~Chapter Four~
“Are you alright, miss?”
“Exhausted,” I managed to mumble through my arms.
It was evening, and Larni had just brought me my dinner platter. I was currently face down on the table, resting my head on my poor, aching arms.
“Don’t worry about it, miss, that course looks terribly difficult.”
“The other girl could do it. Eleanora.” I rubbed my face on my arms, determined not to go pink with embarrassment.
I’d never thought of myself as unfit. It was mighty embarrassing to have that fact uncovered in front of classmates that I’d be studying with over the next three years.
“She’s most likely been training for it,” Larni pulled the cover off the platter on the table and began spooning the casserole into a bowl for me. “She’s grown up in this world, you have to remember. She’s been training for the Academy since she could walk.”
I started eating, ravenous after the day’s exertions.
“Apart from the training, how was your day?” Larni had found a hairbrush and was beginning to pull it through my matted hair.
“It was alright,” I answered, tearing a bread roll in half and offering it to her, but she refused. “My magic is green, I found out.”
The hairbrush stilled for just a second, before she resumed.
“Green like what?” she asked, and I noticed an edge to her voice that hadn’t been there before.
“Like this,” I snapped my fingers, visualising the match in my mind again. A small green flame erupted from my finger tip like a lighter.
The hairbrush had stopped completely.
“You picked that up fast, miss,” she said quietly.
I put the flame out and resumed eating.
“I guess I finally found something I’m good at,” I replied, and didn’t think any more of it.
Soul Fire Page 10