by Eric Vall
“As well it should, Mr. Gryff,” she answered shortly.
I met Varleth’s gaze, and we both shrugged. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to press her.
“I am sure they are going to be just fine though, yes?” Nia replied easily.
“Oh, no doubt about it, Miss Kenefick,” Meriden replied without looking away from her work, “but that doesn’t change the fact that they should take better care of themselves.”
Nia nodded and peered around her to meet my gaze, but then the beautiful ashen-haired woman shrugged as well.
“Especially you, Mr. Gryff,” Meriden continued as she moved to Varleth, who she was equally harsh with. He winced under her grasp but didn’t struggle any further.
“Me?” I asked, and I touched the spot on my cheek where she had massaged the potion into. There was nothing there as if it had never happened at all.
“You were in quite a state for the last few weeks. It wouldn’t do well to worry those around you like that again so soon.” Meriden finished with Varleth’s face before she stepped away to grab another bottle of a different potion.
“Ah, I guess you’re right.” I laughed sheepishly. “Sorry, ma’am.”
A sudden, boisterous laugh came from my right, and my head whipped in its direction. Maelor had emerged from the shadows, and I felt an easy smile pull on my lips.
“She got you whipped, boy,” Maelor joked and ruffled my head.
“What are you doing here?” I laughed and pushed his hand away.
“I should be askin’ you that now, shouldn’t I?” Maelor boomed and gestured to Meriden. “Haven’t you already put this fine woman through enough work?”
“Come now, Maelor.” Meriden laughed softly and handed Varleth a clear vial, which he drank down in one shot without so much as a blink. “This is my job, after all.”
“Bah, the boy should learn to bandage himself,” Maelor insisted, and I chuckled as he smiled down at me fondly.
“No, really,” I tried again, “what are you doing here? You’re not sick or anything, are you?”
“Nah, I’m healthy as can be,” he boasted and patted his round belly proudly. “I, uh, just came by to see if you had been released yet, and here ya are!”
“This late at night?” My face deadpanned as I looked up at him, and I narrowed my eyes. Maelor shifted, and I saw his eyes, whether consciously or unconsciously, flick to Meriden before they landed back on mine. What was going on?
“Sure,” he snickered. “What, I’m not allowed to be out after the sun sets? You’re worse than a nagging wife.”
“Right,” I drawled, not entirely convinced, but I’d let it go for now. “Well, if you were looking for me, here I am.”
“Right you are,” he replied and clapped my shoulder.
“So when are you heading out?” I questioned and stretched my arms out. They released a satisfying pop, and my body relaxed for what felt like the first time in months. “You still have work in Bathi Highlands, right?”
“Actually,” Maelor began, “I think I’m gonna send for Cyra to meet me here for a little while.”
I perked up. “Oh?”
“Just for a little while,” he explained. “Gonna pick up some work around Varle. They don’t need much, but there’s always a few odd jobs that need doin’.”
Now, something was definitely fishy. I knew how much Maelor didn’t care for the Enclaves, so the fact that he had willingly decided to stay in one for any amount of time without any solid work to keep him here raised all kinds of suspicion.
“How does Cyra feel about that?” I didn’t know too much about her, but I had the feeling that she was like Maelor in the sense that she didn’t care for the Enclave life.
“Bah, she’ll be fine,” Maelor chuckled as he waved off my concern. “Besides, it won’t be long until the Academy comes lookin’ for her anyway. Might as well get her used to bein’ here.”
Ah, that was true. Once the military knew you had magic, you had to do your time. Since she had fought alongside Maelor in the battle at Bathi Highlands, there was no way for her to conceal it now.
“So that’s your motive,” I concluded.
Maelor hummed and stroked his chin in thought. “She’s a strong one and has a natural instinct for battle from her time with that freelancer company. She could be a great asset to the military.”
I couldn’t disagree. From what little I had seen of Cyra’s ability to fight and control her monsters, she definitely had talent.
“I hope she’s receptive to it.” I hunched forward and rested my elbows on my knees. Across from me, Meriden had wiped the last bit of dried blood from Varleth’s lip, and he looked as good as new.
“What was the extra potion for?” I motioned to him, and Meriden gave the both of us a stern look.
“That was for the bruises on his arm, Mr. Gryff,” she stated plainly.
“Sorry,” I apologized with a chuckle as I recalled the twisted position I’d held Valeth’s arm in.
Varleth snorted and looked over at me with a smirk. “You should have broken it.”
I raised my eyebrows in mild shock. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. When I didn’t say anything, he rolled his eyes.
“Don’t actually break my arm, summoner,” he scoffed, “or I will actually kill you.”
I put my hands up in front of me in mock surrender. “Okay, okay.”
“It’s getting late,” Meriden moved in between us and started to shoo us off. “Get a good night’s rest, the whole lot of you.”
I hopped off the bed and stopped in front of Maelor. “Are you coming?”
“I-I’ll be along,” he stammered, and then he wrapped an arm loosely around my shoulders as he ushered my friends and me towards the exit. “Gotta write my letter to Cyra.”
I looked him up and down, skeptical of his excuse.
“Come on, Gryffie!” Layla took my hand as Varleth fell into step next to me. Braden and Nia were only a little further ahead.
“If you say so,” I sighed with a smile. What Maelor did was his business, as long as he was safe doing it.
“Goodnight, ladies and gentlemen,” Meriden called after us, and we waved back. “I better not see either of you back here for some time. Or I’ll delay treatment until my tongue lashing hurts more than your wounds.”
We both winced and called back, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Totally worth getting scolded,” I commented with a smirk when we were some feet away.
Varleth copied my smirk and crossed his arms as he dipped his head. “Oh, definitely.”
“You two are terrible,” Nia butted in, but there was no malice in her tone or expression. Instead, she smiled as she glanced over her shoulder at us with a tiny giggle.
It started with Layla, who also giggled, then Braden, until it trickled back to me. Before I knew it, we all started to laugh. Every time we tried to quiet each other, it only made it worse. Even Varleth wasn’t immune to it, and he stifled a fit of chuckles into the back of his hand when Layla told him to shut up. It was nice to see the guy open up a little, even if he was going to pretend that this never happened come morning.
We laughed like that until we had to part ways at the dorms, and even after we bid Nia and Layla goodnight, we could hear their giggles trail after them.
Varleth began to split off from Braden and me when we got to the fork in the hallway.
“Thanks,” he said simply.
I blinked in confusion. “For what?”
He didn’t say anything else, but there was definitely a smile on his lips as his cloak wooshed behind him. Just like that, he was gone down the dimly lit hallway.
“He’s a strange one,” Braden commented.
I nodded in agreement. “Yeah, but he’s alright.”
We turned and went down the hallway to our shared room. It seemed like forever since I had slept in my own bed, and damn, was I looking forward to it.
Morning came too fast, but it was nice to wake up on my ow
n in the comfort of my own bed instead of an inn or a hospital bed. The sheets were cool on my skin, and I absolutely indulged in the pleasure of sprawling out from corner to corner as I sank into the mattress.
I dozed in and out for a while, and I only really woke up when I heard the lock on the door being picked. I snorted, amused, and listened to Layla curse on the other side of the door when the pick slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor. Finally, she got through, and she and Nia walked through the door.
“Morning, sleepy heads!” Layla greeted, and Braden of all people grumbled something about “controlling my girlfriends” as he groaned into his pillow. How early was it that Braden, Mr. Rise-and-Shine, wasn’t already up himself?
I brushed off his comment and sat up with a languid stretch. My eyes fell on Nia, who looked mildly embarrassed about being in the men’s dorms. Her posture was stiff, and she seemed like she was ready to bolt out the door in case someone came looking for her.
“Now you’re breaking into people’s rooms?” I laughed as they both whirled in my direction. I guess they thought I would still be asleep. “Layla has been a bad influence on you, Miss Kenefick. What of your reputation?”
Nia huffed and crossed her arms, her hip popped in a sassy fashion as she scowled at me. “I’ll have you know that this is important business.”
“Is it now?” I leaned closer and let the bedsheets fall beneath my waistline. Then I watched Nia’s cheeks flush as she tried to avert her gaze elsewhere. “Are you sure?”
“I am quite sure,” she snipped, but then she sighed. “Headmaster Sleet is posting the groups for the Magicae Nito this morning.”
I stared at her blankly for what had to be a solid fifteen seconds before I was able to form any words. When I finally did, it was probably the most eloquent response I could have possibly given.
“Huh?”
“Magicae Nito,” she repeated, as though she had stated the most obvious thing in the world.
“Yeah, yeah, I heard you, but what is it?” I scratched my head and racked my brain for anything that could have tipped me off about what this thing was, but I came up with absolute zilch.
“It’s the practical magic exam all third years and higher are required to participate in,” Braden mumbled into his pillow.
“They transform the arena into a mock rift and set monsters loose to see how well they handle themselves and their magic in battle,” Nia explained. “It’s a huge event every year, and they have to perform in front of an audience of the entire Academy.”
I grimaced. “Ouch. No pressure or anything.”
Braden finally sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “But we’re all first years. What does it have to do with us?”
Layla perked up a little and climbed onto his bed. She took his face between her hands and leaned in close. Then she grinned wildly and looked him dead in the eyes, as though whatever she was about to tell him was the best thing in the world.
“Because we have to participate, too,” she replied in a wicked tone, and the color drained from Braden’s face.
“W-what?” he stammered, and Layla tapped his cheeks.
“You heard me,” she sang.
“That isn’t confirmed.” Nia rolled her eyes with a slight smirk. “We overheard some of the fourth year girls this morning mention it, but I can’t say for sure whether or not it’s true.”
My eyes shifted over to Braden, who looked as though he had seen a ghost. He still had a fear of monsters, including his own, and now he had to use them in a situation in which he had never been in before. The closest thing he could compare it to was the battle in the wilds on our way home from holiday, but that was still nothing compared to actually being inside of the Shadowscape.
I, on the other hand, was more than ready to show everyone what a summoner could really do. If what Layla had told us was true, this was the perfect opportunity to showcase the true potential of my magic to a wide variety of people who placed the stigma on our summoning abilities in the first place.
“Well, let’s go see what this is all about then, shall we?” I stood without care of my nudity. It wasn’t like it was anything anyone in the room hadn’t seen before. Braden, on the other hand, was a little shyer and shooed the girls out of the room while we changed into our uniforms for the day.
As Layla led the way to the arena where the groups were being posted, I couldn’t help but overhear the chatter from people around us about this Magicae Nito. Apparently, it was an Academy tradition from its third year of inauguration. Made sense. But I wondered why I hadn’t heard of it until now if it was such a big deal.
Another group passed, and I heard them mention deaths in the past. My head snapped to Nia.
“Is that true?” I asked, concerned. I wasn’t afraid of a little danger. It couldn’t have been any worse than going against monsters in a real rift, and I’d come out of some pretty tough scrapes already, but I didn’t know if Layla and Braden were ready for something that could potentially end their lives despite how far they’d come.
“What? That people have died?” she clarified, and I nodded. “Yes, it’s happened before, but that was many years ago if my memory serves me correctly.”
Braden blanched even further. I didn’t think that was even possible.
“What happened?” Layla asked as she turned to face us and walk backward.
Nia shook her head. “I don’t quite recall all of the details, but it had something to do with a summoner losing control of his monster, I think.”
The three of us eyed her, and she flinched under all our gazes.
“Not to state the obvious, Nia, but that isn’t very reassuring,” I stated.
Nia folded her arms. “I wasn’t trying to be. You asked what happened. I answered.”
I sighed as Layla giggled and Braden dragged his hands over his face.
“I’m going to die, aren’t I?” he whined. “Or worse, I’ll be the cause of someone else’s death.” He swallowed hard. “We’re gonna get stuck, and I’ll use my Ember Eagle, and then I’ll lose control and burn down the entire academy, and cause the rise of the dark lord, and then Headmaster Sleet will step in, and he’ll award points to the other team--”
“The other team is the monsters, and I don’t think any of that’s going to happen.” I shook my head. “And we all know you’ve gotten much better at controlling the Ember Eagle.” I clapped him on the back. “You just have to believe in yourself.”
“Yeah, what Gryffie said!” Layla chimed in before she turned back around and skipped ahead of us.
I smiled after her. “She’s rather chipper.”
“She’s eager to impress you,” Nia informed me with an amused stare. “She admires you, you know.”
I admittedly felt the creep of a blush rise on the back of my neck and tinge the tips of my ears. Layla admired me? That was… well, it was flattering, to say the least. I twiddled my thumbs, suddenly bashful. We were lovers, and I knew she cared about me as I cared about her, but my short and spunky classmate had never said she admired my abilities.
As we strode up the path to the arena, I noticed that there were tons of students already gathered. Layla wove her way through the crowd, and her smaller frame allowed her to fit into spaces that were too confined for the rest of us. Also, she had little care in the observation of personal space.
We stood and waited patiently for the crowd to disperse so others could see the scrolls magically adorned to the pillars outside. There were two scrolls on both of the marble pillars that accented the entrance to the arena. The one on top was a notice of some kind. Under that was the list of who would be on which squad.
“What does the top one say?” Layla stood on her tiptoes, but the top of her head didn’t even brush the bottom of the scroll. She squeaked as Braden stepped up behind her and lifted her effortlessly. We stood quietly as her eyes scanned the scroll.
“Well?” I inquired.
“Oh, right,” she cleared her throat
and read aloud.
Due to several changes in the curriculum, summoners of all years will be required to participate in this year’s Magicae Nito. In addition, any first or second-year student who is already active on a squad will also be required to participate. Failure to pass your exam may result in being removed from your current squad.
Please come completely prepared for your exam, as once you enter the arena, you will not be permitted to leave. If you are late for your arrival time, you will not be permitted to take the exam and thus will result in automatic failure.
Your squads were hand chosen by me, Headmaster Sleet, and are final. There will be no exceptions or changes.
- Headmaster Sleet
“Damn. He’s not kidding around.” I whistled and glanced at Nia. “Looks like you have to take it, too.”
“It appears that way, yes,” she muttered, her brows furrowed.
“Scared?” I teased, and she rolled her eyes without a rebuttal.
Braden set Layla down, and they crept closer to the squad list. Their fingers ran down the lines and groups until they found their names.
“My exam is the day after tomorrow,” Braden told us, “and it looks like I’m with that Orenn fellow that was on your squad.”
“Orenn is a good guy.” I grinned, and Nia nodded in agreement. “He’ll have your back in a pinch. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Looks like mine is the day after yours, Braden.” Layla pointed to her name, and he leaned closer.
“Yeah, but you don’t know anyone on the squad, do you?” he asked.
Layla shrugged. “I’ll manage.” She went back to looking at the names and scanned the scroll until she found Nia’s name. “Oh, Nia! Yours is the day after mine!”
Layla stepped aside to let Nia see for herself. She peered at the scroll for a moment before she gasped.
“What? Do you not know anyone on your squad, either?” Layla frowned.
Nia shook her head. Her ashen hair fell in her eyes, and she tucked the strands behind her ear. “I don’t, but it’s not that.”
“Then what is it?” Braden inquired.
Nia pointed to the scroll. As Braden leaned closer, Layla did, too, and they both stared wide-eyed at it before the three of them all turned to me.