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Your grandma doesn't manage a smile—but you can see the strength and steadiness you know so well as she gives you a nod.

"Don't worry, Huknock; I've been ready for quite a while."

She turns her head away slightly and clears her throat. Behind her, Carys ruffling her feathers almost makes you jump.

Then, with a sudden lurch, your grandma grabs the mouse and clicks the button reading Execute sooner than you can even breathe.

Next

There's a buzz. A soft whir somewhere you can't place—in the air itself.

Then you realize you can feel it in your skin. The sound is resonating within you—through you—the same way you feel the tingling of magic whenever you're casting a spell.

But this time, you don't just feel it in your body. You seem to feel it in the space around you as well, as if all of you is touching every inch of the room at once—every inch of the forest—

And suddenly, without knowing quite how, you feel something in you telling you that you need to give just one last push—to channel the magic flowing through you so that it can reach where it needs to be.

Holding very still, you start to focus your mind on: