I was thinking of this when the first sparks of magic appeared in front of me. The shorter the gateway, the easier it was to make, so I concentrated on opening the other end in my room. The sparks grew and transformed into a roaring black hole in thirty seconds. Not bad. But when I attempted to open a second gateway, the first one abruptly closed. I groaned in frustration.

The second gateway had opened in Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky and had taken close to a minute to make. I figured no one would see it and freak out this early in the morning. I could smell the pine needles and wet grass in the breeze.

I closed my eyes and tried to open another gateway. There were no sparks of magic or roaring black hole this time, but I felt something vast and hollow. Whispers echoed in my ears. Hundreds of them. It was like being in an auditorium right before Principal Ollie took the mic and every kid was talking over each other.

“What are you doing, baby girl?” Papa said from behind me.

Startled, I let go of the magic maintaining the gateway, and it snapped shut. The whispers also stopped. Had I imagined them? “I thought I could practice some more, so I’m better at opening gateways,” I told Papa. “But I’m failing miserably.”

“You only learned what a gateway was a few months ago,” he said, coming to a stop next to me. “Since then, you rescued your old man twice, and you call that failure?”

I glanced down at my snow-caked boots. “I also let the Lord of Shadows trick me. Not to mention that I’m slow when fixing holes in the veil without my staff. Eleni is a better guardian in training.”

“Is that what you’re worried about—that Eleni is better than you?” Papa’s eyebrows pinched together. “Maya, no two people are the same. It’s not about being as good as someone else or better than them. Always do your best. That’s all any of us can do. Sometimes we fall short, and that’s okay.”

“It’s not okay when the world is at stake.” I blew out a frustrated breath. “I can’t keep falling short when everyone needs me.”

“Last time I checked, you’re not by yourself, baby girl.” Papa squeezed my shoulder. “Sometimes there are things you can change on your own, but sometimes, if people want to change things—especially something really big—we have to do it together. You, Eleni, me, the other celestials and godlings, if we want a better world, then we have to make it ourselves.” Papa looked down at me, his eyes filled with light. “And as for feeling bad that the Lord of Shadows tricked you, you’re a kid, Maya, and he’s an adult. If anyone should be feeling bad and ashamed, it should be him.”