Chapter 17: 17

I looked from my aunt to Zirani, trying to figure out what to do, but before I could speak or do anything, Zirani stood and bowed low to Jenna.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, miss Jenna. I'm Zirani, Aiden's first core aether beasts."

She sounded completely calm, and if not for our bond I would have thought so, but I felt the nervousness and fear she had, but to my surprise and hers, my aunt's shock faded into surprise. She turned to me with a questioning look before looking back at Zirani.

"I see," She said. "Well, I can't say I was expecting Aiden to have the necessary bloodline for this to be possible."

I blinked. "Wait what? You know?"

She chuckled. "Your mother taught me a lot before she left, and one of his father's aether beasts was like her, though he was a wyvern I think. Hold on, is this what happened when you went missing? you absorbed her essence and bonded?"

I nodded. "Yeah, she's the only reason I survived."

"Then I'm very grateful," Jenna said. "Although correct me if I'm wrong, why would a jungle queen bond with a first core arcanist."

That wasn't a surprise. She had tons of knowledge on aether beasts. In fact, it was from her books that I'd learned about Zigan's.

"I was dying. Aiden came along and I saw a chance to live, plus it helps that I like him."

"Oh really?" Jenna turned and gave me an amused look. "I bet he likes you."

My face heated and I coughed. "So anyway, I guess I don't need to hide you anymore huh Zirani?"

"Not from me," Jenna commented. "But you'd better keep her a secret from anyone else. They'd kill you for a change at her. I'm assuming you don't want to tell me because you thought I'd be scared? Shocked?'

"Something like that," I replied.

"Well I've had a long day, so I'm gonna go take a shower, then we can talk about this over dinner, ok?"

Zirani and I nodded in unison.

"Ok then."

She left up the stairs and I let out an explosive sigh of relief as she left. Holy hell my heart had been beating fast. I flopped down onto one of the couches, joined by Zirani a moment later. That had gone far, far better than I had ever expected, and I was suddenly very thankful my aunty knew a lot.

Zirani leaned her head on my shoulder. "It's been quite a while since I felt shocked like that. I guess I'm still not used to this form."

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I felt a pang of guilt but she must have felt it too as she turned to face me with a stern look. "Don't feel guilty. I'm alive because of you, it's just… hard, but we'll get back there together and I'll be even stronger next time, speaking of which this means we can train in your home."

I snorted. "Why don't you tell that to my aunty. I don't think she's gonna let that slide in her house. She's not fond of violence."

"There's other forms of training. We can work on your technique and the speed at which you form them. It may not help a ton, but there's no harm in trying."

I sighed and began pulling aether from our core. It was hard to complain or argue when she made such a reasonable point, and it's not like it would be as hard as before since I didn't have her coming at me with the intent to lay me flat and bruised.

I was still training when my Aunty returned, dressed in more casual clothes, compared to the white robes and doctors' get-ups she usually wore.

"I'll get dinner started in the meanwhile why don't you tell me what really happened out there."

So I told her as she cooked. I told her about the cave, the warehouse, the training, and everything else we'd done including about the warp seed. I could trust my aunt, so I wasn't worried about telling her.

"So you've been training all day and even some at home, from what I sensed."

I nodded. "We really need that warp seed."

"It will be a boon to Aiden's growth," Zirani added.

"All grown up indeed." My aunt sighed. "Dinners ready, so let's eat."

To my surprise, Zirani joined us. She didn't need to eat, but she could and she complimented the food as did I. Like usual she was a far better cook than I was and I was still hungry after my meat and potatoes so I fished everything on my plate.

"So you're confident you can place third?"

"I am," Zirani said before I could speak. "Aiden is a fast learner and doesn't complain when we train. He has a natural aptitude for the arcane and a willingness to learn and listen."

Aunty smiled. "That's good to hear. I know you're going to leave but I can't help worrying of course."

"I'll be back," I said. "I plan to get strong enough that I can go anywhere I please and I will come back for you."

"I believe you, Aiden," she replied. "Now how about some dessert?"

Zirani smiled and I leaned back, just enjoying having the two most important people to me by my side. I'd only known ZIrani for a few days, but she was very important to me. Just as I'd saved her life, she'd saved mine.

Together we were going to reach the heights of the arcane.

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