Page 29 of Light Magic

I couldn’t even think of what else I was missing, what else I didn’t know, what Rhodes was doing right now, and everything in between.

There was nothing I could do from here, and the more I thought about it, the more desperate I became.

I felt lost, useless.

Before, I had a purpose. I had gone to the academy and joined the ranks of guardians to protect humankind from evil.

That was my whole life.

But since that fateful day, that failed mission, what was my goal? My purpose?

To find my wings? Check. To get my magic back? Working on it. How about my sword? Not sure that one was recoverable.

And then what? What could I do? And what if I had it all wrong? What if I had misread Rhodes’s intentions, his plans? What if he was trying to save Elysium from a terrible fate? What if he was as evil as the worst demon and had corrupted Adona?

What was I supposed to do about that? How could I save us all?

I groaned, frustrated with my active mind as it took off and ran from me again.

Why did I keep imagining crazy scenarios when I knew nothing of what was going on up there, other than me being accused of killing my friends?

Until I knew, I shouldn’t assume.

I had to focus on one step at a time. And the next step was clearly recovering my magic, not breaking a forsaken bond.

From the way Levi acted when we were alone between the bookshelves, the bond was affecting him more than he let on, but he would survive. He was a grown demon and could endure a few more days tied to me, right?

Right.

My magic came first. Always.

I closed my eyes and tried to remember the feeling of magic in my veins, of holding a bolt of light in my hands, of feeling so pure and powerful, it was electric. I held on to that. I had to hold on to that. This feeling was what was going to get me through.

I let out a long breath, finally more centered than before.

I had a damn mission and nothing would stop me from finishing it.

“Ariella?” I opened my eyes and looked to the side. Maggie stood there, her green eyes full of light. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. I was focusing, remembering what’s important.” I inhaled in and out again, another cleansing breath. “Why? Anything wrong?”

“Abbie sent me to check on you,” she said.

“Sorry.”

She shrugged. “Don’t be. I was about to play babysitter with Trent, but now Gwen has to go.”

I smiled. “Is taking care of him so bad?”

“It’s not bad, but it can be boring.”

I nodded. “How old are you?”

“Nineteen.”

Angels lived differently from humans, but at nineteen, I was at the academy and living my best life. Sneaking out at night to do things we shouldn’t, making friends and enemies, falling in love and having my heart broken.

“Did you ever leave the Grand Eternity Hall?” I asked.

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