by Victor Kloss
“Here’s what I’m thinking,” he told them. “Charlie, when we get back, you find all the info you can on this ‘Wilde’. We need to know as much about it as possible. Natalie, I think you might have more luck looking into extremely powerful elves and elven lore.” He looked at Joshua and Abigail, eyes intent. “The three of us might end up going on a few scouting trips as needed, to follow any leads.”
He ran his hand through his messy hair, his mind focusing hard on the various possibilities.
“I’ve been thinking about it for the last few hours and I’ve come up with a really good plan.”
They all groaned, and Natalie threw a clump of grass at him.
“What?” he yelped.
Joshua got up and launched himself at Ben with a shout of “Bundle!” They all piled on top of Ben as he tried to scramble away, thinking that he was pretty sure this wasn’t how leaders were usually treated, but he couldn’t stop himself from laughing along with them.
*
They left early the next day, as planned. Ben was seated on one of the wyverns with his mum and dad, Natalie and Charlie. He saw his other friends close by, flying easily alongside as they sped back towards Taecia and the Institute.
There would be plenty of other adventures, Ben suspected. But there would be quiet times as well. He was looking forward to exploring more of the Unseen Kingdoms when he could stop and look around, enjoying the sights for a change.
Someday Ictid would return, Ben was certain. When he did, he would find the Royal Institute of Magic ready and waiting for him.
Still, that was a problem for another day. Ben hugged his parents again, smiled at his friends, and just enjoyed that they were alive and well and together. Against all odds, somehow they had done what Queen Elizabeth had set out all those years ago, and for the first time since his parents had vanished on that horrible day years ago, his life felt whole again.
The End
From the Publisher
Thank you for reading Royal Institute of Magic: The High Council.
If you would like to stay in touch, please visit our website at www.royalinstituteofmagic.com where you can also sign up to the newsletter in order to receive information on upcoming releases, exclusive content, and free giveaways!
If you feel so inclined, we would also greatly appreciate it if you could write a little review on Amazon. It only takes a few minutes and gives other potential readers a better idea of what the book is like.
We know how much Victor valued his relationship with his readers, and we hope to carry on his work as best we can. Please feel free to send us an email at [email protected] and we will be sure to stay in touch.
Kind regards,
Victor’s family
About the Author
Victor Kloss was born in 1980 and lived his first five years in London, before moving to a small town in West Sussex. By day he built websites, by night he wrote (or tried to).
His love for Children's Fantasy stemmed from Enid Blyton, Tolkien, and recently, JK Rowling. His hobbies included football, golf, reading and taking walks with his wife and daughter.
Victor passed away on 5 November 2016 after fighting a losing battle against an aggressive form of lymphoma.
To learn more about Victor and his writing, please visit his website at www.royalinstituteofmagic.com