He felt his heart hammering against his chest as he stared at the steaming parcel in his hands, his breath was ing in short, disbelieving gasps.'What the hell just happened?' His firembled as he turhe takeout box over, iing it for any signs of trickery. There were he logo of the fish-and-chips shop was stamped ly on the lid, and the heat radiating from the tainer was unmistakable.He pried open the box to fily what he had imagined—golden, crispy chips, seasoo perfe, with a small packet of spicy sauce tucked ly to the side. Magnus gulped. 'This ’t be real.' He shook his head, trying to dispel the thought but no matter how much he tried to rationalize it, the evidence was literally in his hands."This is it," he whispered to himself in a shaky voice. "This is the proof."It was unlike anything he’d experienced before. Sure, his so-called mojo had always felt like miraculous—random acts of kindness from strangers when he most. But this... this was different. This wasn’t just luck or a twist of fate.Magnus gnced back at the shop, half-expeg someoo burst out and accuse him of theft but the pce remained quiet, the windows fogged up from the heat ihe cashier behind the ter didn’t even gn his dire. It was as though no one had noticed a thing.His thoughts raced as a thousand possibilities crashed into his mind all at once.Magic! It has to be magic. What else could it be? His logical side resisted the idea, scrambling for another expnation, but it was futile. He couldn’t ignore what had just happened. He hadn’t walked into the shged someone for food.He had summo—thought about it, and it had e to him.“I’m not crazy,” he muttered, clutg the box tighter. “This just happened. It’s real.”A surge of adrenaline shot through him, making his legs jittery and his palms cmmy. For a fleeting moment, panic crept in.If this was real—if he really had magic—what did it mean? What else could he do? And more importantly, what would happen if anyone found out?He gnced around.No one seemed to be paying him any attention, but paranoia was already taking root. Unfortunately for him, someone had seen.It was a gang of street teens.For a sed, he wondered just how much they had seen. But judging from the greedy look in their eyes, he guessed—not the magic part.Their gazes were locked on the package in his hands. It was too te to hide it.Magnus had survived this long by knowing which fights to pid which to avoid. Logically, this was a fight he should avoid.He khese guys—if only by reputation. Ohey marked you, they turned your life into hell. It was always best to ditch the area and move far away.Ideally, he should just hand over the food and hope they kept the beating to a minimum.But his mind wasn’t bowing that easily. Worse, it had the full support of his rumbling belly.The day was already fading, and in a couple of hours, darkness would set in. He couldn’t go back to sleeping through yet anht on ay stomach.“Oi, bruv!” One of the teens, a buzz-cut kid, called out. “What you got there? That’s some tasty lookin’ grub, innit?”Magnus ched his jaw, his grip tightening on the warm box.“None of your business.”. He tried to py calm but a slight tremor in his voice betrayed him

  “Oh, I think it is, mate,” Buzz Cut drawled, stepping closer. “Sharing is g, yeah? Hand it over, and maybe we’ll let you walk outta here with your pretty fatact.”Magnus took a step back, his heart pounding. “Not gonna happen.”The group exged gheir smirks turning into sneers.“You got a death wish or somethin’?” the scarred one asked, crag his knuckles.“Yeah, you re you’re hard enough to take us all on?” another chimed i rose in Magnus’s chest, anger battling with fear. He wasn’t going to let these pricks take what little he had. Not this time.Buzz Cut’s grin faded when he saw Magnus wasn’t bag down.“Alright then. Have it your way.” He o his crew, and they closed in.The first shove nearly sent him sprawling, but he mao keep his footing. He swung wildly, his fist eg with one of the boys’ shoulders, but it only seemed to amuse them.“Look at him!” the scarred teen jeered. “Proper scrapper, ain’t he?”Another blow caught Magnus in the side, making him stagger. He gasped for breath, clutg the takeout box like his life depended on it.“Give it up, mate. You’re outnumbered,” Buzz Cut taunted.Magnus’s stomach growled loudly, and the sound made the gang ugh. But their ughter was cut short when the leader pulled out a rusty, jagged bde.“Alright, joker,” he said, his voice cold now. “Let’s see how brave you are when I take that box off your corpse.”Magnus froze.The world narrowed to the knife and the sneering face of its wielder.Time slowed.He saw the leader luhe knife making a beeline for his belly.Then—something inside him snapped.A blinding wave of energy exploded outward, throwing everyone backward like ragdolls.Someone was screaming.Another was moaning nearby.Magnus y sprawled in the ter of the chaos, chest heaving, vision swimming.Around him, the gang y scattered—groaning or unscious.'What have I done?' From a distance, he heard sirens growing louder by the sed.His mind raced with a single, desperate thought: I o get the hell out of here before the cops arrive.There was no way he was esg juvie after this.Then, everything dissolved into bess!