Aiden was furious.

  Lexie could feel his anger vibrating in the air around her, could sense his hurt that she’d deceived him underneath it. And she felt the guilt crawling through her because he was right to be mad. She’d given him her word that she wouldn't do any experimentation without running it by him first, and yet that was exactly what she had done.

  She’d lied to him.

  And she didn’t have any defense for herself so she simply looked at her shoes.

  The worst part was that Aiden didn't even yell. He spoke carefully, each word enunciated to the fullest to translate the depth of his anger.

  “I cannot believe what I’m hearing Lexie,” he said. “Combining cards? Why would you do such a foolhardy and dangerous thing? And where on earth did you learn that? Because I know I certainly did not teach you that, and as far as I remember, we had a deal that you wouldn't try anything I hadn’t explicitly taught you.”

  Well, Lexie remembered their deal a little differently but this seemed like a poor time to bring that up. Aiden had gone quiet and was seemingly waiting for a response, and so Lexie offered in her most demure and cowed tone. “I read a book.”

  “You read a book?” he said. “From where?”

  “Just the NET.”

  “Where on the NET are they offering books that teach children to combine cards?”

  Lexie searched for a way out but found none. Aiden was patient even in his anger, and he wasn’t the type to just rant and get it off his chest. It seemed he wanted to exorcise this problem from the root and she wasn’t brave enough to lie to him again.

  “LibaryTroll.”

  Aiden swore then, uttering a startling string of words that he’d probably learned from Max.

  “Lexie, what on this green and luscious earth possessed you to even speak to a Library Troll? In fact, how did you find out about them? Max?”

  “No,” she said in a tiny voice. “I just kind of looked around. I read some articles on pathway manipulation but they were incomplete so I watched this video and someone in the comment section said they could get me a book to help."

  “Yes. Illegally, because that book is not supposed to be accessed by anyone who’s not in a dedicated mage or scholarly academy, much less a minor!”

  Lexie flinched. In her defense, she hadn't been sure it was that illegal. She'd thought LibraryTroll was unethical and just mildly illegal, like piracy.

  But if it was super illegal, how had the Troll managed to contact her on the NET? Shouldn't the system have blocked it?

  “It was an early edition of the book too.” Elvira spoke up. “Which meant it also had outdated information that could add to risk of further harm.”

  Aiden’s face paled.

  “Why are you making it worse?” Lexie hissed at Elvira who blinked in confusion.

  “I wasn’t aware I was supposed to make it better.”

  Aiden’s next exhale was a loud and harsh huff of air. Lexie looked back down at her feet.

  “After everything we discussed, I thought I was clear, Alexa-Beth."

  That nearly had Lexie’s eyes snapping back up. Her name was Alexa-Beth? Gross. What kind of name was that? She was going to have a serious conversation about a name change with Aiden when he calmed down.

  Right now, he was still angry so she held her tongue.

  “I thought I could trust you to be careful.”

  “You can,” she said. "I was careful." She'd always stopped before she burned out and she never pushed herself beyond what she could handle.

  But Aiden shook his head and said in a disappointed tone that made Lexie feel like she was being crushed under a heel. “I don't think I can trust you anymore.”

  The words were like a slap.

  But what was even more painful was the expression that accompanied them, the sadness on Aiden’s face that came from the loss of trust. Lexie realized that it was likely not something that could be regained.

  It was even worse than realizing her name was Alexa-Beth.

  Lexie swallowed tightly, wondering what she could say to apologize, to make the situation alright again, but she found herself short of words.

  And then a cough once more interrupted them.

  “Excuse me,” Elvira spoke up. “I’m sure this is all very emotionally vital and taxing but this has nothing to do with my visit and I must be on my way to catch the next train.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that,” Aiden said and he made an effort to control his emotions, running his hand over his face. “I didn’t even offer you a beverage or a snack for your trip. I apologize for my rudeness, but I’m in poor form today.”

  “Completely understandable considering the circumstances.” Elvira missed Lexie’s second glare as she continued, “But it would be nice if I could take an answer back to the university today because I don't want to have to make this journey again. It was, for the most part, a waste of time." She frowned in thought. “Not that speaking to you sir, is a waste of time, of course, it’s just that I could be using this time studying or doing far more important things than bringing you this offer.”

  “Offer?”

  “Yes. To teach General Magical Elements and Mechanics at the research academy.”

  “Ah.” Aiden looked less enthusiastic about the offer than Lexie expected, but that was perhaps because he was still reeling from their argument.

  Aiden chewed his lip as he considered Elvira’s words though. “I'll have to take some time to consider it.”

  “Well noted. I will relay what you said to the hiring team. In the meantime is there a way to contact you if we require further information?”

  “Yes.” Aiden rattled off his number. “Keep in mind that all correspondence is routinely monitored by my parole officer, so probably don’t send anything confidential through that means.”

  “I understand,” she said. She got up. "I’ll be off now. Good luck with resolving your disagreement and dealing with your wayward child.”

  “Thanks,” Aiden said tersely.

  Lexie shot the woman a sour look too as she left. And here I thought we were friends.

  After Elvira departed, Aiden opened his mouth and Lexie flinched again because she thought he would keep scolding her.

  But his face simply shut down and he shook his head.

  “Inside Lexie,” he said, moving to open the door.

  She nodded and walked without argument. He shut the door behind her and said nothing else to her for the entire afternoon.

  They ate dinner in the most awkward silence ever. Aiden was still angry and Lexie was miserable. It made for a wretched meal. Even though the food was technically delicious like everything else Aiden cooked, Lexie could barely eat it.

  She felt horrible, like she always did whenever she’d disappointed her parents on Earth 2. It was why she’d worked so hard never to do it. The first time she’d gotten a low A-, almost a B, Dr. and Dr. Evans had simply looked at her grades and then turned to each other perplexed. As though to say, "How on earth did this happen?"

  Lexie’s mother had given her a sober talk about applying herself and not taking her intelligence for granted. Lexie had felt like shit during and after it. Even worse, her father had simply gotten up and gone up to his study, as though he didn’t want to bother with her. As though she’d wasted his time and all the effort he’d spent raising her by getting that almost B.

  As though she wasn’t worth it anymore.

  He'd barely spoken to her for days after. Not that he spoke to her all that much before but that was because he was always at work or grading papers. But this time it was because he was annoyed and Lexie could tell the difference.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  It was a dark time in her life, one that Lexie fought very hard never to go back to. This was before she'd been friends with Mickie, and apart from Logan, her parents were all she had. To have them look at her like that, and treat her like she was such a waste of space and air, she started feeling like maybe she shouldn't be around anymore.

  Those types of thoughts terrified her and ever since then, she made sure all her grades were flawless so that her parents never had anything to complain about.

  The clatter of silver against ceramic broke her from her thoughts.

  “You have no idea the harm you could have caused yourself, Lexie,” Aiden said, suddenly breaking the aching silence with seriously uttered words. “I told you, cards are safe only if they're used as intended. Only if you don’t attempt to break the card."

  “That wasn’t what I was trying to do.”

  “Then why did you do this? Simply to test your limits? Because this isn’t the way, Lexie. There’s applying yourself and then there’s this."

  "I just wanted to get stronger. Better." She tried to explain it to him, struggling to articulate her feelings. "I didn’t want anything like what happened with Mouse to happen again."

  Aiden’s face blanked for a second and then it was filled with a whole new type of pain.

  “Oh Lexie…”

  Emotion rose in her throat. “I hated seeing him do that to you, and hated that I wasn’t able to help. If not for Theo, you would have…” Lexie swallowed. “I would be alone.”

  His chair scraped and he got out of his seat. Next thing, he was kneeling beside her, taking her hand.

  “It’s not your job to protect me.”

  “Who says? We’re family, we're supposed to protect each other. Besides, I'm also trying to protect myself here.”

  A hint of amusement appeared on his features and he ran his hand over her hair. Lexie leaned into it.

  “Then why choose cards, honeybee? If you want more attack and defense capabilities then you might want to learn spell casting. I could teach you that.”

  Lexie only considered it for a second before she shook her head. “I like cards. It’s easy for me. Maybe because I’m good with pathways.” Once, for fun, she'd looked up the spell that Veronica had used to trip her and she'd learned it. After a few days, she’d successfully cast the spell, but it left her feeling more tired than when she'd done the same with cards. That alone now made card magic superior in her eyes.

  Besides, she had a feeling that there was more potential to the cards that she hadn't unlocked yet. And there was also the fact that cards were the best thing she could use for her research on how to get magic to a mundane population. And she just liked them, plain and simple, maybe because she had an affinity for them.

  “I was careful, I promise,” she said. “I always stopped whenever I felt a headache incoming and I never pushed my pathways more than what they could bear. I was extremely careful with that.”

  He sighed. “That’s not enough. Even people who are extremely careful can make mistakes that could lead to crushing consequences, like pathway destruction.”

  Lexie swallowed and said, “So are you going to stop teaching me?” Lexie really hoped he didn’t because if he did, she would be a little lost. She doubted Elvira would agree to help her without Aiden’s explicit approval. The woman seemed like the type to be very black-and-white with these things and also respected authority figures a lot, even her bullying guidance counselor.

  And she clearly had a lot of respect for Aiden. There was no way she would go against Aiden’s wishes on this.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ll have to think about it and let you know after your birthday.”

  “My birthday?”

  “Yes. It’s in two weeks and I already booked our trip to Alberton.” He glanced at her. “Or did you want to do something else? I thought about throwing a party but you never seem to like those."

  “No, no party.” The one birthday party Lexie had attempted had been more stressful than fun. “It’s just…I thought you were still mad at me."

  "Of course, I’m mad. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to celebrate your birthday." He looked at her. “Is that what you thought?”

  Lexie hesitated then nodded. She’d gotten the A- a week before her birthday too. And the day had come and gone without a single acknowledgment from either of her parents.

  She’d thought she was over that hurt but now she felt tears pushing against her eyes. And she didn’t even know why. That was all old news, old hurt but suddenly it was rising to the surface. Lexie couldn’t help it…she felt raw and vulnerable and really really bad. She just wanted to curl up and cry.

  She heard the scrape of her chair and then Aiden was lifting her into his arms.

  He hugged her, and the tears began rolling down her cheeks. Lexie wrapped her arms around his neck and wept, sniffling intermittently. She hated that she’d made him mad and disappointed him. Hated that, even for a second, she’d made him lose faith in her and betrayed the trust he gave her.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “It’s okay, honey bee. I’m not mad anymore." He pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “And I wasn’t even really that mad in the first place. I’m worried. I’m scared that you’re too much like me for me to control. And I’m scared I’m also failing as a father. But none of that makes me love you less and I want to celebrate your birthday. Of course, I do. So can we put a pin in this conversation until then?"

  "Okay." Lexie’s voice was muffled against his shoulder. He smelled like sunshine and a little bit of sweat but not in a bad way. "But I do want to say one thing."

  Aiden quietly wiped her face when she pulled back a little.

  “No matter how mad you are at me,” she said, “Don’t give me the silent treatment. I hate that. And also, please never call me Alexa-Beth again."

  The fifth ‘Dungeon Disaster Drill’ session was not starting swimmingly.

  Aiden had managed to convince more people to come with his cookies, but a few of them just took it and then swiftly left and the others who stayed didn't seem all that interested in what he had to say.

  Apparently, it was murder mystery night tomorrow and that was far more interesting than learning about dungeons. Midway through Aiden's lecture, everyone except Mr. Frederick, the man in the double-breasted suit from last time, started talking amongst themselves and then complained when Aiden tried to reel them back in.

  Even Aiden seemed to be getting frustrated at that point because, without Luke there, they were out of control. Emma and the nurses weren’t there either, having been called last minute to stay at work for an emergency.

  So there was no one to support him.

  And it was making Lexie furious because Aiden had put a lot of effort into this demonstration. The entire room had been filled with household items, gardening tools, and general things that one might have lying around or in their purse. He was supposed to show everyone what could be used as a weapon in the case of an unstable dungeon monster attack. But they were all not taking it seriously even after they'd enjoyed his delicious cookies.

  And to think I folded serviettes for hours for this, Lexie thought resentfully, arms crossed and scowling at the group.

  The noise in the room grew louder and louder, despite Aiden's efforts to quiet it.

  Then Aiden suddenly put two fingers through his lips and whistled sharply.

  The sound was shrill enough to cut through the din and then everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at him.

  “Listen,” he said with an exasperated sigh. "I know this is not the way you would ideally like to spend your Saturday evenings. And I know a lot of you think this is a waste of your valuable time. But would you rather waste an hour of your Saturday or forfeit whatever little time you have on this earth because you were too stupid or too stubborn to learn what to do if a dungeon portal appeared in front of you?”

  They stared at him.

  "Did he just call us stupid?” One person asked.

  “Yes,” Aiden said. "Extremely so. Because only stupid people would play with their lives like you folks are."

  Lexie's eyebrows raised and satisfaction pulsed through her.It seemed her dad was done playing Mr. Nice Guy.

  Way to go, Dad. Call them out.

  “Here are the facts," Aiden continued, undeterred by the pretty harsh looks some of them were giving him. "Unstable dungeons are popping up frequently in Hovelton. At the moment, we don’t know what’s causing them so we’re not able to cull them. The only reason they’ve been disappearing so fast is because our resident dungeon expert, Max, tackles and gets rid of them before they can spawn. And he also takes care of whatever creature might come out. But it’s nearly dungeon season and Max will be gone soon. This means that each and every person here will have to fend for themselves. Now if you want to learn how to do that, I suggest you stay. But if you’d rather not, and are just here to make a nuisance of yourself, then you can leave. And don’t worry, your bingo night will be spared."

  Everyone stared at Aiden as though seeing him in a new light. Most have never heard him speak in that firm tone before. Some looked a little insulted at what he was saying. But others like Frank seemed a little…impressed? Or at the very least he was listening attentively. So was Mr. Frederick, but Mr. Frederick was the only one who'd been paying attention the whole time.

  “And how do we trust that you know what you’re doing?” someone called out. “Yeah you were a [Hero] and all, but you were a wizard, not a fighter.”

  “An Archmage,” Aiden corrected. “And that is an excellent question. I will prove my merit today by teaching you how to defend against a dungeon creature in theory. Now I will need a volunteer to pretend to be a troll.”

  “You do it, George. You already look like a troll.”

  “Keep talking, Amy, and I’ll turn that machine off at night. We’ll see who’s the troll then. ”

  “Oh for system’s sake, I’ll do it!” Glinda of all people stood up. “I’m tired of y’all whining. If no one else in this room cares, I would at least like to know how to live.”

  Aiden smiled.

  “That's great madam,” he said.

  “My name’s Glinda!” she responded. “Don’t call me madam like I’m some old lady, pretty boy.”

  Aiden looked even more amused by the sort-of insult. “My apologies. Alright so now what we have to know about trolls is that–”

  Silence.

  Aiden suddenly fell silent, his eyes flaring open, horror transforming his entire expression.

  And it wasn't just him.

  It was like an eerie hush fell over the room all at once and a ghostly presence crawled over skin like an ominous wraith entered the space.

  Fear, unlike anything Lexie had ever felt, seized her soul.

  "Dad?" she murmured but Aiden wasn't looking at her. He was slowly but surely turning to the large window behind him.

  "No," he whispered. "It can't be."

  "Did you feel that?" Someone said and even though they didn't say it loudly, the silence made it feel like they'd spoken into a megaphone.

  Suddenly the walls and the floors trembled like there was a mild earthquake. A few people screamed and dove to the floor. Lexie was still standing, still frozen in fear.

  It happened again. The light fixtures shook. The punch sloshed all over the serviettes.

  Aiden was staring. Waiting.

  And right then and there, a giant, veiny, monstrous eye, with tentacles all around it, floated into view of the window, blocking out the sun, staring right at them.

  No one spoke for several seconds. Some might have peed themselves.

  Lexie’s stomach bottomed out. She was too scared to even scream.

  “Well,” Mr. Fredrick commented from the floor in a trembling voice, while adjusting his glasses. “You said you needed a volunteer. This is excellent timing, isn’t it?”