Ephy stood on the curb in front of the school, waiting for her aunt to pick her up. The sky was grey, and thunder rumbled in the distance.

Ephy shifted her weight from one foot to the other, a nervous habit that drove her mother crazy. Mother said it showed a lack of confidence and only humans acted that way.

Mother, Xyphon, Alyssa, and Ephy were all half-human, but Mother hated humans. Of course, she tried to hide her dislike from the public, but she said nasty things about humans when no one else was around.

Aunt Iris once told Ephy that her sister Rose was not as sweet as her name suggested. Iris had always been kind to Ephy. The other family members doted on Alyssa and Xyphon, but Iris was the only one who treated little Ephy like she was something special.

Little Ephy. That’s what everyone but Aunt Iris usually called her. She was nearly thirteen and almost a teenager, but she was still “Little Ephy” to everyone. Probably no one had called Xyphon “Little Xyphon” after about age five.

Mother was always saying that Ephy needed to capture the attention of the public like Xyphon or Astra had. Ephy had begged her mom to remove the color spell on her hair. There was a long list of rules that Ephy needed to follow if she wanted to stay at Eclipse. The first one was that she had to become famous by the time she started high school.

The upper school at Heskalon was like the worst competition reality show you had ever seen. Everything was a competition or a challenge, including using the restroom. The restrooms were half a mile away from the main building, and you had to beat the clock to get back to class in five minutes. It was pretty much only possible if you had super speed, and you had to run around the entire campus as punishment if you didn’t make it back in time. They even put a track around the whole school since students were always running punishment laps around it.

Most of the students had powers that were useful in those kinds of competitions, like her brother’s super strength or her sister’s ability to become invisible. Ephy had often wished that she had the same power as her sister. Alyssa had first turned herself invisible when she was two and didn’t want to eat the asparagus their nanny had given them for dinner.

A large brown car resembling a boat pulled up in front of Ephy. The dark window rolled down, and her aunt waved at her to get in. “Let’s go, darling, before it rains!”

Iris of Menilon was several hundred years old, as far as Ephy knew, and was her mother’s oldest sister. Apparently, their parents were disappointed in their oldest for two reasons: she was a girl, and she didn’t have a dramatic power like super strength.

Iris was not much older than Ephy’s mother, but her hair was a shining silver instead of blonde. Aunt Iris always dressed like she might lead a yoga retreat later. She had the same dark eyes and eyebrows as Rose and Ephy, but there were slight wrinkles around the corners of her eyes and mouth. Ephy suspected that was because she was always smiling and laughing—unlike Mother, who only smiled for photos.

“How was your first week at school, Ephy, dear?”

Ephy gulped as the car lurched forward and raced out of the parking lot. Aunt Iris was a bit of a speed demon as a driver.

“It’s fine. My suitemates are really nice.” Ephy searched her brain for something more to say.

“Wonderful! And how about your classes? Which supernatural track did they end up putting you in?”

“Witches. I don’t know if it will help or not.”

Iris rocked her head back and forth. “Hmm, maybe? Witches need a lot of mental control, and so do we. Who is your teacher?”

“Melora Mims. She said she was your friend.”

“Melora is wonderful! You’ll like her very much! She has extensive knowledge of most kinds of witchcraft.”

“But we’re demigods. Doesn’t that work differently?”

“Some things do, but the ways we learn control are very similar.” Iris reached over and rubbed Ephy’s shoulder. “I will help you with the rest. I’m so glad you’re the one who’s taken after me.”

Ephy chewed her lip. “I hope I can be as good as you are someday.” She looked at her aunt hopefully.

Iris pursed her lips. “We can do pretty amazing things with our talents. There are some tricks I haven’t shared with your parents, but it may take a few years before you learn the control to do them.” Ephy felt her eyebrows go so high they touched her bangs.

Iris laughed. “Light powers are plenty useful, godling. Just you wait and see.” She took a sharp right, and Ephy’s shoulder plowed into the door of the car. Iris didn’t notice. “I know your parents have a very strict idea of the proper powers for a demigod, but aside from reality TV and social media, do they ever really use their powers?”

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Ephy thought about that for a bit. “No. Not really.”

“I didn’t think so.” Iris smiled at her and swerved sharply to avoid a large pothole. “You have an exceptional gift, Ephronia. And you can use that gift for more than getting likes. You can really help people—or, at least, you can make them smile and enjoy life for a little while, if you choose to pursue drama.”

“But what Xyphon does is entertainment. Mother only let me come here because it might help me secure my own TV deal.”

“Perhaps, but why does Xyphon do what he does? For the benefit of his viewers?”

That thought was ridiculous to Ephy. “No!”

“Deeper things are possible when you create art for others. You can bring them happiness, make them feel, and help build connections between people,” Iris said as she pulled into the driveway of a small blue ranch house with white shutters. It looked very ordinary.

As Ephy and her aunt got out of the car, the door of the house opened, and a small, brown dog of an unidentifiable breed came trotting out. He danced up to Ephy in greeting and rolled over so she could rub his tummy.

“Cosmo, you’re shameless,” said her aunt.

I know, I know! But I wanted to meet this godling you are always talking about. The words suddenly materialized inside Ephy’s head.

“Is the dog talking?” asked Ephy, spinning around to face her aunt.

“He’s not really a dog, but he likes to make people think he is.” Iris walked through the front door, and Ephy followed with Cosmo at her heels.

A dog’s life is better than that of any human or god! I can lay around all day in the sun, and people bring me food. Cosmo dashed ahead of Ephy and ran in three circles before plopping down on the floor in a patch of sun.

Iris sniffed, but she was smiling. “Cosmo is an old friend who needed a place to lie low for a while. My housekeeper Theresa doesn’t know, but Cosmo has chosen to let you in on the secret. Teri went out for groceries, but she’ll be back soon.”

Ephy wondered what kind of supernatural Cosmo was. A demi-

god? A dog shifter? Is Cosmo even his real name? Can he read my thoughts, too? That thought startled her, but neither Cosmo nor Iris appeared to notice.

Iris’s home was much larger on the inside than it appeared from the outside. Iris led Ephy through a bright teal and white kitchen to a plain white circular room in the back. It gave Ephy the impression of her mother’s living room, all clean lines and marble floors. No columns, though. Mother loves columns. The image of her bedroom popped into her mind, and she rolled her eyes.

“You don’t like it? I suppose it does look a bit like your house, doesn’t it?”

“It’s not that...” Ephy said. Well, it was, but not in that way.

“The first time I did this room, it had too much going on, and I found it distracting when I was trying to imagine how to use my powers. The white gives me a plain canvas to work with, and hopefully it will do the same for you.”

Iris drew the curtains, but the room didn’t get any darker. Is Iris lighting the room?

“All right, godling. Why don’t you show me what you can do so far? Anything you think you are really good at or that seems easy.

That’s a good place to start.”

Ephy concentrated. It helped to use her hands, but her mother hated when Ephy gestured while using her powers. The room turned purple. Ephy always wanted to make sparkles, but she never could get them right, so instead she made a sunrise on the wall, the oranges and pinks drifting together and then expanded to cover the wall with sunset colors.

Making specific shapes was a lot harder, but this was one of the few uses of her talent that impressed her family.

“Good use of color, but can you do clearer shapes? Try adding an ocean with waves or some birds.”

Ephy scrunched up her face, beginning to feel the frustration she felt when her family demanded she use her talent. She tried to make an ocean underneath the sunset, but the waves grew fuzzy when she tried to make them move.

“I see. Okay, Ephy, drop that. Can you make a shield?”

Ephy sighed. She raised her arms in a cross in front of her body, and a hazy bubble appeared. Iris reached out and poked the bubble. It moved with her finger for a few inches like a partly deflated balloon, and then her aunt’s finger clearly broke through the shield.

“Okay, thank you,” her aunt said, motioning for her to drop the shield. “Tell me how you have practiced your talent until now. Have you made a lot of sunsets?”

Ephy considered. “Mom likes them. I also make rainbows and mountains.” She flashed a mountain scene on the wall. The mountain was dotted with flowers, and soft clouds floated above it.

“Hm, better than the sunset. You like that one, don’t you?”

Ephy dropped the image with a flick of her hands. “I didn’t practice at school much. They didn’t really focus on defensive skills. They had me do a lot of archery and some sword work. And running. So much running.”

“Sword. Work?” Iris’s mouth chewed on the words like they tasted sour.

Iris had Ephy practice making basic shapes with her power, encouraging her to make the images as sharp and clear as she could.

After about ten minutes of practicing shapes, Ephy dropped the images. “Is this useful at all? What am I ever going to use this for?”

Iris smiled at her, and then went invisible. Ephy reached out but felt nothing.

She heard a soft shuffling to her left, and Ephy turned and reach out her hand again. She sank her fingertips into something plasticky, like a filled balloon. It moved away from her fingers. A shield?

Iris reappeared across the room from Ephy. “Get it now?”

“You had your shield up and were invisible at the same time?”

Iris nodded. “You see why this power is nothing to be trifled with?”

“And the shapes?” asked Ephy

“To faithfully recreate the room behind you, you need to be able to make anything you see. It’s really hard at first but becomes second nature over time.” Iris walked toward Ephy. “Of course, it’s much easier if the background is simple, like this white room. The more clutter or confusion in the background, the harder it is to recreate on the fly. If you can position yourself in front of a solid wall or background, it’s much easier.”

That made sense. “Are there any other ways to use our powers?” Iris smiled again. “Many, my dear, but let’s start with those.

Learning those two skills will give you plenty to focus on.” Ephy couldn’t help but feel daunted. “I understand.”