“If you were given the choice between being more powerful or living longer, which would you choose?”

  Bruno studied Riley, his yellow eyes seemingly seeing through to the core of her. Maybe she wasn’t as subtle as she thought. She felt uncomfortable and broke eye contact, looking down at her empty tea cup.

  “I think it depends,” Bruno said finally, after a long moment. “If I needed my power to protect my family and loved ones, I would chose power. Otherwise, I think a longer life.”

  “Really?” Riley said, surprised. “I thought you would pick power. Live fast, die young with honor. Warriors don’t fear death, right?”

  Bruno’s eyes softened as he responded, “Riley, I’m not training to become a warrior just for fun.”

  “Oh,” Riley said, feeling foolish. Bruno being a fighter had just seemed to fit when she had first learned why Bruno came to Ms. Purple’s. He was tall, muscular, and his entire aura spoke of quiet, lethal determination. “Why are you training as a warrior?”

  “For my family and for the forest,” Bruno said. “So I can protect them. The forest is on the border of a country that used to be at war the rest of the continent. It may be peaceful for now, but my family has lived through it all. Someday, they will need me, and I will be ready. That, and weapons are cool.”

  He said the last bit with a wolfish grin that seemed at odds with the rest of his answer, the softness she had seen a moment ago sharpening. It reminded Riley that her friend wasn’t entirely human.

  Riley wasn’t sure what had put Bruno in a sharing mood, but she was grateful for it. It had her thinking about who she would even need magical powers for. She had spent her whole life thinking about how much easier life would be with magic, both for herself and her parents. Instantly heated water, a heavy basket made light and easy to carry, a broken finger healed without pain. Magic had so many applications on a small scale, just think what it could do on a larger scale. How many people it could help. Her parents, her neighbors, or even strangers.

  There was so much potential and Riley wanted so desperately to unlock that potential, especially when she had seen it dismissed so easily in her hometown. People could have such easy lives if they just took the time to harness magic. They could have such exciting lives, not held back by the humdrum of daily life. They could be so much less… boring.

  “Which one would you pick?” Bruno asked. “Longer life or power?”

  “I don’t know,” Riley said quietly. “I don’t want my life to be boring.”

  Bruno narrowed his eyes at her, not saying anything. Riley felt like she owed him more of an explanation, but wasn’t sure if she quite knew how to explain everything she was feeling.

  Elliot reappeared, looking chipper. “Are we all set?”

  “No, we’re pondering the big questions,” Bruno told him.

  “Without me?” Elliot said, sliding back into his seat. “What are we pondering?”

  “If you had the choice between living longer or being more powerful, which would you choose?” Bruno said.

  Elliot’s face grew serious as he looked at Riley. “This is about Herbert, isn’t it,” he said solemnly. Riley frowned at him.

  “You already knew,” she accused him. He raised his shoulders up defensively, looking like he was about to make some excuse, then deflated immediately.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Yeah, I asked Alora about it after Familiar Bonding class,” Elliot admitted. “Apparently she had put a lot of time into thinking about which familiar she would choose and… which is totally besides the point… The point being that I figured you would talk about it when you were ready to talk about it. I didn’t want to push you.”

  “What’s wrong with Herbert?” Bruno asked, concern and alarm in his expression.

  “Nothing’s wrong with Herbert,” Riley consoled him. She knew it was unreasonable to be mad at Elliot for not saying something sooner, but she still felt it. She had thought herself alone in this dilemma, and he’d just been watching her spiral out. They could have been talking about it this whole time. Then again, she had wanted the space to think about it on her own, to process it with Herbert. Elliot had given her that space, and yet here she was feeling upset about it. Riley took a deep breath to calm her thoughts.

  “Because of my connection to Herbert,” Riley explained to Bruno, “Herbert will live at least ten times longer than he would have on his own.”

  “In exchange for either your life force or your power as a witch,” Elliot added. “Riles, I know you came to Ms. Purple’s to study magic, but you have to at least consider giving it up.”

  Riley opened her mouth, ready to counter him, but he lifted a finger, continuing, “Or at least give it up for the time being. There’s got to be some way around this, some loophole, some sort of cure.”

  Riley drew back, feeling more upset than ever. “Herbert is not a disease!” she exclaimed. Riley could feel Herbert’s concern in response to her sudden surge of protective and distressed energy. I’m ok. We’re ok. She told him. Elliot is just being… He doesn’t understand. Herbert sent her soothing energy.

  “No, no, I didn’t mean to say…” Elliot stammered. “Sorry, this is coming out all wrong. I pictured this going much differently in my head… Riles, I know this seems like you have to figure this all out right now, but I think we just have to look into it, you know? Research it. There might be a way for you to have a normal life expectancy and also be a witch. But we won’t know if you shorten your life before we have the chance to find out.”

  “Elliot, if that were the case, Headmaster Karasu would have said something,” Riley responded.

  “But something isn’t adding up,” Elliot said. “If the lifespan of familiars is so important, then why bond with any animal that doesn’t live as long as sapients? Why bond with, for example, a crow? They don’t live a hundred years.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe we’re just not to that part of class yet,” Riley said.

  “Yeah, maybe,” Elliot responded. “It just, I dunno, doesn’t seem fair. Magic is everywhere, right? If you want to, you should be able to access it just as much as anyone else.”

  “It might not feel fair, but it is balanced,” Bruno said gently. They waited for him to say more, but this time he didn’t have to. Riley already knew what he meant. Magic drew from the natural world - from life and death. There was always a balance there, energy swirling between growth and decay. It didn’t matter that Riley hadn’t intentionally created her current circumstance. No matter what she or anyone else felt about it, there would always be balance.

  A cough drew everyone’s attention up to a figure in the doorway of their table section. He looked like he might be a student, dressed in plain, well kept clothes. Riley didn’t recognize him.

  “A lovely day for a walk,” the student said, tipping his head to Bruno. “I wonder when the elderberries will ripen this year.”

  Bruno growled, “Don’t know and don’t care.”

  “Oh,” the student said, looking surprised before his face shifted back to an open and somewhat blank expression. He stood there awkwardly for a beat before saying, “My apologies. Have a nice day.”

  The interruption was brief and strange, directing the focus away from Riley’s problems. Riley and Elliot looked to Bruno expectantly.

  “What was that about? And who was that?” Elliot asked.

  “I’m really getting tired of these elderberry nutcases,” Bruno said as if that clarified anything. Riley and Elliot looked at each other and then Bruno in confusion.

  “Elderberry nutcases?” Riley questioned.

  “Yeah, that’s like the tenth guy who has come up to me talking about when the elderberries are going to ripen,” Bruno said grumpily. “Like I said, don’t know and don’t care. It’s starting to piss me off.”

  Elliot’s eyes gleamed. “What if this is another one of Cappy’s harmless pranks? To throw us off his scent and make us think he’s just some silly guy when actually he has something nefarious coming our way.”

  Bruno rolled his eyes. He stood up, saying, “Whatever. Let’s go home.”