Meeting Aggie

40.

Iris led us to the commons where her sister, accompanied by Riven, lived. Apollo trailed silently behind, his attention easily captured by the palace's interior.

I couldn't blame him. I, too, found myself enchanted by its grandeur. With a wave, I tried to catch his eye, beckoning for his focus.

He lifted his gaze, meeting my smile. I mouthed the words "I love you," and his lips formed the same sentiment in response. Our silent exchange was interrupted by Iris, who lightly cleared her throat but couldn't suppress a small chuckle.

"Anyway, Aggie," she redirected her attention to me, "be prepared. Water magic may come naturally to you, but light and shadow are a different story. Mishandling either can lead to severe harm. Do you understand the risks involved?"

Isidore groaned. "Girl, it's not that bad. At the end of the day, it's just a different form of the magic you grew up with. She's just trying to scare you."

"I don't think you get it at all, Izzy," Poppy said, agitated. "Elemental magic IS difficult magic, especially since it's tethered to the environment. Light and shadow were bestowed by the gods a century before I reigned. So, they're hard to learn and even harder to control."

"I think she means not to scare Aggie, Poppy. That's all. She's not trying to be discouraging but scaring Aggie will more than likely mess her up. Have we not learned to stop doubting her?" Remiel chuckled.

The others seemed to agree, and I appreciated Remiel standing up for me. I didn't need my inner forms doubting me, as such dissension would more than likely kill us in battle. That needed to be avoided at all costs.

We found ourselves standing in front of a rather inconspicuous silver door, adorned with the oh-so-subtle blue embroidery that spelled out "Celeste," accompanied by a gigantic crown engraving.

Clearly, the whole "let's keep her resurrection a secret" plan was a smashing success. With a touch of irony, Iris confidently rapped her knuckles on the door, and we couldn't help but hear the telltale shuffling of feet from within. Ah, the joys of subtlety.

Celeste opened the door with a big smile and shoved us in. The room felt bigger than it was supposed to be for the palace, clearly enchanted with magic.

Isidore scoffed. "I could do this. It's not a big deal."

I rolled my eyes and looked at Celeste. "How did you make your room bigger?"

"You know how, silly. Light magic."

Apollo felt around the room but said everything felt solid. "This doesn't feel like an illusion. You sure this is light magic?"

"If everyone believes them, illusions are more than illusions, no?" Celeste spoke.

Apollo whistled. "Impressing a god. Finding loopholes with magic is pretty neat."

Iris grabbed Apollo's hand to stop him from following after Celeste and me. "The rest of the training you cannot be around for."

I gave her a quizzical look and took a step toward them, but Celeste pulled me back.

Apollo snatched his hand from Iris. "I won't interfere with them. I just stay nearby to make sure she's okay."

Celeste shook her head. "Setting aside that you are the sun god—made of pure light, the opposite of shadow—working with light and shadow is intense magic. You can't be around her when she's first learning it. As powerful as you are, your love for her will get her killed in training. As much pain as she goes through, you can't help her or touch her. Are you capable of that restraint?"

I gasped but a tear fell down Apollo's face as he shook his head.

He wiped the tear off his face and chuckled. "I'm not capable of that. I wouldn't want to know that I was capable of taking her pain away and doing nothing but watching."

I forced myself out of Celeste's arms and rushed to Apollo. I jumped on him, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. I cried into his neck as he cried into my hair.

Iris groaned. "It's not necessarily that serious. It's only a couple hours, and then you go right back to doing whatever afterward."

"Also, how the heck will you react during her battle with her brother? She will get hurt, you know. It's inevitable on both ends of her training. Just think of it as a practice run," Celeste chimed in.

Apollo and I gave each other a knowing look. It wasn't just that he wouldn't be at my last training. It was the last training before the battle. These last weeks could be the last normal ones of our lives.

Apollo gently set me down and gave my lips a short passionate kiss. He pulled back, looked deep into my eyes, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

"You got this, Aggie," he whispered.

My leaf necklace glowed at that moment as a reminder of all who were rooting for me. I was nearly ready after all the training. I smiled as he and Iris left the room, gently shutting the door behind them.

Celeste looked over at me, puzzled. "Want to tell me what that was about?"

"Time flies is all. Yesterday I was in a library studying supernaturals, and soon I'll be fighting my brother. The person I've spent my life hiding from. Apollo has been with me the whole way through, and it just hit all at once that our time together may be at an end. He can't follow me to the afterlife."

Celeste laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "That was deep. Don't doubt yourself before you try. We believe in you."

I nodded at her. "I'm nervous too, I guess. The four basic elements were similar to what I already did as a witch, but light and shadow genuinely scare me."

Celeste nodded. "They should. You would be dumb if you weren't frightened of it. I nearly lost myself in light and shadow magic. They're intense and will pull you in. Even light can have its dark moments."

"I trust you, Celeste. You may have your moments, but you never steered me in the wrong direction."

"Good. Lucky for you, we will start with the easiest element of my three specialties. Water magic."