Cassius guided his magic out. His eyes opened. They focused on the burnt targets. He fed the magic towards them with a gentle hand. Things were connecting in place, taking change, and morphing into what he imagined. The target’s red paint returned to its cherry red and the white was no longer tainted with black burn marks. The ash drifted from the grass, pressing back into the target. What was once destroyed, looked brand-new.

He breathed out a sigh. Relief fell over him in a soft wave, leaving him with fulfillment and accomplishment. Seeing his success gave him energy to push his magic further, but he had to hold back in fear he would be caught. But even thinking about the risk gave him more excitement. It was an addiction and the more dangerous it got, the more addictive it was. The vicious cycle could go on forever if he didn’t put a stop to it then.

Felix is watching him now. He’s burning to turn around and lock eyes, but he can’t. The moment isn’t right and his magic is burning in his veins. He knows that it’s getting out of control, that if he keeps this up there might come a time when he won’t be able to keep it inside. The moment will come when his energy is stronger than his will and he won’t be able to stop his urge to cast it out at anyone he wants to hurt. The effects would end him. He’d end up dead by the hands of those he hates.

He doesn’t look. Not because he’s afraid, but because he doesn’t want to ruin it before it even begins. He can do it, if he puts his mind to it and if he waits for the right time. He’ll be out of this place before they know it and before they can do a thing about it.

He leaves the target like that. His magic is ready to go and is racing inside him. This is all he wants at the moment. He content with what he’s done and to show more would to give awareness. He’s fine with the quiet haze and the fullness inside him. Felix is probably expecting more and though Cassius could give him the show that he wants, he doesn’t care enough to exhaust himself.

He’s turning on his heels to head back inside when he feels it. It’s this pressure on the back of his head, not necessarily a physical feeling. More of a tickling thought, something that he can’t quite reach. But he knows for sure that it’s not from him. It’s an alien touch that makes his body jitter. He wants to scratch and itch to get rid of it, but he doesn’t know where it’s coming from. It’s just there.

The feeling throws him off. It hits him like a brick and he has to right himself. A headache forms at his temples, pulsing like an open sore. There’s someone here. This feels like foreign magic, a strong kind that resembles an Exteru. But it’s hard to tell when it’s this close. It’s blocking out his own magic and feeding in its own.

Felix notices it.

His nose scrunches. “Fucking hell.”

Cassius knows what he means. Whoever is giving off the energy is forceful and knows the effects. They know what they’re doing. Whether it’s to show dominance or to warn others in the area, they’re doing it with purpose.

Felix is seething by the time the wave of energy passes over. He gives Cassius a look. “Don’t leave the training area.”

He turns and heads back inside the building. The magic is still there, but it’s nothing but a faint beat. Cassius knows that it must be someone powerful. A Exteru of some kind come from the Capital or a visitor from the lands beyond Xtavia. He’s never met anyone new besides Katson since he’s arrived on base ten years ago. His stomach churns thinking about seeing a new face. He wasn’t expecting this.

There are worse things to happen on such short notice. He shouldn’t worry about it, unless it directly involves him.

Which…

This could be about the last mission. Iza had to turn in the reports, but they wouldn’t have been delivered until at least tomorrow and would have taken longer for the Capital to review it. How was it that someone was already here? If this was about the case, were they going to ask him about his experience in the Veil? Would they suspect something had gone on with the demon?

It was hard to not think about it once it was in his head. He could see how this could go very wrong. If they found out he was hiding information, they would send him away. If that happened, he could kiss his chances of escape goodbye.

But it couldn’t be that. The case was closed and Iza believed what he said. He just had to play by the rules he’d already set out and tell the same old story. He had to do this and he had to succeed.

He looked at the entrance and closed his eyes. It was a risky move to connect with the Eye, even more so when there was an even more powerful presence. But he was desperate, scraping for a chance to save himself. It would only take a quick second to connect and scour the Eye for the information he needed.

Through the darkness, he stretched out his mind, offering his thoughts and feelings. The exchange was quick and uneasy on his stomach, throwing him around in a palace of sharp needles. The Eye wasted no time scraping him hallow and letting him access its large expanse of knowledge. He searched for the magic by the visitor and when he found it, he stomach did a flip. The quick timing was a surprise, but he didn’t wait there. He yanked the information out into the physical world.

And there it was.

General Mica Rexton. Cassius knew his name, age, status, and his relation to the Capital. But there was something that made Cassius’s skin crawl.

In between all the information, there was a large gaping hole. A blank space among the facts, like the Eye had been stamped with a cookie-cutter. There’d been someone there. Inside the Third Eye.