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to tell you—” I faltered. He’d been so aloof, so removed since we’d gotten back. I wasn’t too sure how he was going to react to her actually being here.
    “My brother brought a few friends,” Vane said. “Including your girlfriend, Ragnar.”
    “Vane!” I scowled at him.
    “Better to cauterize the wound than to let it fester, love.”
    “Gia’s here?” Grey jumped up. He shot me a furious look. “Why didn’t you tell me? Where is she?”
    “Waiting for you outside,” Matt said.
    Grey hurriedly exited the room.
    “That’s the most movement I’ve seen out of him in months,” Vane commented before restarting the video game. Sitting down, he lounged back into the couch.
    I stared at him. Ugh. He would drive me to murder. How did guys do that? Lethal one minute and the next completely lethargic. I turned my annoyance on Matt instead. “Why are you really here?”
    Matt drew what looked like an old knife out of his biker jacket. He held it out and commanded, “ Aayat .”
    The knife expanded and elongated into a broadsword. The last rays of the fading sun fell onto the sword, allowing dull gold on the hilt to sparkle. The gray steel blade shone with a hint of blue in the light. The gemstone of my amulet warmed against the bare skin of my neck. The Dragon’s Eye awoke in the presence of King Arthur’s sword.
    “Excalibur.” I stared at the sword. It hung in the air, silent and waiting. Then, a whisper fluttered along the lobes of my ears. The sword beckoned me to it. I felt its pull.
    I swayed towards it.
    An image of a rooftop full of an assortment of people—wizards, gargoyles, and regulars—popped into my mind. They knelt down to the sword. They knelt down to me.
    I drew back.
    Vane looked up from the video game. “You brought it. Why? It’s too dangerous to let it out of the protection of the Council.”
    “To remind her what she’s left behind.” Matt’s eyes fixed on me. He’d been watching my every reaction. “It’s time to come home, Ryan. You need to return to Avalon Prep.”
    I forced myself to look away from the sword. I walked away from it once and I could do it again. No one knew how hard that had been, no one except maybe Matt. He knew about power, the crushing mantle of responsibility. My eyes locked onto his dark ones. An understanding shone there, but also a hint of severity.
    My resentment flared. He would always put the needs of the sword first, not me. Why did I have to keep reminding myself of that?
    I crossed my arms over my chest. “I am home, Master Merlin . Remember, you already claimed the sword as yours.”
    “I remember what I said.” Matt’s eyes deepened with unexpressed emotion. “I said it to the world. Not to you. It is not mine and we both know that. The Council wants you to return. They feel it’s important that you train properly with Excalibur and they want the other students to be trained along with you.”
    “They want all the Candidates trained?” Vane remarked. “Interesting.”
    Matt gave him a pained look. “They want you to return also. To train them.”
    “Makes sense. I am the best,” Vane said.
    I resisted an urge to roll my eyes.
    Vane glanced at me. “However, I have already been spoken for. I go where she goes.”
    My lips started to curve up.
    “Of course, I think she should go back,” Vane concluded. “She’s just hiding here.”
    My jaw dropped down. Matt gave me a smug look.
    I walked to the front window. Outside, Grey and Gia stood a good two feet apart. Grey held himself stiffly while Gia looked like she was trying not to cry. Blake looked like he wished he were anywhere else. He turned his head and saw me. He said something to the other two before he practically ran into the manor.
    I turned back to Matt. “I’m not going back so that Vane can train a replacement for me.”
    “Backups,” Vane corrected.
    Blake stumbled into the living room and halted near the opening.
    Matt sighed. “The sword does not change