Savior of the world.
“Will you be helping to train Finley and Zora?” Carrick asks Priya from the end of the table.
She nods and Titus explains. “I’m going to have a man by the name of Caiden Gallagher, who’s both an annihilator and instructor at the Academy, run Finley through the Gauntlet while Priya and I work with Zora on some fighting skills. We’ll start on that today. Tomorrow, we’ll move into magical skills.”
“What’s a gauntlet?” Zora asks, her first words since arriving.
Priya is the one who answers. “After you graduate from the Academy, you become an Initiate and are assigned a mentor. From there, you have a period of one-on-one training with your mentor and go out on actual assignments. Once your mentor feels you are sufficiently prepared, you run the gauntlet. If you make it through, you become an annihilator.”
Titus sweeps his eyes to me. “I think Finley already has what it takes to defeat the gauntlet, and it will be a great way for her to practice utilization of all her skills, including her magic.”
“But I’m still not sure what a gauntlet is,” Zora says.
“It’s a series of trials whereby Finley will be pitted against dark creatures and obstacles in an environment that’s pretty hostile.”
“It sounds terrifying,” Zora says aghast, cutting her eyes to me.
“No more terrifying than facing Kymaris in a battle for the Earth realm,” Titus points out.
“But I’m not going to be doing that, am I?” Zora asks with a frown.
Titus shakes his head. “Finley actually had years of mixed martial arts before any of this ever started. She’s got a huge head start on you in the physical arena. I merely hope to show you some defensive techniques and how to use a weapon for protection. We want to spend the majority of time with you tapping into your magic. That will be your biggest advantage.”
Zora nods in understanding then brings her attention to me. “Our magic is connected somehow. I assume we’ll work together?”
It’s a good question and I look to Titus to answer, but Carrick speaks. “Once Zora is comfortable accessing her magic, I think it would be good for you two to practice some unification of your powers, but there’s no guarantee that we’ll have the opportunity to do that during the ritual. So it’s more important that you be able to individually tap your magic.”
Zora nods again, her gaze dropping down to her food where she quietly starts eating again.
Talk turns more casual as Priya and Titus educate us on the island and its inhabitants. There’s an actual town down at the bay with restaurants and shops. There are a fair number of daemons here who work on the island, including some who are instructors at the Academy.
Eventually, Titus announces it’s time to head out and Priya hops off his lap. “Give me just two minutes to get changed,” she announces before she trots off into the kitchen and then presumably down one of the wings to their bedroom.
I lean over to give Titus a quick punch on the arm. “All our talks… all the time we spent together, and you never mentioned Priya once,” I chastise.
“Priya’s not the type of woman you just mention,” Titus replies in that deep rumbly tone that indicates he’s imparting a lesson. “She’s someone you have to experience.”
I can’t help the sigh that escapes because that was romantic.
And then Carrick says, “I know exactly what you mean, buddy.”
And I sigh again because Carrick doesn’t often proclaim his feelings out loud to others.
A quick glance at Zora and she looks confused as hell. Again, relationships built on love are foreign to her and I imagine the romantic sentiments went over her head.
Titus pushes up from his chair, then looks pointedly at Zora and me. “Grab your packs and I’ll show you all to your rooms. You ladies need to get changed into something you don’t mind getting dirty or bloody.”
I laugh but when I note Zora’s look of alarm, I insist, “He’s just kidding.”
“I’m not,” Titus retorts as he heads into the kitchen but I can see the mischief in his eyes.
As we follow, I lean in toward my twin and whisper, “He’s kidding. I promise.”
Titus takes us down one of the wings and shows us two bedrooms opposite each other. He points at the doors. “Take your picks.”
Zora leans her head inside one and disappears, leaving the other to Carrick and me. The room is beautiful, also with sliding glass walls that open up to the warm, salty breeze, and it has its own small private courtyard. Carrick gazes outside as I quickly get dressed in a pair of workout leggings, a fitted tank, and tennis shoes.
As I’m putting my hair up in a ponytail, using the mirror above a dresser, Carrick turns my way. I can see his reflection in the mirror. “Are you worried about the gauntlet?”