Chapter 24

Feeling the release of Joseph’s power, Livia glanced at the ceiling… and gaped.

Above them was an Illusion of a massive lake stretching off into the distance, but it appeared real, as if they were standing before it. She could smell the water, could hear it lapping at the shore inches from their feet, could feel the cool, moist breeze against her bare skin.

“Joseph, this is… incredible.”

“There are five different kinds of loons, but these are my favorite. Gavia immer. The Common loon,” he murmured, pointing to two of the most beautiful birds she’d ever seen floating languidly on the lake not ten feet away. “Aren’t they pretty?”

“They’re gorgeous. Are they a kind of duck?”

“Mm-mm,” he hummed, shaking his head. “Water birds, yeah—divers—but they’re their own classification.”

A long, sharp bill flowed gracefully into a velvety, black-feathered head. Stunning red eyes contrasted strikingly against that inky backdrop, like a blood-red sun shining in a starle