(Niko, 16)

I performed a major fumble. My plan was to wait until today to return to Varil, as today is one week from the end of term. However, it appears that my magical power did not agree with that plan. Even without looking at my reflection, I know my magical power has ascended to violet. I can see it within me, my ability to sense magic developed enough for me to see it inside of people.

Now that I have said my goodbyes to the Garoyalans, I really must be leaving. I have pulled on a proper tunic, with full sleeves, and am now standing in front of a group of elders, gargoyles, and Kyron, who are here to watch me leave. I have already activated the enchantment in the cuffs, making my right arm appear normal, not the stone monstrosity that it truly is.

Holding up a hand, I give them a small wave, then open a gate and step through it. I find myself in the bedroom for my parents in Mar, just as I planned. I wished to visit them first, before returning to Varil. Just to see what they think of my absence in all this time.

They are dressed, as I expected, and are consuming breakfast. Both look at me with shock when they see me.

"Niko!" Father rises. "You have returned! Jason said you were dealing with various issues after attempting to recover from that injury you gave yourself."

"Yes," I say. "I have recovered enough to return to Varil first. I stopped here to say 'hello' to you before doing so, to inform you that you are well."

"You should have come to us the moment you injured yourself," Father tells me. "We would have helped you recover."

"What is wrong with your eyes?" Mother asks. "They are like the eyes of the Sages, and of Jason, when we first met him."

"The eyes of a human turn violet when their magical power reaches violet in color," I state. "And then grey when they reach grey in magical power. It is a sign of the immense power we hold."

Their expressions confirm to me that they do not like the idea of me being a mage. They are looks of disgust, quickly replaced by looks of worry. My parents may act all they wish, I know the truth for sure now. They still attempt to force themselves to accept me, even if they accept magic.

It is better if I simply remove myself from the equation.

"Do not worry too much," I tell Father and Mother. "This might be the last time I come to the castle."

"Why?" Father asks. "What are you-"

"I am marrying Lina after we graduate university," I state. "And living in Varil as a Varilan. Though my blood puts me as a Marran prince, it is only my blood which does so. I am simply the third prince, nothing more than that. There is nothing more for me here, even with the expanding borders we have."

"Niko, we are here for you," Father tells me.

"Really?" I ask. "Are you really here for me? Because so far, Aiden is the only one who has supported me! Even knowing I was a mage, even knowing what it would mean, he kept trying to push me to join him and his troops when I was younger! Did you know that it was not to try to turn me into a soldier, but so that I could escape the hated glares of the capital? That he had already told his soldiers that he planned on allowing me to use magic there? That he actually cared for me?"

"We have always cared for you," Mother says.

"Liar!" I glare at her. "You and Father never cared about me! Even now, you try to care about me, but you find it hard to accept that your youngest son uses magic regularly! That he can simply walk in wherever he wants, that he can slay beasts you can only dream of a platoon surviving against! Yes, you have accepted magic into Mar, but you have not accepted me as a mage!"

"Niko-" Father begins.

"Enough!" I yell. "You and Mother never cared about me! It was Aiden who tried to protect me! It was Aiden who tried to bring me somewhere that I could use magic openly, without judging! It was Aiden who pushed you into allowing the betrothal to Lina, so that we could marry after I turn twenty-one! It was Aiden who pushed for that so that I could go to a kingdom of mages, where I could be happy and make friends and not be hated just for knowing magic! When I fell and broke my arm when I was nine, did either of you even check on me while I was in the medical wing? No! You even told me to just fix it up with my magic and stop whining! You told me that a soldier just grits his teeth through the pain! When I left for Varil, did you see me off? No! You let me leave on my own, without so much as a goodbye, because you two HAVE NEVER CARED!

"Guess what?" I pull off my tunic and cancel the illusion spell, in a full rage now. My parents' eyes move to my arm, to the gargoyle spell replacing it. "I was attacked by a god! That is what really happened, not a training accident! He destroyed my arm! My arm! I replaced it with magic! See? I am not even a whole man anymore! Do you still want to claim you care about me, knowing I am part magic?"

My parents just stare at me, not saying a word.

"Aiden does," I tell them, my voice much quieter now. "When he first saw my arm, his immediate reaction was concern, asking me what was wrong, if I was okay, how I was doing, and more. Because unlike you two, Aiden actually cares about me."

I open up a gate and turn to walk through it, sending my parents one last look.

"I give up my succession rights," I tell them. "I might still be Niko sul'Mar, Prince of Mar, but I am no longer in line to the throne. I am returning to Varil, and that is where my home is. My real home, along with my friends. I will return here, to Mar, only to visit Aiden. Only to visit the only family member who actually does care about me."

I step through the gate and into my bedroom in the mansion in Varilsy, closing the gate immediately behind me. Eli is smoothing out the blankets on my bed, and I freeze up for a moment. He turns his head and sees my arm, his eyes widening.

"Milord!" He exclaims. "Your arm, too? What happened? Is that why you haven't been here? Was Jason lying about all of that? Are you okay?"

Taking a deep breath, I walk over to my bed and sit on it, leaning forward and closing my eyes. My gate was one-way, so Eli did not hear my statement at the end.

"Only some of what Jason said was a lie," I tell him. "But yes, my arm is why I have not been here."

"What happened?" He asks, and I tell him everything which has happened starting with the attack of the god.

When I demonstrate the magic in the cuffs, his eyes widen in shock and amazement, and he insists on checking my arm, finding that it does feel just as normal as it looks.

"That is incredible," he tells me.

"Jason truly is something," I tell him, then return to telling him my 'adventures'.

I leave out the ending, of my trip back to Mar. It does not matter at all. Even without a right of succession, I am still a prince, and I know that at least the ten older Marrans will accept me and continue to call me their prince.

"Has Jason kept you appraised of the events here?" Eli asks.

"Yes," I answer, pulling my tunic back on. "He spoke with me every Sorday, when he stopped by to drop off classwork for me to ensure I did not fall behind others. I had not intended on returning, but Jason sees deeper than any of us. He knew I would return, in the end."

"Yes," he says. "He told me more than a month ago to prepare for your return today, but also warned me not to tell anyone. I was in here ensuring your room was ready for your return."

"Jason knew a month ago?" I ask. "I only decided a couple of weeks ago!"

"Jason sees deeper than any of us," Eli smiles, using my own words to remind me of my friend's awareness, then he points at his eyes. "When did you reach violet magical power?"

"As I slept last night," I sigh. "I had though I had another week before I would reach it, and that Lina would be able to see me with green eyes again, but it appears that I waited too long to return for that."

"She will not care," he tells me. "I'm certain she'll simply adjust any gifts she has made for you to match your new eye color instead."

"Most likely," I answer, and he sits beside me on the bed. "I am sorry for abandoning you, Eli. I was too busy feeling sorry for myself and being scared of how people would react. Even after Jason made these, it took me too long to return."

"Niko," he places a hand on my back reassuringly. "Everyone has their own barriers to overcome. I do not blame you for wanting time to adjust to having lost a second limb. Honestly, I think it's impressive that you returned at all, now that I know why you were gone."

"I still abandoned everyone without a word," I tell him. "It was wrong of me to do that, I am your prince."

"Niko," he pulls me against him, giving me a hug. "It's okay. We've long since discussed it and knew you needed time to adjust. You've never had friends before coming here, and six or seven months really isn't enough time to overcome sixteen years of abuse and self-doubt."

I nod, and he releases me. I take a deep breath, then let it out.

"I will still hide my gargoyle limbs," I state. "Until I reach grey in magical power, where they will be replaced with flesh and blood once more. Human flesh and blood. There is no need to let others know the damage done to my body. However, I am done with being scared of what others think. You, Jason, Aiden… the three of you know about it and accept me. That's all that matters. There is no need to worry Lina with the knowledge of my injuries, so I will continue to hide them from her as well."

I only pray that my parents do not try to tell others about it, but I doubt they will. At most, they will speak with Aiden, as he knows.

"Prince Aiden knows?" Eli asks.

"He knew where I was hiding," I nod. "Came to visit me and saw it before I realized it was him. I was in a remote region with a culture developed by a small kingdom I create when I was Magus Benjamin, King of Decay. There were gargoyles everywhere. I felt at home among them."

Shaking my head, I look at Eli.

"Though I have also realized," I tell him. "That I felt at home only because the people there accepted me due to living in a society protected by gargoyles for thousands of years. They knew my identity as the King of Decay, their founder, and worshiped me. It was not like here, not like you and Jason and Lina, who accept me simply for me, who are my friends because of me, not my status."

Further discussion is interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. Judging by my scanning spell, it is three women.

"That might be Lina," I say.

Eli stands as I sit up straighter, and he approaches the door and opens it, revealing Lina and her two guards. Lina sees me and her eyes widen, then she rushes to me, wrapping me in a tight hug. I return the hug, inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo.

For several moments, we just embrace, then Gargoyle Alpha wedges himself between us.

"Alright, alright," Gargoyle Alpha says. "Enough with the close contact. Come on, follow the etiquette."

Lina pulls back and looks at the stuffie golem, then laughs before leaning forward and giving me a kiss, which I return. Then we separate, and she smiles at me.

"It is good to see you back," she tells me. "Papa received word from your papa that you had stopped by on the way back, and he told me, so I rushed over here. How are you doing? Jason said you had quite the adventure."

"Yes," I answer. "Has a thunderbird stopped by?"

"A thunderbird?" Lina asks.

"Yes," I answer. "Your expression suggests she has not. Sriia was worried about how to approach you without seeming eager or desperate, she wishes to meet the thunderbird of the Magi, as she felt it would be unbecoming of a grey-level creature to approach us."

"Did you tell her that a dragon intentionally antagonized Jason regularly just so that he would play with it?" She asked.

"No," I answer. "Has Jacob come up with a name for the griffin cub yet?"

"He decided on around fifty," she tells me. "So it has yet to actually receive a name."

"Okay."

We are silent for several moments, then Lina hugs me again before sitting beside me.

"I missed you, Niko," she says.

"I missed you, too," I say.

"When did you reach violet?"

"As I slept last night," I tell her. "I thought it would take me another week, but it appears I miscalculated. I was hoping to let you see them green again before I reached it."

"Their color does not matter to me," she says. "Just that you are alive and well. Will you return to university on Monday?"

"Will they allow me?" I ask. "I have missed several months' worth of work."

"Jason ensured," she tells me. "That you were excused under recovery from a severe injury, then business with grey-level creatures. Because he was bringing your assignments to you, then returning them after you completed them, you should be able to pass the exams this coming week. How did you reach violet in such a short time? Were you not blue when you injured yourself?"

"I was," I answer. "But I regained some of the memories regarding training techniques from when Nolan trained us as the Magi during the war. Before you ask, Jason made me swear not to mention them, he has a planned time for when he will introduce them to our training. Several of them are potent enough to rapidly advance magical power, and is part of why we advanced to grey so quickly in our past lives."

"I see," she says. "Well, I think your new eye color is nice, Niko. I am glad you have returned, too."

"I am glad to have returned," I tell her, then give her another kiss. "Do you think your papa would allow me to take you on a proper date later? With how nice the weather is, and the spring flowers and the trees having grown their leaves, we could go to a scenic spot and enjoy a picnic."

It will be my first time encountering a late spring view from a land south of the mountains, and I wish for Lina to be there with me. I have heard the smell of the flowers in springtime is quite wonderful.

"We can always ask," she tells me, then reaches up and touches the necklace I gifted her, and I see that she is wearing the bangle as well. "These are beautiful, Niko. Thank you."

"You are most welcome," I tell her, then stand. "Let us speak with your papa, see if he would allow us the date this afternoon."

(Jason, 16)

Papa Samuel is staring me down. So are Mama Elena and Uncle Zach. Their gazes make me uncomfortable, and I am glad Fael Mira isn't here to do so as well. They're all waiting for an answer from me, and I'm not sure what to say.

Niko blew up on his papa and mama, and basically said he wasn't returning to Mar unless it's to visit Aiden. I don't blame him. It seems his papa and mama aren't mentioning his arm to anyone, which is at least a plus for Niko, though I think it has to do with Aiden, who they contacted first using the comm plate he accepted awhile back.

Of all the things I was expecting Niko to do, telling his parents to shove it was not one of them. That might not have been his exact wording, but it was close enough. I'm just glad my friend has found his confidence, his posture, demeanor, and tone changed completely after he decided to accept his injuries, even if he would hide them.

Rather than hiding them out of fear of how others would react, he hides them to avoid upsetting Lina and making her worry. He's come to accept that she might actually accept him with the limb, which is good.

I'm glad he's feeling much more confident in himself, even if it took something terrible to happen.

Unfortunately, my papas and mamas and my Uncle Zach are much too smart to think that what Henry told Papa Samuel and Uncle Zach was it. They know there's more to it than just Niko's anger at them not accepting him as a mage, even after they accepted magic, and his refusal to accept their hesitant apologies over how they treated him.

"Did you know," I finally say. "The reason Niko has a high level of mind magic affinity?"

My papa, mama, and cousin all look give me a confused look.

"Isn't it because he uses it with his golem magics?" Papa Samuel asks. "He does use it quite regularly when he makes them."

"Even before then," I say. "Niko was using mind magics. He's not aware of it, but he has some level of empathy, just like Alex. It's weaker, but it's made him more sensitive to how others view him. Imagine growing up every day not just seeing their dislike of you, but sensing it. And imagine your papa, mama, and one of your older brothers being among them, to the point that the other brother's care isn't even noticed, the negative is so overwhelming. Niko has a lot on his shoulders, and he's decided to remove himself from that life. He is him, no more, no less."

Even if he thinks it's currently 'less'. Seriously, Niko, give yourself some credit. Those aren't just replacement limbs, they're even more a part of you than a prosthetic on Earth. They are controlled exactly the same as a natural limb would be, with nerves and everything.

Well, a magical equivalent, but close enough.

"Jason," Papa Samuel. "While the news about him having empathy might be new to us, we already know the rest, that he's decided to leave behind the life that stressed him and belittled him. That doesn't answer our question. We know there was more to that outburst, and we want to know what it is."

"Ask Niko," I say, then raise an eyebrow. "Or did you already, when he asked Uncle Zach about a date with Lina this evening, and he stonewalled you like the Gargoyle he is?"

"That was a bad joke," Mama Elena mutters, and I give her a cheeky grin. "Jason, what is going on with Niko?"

"Niko is nearly seventeen years old," I state. "He's an adult. Ask him yourself. If he refuses to answer and tell you the full reason he's denounced his papa and mama, then that's his decision. It's not my place to reveal the secrets of others."

"So you do know," Papa Samuel tells me.

"Yes."

"Jason," Mama Elena says. "Niko's secret has an effect on a royal line. A negative effect. It needs to be dealt with."

"It is being dealt with," I stand. "By Niko. And it's one I've been helping him with since my return from the Shattered Isle after the god attacked me. There is always the possibility of Niko accepting his succession rights once more, but only if his papa and mama make an effort to overcome their issues with one of their children being a mage. Now, if you don't mind, I have an appointment with Aiden for something. You'll probably hear the full details soon."

I open a gate and step through, ignoring my papa, mama, and cousin as I go. I step through into Aiden's tent, where he's waiting for me, dressed not in his warrior's armor, but his leather armor, which he uses when acting as a mage.

"Are you ready for this?" I ask him.

"I am," he answers, then opens a gate.

We step through it into the sitting room Henry and his wife are sitting in, and they give us confused look.

"Jason," Henry rises. "We did not expect you to bring Aiden to us."

"He didn't bring me to you," Aiden says as he sits. "I brought him."

"What do you mean?" His mother asks.

"Jason's gates are grey," Aiden states, indicating his. "As a result of his magical power being grey. As you can see, this one is indigo, two color ranks below it. I have heard you complain about Niko being a mage one too many times, and have warned you that not accepting him as he is would come back to cause problems.

"Father," he says. "Mother. I am a mage. I have been a mage longer than Niko. My entire army uses magic regularly. It is why we have proven ourselves superior. Why my men are said to be faster and stronger than others, said to be invincible. Why we can perform several battles in a row, yet not appear wounded at all. It is how we are able to handle monsters that normal soldiers cannot. We use magic. Regularly. Ever since realizing this, Niko has come to my unit regularly to teach us more magic, rather than letting us continue to figure it out on our own. Jason here has assisted us with this as well. We are mages. I am a mage.

"Rejecting Niko because he's a mage," Aiden says. "Even if you have accepted magic as a natural occurrence and something we should welcome, is the same as rejecting nature. It is also the same as rejecting me. Your eldest son and heir."

"Aiden," Henry says. "It is not just magic, Niko-"

"Has a gargoyle arm?" Aiden asks, and his parents look at him in shock. "Yes, I'm aware. So is Jason. In fact, Jason is the one who helped him design the spell for it. Jason is the one who created the illusion spell Niko used to make it look normal. We have both given Niko the emotional support he has needed to deal with the loss of his arm. The fact that he lost his arm and replaced it with a gargoyle's limb generated through his own magic doesn't make him any less of a person.

"Now," Aiden stands. "You two are going to have to do a lot of thinking. And I mean a lot. I don't regret hiding my status as a mage from you. What I do regret is not telling Niko on his tenth birthday the real reason I wanted him to come stay with me on the frontlines so that he'd have at least had a happier life from then until summer of last year. I can't change the past, but at least I can make sure Niko knows his oldest brother cares."

Aiden walks off, opening a gate and passing through it, the spell fading a moment later. I fix a stern glare on the Marran monarchs.

"Just so you know," I say. "Niko can sense how people view him. So don't think you can fool if you decide to save face with lies."

I open a gate and step through it, entering my property in the Unwild Lands. I greet Aurum and Koricel, then give them both a rub-down before I mount Aurum, riding him bareback as Koricel trots alongside us.

While I'm giving the horses some exercise, a call comes in over my earcuff. The pattern is Mama Elizabeth, and she's the one least likely to bother me when the others are upset with me, so I answer it.

"Hey, Mama Elizabeth," I say. "I'm giving Aurum and Koricel some exercise beyond the pen right now."

"You're at your property?" She asks.

"Erm, I was," I tell her. "I'm a little further away right now. Why?"

"I have my hands full with Jenna and Thomas right now," she tells me. "And realized that Cody disappeared at some point. They don't know where he went, either, and I was hoping you might be free to track him down? Your other mamas and papas are all busy with things, and you can track people faster with those marbles of yours."

"Sure," I tell her, then slow the horses to a stop. "Give me just a minute."

I open up my spatial storage and pull out one of the boxes of marbles with magic signatures in them, then pull out the one for the seven-year-old. He just had his birthday this month, and was rather happy for it.

He also has a tendency to disappear on my mamas and papas, but he's usually just hiding in one of the buildings on our property where they live.

Focusing on the marble, I shape my mana into the spell to track his whereabouts. It's unlikely he's gone very far, and that's confirmed when the tracking spell makes me aware of where he is and a rough estimate of his distance from me.

"Mama Elizabeth," I say. "Have you brought him to my house before?"

"I've shown them it, why?" She asks.

"I think he's figured out the gate spell," I turn Aurum and Koricel around. "He's there, and if he took a gate to the furthest edge of where you've allowed him to go, and another from there, he could definitely reach my home."

It's also possible he could do it with gate, though I'm not sure, since he's only lower green.

"I'll head back and check on him," I tell her. "He probably just wanted some peace and quiet and figured that his biggest brother's house would do, since it's usually empty."

"He would have needed to gate outside your property," Mama Elizabeth says. "He's not been close enough to the edge of the ward against gates to do that."

"Who knows, then?" I ask.

I do. On a whim a couple of months ago, I keyed him into the gate ward. Mostly because I was bored and at the house doing something already.

"Anyway, as long as he's on my property, he's safe," I tell her. "So there's no need to worry. I'll keep track of him as I return, though."

"Okay," she lets out a breath of relief. "I was worried he'd wandered off the property and got hurt."

"He definitely wandered off the property," I tell her. "But I can't tell you if he's hurt or not until I check on him."

"Thank you," she says. "I need to return to Jenny and Thomas, they're both having a panic day."

"They'll have those for awhile," I tell her. "Good luck."

"I love you, Jason," she says.

"I love you, Mama Elizabeth," I say, then she ends the call.

I set the horses to a gallop, and we reach my property after fifteen minutes. I lead them back to the stables and give them a rub down to help them cool off from the ride, noticing through my scanning my youngest adopted brother watching us after a few minutes. He's watching from outside the barn, peeking at us from beside the door.

Once I finish giving Aurum and Koricel, their cool-down rubs, I clear my throat.

"Mama Elizabeth was worried about you," I say. "You didn't tell her you were leaving."

Cody doesn't react at first, then he decides to stop peeking and walk over to me, looking up at Aurum in silence.

"You should have told her you were leaving," I tell him.

"Jenna and Thomas were crying and screaming," he says. "It was scary. So I ran away. Then I got attacked by a bear, so I came here."

"You were attacked by a bear?" I look at him, taking in the ruffled and dirty state of his clothes. He definitely took a tumble, though it looks like he managed to heal his scrapes and bruises and suffered nothing worse. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he says. "I hit it with the wind and pushed it back, then opened a gate here because it's safe. Mama Elizabeth said monsters can't come here. Jenna and Thomas aren't here, either, so it's not scary."

"Yeah," I gently ruffle his hair, and he flinches a little, the memory of what he was rescued from still fresh in his mind. "You figured out the gate spell, huh?"

"Yeah," he smiles shyly. "Our mamas and papas use them all the time. I wanted to, too, so I asked Mama Elizabeth how to do it. She said I was too young."

"But you figured it out anyway, huh?" I ask, and he nods. "Well, if you ever use it, always make sure to tell one of our mamas or papas first, okay?"

"Okay," he nods.

"Promise?" I ask.

"Promise," he says.

"Now," I smile at him. "Want to learn a really awesome spell?"