Roughly twenty years later

“What do you mean, ‘strange magic’?” Ciaran demanded.

Amron slid an envelope across the table. “It’s all right here, in the letter Blythe sent. Read it for yourself.”

Ciaran flicked it open, scanned the contents, and passed it on to Rajani. He leaned his elbows on the table while she read it. “Are we sure the kid's not just a whisperer and a witch? That crow– for all we know it’s a trained pet. The things can learn to speak, you know.”

“All I know is in that letter. Blythe’s one of my oldest friends, she wouldn’t tell us this unless she was sure.”

Ciaran glanced at the letter Rajani held again. The words fire and Lightguard jumped out at him.

“They killed a guard by accident,” he said softly.

“They could be what we need,” said Nox. The vampire’s wings fluttered against the back of his chair, his crimson eyes wide. “Our catalyst to finally change things on a larger scale. Think about it! Everyone else with this power dies young, but this one is twenty!”

Excitement warred with the old coils of guilt and grief in Ciaran’s heart. “Nox,” he said. “Stop it.”

The excitement died.

“Thank you.”

“It’s a good thing,” Nox muttered, replacing his dark glasses. “I would have thought you of all people would agree.”

“There’s more to it than that. They’re twenty. Aurora was only twelve. None of the others we’ve heard of have been older than fourteen. Don’t you agree that’s strange?”

The others mumbled agreement.

“Enough.” Taking the letter from Meredith, Amron tapped it on the table. “Blythe’s bringing them in a few days. She trusts them, so we don’t need to worry about that. We’ll have plenty of opportunity to test their magic and ensure it’s really the new magic before we take them in. Is that amenable?”

“I suppose,” Ciaran grumbled.

“It works,” said Nox.

The other four added their agreement, and Amron nodded to each one. “Then that concludes this meeting. Amaya, how are preparations for your trip going?”

Her answer was lost in the noise of the council members getting up and getting ready to leave. Ciaran stayed seated, working through his breathing exercises.

A hand fell on his shoulder. “Everything alright?”

“Thinking of Rory again,” Ciaran replied without looking up. “That’s all. You’re doing well as council head.”

“I would hope I’d gotten the hang of it after five years.”

“One would assume. And yet…”

“You’re fired,” Amron said affectionately. “You’re still coming to dinner tonight?”

“It’s Callie’s birthday. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Ciaran rested his hand over Amron’s for a moment, then stood. “Tell her I’ll be there once I put the finishing touches on her gift.”

“Will do.” Amron's footsteps on the stone floor receded as he left.

The letter was still on the table. Ciaran reached for it again. Destiny.

Would this one be anything like Rory?

Would he fail this one too?

Ciaran tucked the letter inside his shirt and left the meeting room. He was twenty years wiser now; he’d learned from his mistakes over the years. If Destiny really did have the same magic Aurora had, he’d do his best to keep them safe where he’d failed his sister. He’d do better this time.

This time, the young mage would live.