With how much he’d been training, it felt weird to just sit around on the couch with Fay and just relax. That wasn’t to say that he didn’t enjoy it, he certainly did, but it just felt odd to sit and do nothing for the whole day.

  Though, nothing was perhaps a bit of a strong word. With Fay leaning against his chest, the two were sharing some stories that they figured each other would enjoy. Lucas was telling Fay a bit about any fictional characters he knew of with wind or air-related powers to try and help give her more ideas for her Wind magic. Fay, meanwhile, was telling Lucas about some of her favorite books.

  He never would’ve guessed that his girlfriend was a sci-fi fan. Lucas knew he had to find a time where he and Fay could go to the Ordinary side of the world so that he could show her Star Wars.

  Funnily enough, despite her being a sci-fi fan, Fay had been just as lost as the rest of her family when Lucas had tried explaining what a monomolecular blade was. It wasn’t a concept in any of the stories that she read, though she seemed just as in awe at the idea as the rest of her family once he explained it.

  Magnus had also promptly forbidden Lucas from ever using the technique on another person, even once he managed to safely perform it. He also firmly stated that he wanted to be around whenever Lucas decided to test the concept again.

  Given the amount of damage that he could do if he managed to perfect the technique with magic, Lucas couldn’t really blame the man for his concerns. Really, he never should have used something like that against Magnus in the first place and he still felt terrible about it.

  Magnus had shrugged off each of his attempts to apologize, though.

  “When you’re deep in a fight, it’s hard to think straight and not just focus on winning the fight,” He explained.

  Eventually, Lucas stopped trying and shifted his focus to his girlfriend. Without any sort of training to do, spending time with Fay was the best way he could think of to spend the day.

  “So, do you think there are actually aliens out there?” Lucas asked as he lounged back against the arm of the couch, his girlfriend resting against him and staring up at the ceiling.

  “Maybe? I’m not sure,” Fay replied. “I mean, I think it’d be really cool if aliens were actually real. But I don’t think there’s any actual proof whether they exist or not. Right?”

  Those green eyes landed on him and Lucas chuckled and wrapped his arms around Fay’s waist.

  “No proof yet, last I heard. But who knows, maybe in the weeks I’ve been gone, an alien ship’s landed on the planet,” He joked.

  Fay swatted at his arm, but he could feel her shoulders shake with suppressed laughter.

  Then there was a knock on the door and both teens perked up.

  “Wonder who that is,” Lucas mumbled, though he didn’t make a move to get up.

  “That must be Leo. I’ll get it,” Magnus said as he walked into the room. He slowed his pace down as he spotted Fay and Lucas and gave the dark-haired teen a pointed look, much to Fay’s annoyance.

  Hesitantly, Lucas unwound his arms from around his girlfriend’s waist and watched as Magnus nodded and continued towards the door.

  “Leo? Does he mean Leonidas, the guy in charge of the Hunter’s Guild?” Lucas asked. “Wonder why he’s here.”

  Fay shifted on the couch and turned her head to look up at him. “I asked dad to invite him over for dinner.”

  “I didn’t think you were close with him. I mean, I know he and your dad know each other, but I didn’t realize you were close to him, too,” Lucas replied.

  Fay shook her head and grinned. “I’m not. But I wanted to talk with him and my dad first if I’m going to sign up to join the Hunter’s Guild.”

  It took Lucas a second or two to process that, but once he did, his eyes widened and his arms wrapped around Fay again to pull her into a hug.

  “I thought you weren’t sure about joining, still.”

  “I was on the fence,” Fay admitted. “But I figured that you were right. If the Guild Master agrees not to send me on any jobs for a while, then I’m going to take my test and join. If not, then I’ll wait to take the test until after you leave.”

  Lucas smiled and went to kiss Fay but paused midway and turned to make sure that Magnus wasn’t in the room. He could hear the man talking by the front door, so he eagerly leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his girlfriend’s lips.

  “I know that you’ll do amazing and that you’ll pass the test and be a member of the guild in no time,” He whispered, hugging the blonde close to him for a few seconds. When he heard the sounds of footsteps in the house, he was quick to let Fay go again. Though, with the way she rolled her eyes, he figured that she would have preferred that he didn’t.

  When Magnus returned, he brought the especially tall Guild Master with him. The older man gave the two teens on the couch a nod. The man’s sharp features and towering height made him look quite serious and intimidating, but the gentle smile he gave the two made him seem far less stern and much more approachable.

  “It’s been a bit since I’ve seen you two. I know you, kiddo, and I think your name was Lucas, right?” The silver-haired man asked, looking from Fay to Lucas.

  “That’s me, yeah,” Lucas replied.

  “So, mind telling me why Magnus asked me to come over for this chat?” The Guild Master asked as he looked towards Fay.

  “I want to take the test to join the Hunter’s Guild,” Fay said and both teens watched as Leonidas’ small grin blossomed into a much larger smile.

  “I was wondering what was taking you so long, kiddo. I’ve been expecting you for days now, but you never showed up. Well, I can get you tested bright and early tomorrow morning if you’d like,” Leonidas offered.

  “I want to join the Hunter’s Guild, but only on a few conditions,” Fay corrected. As she spoke, her hand reached out and gently took Lucas’. He quickly gave Fay’s hand a squeeze to try and reassure her.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Leonidas’ eyebrow rose and the man dropped down into a seat across from the teens. Magnus claimed the comfortable recliner in the room that Lucas had long since learned was ‘his seat’.

  “Conditions, huh? Name ‘em.”

  “When I pass the test, I don’t want to be sent out on any jobs until after Lucas leaves in about two weeks. Until then, I’ll be a guild member, but I won’t be doing any jobs that take me outside of town,” Fay firmly stated.

  “Hmmm…” The Guild Master pondered the idea for a few seconds, and eventually he spotted the couple’s intertwined hands. He grinned wolfishly and chuckled a bit. “I see.”

  Fay blushed a little and Lucas could feel his cheeks heat up just a bit, but neither of them made a move to separate from one another.

  “I’ll make you a deal, kiddo. I’ve got a decent number of guild members already, so I’m fine not sending you out of town. I know Sasha is gonna be going for her own test as soon as she’s eighteen, so how about this. I’ll keep you from having to take any jobs outside of Helstrum until after Sasha’s finished her test. After that, the two of you’ll do a job or two together for me. Seem fair?”

  It took Lucas a minute to remember when Sasha’s birthday was. He knew it was soon, as she and Fay had talked about birthday plans during Fay’s birthday. Eventually he recalled that Sasha would be turning eighteen a little over a week after he left. It was more time than Fay had been asking for in the first place.

  She was clearly a bit surprised by the offer. “You’re really ok with that?”

  “Of course. Like I said, I’ve got a good stock of guild members already so I’m not in desperate need of new members. You and Sasha will be great additions to the guild, but I have a good feeling you two’ll work even better together,” Leonidas explained.

  Lucas grinned and squeezed Fay’s hand. He felt her squeeze back and he could tell that she was getting excited. The offer the Guild Master had made was even more generous than Fay had been hoping for.

  “Deal!”

  The older man chuckled and Magnus wore a proud grin as he looked at his daughter.

  “I’ll have the test all set up and ready for you tomorrow, then. How does ten in the morning sound?”

  “I’ll be there, promise!” Fay replied swiftly. She was practically bouncing in her seat with excitement.

  “Perfect timing, I see,” Lissa chimed in as she walked into the room. “Dinner is ready, if you’d all like to come and eat. Leonidas, you’re more than welcome to join us as well.”

  Lucas didn’t even realize what time it was until that point. Glancing at his watch, he was surprised to see that it was already six in the evening. The day had gone a lot faster than he’d expected it to.

  “Dinner sounds great. If you’re offering, I’d love to stay and chat a bit more,” Leonidas agreed.

  Lucas didn’t have any problem with the man joining them, and neither did Fay or Magnus. So, with an additional guest for the meal, the group made their way to the kitchen to enjoy the delicious dinner that Lissa had whipped up.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Dinner, as expected, was amazing. It was the first time Lucas had tried a pot roast made by Lissa and he’d quickly fallen in love with the flavor. He fully understood that the food on the magical side of the Mirrors was going to completely ruin normal food for him once he got back home. But it wasn’t like he could just let himself starve!

  The conversations had been kept rather lighthearted throughout the meal, though Lucas learned about a few more of the best places to go in Helstrum for some good food. He especially wanted to go and check out a pizza place that Leonidas swore served the best pizza in town. Magnus might have argued in favor of a different pizza shop, but even Lissa agreed with the Guild Master.

  Halfway through the meal, Dusk had finally woken up and come to join Lucas at the table. She immediately tried to steal his meal, much to the amusement of everyone else at the table. She only stopped when Lissa grabbed a bit of the meat and served the little fox up a bowl of her own.

  Lucas really couldn’t get too mad at his familiar. He could still remember what Fay had told him about how the little fox had stayed up through the night to watch him. After all that, he’d been half tempted to let Dusk snag his bowl.

  Eventually, though, the pot roast was finished and dinner ended. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, and the sky was painted in beautiful shades or orange, red, and yellow.

  Fay was the first to turn in for the night, heading to bed so that she could get up bright and early. Leonidas went to leave and Magnus went to follow him while Lucas hung back to help Lissa clean up. But once the table was cleared, the older blonde promptly shooed him out of her kitchen.

  He was about to head to bed himself, but Lucas paused as he entered the hallway.

  “-careful. The forest isn’t a safe place to be right now, Magnus.”

  He could hear Leonidas’ voice from near the front door and Lucas couldn’t help but feel curious.

  “I really shouldn’t…”

  Despite his mumbled words, Lucas still pulled Dusk into his arms and pressed himself back against the dimly lit hallway wall.

  Seeing Leonidas again had stirred up a memory from when he’d first met the man. He’d suggested that Darkness magic would be good for hiding, much like Illusion magic was. Wanting an extra layer of protection for what he was about to do, Lucas tried something new.

  A small trickle of mana and he could feel the shadows around him in the hallway. A gentle tug and Lucas had to suppress a gasp as he watched the shadows around him flood towards him and engulf his body. From an outside perspective, Lucas seemed to vanish into the darkness, his body darkening and becoming one with the dark shadows along the wall.

  “This is so weird,” Lucas whispered as he slowly moved. He could feel the shadows clinging to his body, like a cool towel wrapped around him. It wasn’t the frigid cold that Fay had described when touching his shadow constructs, but it was the first time he’d felt some of that chill she’d mentioned. Dusk seemed to notice it as well and snuggled deeper into his arms.

  Just to make sure he wasn’t seen, Lucas made sure to cover himself with a simple illusion as well. Just a simple little thing to make it seem like he wasn’t there. Added onto the way the shadows had swallowed him, Lucas was essentially invisible.

  “So, you were able to confirm it, then?” He heard Magnus ask.

  Circling around the corner, Lucas stuck to the dark and shadowy portions of the hall leading to the front door. As he got closer, the quiet conversation became easier to hear and understand.

  “That something is going on? Yes. The scouts I sent to the main territory have reported a significant drop in the Direwolf population. Something’s either scared them off or killed them. And with the story your daughter told you, I’m guessing something scared them to lesser territories in the surrounding area.”

  “That’s not good,” Magnus muttered.

  “No, it isn’t. Which is why I’m restricting missions and jobs into any Direwolf territory for the next couple weeks. Until we can find what’s causing all this chaos and deal with it, it’s hard to know what areas will and won’t be safe,” The Guild Master replied.

  “Do you have any leads on what’s causing this?” Magnus asked.

  “No definitive proof yet, but I’m almost certain it’s mages. There are signs of large amounts of magic being used, not claws and fangs. The problem is, we don’t know who it is or why they’re causing so many problems. It’s not anyone sanctioned by the guild, though. There haven’t been any jobs in the main territory that’ve been taken within the last few weeks.”

  Magnus didn’t look happy. “So, you’re saying that someone is in the woods deliberately stirring up the Direwolves?”

  “Not sure if it’s deliberate, but it’s possible. Just make sure not to let those kids head out to hunt again, ok? They got lucky this first time,” Leonidas warned the father.

  Lucas silently watched as the two men shook hands. The Guild Master slipped away back towards his home or the guild while Magnus headed back into the house. He was heading back towards the kitchen, which would bring him right past Lucas.

  Thankfully, his efforts paid off, and Lucas let out a silent sigh of relief when Magnus passed him by. He kept both layers of protection up as he snuck his way into his bedroom and closed the door. Lucas only allowed himself to relax when he fell back into his bed.

  Dusk was quick to curl up against his chest while Lucas stared up at the ceiling. He wasn’t quite tired enough to sleep, and he had far too much on his mind to even think of doing so. For hours, he just stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought about what he’d overheard.

  Why would anyone deliberately stir up the Direwolf packs?

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~