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16

Out of Pandora's Box

We listened to people’s petitions the entire day. One man pleaded for us to cure the deadly disease that was killing his young daughter. That one brought a tear to my eye. There was also a fair share of petty disputes—from housing rights, to fights between neighbors, to requested repairs to public buildings. There were also a few complaints about loud werewolves, some blood feuds, and a very heated dispute involving a particularly wild goat. And everything and anything in between.

Afterwards, we retreated to our garden library and just tried to unwind.

“I must say, I never realized how discontent humanity was with, well, everything,” Cadence said.

“That’s because you never had to live in the real world,” I teased her.

As the daughter of an archangel, Cadence had lived a very different life than most people.

Alice rubbed her head like it hurt. “This isn’t anything like the real world that I remember.”

“I am more exhausted now than I would have been after a long, hard day of training.” Andromeda sipped from her teacup.

“I found the whole thing invigorating actually,” Cadence said. “So many different, varying situations to solve. It was truly fascinating.”

Alice chuckled. “The story about the goat was certainly fascinating.”

“Some of their problems were quite silly, but others were troubling.” Andromeda frowned. “How has the world become this place?”

“Because we mostly abandoned humanity to their own devices while we were busy sorting out all the supernaturals, demonic threats, and potentially world-ending events,” I said. “But it’s not too late to turn things around.”

Cadence handed me a cookie. “I like your optimism, Leda. You never give up.”

“Your son taught me that angels aren’t quitters.”

“I suspect you weren’t much of a quitter before you joined the Legion either.” Cadence poured me some tea.

“No, I wasn’t.” I winked over my teacup at her. “Especially when it came to quitting to talk.”

“I hadn’t noticed.”

I snorted.

“Leda, has your cat grown bigger in the last week?” Alice asked me.

She was watching Angel in awe. My cat, who was taking up a sofa all her herself, was busily grooming herself. Considering her size, the project would take a while.

“Angel is always growing,” I said. “I wonder if she’ll ever stop.”

My cat was the size of a tiger now. And, if I’d wanted to, I could have ridden her like a horse.

“We might assume that Angel’s size is proportional to how much magic you might need to channel through her,” Cadence said. “After all, she is your Companion, a reservoir for your magic.”

“Right now, my daughter’s magic is too much for my body, so Angel is helping there?” I wondered.

“Perhaps. You are a very young angel, Leda. And you have much more magic than your body is ready to handle. Remember, just two years ago, you had virtually no magic at all.”

Well, no magic besides my vampire-mesmerizing hair that made the bloodsuckers want to bite me. Thank goodness I’d graduated beyond that useless kind of magic.

“You gained a lot of magic in a very short time,” Cadence said. “That is bound to introduce complications. But given time, your body will ripen, allowing it to handle your growing magic better.”

“I think we’re all about to ripen a great deal.” Andromeda patted her flat tummy.

“Depends,” Alice said. “My belly never popped until much later.”