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“Yes,” Arina said. “The magic of the eidolons. And Blight.”

I guessed the eidolons were the passive dark magic deity, and that Blight was their equivalent of Nectar or Venom.

There was a flash, and then my brother and three sisters were suddenly there, each one standing in a different quadrant. Zane was inside the active light magic field. Bella was in the active dark magic forest. Tessa was in the passive light magic meadow. And, finally, Gin was in the passive dark magic quadrant.

“I think the Vault is trying to tell us something,” I said,

“How very observant of you.”

I turned toward the voice—and found Gaius Knight. He stood beside me in the tiny crossroads square, which had meanwhile grown larger to accommodate his presence.

“Are you part of this metaphor?” I asked him.

“No, he’s actually here, talking to us,” Arina told me.

Gaius smiled. “Correct.”

“In fact, he’s the one who enchanted your parchment in the first place,” Arina said. “The clue to Thea’s grimoire. And he put my picture on that page.”

“Mostly correct.” Gaius didn’t clarify further.

“Somehow he’s found a way to tap into the visions from wherever he is.” Arina poked him with her finger. Her hand didn’t go right through him.

“Then he’s the one who can give us the answers we need.” I turned and faced the man. “Why did you send me all these visions? And what is this magical metaphor all about? Light, dark, active, passive. What is the meaning of showing me this?”

“Passive magic. That’s what the Immortals named it when they catalogued all of magic.”

That wasn’t an answer to the question I’d asked, but Gaius didn’t seem to care. In fact, he looked perfectly content to speak about whatever he had already planned to speak about.

“The Immortals called it ‘passive magic’ because they thought ‘eating magic’ sounded too dangerous, too threatening.”

“Very interesting.” I had a feeling he would eventually come to the point, but I had no idea how long that would take.

“But passive magic didn’t sound too dangerous or too threatening,” Gaius continued. “It sounded amenable. It sounded like something that wasn’t vile, something that wasn’t a threat.”

“Indeed.” What else was I supposed to say?

“Some other people out there still called it eating magic,” Gaius said. “Because the magic that the passive magic users wield comes from channeling magic that exists outside themselves.”

So the Immortals had tried their hand at rebranding magic.

“This is all very interesting,” I told him. “But what does it have to do with what you’re showing me here?”

“The bonds of siblings are strong, when they grow up properly.”

I felt like I was talking to a fortune cookie.

“And Callista made just the right environment for you all to bond. She created the right recipe.” He sounded like he was talking about baking, not family. “Look at your brother and sisters.”

So I looked.

“They are your four horsemen, one from each quadrant of magic. Together, they encompass the four kinds of magic. And here you are, Leda Pandora, standing right at the middle of it all.”

“So you meant for my brother and sisters to protect me?” I asked.

Like Ava had wanted Bella to protect me. Come to think of it, where did Ava’s plans fit in to all of this? I was about to ask that question when Gaius dropped the biggest bombshell of them all.

“They’re meant to protect not only you, but also the child you carry. Your daughter is the future. And you are standing at the crossroads, Leda. Light magic. Dark magic. Active magic. Eating magic.”

“Light, dark, active, eating,” I muttered, repeating his words.

I didn’t like the order, so I changed it. “Light, eating, dark, active. LEDA.” I gaped at him. “Leda. It’s me.”