Kingmaker (Ace of Queens #5)

Epilogue

Epilogue

8 years ago

Gemma held Maya's hand firmly as she walked the young girl to the lab. She was giddy with excitement as they entered the brightly lit room.

"Ah!" Maya complained as she threw her free hand over her eyes. "Why is it so bright in here?"

"Happy birthday!" Adam cheered loudly as he blew a silly party whistle and threw a handful of confetti into the air.

Maya stared at him with sleep in her eyes. It was half past midnight and her mother had just woken her up to introduce her to magic. She was in no mood to have a grown man sing happy birthday to her. All she wanted was to go back to sleep in the comfort of her soft bed.

"Why do we have to do this now?" She complained as Gemma kissed her head and brought out an old spell book. "Couldn't we wait until morning? Or like at noon."

"Magic is at its strongest at midnight and dusk," Gemma had.

"And as a first time witch, it'll be easier for you to access your magic at midnight," Adam added on.

"But how is a merman and a hand full of the devil's dust supposed to help?" Maya raised a brow.

"Devil's dust?"

Gemma chuckled as she flipped through her book, "That's what Rye calls glitter or confetti."

"Why don't you look happy?" Adam turned to the little girl on the stool. "You're finally thirteen and you can train your magic now."

"I think I am still 96% asleep," Maya yawned. "Give me an hour or two to wake my enthusiasm up."

"96? That's an oddly specific number."

"I don't like odd numbers,"

"Okay, let's start," Gemma distracted the two in front of her as she sat down her book on the table. She picked up the jar of red paint and dipped her finger inside. Maya watched her closely as her mother drew a pattern on her forehead with the cold paint.

"I am now Simba," Maya whispered, making Gemma giggle.

"Stop it. This is supposed to be a sacred ritual," Gemma said to her daughter as she tried to hide her smile.

"I bet that's what Rafiki said too."

"Maya,"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Maya smiled as she sat up. "I'll try to behave."

Gemma took a deep breath as she marked her daughter again with the red paint, "Maya of house Dorin. Welcome to the covenant."

Gemma's eyes watered as she stared at the witch's mark on her daughter's forehead. She had been waiting for this moment with such an eager heart. Finally, she can pass on her spells and share with Maya the wonderful world Adam and her had been working on.

"Thank you," Maya smiled sweetly at her mother. "Now when do I get to blow things up?"

"Never!" Adam said as he leaned over the table.

"Then what's the point of being a witch?" Maya scrunched up her nose.

"Your magic will grow slowly as you increase your knowledge," Gemma said, setting aside the pain. "You will have to train and study before you can blow things up."

"Can't you just transfer the knowledge in your head into my head?" Maya asked. "That would save so much time and energy."

"No, I can not," Gemma sighed. Her daughter's quick solution to every problem always left her shaking her head.