Magi's Path (Aether's Revival Book 3) by Daniel Schinhofen (motivational books to read txt) 📕

“When she first came here, she was afraid that you’d all hate her.”

“Because she wouldn’t be with us anymore,” the oldest of the boys nodded, his square pupils fixed on Gregory. “We were a little angry that she was leaving us.”

“She wanted to help you all,” Gregory said.

“Yeah... she brought us stuff and left stuff out for us, risking her place here for us,” the oldest said seriously. “I told her to stop. We didn’t want her to risk it.”

“Elsa doesn’t listen well,” the smallest boy said with a grunt.

“She does, but she’s stubborn,” Gregory corrected him. “She didn’t want to lose you all. She thought of you as family, good family, and now look at where you are. Don’t you feel glad she’s so stubborn?”

The boys all nodded.

“Just be kind, be patient, and listen when they talk. Even if you disagree with them, listen to them. The worst thing you can do is ignore what they say or fail to hear what they’re trying to tell you,” Gregory said, thinking of how Amoria had tried to get him to see her as more than a friend.

All the boys nodded again, but the eldest spoke up, “Your friend, Gunnar— what was he like?”

“Gunnar? Strong, big, loyal, and honest, but he also had a mischievous streak. There was a time when he and I were going to try scaring the twins, El and Ria…”

~*~*~

Gregory was laughing with the boys when Yukiko came back into the room with a smirk. “Telling stories, dear one?”

“About Gunnar and me,” Gregory said, getting to his feet. “Passing the time while we waited to bathe.”

“Well, it’s available now. We’ll be seeing if Baylyss needs any help with dinner.”

“We won’t be too long,” Gregory said.

“Just make sure they clean properly,” Yukiko said as she left the room.

“Come on, guys. We’ll be as clean as we can be so they won’t have anything to complain about,” the oldest said, leading the way.

The others agreed and followed him. Gregory trailed them with a grin.

~*~*~

Dinner was simple, but still delicious. The soup for the apprentices came with pieces of jerky that had been soaking in their bowls to provide some aether for them. It was the only aether food they had, but Gregory didn’t mind, as eating with the children was still fun.

“I believe it is time for the cake,” Baylyss said.

“I’ll get it,” Elsa said, jumping to her feet and rushing off.

“She worked very hard on it,” Baylyss said as she watched Elsa go. “That’s why she missed sparring.”

“I figured,” Gregory replied. “She was a little distracted during meditation, too.”

“She has been since we had word you were all coming, and that your birthday was to be celebrated,” Baylyss corrected him. “So even if it isn’t the best cake, be kind to her.”

“I will be,” Gregory assured her.

Elsa came back a minute later, wheeling a small cart in front of her. Reaching the table, she took a deep breath before lifting the book-sized cake onto the table. When it was safely in front of Gregory, she exhaled, then smiled and pulled out a long, thin spatula. “This will cut the cake, and also serve it.”

“Thank you,” Gregory said as he accepted it from her.

She smiled, then pulled a small bowl from the lower section of the cart and placed it between the three apprentices. “This has bits of aether-infused fruit from Dia. I used similar fruit in the cake, but without the aether infusion.”

“Thank you,” Yukiko smiled at her. “We’ll make sure we add them to our cake.”

Gregory deftly sliced the cake into pieces and distributed them to everyone. His was the last and slightly larger than the others.

“Seems you wanted a bit more, and you haven’t even tasted it yet, dear one,” Yukiko smirked.

Gregory shook his head ruefully. “It just came out that way.”

“Or maybe our husband likes sweets?” Jenn rebutted with a smirk of her own.

Elsa hadn’t touched her piece of cake, even as the other children were already eating theirs. She watched them closely, waiting to hear what they thought.

Dividing the fruit from the bowl onto their plates, all three of them took a small sliver of cake and sampled Elsa’s work. They had smiles on as they took a second bite, and Elsa felt her fears fade.

“It’s very good,” Gregory said after the second bite. “Vanilla and strawberry?”

“Yes,” Elsa replied with a large smile on her face.

“It’s even better than what my mother can make,” Jenn said. “Did it take long to make the compote?”

“We had some already,” Elsa said with a worried look to Baylyss. “I used what we had.”

“I thought so, but it was the only way to make sure it was present in every bite. I will get it replaced in a few days,” Baylyss said. “Next time, just ask, Elsa. We might have been able to find another way to achieve the same thing.”

“Yes, Baylyss,” Elsa said, bowing her head. “I didn’t think. I am sorry.”

“As long as it doesn’t happen again,” Baylyss replied lightly.

Chapter Forty-two

Elsa smiled at them when they entered the dining room. “Good morning to you, magi. Baylyss is almost done making breakfast.” Her words were professional, but her tone was friendly.

“Good morning, Elsa,” Gregory returned the smile. “Didn’t expect you to be awake already.”

“We have guests. It would be wrong to sleep in when they might have needs to be seen to,” Elsa said primly, the friendliness chilling dramatically. “If you will excuse me, I need to check on breakfast.”

Gregory blinked after her. “Did I upset her?”

“I don’t think ‘upset’ is the right word, dear one. ‘Miffed’ would be closer.”

“Yuki’s right. Annoyance is a better way of describing it. Elsa is always trying