Honestly, I could see Bevel's logic.

Once I got over the huge lump in my throat, of course. Yeah, I was going to be fine, long as I had my daughter at my side.

"What do you say we get out of here?" I asked, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Maybe you can show me the wishing rock?"

"You can't bring Tamrie back," Bevel said, not meeting my eyes. "I tried that first. It doesn't bring people back. Only you can do that."

I chuckled at that. "You mean your sister?"

Bevel nodded, curls flopping.

"I… I think Tamrie's happier now than she was before," I said, able to hear her laughter from below. I strained my ears, attempting to hear Ari laughing alongside her, but the waves must've drowned it out. "I wouldn't wish for her back. Not if it made her unhappy. Seeing your rock might help me feel a little more happy for her though."

"Okay, Papa," Bevel said, squeezing my hand. "I can show you."

"We're heading out," I called down, interrupting the laughter. I could barely make out the affirmation over the sound of the waves breaking against the shore, a sound that had grown louder over the last few minutes.

Bevel and I ascended unassisted, meeting Tresla at the entrance to the hanger. Inertia was nowhere to be seen.

Tresla took one look at me and said, "She told you."

Before I could respond, Bevel nodded and said, "I did."

"Think she was talking about Tamrie, kiddo," I said, gently pushing her shoulder.

"Oh. Right," Bevel said before chuckling awkwardly the way only a teenager could.

"And yeah. We're… I guess we're just friends, now," I said, shrugging. If that was ever a thing that could be true.

"I shall never truly understand your humanoid relationships, but I do understand loss," Tresla said, bowing her cloaked head.

"Anyway, moving on," I said, suddenly more than done with the topic. "Where'd Inertia go?"

"Ah, she wanted to see if she could convince one of the juveniles to play headbutts," Tresla said, shaking her head slightly.

I glanced down, and sure enough, Inertia was flying just above one of the juveniles, dipping towards it then away. "Okay then. Sounds like you guys are gonna be here for a bit anyway. Can you make sure the Shield hangs around until Tamrie and Arizar are done?"

"Of course," Tresla said, cloak dipping in acknowledgment. "Are you turning in for the night?"

"Not exactly," I said, taking our gliders out of my ring and setting them on the hanger deck. "We've got a stop to make first."

After they'd unfolded, Bevel and I climbed in and soared into the night. We mostly flew towards Mount Aeternia, Bevel adjusting course to take us a short distance north of Tetherfall.

It was a rock I'd probably passed over dozens of times, just a thin slab of stone that stuck out from the canyon wall. It had white marbling running up the side, and after Tamrie's meeting with the leviathan pod, I was no longer as certain whether a thing had magic in it.

While Reveal Magic didn't show any more or less magic in the rock than the rest of the surroundings, I followed Bevel's example when she waved at me to put my hand on the stone.

"Now, you just… you wish really hard for something, and if it's going to come true, it'll grow warm under your hand," Bevel said, pressing her forehead against the stone as well.

Well, why not. There was one thing I felt would be safe to wish for.

'I hope Tamrie doesn't feel too much regret for following her heart. I wish… I wish that she finds her happiness.'

To my surprise, I did feel a pulse of warmth come off the stone.

"See, I told you!" Bevel said, pointing at the glowing spot on the rock, a faint handprint outlined by a mixed set of orange and blue light. It quickly faded, but she was right. It'd been there.

Unfortunately for Bevel, I'd noticed it pulling at my mana as it had done so. It had converted my mana into heat and light. Likely a buried enchantment.

Still, maybe… maybe it was more.

If I could investigate without destroying it, I would've made the attempt. But the simple sight of seeing Bevel holding her head against the stone, eyes squeezed tight in determination…

Yeah, whatever secrets the rock might hold, they weren't worth taking that away from her. A second later, the rock glowed orange and blue again, Bevel opening her eyes with a gasp.

"So, what did you wish for?" I asked, chuckling.

"You can't tell people your wishes until after they come true, Papa. Everyone knows that," Bevel said, shaking her head.

"You know, I think I might've heard that," I admitted. Not that I'd ever believed it. If that was all it took for wishes to come true, I would've had a very different childhood. "So… race back?" I asked, already jogging towards my glider.

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"Hey, no fair! Cheater!" Bevel called as she blasted past me in a burst of air.

I shook my head as I hurried to strap in, already behind by the time I lifted off.

With one last glance, I reaffirmed my wish. I really did hope Tamrie was happy. Had done the same for Lindsey.

Wouldn't have been love, if I'd done otherwise. Least, that's how I'd always figured it.

I didn't see Tamrie or Ari that night.

Breakfast, on the other hand…

It was incongruous, having Tamrie greet me with her usual smile. She even started standing up, as though she was going to come over to embrace me. Then she seemed to remember herself, which is when her smile faded. Almost as quickly, she started sobbing.

I hadn't even managed to sit down.

So, of course, I went around the table. I didn't quite pull her into my arms, instead simply setting my hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry. Not being fair, me being the one going on and on," Tamrie said, rubbing at her face.

"Emotions gonna motion," I said, squeezing her shoulder. "Not like we're suddenly gonna stop loving each other just 'cause… y'know."

She nodded, leaning closer and I found myself leaning into it too. It wasn't the same, but it wasn't bad, exactly.

Confusing, yes. But not bad.

Wasn't sure how thankful I should be when we went our separate ways after breakfast.

I needed to return to Tillan's camp, and even if she'd wanted to, that wasn't a place for Tamrie. Not unless he suddenly picked up and moved into the ocean.

Seemed unlikely.

Chuckling to myself, I set out to find my reinforcements for my visit. Bevel was hanging from the top of Mount Aeternia, legs wedged into the scaffolding for Selvi's scouts.

She was throwing her little disk shaped slices of fruit out away from the mountain, then causing them to arc back towards her directly into her mouth.

The really impressive part was, every two out of three tosses, she wouldn't need to use her magic to pull it off. She managed to get the throw just right so that the constant wind brought the fruit right back to her.

"Hit me up with a couple?" I asked, plopping down next to her. She nodded, chucking three slices out at once.

The two headed for me both got the slightest touch of her magic, though I slowed time and snagged one out of the air, chomping down on the other.

"Ready to visit the clans?" I asked after finishing both my slices.

"Uh… yes? Is that a trick question?" Bevel asked, flipping up onto her feet.

"Nope. No trick, let's go grab Nexxa," I said, pushing up from the edge with more care, despite my ability to fly.

My gaze shifted to the tracks below. Despite the efforts of hundreds, the train didn't quite connect to Nexxa's territory yet.

Thankfully, we didn't have to go that far. We met her in Tender's trials, which I realized I could do with Bevel again. I'd almost been about to avoid them, since I'd gotten so used to doing them with Tamrie. Just part of our morning ritual.

She wasn't there, thankfully, though Ari was. Ari nodded in our direction when we arrived, giving us a smile. "Have a good run. I was just heading out."

"Uh, same," I said right as she activated the Waygate, then cringed at myself once she'd left.

"Come on, Papa," Bevel said, pulling me towards our door. There was no sign of Nexxa, so hopefully she was still in her trial and hadn't moved on yet. I found one of the Tethered who'd just finished their own trials, and asked him if he could stick around for a few minutes and let her know.

Wasn't quite prepared for the salute he gave me. Still, I returned the knuckles to forehead salute before Bevel and I started our paths.

After my fight with the Bear lord, I felt even better about my focus on Agility. Unfortunately, the new catalyst was hard to work with, and Bevel ended up having to wait for me to recover several times during the trial. Which wasn't so bad, since we passed the time talking about what we'd do with spatial enchantments once we spent more time practicing in my Palace.

Implicitly understood was that we wouldn't be doing so until after Tamrie left.

When we finished, Nexxa was pacing back and forth, snapping her fingers, both actions causing sparks to shoot off her.

"There you two are. Took you long enough, you decide to… right. No more Tamrie. Nevermind," Nexxa said when she spotted us.

"Sure," I said, chuckling. "Thanks for taking the time for this."

"Gotta keep my brother from getting himself pounded into paste, don't I?" Nexxa asked, clapping me on the shoulder. "What would you do without me?"

"Wilt away, most likely," I replied, reaching up to fix the hair I knew would've been knocked out of place by the brief contact. "But I'd have an easier time keeping my hair neat."

"Truly, a heavy price to pay," Nexxa said, nodding sagely.

"I can fix it, Papa," Bevel said, a sudden burst of wind pulling hard at my head. A second later it settled down.

Nexxa took one look, then bent over, laughing so hard I was pretty sure she was going to pull something.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, reaching a hand up to find that Bevel had certainly made my hair more orderly. By braiding it into a crown. "Where did you even get the flowers?"

Bevel threw a thumb over her shoulder at the trial we'd just emerged from, smiling so wide, I didn't have the heart to pull the braids out. Besides, half the clans wore their hair in braids. I just had to own it.

Nexxa caught up halfway to the Waygate, still wiping at her face, her chuckles not quite fading even as we passed through.

Our trip to the meeting itself was uneventful, though we did spot a trio from the eagle clan. They waved so we waved back.

Then they adjusted course, guiding us in.

Arriving in the same field of rubble Tillan and I had torn up the day before, I found the large man waiting for us astride his bear. He raised a hand in greeting, then turned before we'd even landed, starting back towards where the clans had gathered.

I'd expected him to want to tour our lands before he took us to the other leaders. Seemed he had other plans. It didn't take much effort to catch up to him, despite his mount being fast for a bear.

Fast for a bear was still slow compared to a powered glider.

"We're meeting them now?" I asked, yelling down to the man.

"Won't be willing to take a deal from a man they've only just met. You'll have to prove yourself, like you did with me, though they'll both have their own way to judge you," Tillan called, not slowing his pace one bit. "Be a shame for them to declare war on you with cause if there isn't one, just because you slighted them by not visiting."

"Uh. My impression was they wouldn't be as willing to let me live if I faced them the way I did you. Also, I'm a mage. That mana-well was the only reason I could keep up," I said, looking over at Nexxa.

She grinned, giving me two thumbs up.

"You're half-right. Vergel will attempt to kill you. Repeatedly. Never really stops," Tillan said, nodding. "But if you're even halfways clever, he won't try too hard. It's a game to him."

"How reassuring," I said dryly.

"And Arther… well, I'll be there to keep him from letting his anger carry him away," Tillan said, intense blue eyes narrowing. "And if he finds himself stepping across that line, it'll be all the reason I need to declare a proper clan duel."

"Why do I get the feeling that he wouldn't be worried about the same rules," I said, tilting my glider to the side to avoid a tree that came springing up after the bear brushed against it.

"He'll play by the rules, if he doesn't want me coming down on him," Tillan said, and the weight he put behind those words caused even Nexxa to blink.

"Right, so, be halfways clever and survive the man set on getting revenge for his homicidal son," I said, nodding. "Simple."

Tillan laughed, tossing his head back. "I hope you prove yourself capable, Magus Protectus. And honest. Hate to have to kill you."

"I'd hate that too, just so you know," I replied with a frown.

"It would be a shame," Nexxa said, with an amused tone, but also with a bit of an edge. "Since you'd fail and then find yourself short most of your clan afterwards."

"Very short," Bevel added, her voice not carrying any amusement whatsoever.

While Tillan laughed once more, I couldn't help but marvel at how heartwarming the honest threat of unreasonable retaliation was.

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