maybe I should wait until tomorrow to practice portals in this realm?”
“Probably a good idea,” he said.
Annette stepped into the kitchen, and her eyes widened when she saw the damage to her cake.
“It’s a really good cake,” I said lamely.
Sariah laughed.
“Will you be staying for dinner?” Annette asked, clearing my plate and glass.
“No,” I replied with a shake of my head for added emphasis. “I’m going to see Rage.”
“Oh good,” Gramps said, pushing his chair back. “Make sure you chat with him about the contract he inherited, including his responsibilities within Mageville. Kian came by this morning after you left—”
“About how he tried to murder me and Reyna last night?” I snapped, balling my fists. He was on my kill list. I’d never had one before, but after last night and the scuffle with my soul stone … it was probably a good idea.
Reyna bit her lip, but she looked about as pissed as me. Kian was evil incarnate.
“No,” he said. “Kian actually apologized for the misunderstanding.”
Misunderstanding?
“He said you were trespassing, and he didn’t realize—”
“That …liar,” I shouted.
