The Gathering of Masters: The Bond Once Severed Book 1

31. The Next Master

"Good, you have arrived." Paulo smiled at Mara as she walked into his private suite. He had just woken from a nap, and renewed energy surged as he smiled at his protege. Leena followed closely behind her with a bowl of steaming stew.

"How have you been, old friend?" Mara sat near her old teacher and laid a hand on his arm.

"I am tired," Paulo answered honestly. He surely looked as exhausted as he felt, and hiding it from Mara was unnecessary. However, her skeptical expression prompted an unbidden explanation. "The Elements are enthusiastic and difficult to restrain right now."

"Difficult for you to restrain? You are the strongest Master in many generations and are having difficulty? Who are these children?" Years of experience interpreting Mara's stoic expressions gave Paulo insight into the edge of fear on the frown that followed her words. Fear was understandable, even mature, but Paulo hoped it would not interfere with her ability to train the new students.

"They are older than you were when you started training," Leena interjected.

"Most are." Mara shrugged, wiping any vestiges of emotion from her expression before retraining her eyes on Paulo and repeating her query, "Who are they?"

"From what we can tell," Paulo's eyes darted towards Leena, and with a subtle nod, he silently conveyed his plan of bringing Mara into their inner circle. Leena, who had known Paulo for years, was well-versed in his preferences and would not be surprised that he had chosen Mara, his preferred successor, to be a part of their secret. Her smile was warm and reassuring, hinting at her unwavering support for her brother's decision. "They are the three the seers have foretold."

"Three? I thought there were only two." Mara flung herself onto the cushioned chair nearest the fire. As usual, the fire flared up in response, easing some of the tension knitted into her brows.

"The third is not here. He is in the Kingdom," Paulo answered after taking a sip of the stew Leena forced into his hand.

"With your prince?" Leena's face lit up with amusement at the implications of Mara's matter-of-fact question. Her eyes twinkled as a playful smile danced at the side of her lips, and she couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.

"He is with the prince, though some may quarrel with whose prince he is." Paulo allowed some annoyance to color his words. The women in his life loved to tease him about his most consistent lover. In fact, most recently, he had only had time for one partner. Paulo waved away the thoughts and focused back on the situation at hand. He needed to lay out the nature of the relationships they were to navigate with the new students. "The men are bonded, and the couple is bonded. If I understand correctly, I believe Natalia was bonded with the third in the past."

"Oh, this is complicated. I hate complicated things," Mara complained as she rubbed her head. Paulo smirked. Mara thrived in chaos. Simple bored her, but she never would admit it. "So the three who were foretold are bonded to each other through one man."

"Yes, one mighty man." Paulo paused and looked at the woman, "I should warn you. The Elements call her sister."

"Sister?" Mara asked with surprise. "I have never heard the Elements name a Master sister."

"Nor I, but both Earth and Water named her this. I think-" he frowned and chose his following words carefully, "that we should not tell the council yet."

"I agree. If that old airbag Feihong heard about this, he would raise such a stink. But he is the strongest on the Council in his control of Air. And who will teach Fire if not Baskar or Earth if not Pello? Or will you call on the individual councils to provide instructors?"