Quickly, embarrassed, Theo let go of Zenith’s hand and turned to Meg. "Training?”

"That's what this arena is for," she said. "We use them for a variety of purposes. Sometimes they serve as battlefields between wizards. Other times, we seek out Tielan monsters that might have gotten caught in the boundary between the worlds; that’s how we ended up fighting the dragon. And others are private areas for training. Whatever the reason, it's all in the service of growing our Levia and becoming stronger."

She headed toward Theo with bold, confident strides. He wouldn’t lie, she did intimidate him a little. It took all his effort not to back away

"Theo, you're clearly a powerful wizard even if you've never realized it until now." Her dark brown eyes scanned his face. "I'll admit I'm curious as to why. Sometimes people carry powerful Levia without being aware of it, but most wizards come from established lineages. That you already know such complex spells is pretty much unprecedented. I wonder if there's perhaps some secret hidden in your ancestry? Well." Meg tossed her hair. "We can muse all we want, but now that you've resolved to become Sir Zenith's wizard, I figure we'll have to train you the proper way."

Secret hidden in your ancestry. Unbidden, Theo's mind jumped to Victor. Slamming the door shut. Dancing the bow across the cello strings, playing an achingly melancholic melody.

But it was too painful to think about Victor playing cello, so Theo pushed the image away.

A new one came. A framed photo, his father smiling like he never had in all of Theo's memories. The slender woman next to him, beaming with a baby in her arms.

Theo's mother had died when he was barely two years old. A chill rippled down his spine. What if….

"Theo!" Meg's shout cut through his thoughts. "Are you listening? Good. Now, open that grimoire."

Theo still had the heavy book tucked under his left arm. As he cracked it open, the pages fluttered. He'd thought they would be delicate and faded, but the paper felt surprisingly strong and the ink was crisp and dark.

"We'll start with the spells in here." Meg tapped the book with a glossy crimson nail. "As I'm sure you've already figured, wizardry involves picturing diagrams in your mind and infusing them with your Levia to manifest their effects. Be warned, you must picture them perfectly. Any mistakes, however slight, may result in severe backlash. That's why memory is the most important skill a wizard can cultivate."

Theo nodded. He'd always had a good memory – often a curse, especially when it came to the painful ones. But it meant he knew all his favorite bands' lyrics by heart and didn't find cramming for tests a big deal. Not to mention he'd drawn these diagrams so often he doubted he'd ever be able to get them wrong.

The next thing Meg said startled him. "For the time being, I would like you to avoid using the spells you innately know."

"Huh? Why?"

"You don't know what any of them actually do, do you? You said you were casting them by intuition. That may have worked out against the dragon, but there's no guarantee you'll be so lucky in the future. Smart wizards minimize chance, they don't depend on it." Meg shook her head. "Besides, they're clearly incredibly powerful. Just using two made you pass out. You might not even possess enough Levia to cast some of them, and you'll have no way of knowing until it's too late. It's better to employ a suite of simpler, but more reliable spells. Understand?"

Theo nodded again. "That makes sense."

"Let's begin with a basic strengthening spell. The contract already increases a familiar's strength, but this spell will further enhance their Levia, senses, and reflexes for a brief duration." Meg flipped to the first page, revealing a diagram that looked much simpler than any Theo had seen so far. Only five lines criss-crossed the circle, enclosing a single symbol in the center.

"Allow me to demonstrate. Lodo?" Lodovico stepped forward and bowed. Though Theo knew he was a familiar, he found it difficult to picture the old butler doing any kind of fighting.

So he didn’t expect it when Lodovico leaped gracefully into the air – but that didn’t shock him half as much as when the butler’s entire body rippled like a disturbed reflection and he landed on four paws as a massive gray-and-black cat.

"Surprised? I suppose we forgot to mention that Lodovico's a werecat," Darian said, coming up beside him.

What, are there vampires and werewolves in Tielos too? Well, that explained the cat Theo had seen fighting the dragon.

With a flick of her wrist, Meg conjured a diagram beneath her feet. A matching one appeared beneath Lodovico. Theo squinted to see through the harsh light, focusing on the lines and symbols. Yes, it was the same as the one from the book.

Lodovico lunged toward a floating bookshelf. He slashed across it with his claws and Theo's jaw dropped when the shelf separated into two neat slices, spilling books and pages everywhere.

Heedless of the mess he'd made, Lodovico slinked up to Meg's side and rubbed her leg. Meg reached down to scratch between his ears.

"All right, give it a try," she said when she straightened.

Theo gulped. "Okay. Um...could I have something to draw with? I memorized those ones by doodling them all the time, so maybe it'll help."

"That's smart, actually," Meg said. "Lots of wizards keep personal grimoires for practicing.”

Lodo, a butler again, offered Theo a notepad and pencil. Where he'd gotten either, Theo didn't ask. He crouched down and concentrated on copying the diagram, acutely aware of Zenith's Levia inside him. It was sharp and alert, tense with anticipation.

Theo couldn't imagine how eager Zenith must be. After finally contracting with a wizard, he must be determined to prove himself. And Theo had to admit he wasn’t the only one.

When he was confident he could draw the diagram from memory, Theo stood up. Zenith approached him, sword drawn, and stopped about two yards in front of him.

His gaze burned even brighter than his Levia; Theo found he couldn't meet it. So he closed his eyes instead. It'd help him visualize the spell, anyway.

He sketched the lines and symbol across the dark canvas, relieved by how smoothly they came. Maybe it wasn’t as easy as when he cast his dream-spells, but it encouraged him. Then he reached for his Levia.

The light had been dim and smoldering, almost escaping his notice. Now it flared to life with a vengeance, making him gasp.

But he couldn’t lose his concentration. As his Levia flowed through his veins, he grabbed hold of it and used it to trace the diagram. The ground grew hot beneath his feet. His eyes flew open, and he gasped again when he saw the diagram glowing below him.

The same one had appeared beneath Zenith, casting pink highlights on his armor. His face remained impassive, but Theo sensed the joy brightening his Levia. No, more than brighter, it was sharper, clearer – stronger.

Zenith whirled around, hair and cape flowing, and charged. His blade flashed, once, twice, and a bookshelf split into four equal quarters, spilling a hail of books onto the floor.

Theo jumped to avoid some stray flying pages, but couldn't hold back a delighted whoop. "Zenith, that was amazing!"

Zenith landed in front of him, a gentle smile on his face – the first one Theo had ever seen from him. "It's because of your power, Theo."

They held each other's gazes for a moment that Theo wished would last forever, but the Levia from the spell was already fading. The floor cooled beneath his feet, then the light died away. Theo stumbled, caught off guard, but he didn't feel nearly as drained as he had the last time he'd cast a spell.

So he didn’t expect Zenith to step forward and grab his arms, steadying him. Theo opened his mouth to protest, but one look at Zenith’s face shut him right up. He’d never seen the knight’s eyes so gentle before. Less like crystal, more...human.

A spark seared through Theo’s blood, one that had nothing to do with his Levia.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.