Emma blinked and suddenly Jake wasn't a little boy anymore.
He was seventeen, tall and strong, with muscles that hadn't been there seconds before. His eyes glowed bright blue as he threw Shadow Jake across the clearing like he weighed nothing.
"What just happened?" Emma gasped, staring at her brother who was now older than her.
"Time moved differently when you touched the Void," Jake said, his voice deeper now. "We aged five years in five seconds."
Lily appeared beside him, no longer a small girl but a beautiful teenager with silver hair that sparkled with healing magic.
"We felt everything you were going through," she said gently. "All the fear, all the guilt. We couldn't just watch you suffer alone anymore."
Emma looked around wildly. Even baby Marcus wasn't a baby anymore. He was fifteen, with dark hair and eyes that held both wisdom and sadness.
"The Devourer grew up with me," Marcus said quietly. "But so did my ability to fight it."
