Page 105 of Eternal Light

There will be no authorities for him. No prison where he can rally his denizens to build an even bigger empire under the noses of the prison system.

No, Carnell will meet the end of his existence in a way that is satisfying to Gideon.

Nix, for one, will have no regrets.

Best to keep any kind of official agency off-premises until they’d done what they’d come to do all those weeks ago.

“One step at a time? We can just meet them. Let’s start there,” Nix says finally, before he cups Grayson’s cheek, giving him his best encouraging smile.

Kissing Nix’s palm, Grayson squeezes it before returning it to the crook of his arm.

“Yeah, okay. I can do that. You ready?”

Rowan huffs, just nosing the door all the way open.

Nix whispers under his breath, “I don’t think this wolf thing has done good things for his manners.”

Grayson laughs and follows their mate into the office with a short knock on the open door.

“Hello?”

There are three people in the room with the Master of Novices. They had been enjoying each other’s company, their ease with one another clear in how they sat close together and how easily they smiled and laughed.

Nix recognizes Luminary Selinde Varna from the cottage. She’s sharing the couch with a tall, bald man with glasses. The two chairs on either side are occupied by Ignatius and a friendly-looking person dressed in a muumuu of rainbow-tied silk, who has light pink hair and a dark goatee.

“Hello, Novice Grayson! Nix, and of course, Rowan. Welcome, welcome.” Ignatius jumps to his feet to offer the other, longer couch. “Please, sit before we get started, and then I’ll make our introductions.”

Nix sits closest to Ignatius, with Grayson closest to the stranger in the chair.

Rowan ignores the offer to sit, instead making his rounds around the room, sniffing and poking into places he’s not been invited.

Yup, manners are at an all-time low.

Magnanimously, Ignatius lets it go, settling himself once again in his chair.

This afternoon, he’s wearing a bright lime green hand-knit sweater with Calcifer on it fromHowl’s Moving Castle,paired with pink-and-green plaid pants, yellow socks, and purple Birkenstocks.

“You met Luminary Selinde earlier this morning. I’ve also asked The Guild’s instructors, Emre Kaya and Vaayu Suraksha, to join us as well. Emre is our authority on The Plain and shields, while Vaayu is our Air Affinity instructor.”

The taller man with the beautiful, shiny head stands to offer his hand to Nix, and then to Grayson. It’s met with a small growl from behind a thick purple line on the floor, where Rowan had been smelling two chairs.

To Emre’s credit, he only flinches slightly.

“Please, call me Emre. We don’t stand on formalities here. Manners are neither here…nor there.”

It’s aimed at his traveling colleague, and he grins slyly at his inside traveling-related joke.

“Cut it out,” Selinde sighs. “Nice to see you all again.”

Vaayu smiles as they offer their hand. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Nice to meet you, too. These are my mates, Nix and Rowan,” Grayson says.

The newcomers look from Nix to Rowan, who is sitting under the phoenix Aldis’s perch, a look of suspicion on his wolfy face, nose in the air.

Or at least, Nix hopes it’s just suspicion, and not a plan about how he’s going to get up there and eat the beautiful creature.

It could go either way, honestly.