Jeez. This better be what we need.
Diverting my attention back to the slot, I noticed a golden key. It gave me those olden day vibes; the top half was heart-shaped with a clear diamond in the middle.
Reaching in for it, I grasped it and took a better look, noticing the tiny symbols that ran along the metallic surface.
A spell...shit. I need to say this out loud.
The symbols were in magic incantations, which meant I'd automatically have to say them out loud to activate them. I glanced at my watch.
One minute. Shit. I need Ryuu.
Casting the spell wouldn't be the problem, but I needed Ryuu to lower the temperature quickly.
I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I looked in surprise to see Ryuu was right there with Star floating around us in a circle formation.
I gave him a confused look, but he tapped his watch, reminding me of the time before he offered one of his hands and used the other to make a circle shape.
Bubble? He wants me to make a bubble. Wait. Yes! A bubble.
Placing my hand in his, I gripped the key and immediately closed my eyes. It would only take me ten seconds to visualize what I wanted, and my ears picked up the dampened sounds of bubbles and rushing water.
When I heard Ryuu take a gasp of air, my eyes snapped open to see my spell had worked.
"Thirty seconds, Silver. What did you figure out?"
"I need to cast the spell, but I need to cool the water fast!" I commanded. "Everything needs to be back as before."
"Got it," he replied, and his eyes shifted from their burning orange-red to a bright teal with hints of white.
The temperature dropped so quickly that some parts of the bubble began to freeze over.
"Mewr!"
I moved my attention to Star, noticing she was under the red book. "Shit! The red book."
"Can you move it back?" Ryuu asked quickly.
"Star!" I commanded.
The uni-kitten began to glow, and she used her head to nudge it forward before it began to float upward.
I outstretched my hand and focused a large amount of magic onto the object, commanding the surrounding water to guide it right back to its slot.
"Ten seconds," Ryuu announced.
I lifted the key, squinting to take in the entire spell before I let go of the grasp I had on my inner mana, allowing the eager energy to flow through me and charge as I began the spell.
"Return the room to what it once was! Ashna Lo Ma Ru No Ganashni Ray!"
A massive pink magic circle appeared beneath my feet, spreading out until it took up the entire floor.
The glow was so bright I had to close my eyes, but I felt Ryuu pull me into a protective hug.
A rushing sound began to filter around us, and I opened my eyes and looked up to see the water was beginning to drain.
"We did it?" Ryuu questioned, following my gaze as I looked to the opposite corner of where the water had first begun seeping into the room.
It was difficult to see, but there was a small vent that had appeared out of nowhere and was allowing the water to drain through it.
"We did!" I declared. A beeping noise sounded from our watches, and we both looked down to see the bright green light.
"We passed!" I squealed, lifting my arms up and hugging Ryuu. "Holy crap, that was intense."
"How did you know that we had to return the temperature back to normal?" Ryuu asked.
I leaned back to see the gleaming pride in his now mismatched eyes.
"The incantation on the key. It said, ‘Return the room to its original form.’ Which meant putting the book back in its place and returning the temperature back to normal. I made the bubble because it can only be said out loud and though I could have said it underwater, it would take at least a minute for the water to drain and that would be far too long."
"Your lungs would fill up with water by then," Ryuu concluded.
"How did you know I needed you?" I asked.
"Star. She swam up and kept bumping into my...uh..." He trailed off.
"Bumping into your?"
"Pants," he concluded.
I gave him a curious smile. "Where along your pants?"
"You already know where. Why do I have to say it?"
"Because it's fucking hilarious. Now say it." I poked his stomach and he snickered.
"Fuck, no. Don't poke me."
"Are you ticklish?" I questioned with a mischievous grin.
"Go away," Ryuu huffed, banging on the bubble. "Mr. London? Let me out."
"I'm the one in control of the bubble, idiot." I roared in laughter and began to poke him. He snickered and tried to move away from my attack.
"Okay, okay. She kept hitting my damn crotch! You happy?!" he growled, his face burning red in embarrassment.
"Be lucky this bubble is soundproof." I laughed. "But I'm so telling the others at lunch."
"Ugh," Ryuu groaned.
We noticed the water was almost gone, our bubble landing on one of the desks, which were back in their original spots. If it wasn't for the fact they were drenched like the rest of the room, you would have assumed nothing had happened.
Star was still in her bubble but now she was rolling around, reminding me of a hamster in a wheel. The bubble was surprisingly durable, which was why it was one of the first spells I'd learned when I was younger.
That, and because I loved putting myself in a bubble during bath time. I never knew how to get out, so my Mom or Dad would have to do it.
"Question. Is the bubble transparent?"
"Hmm?" I returned my attention to him. "You mean from the outside looking in? At this moment, yes."
"Can you make it opaque for a second?" he questioned.
"Uh...sure?" I shrugged.
Snapping my fingers, the bubble solidified like an ice sculpture. "There. No one can see in or out. What's wro—"
Ryuu's hands gently pressed against my cheeks before he claimed my lips with his.
My eyes widened in surprise, feeling his smooth, hot lips move against mine. His eyes were closed, and though I was thrown off by the sudden kiss, I responded back while my eyes slowly shut.
We shared a sweet kiss, and when he released me, my body felt a wave of warmth. I also felt energized, like I hadn't spent a heap of energy trying to get us through this trial.
"What...was that for?" My voice was but a whisper as I met his calm eyes. I knew from his red cheeks that he was embarrassed, but he answered.
"I figured the rise and drop in temperature would have made you suddenly cold once the adrenaline faded away. One way that dragon shifters keep each other warm is through hugs and kisses. It's a way to exchange warmth for fire dragon shifters or cold energy among ice dragon shifters. Seeing as we still have other classes, I didn't want you feeling exhausted after this, so I lent you a bit of my flame."
"Ryuu. You didn't have to." I gave him a wide smile and took a step forward to give him a hug. "Thank you."
"D-don't get the wrong idea or anything. Since you're our girlfriend and all, the guys would kick my ass if I didn't make sure you're okay and I don't want to deal with that agony. Plus, I didn't want anyone seeing us be all intimate and stuff. Ugh...this is annoying."
I giggled and snuggled myself against him. He gave up with a sigh and hugged me back. "Good work, Blossom. Thanks for your smart thinking."
"Likewise. I think we make a good team," I concluded.
Once we pulled away, I poked the crystallized surface of the bubble, watching it begin to crack until the entire thing shattered into little specks of ice that glittered.
We noticed Star was still in her bubble but was in Mr. London's hands. He stood there with an approving grin on his lips.
"It's been a while since a new student has figured out my trial. Not to mention two," he announced, poking the bubble that held Star.
It popped right away, and Star fluttered her fur and stretched in his hands. "Mewr!"
"Mr. London," we greeted again, nodding ou
r heads in acknowledgment.
I looked around for the other students, but it was just us and Mr. London.
"Where's the rest of the class?" I inquired.
"They're outside, lined up against the wall with buckets of ice on their heads and their feet on fire mats." Mr. London replied. We stared at him in horror.
"What?" Ryuu managed to say.
"I never said you could forfeit," he announced and shrugged. "If you ran out of breath, you'd be teleported out of the room, which would have at least been an attempt to finish the trial. Simply quitting proves to me that you’d rather have the easy way out instead of trying out all options presented to you. Those students all used their eyes to try and solve the problem. None of them went below to try and get a better picture of the situation."
Mr. London glanced my way. "You have swift problem-solving skills, Ms. Solange. I'm rather impressed by your magic capabilities. That isn't an easy spell to perform."
"Thank you," I quietly replied, feeling a little nervous about his praise. I was grateful for it, but it left me feeling worried he’d find out I was a witch.
"Silver trained a lot. You know some angel shifters love magic and go all hardcore trying to gain all the knowledge they can," Ryuu voiced.
Mr. London nodded in understanding, moving his attention from me to Ryuu. "So I've heard. We have a professor like that. Never ceased to be intrigued by the latest magic spell or launch of an alchemy book."
I mentally sighed, relieved that the chance of me being found out was diverted.
Thank goodness for Ryuu.
"You also did well, Mr. Kensuke. To be able to raise the temperature to boiling and dropping it close to freezing in seconds was fascinating, to say the least. Proves that you're a two-type dragon, am I correct?"
Ryuu nodded. "Yes, sir. Fire and water."
"Ah. Mageri dragon. Very impressive and rare." Mr. London nodded in approval. "Both of you have received an S.S.S. score on your first trial. Congratulations."
"First trial?" I questioned, looking at Ryuu, who appeared confused.
"What do you mean?" he asked. "I thought this was a trial — as in, we didn't have to pass."
"Just because your professor tells you a task is not the real thing, it doesn't mean you should believe us. As future spies, you will be fed information to throw you off your target. Believing the words of someone other than your partner can lead you to your early grave. In the field, you trust no one but those on your team, and even then, you must think wisely, for there's always the possibility of your friends turning against you."
I frowned at the last sentence, remembering how Nikko had kissed Callister.
He's right. Even your teammates can turn against you.
Ryuu's hand slipped into mine, squeezing it slightly. I side glanced to him, but his eyes were focused on Mr. London.
"You're correct, but as you know, dragon shifters are loyal. I can confidently say I'd never turn against my own teammates, but I can see the possibility happening in the real world. Glad we don't like to fail. Right, Silver?" Ryuu glanced my way, giving me a confident smile.
My worries vanished as I grinned back, nodding my head in affirmation. "Right."
"I'm glad to hear that," Mr. London replied.
Star hopped out of his hands, running back to me. I knelt down and offered my hand that held the key for Star to use as a platform as she jumped onto it. Rising back up, we looked at Mr. London, who clapped his hands.
A warm gust of wind fluttered around us, drying our uniforms in a flash.
"Congratulations once again. Your reward is that key. It gives you access to all areas in the school's library, including warded sections. You will be able to acquire knowledge about any species, medical information, healing spells, and higher tier spells for advanced magic users. It’s your privilege to keep it for the rest of your years at S.S.S., so I suggest someone within your team who you trust should carry it."
"Guess that's you, Silver," Ryuu declared. Star hopped onto my shoulder, and I took the chance to look at the key in my hand.
I looked to the key, and then back to Mr. London. "Wow. Isn't this super important?"
"It is. Completing trials at S.S.S. will provide you with rare tools that will assist you along the way. That is one of the many reasons why we conduct these trials and award those who pass them with perfect scores. The motto of S.S.S. is to reward those who aim for perfection, and if you indeed reach spy status, you'll understand that in the future when you take on missions."
"Amazing," I whispered, feeling a giddy happiness sprout through me.
"Well earned," Mr. London emphasized. "You may pack your stuff and head to an early lunch. The rest of the class will enjoy their punishment."
"Thank you, sir," Ryuu and I said together as we gathered our stuff, which was surprisingly back at our desks and thankfully still dry. I looked at Ryuu and gave him a thrilled smile.
"That was really awesome."
"It was, but this is just the beginning," he confirmed. I grinned and gave him a firm nod. He offered his hand and I arched my eyebrow at him.
"People will see. We're going through the hall."
"I don't care. I'm in a good mood, and I don't want you getting lost," he replied with a shrug. I wasn't going to argue with him, loving the feeling thrumming through me as well as the sense of accomplishment I felt.
It wasn't because we'd just finished our first trial session, but because I felt a little closer to Ryuu, who I never really thought would be as considerate as he was based on our first encounter.
Placing my hand in his, we shared a look.
"Off to lunch?" Ryuu questioned.
"Yup. Let's go stuff our faces with food," I encouraged. "I'm famished."
With a light squeeze of my hand, Ryuu led the way out of the classroom, ignoring the glares we received from our fellow classmates. I couldn’t care less about their jealous, angry, and judgemental looks.
I held my head up high, proud to have gained my first S.S.S. score and walk hand-in-hand with my Mageri dragon boyfriend.
22
Lunchtime Memories
"Oh! You guys already got us a table," Wolfgang greeted, waving his hand as he made his way toward us.
Yuriel and Dimitri weren't too far behind, the two of them wearing welcoming smiles. Ryuu and I waved back, moving our bags out of the way to give them space to sit.
"Yeah. We had a trial and finished early," I announced.
"A trial?" Yuriel questioned. "You mean you actually had a test?"
They took their places at the lunch table; Yuriel and Wolfgang sat on each side of Ryuu while Dimitri came and sat next to me.
Ryuu nodded. "Yup. Basically, the whole room filled with water and we had to find the lever to release the water. We had ten minutes and the water was cold as fuck."
"How many people passed?" Dimitri questioned.
"Only us," I replied.
"Seriously?" Wolfgang looked impressed. "Was it that hard? It's just cold water."
I shook my head. "There was more to it. We had ten minutes, but by the time the water reached the top, there were less than six minutes left. Half of the class seemed to be shifters who don't like water. Like there was a group of cat shifters who were the first to retreat."
"I think people assumed because it was the first day of classes, it wasn't a real trial so they simply forfeited when no one could find an obvious lever or way for the water to escape. It's not like our room had windows, and there weren't any vents either," Ryuu explained.
"What happened when the room filled with water?" Yuriel calmly asked.
"Silver asked me to warm up the water to a boil while she went down to inspect the room underwater. The moment I did, one of the books in the bookshelf began to glow. Kind of like a flickering light bulb. She pulled out the book and there was a key inside the slot, " Ryuu explained.
"Ah. The book resonates depending on the temperature. The water had to be at a boil for its magic to
activate." Dimitri nodded in understanding.
His hand was currently playing with my hair, but it didn't bother me. It was pretty soothing if I had to admit it.
"What did the key do? Unlock the wall or a door to let the water out?" Wolfgang asked.
"That wouldn't work," Yuriel pointed out. "The pressure of the water, especially at a boil, would make it hard to push or pull a door, and wouldn't the door be the first thing they'd try and unlock with or without a key?"
"They can't unlock the door without a key. They could change the pressure of the water with magic," Dimitri argued.
"Actually, some shifters know how to unlock things without keys. They can create a magical key that unlocks any type of door in any situation," Ryuu announced. "My dad has a few. Only powerful mages can make those things. That's why certain shifters have them to begin with."
I cleared my throat to get their attention. "Getting back to the purpose of the key," I began.
"Oh, right. Our bad," Wolfgang apologized with a sheepish grin. I sweetly smiled back before continuing our recap.
"The key had magic incantations on it. All we had to do was read the spell and the place where the water had entered the room opened up again," I concluded.
"You forgot the spell part," Ryuu stressed, looking to the others who turned their attention to him. "She had to say the magic spell out loud. We literally had a minute left. Not only was the spell in these weird symbol shapes, everything had to be put back in place, which included the book. Star had caught our attention and Silver swiftly moved the book back in place with her magic. To say the spell out loud, she had to make a bubble around us and I had to drop the temperature frigid again."
"Didn't that risk you freezing the bubble?" Yuriel asked.
"Yup, but we somehow managed thanks to Silver. Mr. London was really impressed with her," Ryuu replied.
"With us," I corrected. "We got an S.S.S. score and got to keep the key. It gives us access to any part of the library for our entire time at the school," I explained.
"You're joking. Anywhere?" Dimitri questioned.
SSS: Year One (Supernatural Spy School Book 1) Page 24