I was suddenly snapped back to the present. I had a feeling of vertigo as I stumbled backward, struggling to regain my balance. I kept on blinking to subside the nausea.

"Breathe," My father said gently. "It'll go away shortly."

When I put my hand on the window for support, my vision began to slowly stabilize as the dizziness began to slowly fade away.

I was huffing and puffing, staring at the floor. "So, that's what you tried to hide from me?" I asked in between breaths.

"Please understand that I just wanted you to have a regular life," He said as he brought a chair for me to sit on.

"You should've at least told me," I sat down and continued to blink. This time, the vertigo completely disappeared. "I deserved to know."

"And what would you have done?" He asked. "Galavant around? You'll put yourself in more danger."

"Hm, if only I could defend myself against assassins. Oh wait, you gave me guards. And they killed the last one that went after me."

"That assassin would be nothing compared to the other threats. Other enemies."

"So tell me that I didn't at least deserve to know!" I yelled. He didn't have a rebuttal. He stood still, surprised that my voice had been raised. He always saw me as calm and collected, almost never losing my temper.

I took a deep breath to collect myself. "Sorry, I'm just tired of secrets and hidden agendas."

I stood up, preparing to leave. "I understand your perspective, but you still should've told me."

I walked towards the door and grasped the cold handle. When I was about to pull it, my father spoke up. "The man, you haven't asked about him. Do you know who he is?"

"I'm sure the two of us have our own theories," I responded cryptically. I looked into the handle and saw him nod through the reflection.

"The man told me you would be gifted in an entirely different way," My father said with a small chuckle. "I see now what he meant. Your gift is your intelligence."

I clicked my tongue. "Tell me, would you rather have a son that's gifted in magic or intelligence?"

"I," He began before taking a long pause. He seemed hesitant, not able to fully decide between either one. "I would want a balance of both, however, I believe that your intelligence is a far better gift than magic."

I closed my eyes and was brought back to the moment I had made that decision. It was like a radio static as the short scene played out.

Sometimes, I look back and wonder if I made the wrong decision. Would things have been easier if I had made the other decision?

When I opened my eyes, I gained a new feeling. It was a small feeling of assurance. Assurance that I made the right decision. Although small, it went a long way.

"Interesting choice," I said. I finally opened the door and walked through. Standing on the far ends were Hanson, Leo, and Michael.

Immediately, all three of them stood up and approached me. They immediately noticed the change.

"Y-your eyes," Leo stuttered out. "They're-"

"Amber, I and everyone else know," I irritably said.

"That's what the glamor was for?" Michael asked.

"No it was for my acne," I sarcastically said before sighing and rubbing my head.

"No need to be so rude!" Michael reprimanded. I just ignored him as I moved my head around to look around the room. I scanned all the open areas looking for any signs of another presence.

"What are you looking for?" Hanson asked. I didn't respond but continued to look.

"I know you're there," I called out. "You're watching me right now."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Who are you talking to?" Leo asked.

"You don't mean 'him' do y-?" Michael asked.

Suddenly, despite being in a hallway, I felt a wind rustle against me from behind. When I turned to look, the air changed. It wasn't a physical change, but it seemed thicker and colder. I saw that Michael's mouth had been stuck mid-motion.

Standing from where the wind originated was the man. He was wearing a three-piece suit and had an amused grin on his face. His hand was on the tip of a newly acquired top hat.

I heard a small ring on my ear as he took it off and gave me a bow before putting it back on. "Old friend! How's it been?" He asked cheerfully.

"You know exactly how it's been."

"Sheesh, why are you so uptight? I thought you were more playful," He chuckled as he slowly approached me. "Unless you're only playful when you're sure you're the smartest person in the room. Otherwise, you're more serious and guarded."

I realized what he was doing immediately. I shook my head and gave a small laugh. "If you're trying to push my buttons, you're going to have to do a lot better than that."

"Heh, I know that. Still doesn't make it any less fun," He suddenly teleported to my side and poked me on my cheek. A shock ran through my body. That could've easily been a knife or any other deadly weapon.

"So why'd you summon me?" He asked curiously. He summoned a chair in front of my eyes and set it down before sitting. "I'm all ears," He said, resting his hands on his lap.

"Three things," I said as I held up three fingers.

"One," I began as I put the number up. "Who are you?"

He tilted his head, keeping his same smile. "And the second?"

"Second is what do you want," I said. "And third is how do me, Michael, and Jordan connect to each other?"

"Is that all?" He asked as he leaned closer.

"Shouldn't you know?" I questioned.

"That's the spirit I was looking for!" He said as he laughed and clapped. "And I could, but I don't want spoilers."

I shook my head. "Those are just the most pressing questions I have."

He stood up and the chair disappeared. He moved his hands to his back. "You and I have a history of choices, so I'll give you one right now. Choose a question you want an answer to."

"You must be fun at parties," I grumbled. "When someone asks you where to eat, do you respond with up to you?"

"How'd you know?" He responded sarcastically. "Personally, I think I'm fun at parties."

"I regret to inform you that you're not."

"Hey! You aren't either!"

"Well, I still get invited. They might disagree."

"You need an invitation, I just walk in."

"That might be part of the problem,"

The man gave a hearty laugh. I hoped that by giving him what he wanted, he would give me an answer.

But I was still left with a choice. What question should I get answered? I immediately ruled out the second question as I could possibly deduce that from either one or three.

So which one would give me better information? One would tell me who he was, but three would tell me just what role the three of us played. One would possibly let me deduce three, however.

"Choices, choices, choices," He said while clicking his tongue and swinging his arms.

I felt pressure as I thought deeper and deeper. Three seemed more appealing to get an answer too.

Or at least until I thought about it again.

How do me, Michael, and Jordan connect to each other?

Connect has other meanings. It could be that we're connected because we're all friends. Or we could be connected because we're from a different world.

I should've asked what role the three of us played.

But would this man, whoever he is, take it that way? No, the question should be was I willing to take the risk?

This man is all about playing games. Trickery. He has a hidden agenda. It would be hard to predict what he would choose as I didn't know if it would suit his agenda. It was for this reason that I was leaning toward it as a negative.

And like that, I was down to one option.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My my my, you certainly made an interesting choice," He had a look of amusement. I could tell it was deliberate to make me doubt my choice. But did he really think I made the wrong decision?

"Well, you know me, I like playing games," He began. "So to you, I'll leave you with a puzzle. A riddle."

"Solve it and all its lines, and you get a prize."

"All the lines?" I questioned.

"You know, that's the thing with riddles. You can still solve it by only figuring out two or three lines. But for you, I want to know you're worthy of your prize. Figure out how all of it connects, and I know you're worthy of it."

"And if I ask what the prize is, will you tell me?"

"Ah, it's about the journey, not the destination," He said as his smile grew bigger. "Are you ready to hear it?"

I nodded my head. The man kept his smile as he began to speak.

"In the heart of midnight, when stars dance in cosmic rhyme, I am the fleeting moment between dreams and waking, the bridge between what was and what shall be. I am woven into the fabric of history, yet remain elusive to those who seek to grasp me.

I am the reflection in the water's depth, the echo in the mountain's height, and the sigh in the lover's gaze. I'm both the question and the answer, the enigma and the resolution.

Who am I?"

I stood there completely puzzled by what he said. None of the lines jumped out at me. They all seemed so random, especially the second paragraph. There was no obvious connection to them.

"Oh yeah, this is going into your notebook so no excuses if you can't figure it out."

He took a long pause before he looked down at the watch on his wrist. "Well, I'll leave you to figure it out. I'll check back at a later date. Toodles!"

After a flash of light blinded my eyes, he disappeared. The air seemed to return to normal as the wind disappeared.

"-do you?" Michael's voice finally resumed as he finished his question. Everyone blinked before looking at me.

"How did you get from here to there?" They all asked.

"Let's go, we're on a clock," My voice sounded detached as I brushed off their question. "We have one last person to recruit."

I began walking out of the hall quickly. They all looked at each other in confusion before following.