~Laurent
The air inside Denzel’s house still hummed with fading mana when the glow finally dimmed. The sigils Silas had carved into the floor pulsed once more and then went still, blue light bleeding away like breath in cold air. The crate trembled faintly, its ribbons twitching.
“It’s stable,” Silas said, voice shaky but bright with pride. “The tracking anchor’s holding. The spell’s… actually holding!”
I exchanged a quick look with Denzel. He shrugged, half impressed, half surprised.
Silas turned to us, grin wild. “I wasn’t even sure that I could pull a spell of this magnitude but I did. I really did it.”
“You did,” I said. “And that’s enough. You can go now. Thanks a lot for your help.”
His face fell. “What? No—no, you can’t just send me off now! This is the biggest spell I’ve ever
