As I went downstairs, practically skipping, I could barely contain my excitement. I was going to use magic—finally. Real, actual, no-holding-back magic.
"Where can I practice?" I muttered, glancing around the halls. Then I remembered—there was a training field behind the stables where Dad used to drill his knights before handing that job off to the captain. It was big, private, and far enough from the manor that no one would notice if I accidentally blew something up.
I slipped outside, the late afternoon sun warming the stones beneath my shoes. The field was exactly how I remembered—wide and quiet, the old wooden dummies leaning slightly with age. A few birds scattered as I stepped into the center and stretched out my hands.
[Excited, are we?]
"Of course," I said with a grin. "I'm going to use magic, magic, something I never thought was real."
[Just don't turn the place into rubble.]
"I'm not a beginner, Nero. I know what I'm doing."
Seraphina knewwhat she was doing.
