Aether’s Revival
Book 3:
Magi’s Path
Daniel Schinhofen
Copyright © 2021 Daniel J. Schinhofen
No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form by an electronic or mechanical means – except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews – without the written permission from the publisher.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Copyright © 2021 Daniel J. Schinhofen
All rights reserved.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Chapter Forty-two
Chapter Forty-three
Chapter Forty-four
Chapter Forty-five
Chapter Forty-six
Chapter Forty-seven
Chapter Forty-eight
Chapter Forty-nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-one
Chapter Fifty-two
Chapter Fifty-three
Chapter Fifty-four
Chapter Fifty-five
Chapter Fifty-six
Chapter Fifty-seven
Chapter Fifty-eight
Chapter Fifty-nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-one
Chapter Sixty-two
Chapter Sixty-three
Chapter Sixty-four
Chapter Sixty-five
Chapter Sixty-six
Chapter Sixty-seven
Chapter Sixty-eight
Chapter Sixty-nine
Chapter Seventy
Chapter Seventy-one
Chapter Seventy-two
Chapter Seventy-three
Chapter Seventy-four
Chapter Seventy-five
Chapter Seventy-six
Chapter Seventy-seven
Chapter Seventy-eight
Chapter Seventy-nine
Chapter Eighty
Chapter Eighty-one
Chapter One
Gregory sighed happily as he held Yukiko in his arms, her naked back pressed to his chest. Last night was better than our dreams... Maybe it was because it was finally real, but I think it was more the realization of our wishes.
Yukiko pressed into him and let out a happy sound. “Good morning, dear one.”
“Good morning, my lovely bride.”
“Last night… I never expected it to be even better than the dreams.”
“I agree, and it was,” Gregory murmured, kissing her neck.
Yukiko let out a small, sharp inhale and she squirmed against him. “Dear one, I—”
There was a soft knock on the bedroom door and the couple froze. “Breakfast is almost ready, if you’re awake and not engaged,” Baylyss’ voice said through the door. “We’ll keep it warm for you, otherwise.”
Yukiko sighed and inched a little away from Gregory. “We’ll be there in a moment!” she called back.
Gregory let Yukiko go, but stayed where he was. “It’s probably late already. We’re supposed to have lunch with our families today, aren’t we?”
“Yes, and I’m sure the kids are waiting for us to get up, as well,” Yukiko said softly as she got out of bed. Looking over her shoulder, she blushed. “Are you going to just lie there?”
“Just for a moment longer. I want to take in the sight of my beautiful wife the morning after our wedding.”
Shaking her head, Yukiko went to the armoire where they had clothes waiting for them. Yukiko bit her lip as she put a little extra sway in her walk. Though she couldn’t see him, she heard Gregory’s breath hitch when she did, making her blush and smile.
Gregory exhaled roughly and rolled out of bed the other way, his own face feeling hot. “Meditation with the kids before we go see our parents?”
“We should. They haven’t practiced with us for nearly two weeks, and it’ll be another month before we come back.”
“Jenn might be upset if we train without her,” Gregory said, picking up their clothing from last night.
“Hmm... if she isn’t already here, I’ll be surprised.”
Gregory paused in collecting clothes for a second, then nodded. “Yeah, she’s probably waiting for us.”
“I’d be disappointed if she wasn’t.” Yukiko suddenly giggled behind him. “Are you deliberately not coming over to dress?”
“A little,” Gregory admitted. “I’m trying to calm down, and that’ll be easier if you have clothing on.”
“Oh, so my sway worked?”
“Yeah, it got my attention,” Gregory admitted as he picked up the last piece of clothing. Looking back, he found her nearly dressed and smiled. “I have your obi.” He draped it over his shoulder and walked to her.
“I’ll need it to hold my kimono closed,” Yukiko replied, her hands keeping it in place for the moment.
When he reached her, Yukiko accepted her obi and wrapped it around herself. She moved away and watched Gregory dress, her cheeks hot while she did. Gregory’s reddening face made her feel a little naughty, but it didn’t stop her from looking.
Gregory’s face was burning by the time he finished dressing. “I think you got a longer viewing than I did.”
“Yes. I came out ahead on that deal,” Yukiko said, her eyes twinkling.
“Shall we?” Gregory asked, the heat starting to fade a little.
“Yes.”
Gregory opened the bedroom door to find Elsa standing there. “Good morning, Elsa.”
“Good morning,” she replied with a bright smile. “I’m to bring you to the dining room.”
“We’re ready,” Yukiko smiled. “Did you enjoy the wedding?” she asked the girl as they followed her.
“Yes. It was very nice. The food was amazing. I’m going to work hard to be able to cook like that.”
“That’s an admirable goal,” Yukiko said. “Don’t let it distract you from your other duties, though.”
“It won’t. I have to lead the others through the meditation exercises, get my studying, and housework done. After all that, I’ll work on cooking with Baylyss.”
Gregory smiled. “We’ll look forward to trying it when we get back.”
When they walked into the dining room, the couple was met with a chorus of greetings from Jenn and the children. Gregory and Yukiko smiled brightly as they thanked everyone and took the seats that Elsa directed them to.
“Morning,” Jenn said. “I hope you don’t mind that I came. I figured
