Eddie held his breath as he maintained his stance. Not a sound escaped from his stationary body. One wrong move would create noise, and noise would be enough to spell the end of him.

It had been almost two hours since their class started and they had spent two-thirds of it sparring against each other. The first fights between them were one-on-one battles, followed by one-on-two battles and three-way clashes. Giorgino toyed with the settings after every fight, making sure each playing field was different from the previous one. He had transformed the room into a snow-capped mountain peak, a rocky beach, and a windy cliffside, among others. Now, the trio was engulfed in complete darkness. They were not told what the terrain was, but judging from the soft-ish floor and relative flatness of it, Eddie supposed that it was a grass lawn.

Eddie remained still as he waited. And waited. And waited. As much as he wanted to start the offense, he could not. He wielded fire and lightning—the two could trace the light back to him, making him an easy target. Eddie exhaled a silent sigh. It was too risky. The only way he could "see" in the dark was through sound or touch.

Touch. Telekinesis is an extension of the sense of touch. His mentor had told him that before. Did that mean he could use it to... see in the dark? He could always try. Eddie extended both arms.

Fwoom. Goosebumps ran across the surface of his skin as he felt all the objects in his proximity. He shuddered. He could feel the grains of fine soil beneath his feet. He could sense every blade of grass. He could even "see" the bare tree that lay several meters from where he stood, its every branch and crevice visible to him. He held back a gasp—if only he learned of it earlier! His mouth curled into a smirk. He knew exactly what to do next.

Eddie waved his hand as he searched for Jon and Stella. It did not take long. Jon was ten meters behind him, on the left side, condensing the water vapor around him. Stella was also behind Eddie, but she was on the right instead of the left, standing completely still. Like him, both of them were reluctant to make the first move.

Now that he had found them, he needed a plan to execute. How should he beat them up? Punch them senseless? Suspend them upside-down? Grab them by the ankle and fling them across the room? Eddie fiddled with his fingers as he formulated a plan. He would grab the two of them, yes, and then throw them at each other. After they collided in midair, he could then send a fireball in their direction. The shock from being grabbed by an invisible force should be enough to delay their reaction times. Eddie rubbed his hands together, the corners of his lips rising. It was time for the execution.

Eddie outstretched his arms to his sides. A funny feeling struck his shoulders as he felt extra limbs sprouting from them, but he did not mind. He curled his fingers as he searched for Jon's and Stella's elbows, wrists, and ankles. If he held them with telekinesis, would they notice? Eddie closed his hands into fists. Neither Jon nor Stella reacted. He grinned, holding back a maniacal laugh; he had his hands on them and they did not even know it.

At once, he swung his hands inward as if he was crashing a cymbal.

"AAAH!"

A pair of screams tore through the air as Jon and Stella were ripped from their spots. Eddie nearly laughed as he saw their faces contort in fear and confusion.

As soon as their bodies touched, Eddie spun his body backward and shot a fireball at them.

Fwoosh!

"AAAAH!"

A blinding fire consumed their figures. The scent of burning fabric and flesh filled the air. Cries erupted from their dry throats. They squirmed and writhed, but they could not escape. He was holding them in place.

"Stop!" Giorgino ordered him. "That's enough."

With a wave of his hand, Eddie banished the flames from existence. He relaxed his muscles as he freed the two from his telekinetic grasp.

Eddie massaged the back of his neck as he waited for his teammates to recover from their injuries. Burns and bruises blemished their seared skin. Had Giorgino not cast a protective spell on their bodies, they would have been dead. Stella's and Jon's bodies glowed a bright blue as his healing light engulfed and cleansed them. Meanwhile, Eddie emerged largely unscathed, a few scratches on his forearm being the only testament to their sparring sessions.

Giorgino scratched the side of his head. "All of you have fought an actual battle before, right?"

"Actually, it's just the two of them who fought," Eddie corrected him, gesturing to Jon and Stella. "I was knocked out at the start and remained unconscious for most of it."

"Then why are you winning most of the time? They shouldn't be losing this much against you."

"Maybe it's because they practiced in PPRs."

Giorgino paused, his eyes wide in realization. "Oh, right! They haven't fought in a long time. No wonder."

It was no wonder, indeed. Giorgino had incorporated sparring into Eddie's training regimen ever since he started mentoring him, dedicating an entire session to fighting every three weeks. Finding opponents was easy—their designated practice room could conjure clones out of thin air. Meanwhile, Jon and Stella had no such opportunity. Their Portable Practice Rooms could not provide anything advanced and they had no proper partners to spar against. They had nothing to rely on other than theory.

Once the two had recovered, Eddie faced them and lifted his right hand. "Sorry."

"It's fine."

"It's okay."

Beep beep. Giorgino held up his wrist and tapped his phone. "Time's up. Our next lesson will be on Thursday, same time, same room. You're now dismissed."

"Thank you."

"Thank you, Elder."

Eddie outstretched his arm, picking up his bag from a distance before slinging it from his shoulders. He made another short bow before he led his teammates back to the portal. The journey back to Earth took about the same time it took to head to Nitea, which was to say, almost none at all. They found themselves in the antechamber soon after.

Beep, beep. Eddie cocked his head to his left side. The sound came from within Stella's sling bag. She opened it and retrieved her phone. Upon reading the message she received, she brought her hand to her mouth.

"It's my mom. She's asking where I am."

"Well, we're here already," said Jon. "We can just teleport inside then say we were there the whole time."

"No we can't," Eddie told them, "the main gallery's too small; they'd know if we were there or not. I bet she's been looking for you. We can make up an excuse."

"What should I say?"

"Euh, tell her that I took you and Jon for a walk along the banks of the Seine and that we just got back from Place Dauphine. You know what? Let's go there and take pictures, so if she asks for proof tell her to ask me." Eddie turned his head. "Louis, to the Seine."

Flash. The three of them were whisked away to Quai de Conti, the street where the library stood. Before they could say anything, Eddie told them, "Nobody saw us."

The alarm that flashed in their faces subsided at once, reminding Eddie of one of his earlier teleportation experiences. The first time Eddie was teleported to a public spot, he panicked; he could have been caught! Except, he had not been caught, and he never was. Over the weeks, Eddie learned that Louis was no ordinary teleporter. It not only knew every single place on the planet, but it knew whether there were other people there or not. It could sneak him to crowded places without anybody noticing, for it knew just when everybody had their heads facing the other direction. It made Eddie appreciate it even more.

Eddie strolled down the street and beckoned with his head. "Allez, let's take some pictures."

The two followed him. They crossed the street to the bridge that was laid in front of the library. The Louvre lay on the opposite side of the bridge. It was Eddie's initial plan to leave the adults there while he, Jon, and Stella vanished to Nitea, until José came to him to ask for a four-hour trip to Bibliothèque Mazarine. "Celestine and I will distract Stella's mom while you three have your lesson," José told him. In hindsight, Eddie should not have listened. He should have hired a personal shopper to take Letizia to Le Bon Marché instead of leaving her at a place where she could do virtually nothing. He could only imagine her frustration.

Eddie glimpsed one side. The Seine unrolled beneath them like a ribbon of dark green, its waters glinting under the sunlight like little jewels. The only thing separating them from the body of water was a thin metal railing. It's so easy to fall over that, Eddie thought as he glanced at the railings. He glanced at his feet. Wooden planks formed the floor of the bridge. The gaps between them made him uncomfortable. What if his phone slipped through them? Ah, but he had Louis. He could always get it to fetch his phone for him, in case anything happened. Louis could find any lost object, even ones that Eddie had failed to recover years ago.

"Here?" Jon stopped walking and pointed at a spot.

Eddie nodded. "You and Stella can go over there."

He retrieved his phone and opened the camera application. While Jon and Stella were busy coming up with poses, Eddie was adjusting the settings. No flash. No timer. Landscape. Capture part of the street in the background, and have Jon and Stella positioned perfectly in the center. Everything should look perfect.

Eddie aligned his phone. "Smile!"

"They should be saying that to you," Louis whispered.

Eddie would have given his bag a hard tap to silence Louis, but doing so would shake his phone out of place. The beating would have to wait.

Ch-click! Ch-click! He rotated his phone and repositioned it. Ch-click! Ch-click! "A different pose," he told them, as he rotated his phone once more. Ch-click! Ch-click! He then showed them his screen. "Good?"

"Nice," Jon said.

Stella smiled. "It's good."

"Why not you come over here?" Jon asked. "Three of us."

"Me?"

"Yeah, sure, why not?"

Eddie strode towards them and switched to the front-facing camera. He held his arm out. Told Stella to come closer. Turned his head so that it would not appear too large. Aligned the camera so that he could capture a beautiful background. Everything needed to be perfect.

Eddie held up a peace sign. "Smile!"

Stella held up two fingers, whereas Jon gave both of them bunny ears. Ch-click! Ch-click! Eddie then pocketed his phone.

"Alright, you want to go down or to Place Dauphine?"

"What's Place Dauphine?" Stella asked.

"It's just a public square. Nothing much to see, actually."

"Let's go down," Jon said.

And so they did. A set of stairs climbed down from the street, next to a metal lamp post, and descended to the edge of the river. The trio descended the stairs. Stone pathways slithered along the riverbank. Small, low benches sat across the river, shaded underneath thick trees that were evenly spaced from each other. Small boats and platforms were docked at the riverbank, bound by thick ropes that kept them from floating away. One of them appeared to be a restaurant.

The trio snapped more pictures there. Some were solo shots, others were pair pictures—mostly of Jon and Stella, though a few of them were of Jon and Eddie—and the rest were group photographs. After spending about fifteen minutes there, they climbed up the stairs and ambled down the street to Place Dauphine.

Place Dauphine was a public square that resembled a triangle more than a square. A small park filled occupied the center, bordered by roads and small cafés. There was ample shade from the trees, several benches to sit on, lots of lamp posts, and plenty of space to walk or run or jump around. There was barely any noise—one reason why Eddie liked going there. The trio snapped more pictures, and after a while, Eddie offered to buy them crêpes.

"You sure?" Stella asked.

"I'm sure," he said, "I have lots to spend. You can order whatever you want."

So he treated them to some crêpes at Le Dauphin, less than a minute's walk from where they stood. They were seated outdoors, at a wooden table with wooden chairs, underneath a wide canopy. The trio laughed, chattered, and gossiped as they ate. Eddie found himself smiling more often. After a long day of walking, touring, and sparring, a half-hour of relaxation was just what he needed.

"Eddie?"

Eddie rotated in his chair and looked up to see who was addressing him. The voice came from a girl about his age. The color of her straight, auburn hair complemented her honey-brown eyes, and a plump pair of lips protruded from her small face.

"Michelle? Salut, tu fais quoi?"

"Je flânais avec Thomas. Et toi?"

"Pas grand chose, on fait un tour en ville, et là j'leur fais goûter de vraies crêpes." Eddie turned to Jon and Stella. "Jon, Stella, meet Michelle. She's my best friend. Michelle, meet Jon and Stella."

"Hello," Jon said, waving.

"Hi," Stella said.

Michelle held out her hand. "Nice to meet both of you."

They shook hands and exchanged a few words. Michelle then told Eddie, "I have to go now. Au revoir."

"Au revoir."

And then she left. Eddie reached for his cup and sipped his remaining tea. Meanwhile, Jon asked, "How long have you been friends?"

"About ten years," Eddie reckoned.

"Wow," Stella said, "that's very long."

A soft smile formed on Eddie's lips. "Yeah, it is."

After paying the bill, Eddie led them back to Bibliothèque Mazarine, with more than an hour to spare there. Instead of sticking to the itinerary, Eddie offered his guests the choice to remain in the library or to head home early. Needless to say, Letizia's answer was predictable.

***

It was 9:30 p.m., Central European Time. Eddie was busy in his bedroom, writing on a sheet of paper that he had been writing on since he had gotten out of the shower. Eddie narrowed his eyes at a sheet of paper as he guided the pen across its surface. His three fingers were firmly pressed against each other. His right hand was weary from all the writing that he had been doing. Just twenty more words. The ink that stained the page grew lighter as the stylus bled to near emptiness.

Swoop. Louis flew into the bedroom. "Whatcha doing?"

"Homework," he replied, his eyes still on the page.

"Still? You've been writing for an hour, Ed."

"Yeah, but my handwriting's not good enough yet. Giorgino expects me to be able to write with telekinesis perfectly."

Louis edged closer to the desk, looking at his previous attempts at telekinetic writing. "Hmm, looks good enough to me."

"For you," Eddie said, rolling his eyes. "It's not good enough for me."

"And this is why it takes ages for you to finish anything."

"That is not true!"

Louis shrugged. It flew away from his shoulder and dropped onto the bed. Eddie snorted. For a thing with no mouth, Louis was rather talkative. And annoying.

Knock, knock. Eddie rose from his seat and answered the door. It was the butler.

"Bonsoir, Monsieur," the butler greeted him, "Jon and Stella are wondering if you're busy."

"I'm not that busy," Eddie replied. "Why?"

"The two of them are in the music room and want to ask permission to use some of the instruments."

"Tell them that I'll be there shortly, s'il vous plaît."

"I shall."

"Thank you."

The butler promptly left. Eddie closed the door and returned to his desk. He only had a few words left to write. I might as well just finish it. He lifted his hand, letting it hover over the page, and penned the last phrase without touching anything. Once he was done, he compared what he had just written to the paragraph he wrote using his hand. Uniform letters, consistent spacing, and straight sentences that neither climbed up nor down the page. Eddie huffed in satisfaction. Perfect, just like how he wanted it to be. He slipped on his slippers and then proceeded downstairs.

Eddie found Jon and Stella standing at the far corner of the music room, in front of the shelf where they kept some of the stringed instruments. A hard-shelled violin case rested in Jon's hands.

"You have to ask him first!" Stella insisted. "What if it's expensive?"

"I'm not going to play it, yet," Jon said. "I'll just take a look."

"Don't touch that."

Eddie must have startled them, for Jon and Stella flinched upon hearing his voice. The violin case nearly slipped from Jon's hands. Fortunately, he was able to catch it in time.

"Oh, he's here," Stella said.

"Yes, I am." Eddie glided across the room towards them. Jon handed the instrument over to Eddie, who received it with both hands. "You have to be careful with the instruments here; a lot of them are expensive."

"Sorry."

"It's okay." Eddie walked towards the shelf and returned the violin to its proper spot. "Anyway, which instruments would you like to play?"

"Violin."

"What size?"

"Full-sized," Jon answered.

"Three-four," Stella replied.

Eddie scanned the shelf for a suitable instrument. He picked up one violin, kept in a dark blue case. He handed it to Stella. "I think this one's the second violin my aunt bought when she was in Cremona," he told her. "I forgot the brand, but I remember it sounding good."

"Thank you," she said as she received the instrument.

"You're welcome." Eddie picked another instrument, kept in a black case. He gave it to Jon. "This is a Yamaha violin, also bought by my aunt. It's the newest one we have here, I think."

"Guay, thanks!"

"You're welcome."

Jon and Stella proceeded to open the cases and inspect the violins. While the two were busy with their instruments, Eddie marched towards the piano and sat on the bench. He pressed each key, one by one. They were all in tune. The sound was bright and clear, just the way he liked it.

"Do you have a tuner?" Jon asked.

"Maybe, somewhere over there." Eddie pointed at one of the shelves. "You can just tell me what notes to play."

"Mi."

Eddie pressed a key, letting the sound reverberate for a few seconds before he pressed again. Jon and Stella turned their tuning pegs, plucking their strings every now and then.

"La."

Eddie pressed another key, and the two turned another peg.

"Re."

He pressed another key, and they turned another peg.

"Sol."

That was the last note, for a violin had only four strings. Once they were done tuning, Jon and Stella applied rosin to their bows. Eddie turned his attention to the piano once more. It was an antique Bösendorfer Imperial, bought several decades before he was born. What separated it from other pianos was the number of keys—it held ninety-seven keys instead of the standard eighty-eight. The Bösendorfer was not brand new like the Steinway baby grand in Eddie's Parisian home, but he preferred the former's sound over the latter. The Steinway was more harmonic, but the Bösendorfer had more clarity.

Eddie curled his fingers and played a few notes, then chords, then the next thing he knew his hands were bouncing around the keyboard. He was too busy making music to notice Jon's and Stella's footsteps. The two of them exchanged glances before turning their gaze back to him.

"Liszt's 'La Campanella,' " Jon said. "Isn't that hard?"

"Um, a bit," he replied.

"I told you he's good at everything," Stella said.

Eddie smiled. "I just practice a lot." He finished the piece a short while later. "So do you want to play something together?"

"Sure," Stella said, "but I don't know a lot of pieces."

"What about Hungarian Dance No. 5, by Brahms?" Jon suggested. "Eddie can be our accompanist."

"I can play that."

"We have the score here if you need it." Eddie outstretched one arm. Sheet music flew across the room and into his hand, while two music stands glided across the floor. "Now let's play."

And so they played. They ended up playing many more pieces than they planned to, simply because they were having too much fun. First, they played Brahms, then Schubert, then Mozart. They would have played Paganini, but Stella insisted she was not good enough. "I don't have the skill yet," she claimed. He partially believed her—he did not mean to be negative, but his ear picked up more wrong notes coming from her side. When they had decided that they had had enough, Jon and Stella packed their instruments and returned them to the shelves. Meanwhile, Eddie resumed playing. His fingers were reluctant to leave the keys.

Jon neared the door. "I'll go back. Good night."

"Good night."

Then he left. Stella stayed. She neared the piano and observed Eddie as he continued playing. She leaned a little closer, her hand resting on the lid. He did not mind.

"It sounds very nice," she said. "What is it called?"

"Chopin, Waltz in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 64 No. 2," he answered her. "It's one of my favorites."

"I can see why."

"Mhmm."

Neither of them uttered another word to the other, letting music fill the air between them. She stood still as she admired the way he played.

Eddie looked up at her, his fingers still sliding across the keyboard. "Who's your favorite composer?"

"I don't really have one," she said, "but so far, I think Vivaldi."

"Nice. Mine is Chopin."

"I see. His pieces are all hard, aren't they?"

Eddie shrugged. "Not all of them are hard, but they all sound beautiful. To me, at least."

And to Michelle too, he would have added, but the words did not slip through his lips. Eddie remembered the surprise he had when she told him that Chopin was also her favorite composer. Chopin composed mostly for the piano; Michelle was a violinist. Even more surprising was the fact that they preferred the same compositions—Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 in E-Flat Major, and the waltz he was playing right now. It was not always the flashy, fast-paced pieces that they were after. Sometimes, the slower, more melancholic pieces were more alluring to them. One of the many things they had in common.

Eddie pressed the last note, letting it ring through the room. He then stood up and pushed back the piano bench. "Good night."

"Good night."

They then returned to their rooms. After closing the bedroom door, Eddie kicked off his slippers and jumped onto the bed.

"Aïe!"

"OW!"

Eddie felt his back slamming against something hard as he landed on the mattress. He sat upright, massaged his back, and looked at the bed. Of course.

Louis. The little velvet book had decided to take a nap on his bed instead of its shelf.

Louis sat on the mattress, rubbing its pages against each other. "Ow, you could at least look before jumping."

"Pfft. It's my bed," Eddie said. "I shouldn't expect you to be there."

"There aren't any rules that say I can't be here."

"Yeah, whatever, just go to your shelf."

It did. Once Louis had left his bed, Eddie climbed under his duvet. He switched off the lights, closed the curtains, and then laid back. It was time to sleep.

"Ed?"

"Yeah?"

"Good night."

"Good night."

He then closed his eyes. A smile formed on his lips as he recalled his encounter with Michelle earlier in the evening.

✧ ✧ ✧

So now we've been introduced to Michelle, Eddie's best friend 👀 what are your first impressions of her?

By the way, thanks for checking out this book! If you liked this chapter, feel free to drop a vote by tapping the star on this chapter! Comments are also welcome! 😃