Julian could feel the joy from the memory—the Duke's proud face, the Duchess pale and beautiful in her bed with a newborn in her arms, the gathered household expressing congratulations to the duke and duchess.
The memory continued. Kraven as an infant. Then a child. They moved quickly through the early years—magic lessons, an elder correcting a young boy's stance, the first controlled flame appearing above Kraven's palm.
Every memory was accompanied by his father's expectation.
His mother moved through these early memories as normal mothers do. Julian watched carefully for what he was looking for and didn't find it. No particular change to the boy's attention when she entered a room. No lingering looks. Just an innocent love of child for their parents.
So it hadn't started here. He noted that away and continued.
Kraven's cultivation progressed steadily through his adolescence. By fifteen he had already broken through to Supreme Mage.
