Magical Midlife Love (Leveling Up 4)

“There is no way I am stepping out of line with the alpha on hand, I assure you,” Sebastian said, flicking a glance Austin’s way. “Seeing his polar bear form rattled me, and I don’t mind admitting it.” Sebastian rose, slouching as he walked toward me. “He doesn’t need to stand there. You shouldn’t practice on him anymore. He distracts you, and the worry of hurting him makes you hold back. I could see it in your body motions and positioning. Believe it or not, the positioning of your body matters when making a spell.”

Austin nodded and moved toward Ulric, putting out his hand for the sweats.

“You will cast toward my magical backdrop.” Sebastian stopped beside me. “First you’ll do a spell from the book that you know and have no trouble with—I certainly wish I’d had a book like that—and then you’ll create something similar from scratch. See how you measure up.”

“Measure up…meaning what?” Mr. Tom asked. “To what?”

“Training by committee. Interesting approach.” If Sebastian was put out, he didn’t show it. “You saw what happened when a spell with too much power hit my wall. Fire. The color of the smoke informed us of the nature of the spell—violence lives in purples and blues. More benign spells come in yellows and oranges, and so on. But talking only achieves so much in the realm of spell-making. It’ll be easier for me to teach you if I see you cast.” He put his hands behind his back and clasped his fingers. “So let’s see what we’ve got, okay?”

We had a lot of violence, that was what we had. I’d learned attack spells through the book and on the go. I also knew a lot of defensive spells, which were apparently in the red family. I didn’t have a lot of knowledge to go with either variety. Most of the things I tried I got wrong, but occasionally I got something right.

I was panting and sweaty toward the end, something that had never happened to me before while practicing magic.

When Sebastian finally declared we were finished for the day, he was fresh-faced and with sparkling eyes. He wasn’t tired in the least, but he’d clearly had a good time. That was a relief.

“Now you fly?” he asked, reseating himself on the log.

“Yes. I have to learn better aerial maneuvering.” I hesitated in shedding my clothes. It was hard enough to disrobe around shifters, who were used to seeing others naked, but Sebastian’s fixation on his shoes earlier had shown how uncomfortable he was with Austin hanging around naked. I wasn’t in the mood for a peep show.

As if realizing it, Sebastian rose, stepped over the log, and sat with his back to me. “That has to be so weird, going from not even knowing magic exists to all of this.”

“Very weird, yes.” I hesitated for a moment, just to make sure he didn’t turn around.

Austin repositioned himself between us, cutting off Sebastian’s sight even if he did peek.

“I don’t much like an alpha at my back,” Sebastian murmured. “I can feel him there somewhere. The small hairs on my neck are standing up like I’m about to get attacked.”

“If you plan on staying peaceful, it’s not me you need to worry about. You’d do best to keep an eye on Niamh,” Austin said. He’d pulled on the sweatpants but hadn’t bothered with the shirt, his big, broad back corded with muscle.

“Don’t ruin the surprise,” Niamh said, removing her clothes.

Clothes off, I shifted to my gargoyle form. My face didn’t protrude quite so much as the male gargoyles’ did, my wings were smaller, and I put out a sort of swirling light show when I moved. Jasper and Ulric changed with me, the sound like boulders moving against hard-packed dirt.

“Can I turn back now?” Sebastian asked, and I took to the sky. When he saw me, I could just barely see his mouth go slack and his eyes widen. “That is every bit worth the price of admission,” he said, and then I was up through the trees, out of hearing range, soaring with my kind, wind against my wings, savoring a sort of freedom I couldn’t express in words.

If Austin called in his brother, my ground game would be covered, but I still needed more fliers. Up here, soaring through the air, I realized how important that was.

My blast of magic nearly knocked Jasper and Ulric from the sky.

Hurry up.

An answering blast nearly froze my blood. I was calling in the best, and they had answered. They were on their way.

I sure hoped Austin could handle them.

Twelve

Mr. Tom leaned over the young master, sleeping more soundly than Mr. Tom could recollect anyone sleeping, ever. If an attacker waltzed into this room, it would be open season. Luckily, Master Jimmy had the house and his mother to look after him. He’d be safe as long as those held up.