The bench was cold under my legs as I sat in the back yard under the light of the bulb over the door. It had been almost twenty-four hours since the power transfer was completed and while I'd shared the family magic with Mom before, I didn't realize until I took on my half she'd only shouldered me with a portion of it in the past.

I flinched from the memory of standing in the Council chamber, all those eyes watching and weighing me, as the power flowed out of Mom, happily ...