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Studying and honing our power under the immense pressure of the approaching exam is wearing us thin.
Kai’s lost weight, even though he eats more than enough for two people. His eyes have sunken a bit with sleepless nights spent training relentlessly.
As I look at myself in the mirror, I realize I have the same circles beneath my eyes. Shit. And we’re still not even close to Edgar’s frightening display of power, though I’m not so sure he’s an issue anymore. He’s like a ghost at Alkrose. Most students only catch glimpses of him at best.
Corvus has still been spending time with him. I’m not sure if it’s out of pity or to get intel from him, but he told me and Kai that the professors placed additional casts on Edgar last week due to his outburst at the lake. Apparently, he broke the first cast Kallos placed on him.
If that was Edgar repressed, as Corvus said, we don’t stand a chance against him at full strength. So I’m relieved at least that we don’t need to worry about him as much anymore. There are others just as strong as he was that day, like Frederick.
Water drips from my forehead as I hang my head over the sink in the Cosmos communal bathroom.
The exam is in two weeks and I’m so fucking scared it disgusts me. If my father were here, he’d beat me senseless until I was more afraid of him than dying in some stupid exam.
I lift my head and stare into the mirror once more. My amber eyes are fading into a more subtle orange, graying at the bottom… Fuck. I pound my fist into the porcelain sink.
Class is dull today. I open my palm and create burning feathers over and over to stay awake.
Arthur delves deeply into the history of Fernestia, the cities and festivals that they celebrated before everything went to shit. One in particular that he spends a few extra minutes explaining is the Sporlis Festival. He details that it was a meeting of the nations in which all would gather in peace and eat together. It sounds like it was a nice thing of the past. The way he speaks about it sounds like it happened a hundred years ago, but Arthur’s in his mid-twenties, so it really it’s been a decade or less. How can so much go wrong in that short span of time?
And what was the point of such a festival if it didn’t hold up the one thing it was meant to? Peace did not last. Look where we all ended up.
I flip through my tome and hear a small sound to my right. I don’t even need to guess where the sound is coming from since Kai has been making outrageous sounds for weeks when he gets bored or just feels like pestering me.
I glance over with an annoyed look. “What?”
Kai sparkles at my acknowledgment. “Hey,” Kai whispers, motioning for me to lean in closer. I glance to make sure Arthur is still writing on the board before leaning in. “Corvus wants us to meet him in the foyer after class.”
I keep the annoyed expression on my face. “What for? We usually don’t study until after dinner.”
Kai shrugs dramatically and catches Arthur’s attention. He looks up and raises a brow at the two of us. I feign an innocent smile and Kai looks away awkwardly. The instructor stalks over to our desks and everyone’s eyes are on us like beacons. Even Terra gives us a curious look. A few desks over from her, Frederick frowns maliciously.
I can’t stand how sinister Frederick is. How he so easily murders Dvars students in the late hours of the night. I hate him as much as I despise Fernestia.
“Anything interesting you’d like to share with me, Kaidel?” Arthur rests his calm gaze on Kai.
His body sinks into his desk. “Nope. Sorry about that.”
The professor hovers there for a few more moments. “Don’t cause too much trouble this afternoon, Kaidel. Finnick, make sure he doesn’t,” Arthur says as if I should know what trouble my friend is going to cause. (I could make a few guesses.)
We both sink further into our chairs as chuckles rise across the room. Arthur stops at his desk and flips through some notes before continuing with his lecture. His eyes flick to Terra briefly—as they do every five minutes, it seems.
I’m convinced they are up to more than training during their private lessons, but honest to gods, as long as she’s happy I don’t care. She must feel my gaze on her shoulder because she turns and looks at me, those green eyes shimmering with the warmth of afternoon light.
I miss her being only mine.
After the day’s lessons Kai quickly pulls me with him to the hallway. Terra waves me off before I can ask her to join us. She, of course, is heading up to talk with Arthur. She and Raine are still trying to get his notes, but apparently they’re proving difficult to find.
Terra has been guarded about her own room as well. I’m beginning to think everyone has a secret except me. What could she possibly be hiding in there?
In the hallway we pass Elias and Ash. The Nova student has been lying low to avoid anyone’s eyes. The professors are usually with him too. It’s not news that he’s the portal Shadow and as such is heavily controlled. I draw my attention back to Kai and he shrugs, seeming to be on the same page as I am.
We’ve developed silent communication. I hate to say it’s from sex ed, but hey, our Shadows are rather chummy with each other and it’s been useful. If my Shadow picks up on something off, it signals to him immediately. Like radios in our skin.
He’s my brother through and through. The one I wish I’d always had.
Corvus is waiting in the foyer for us. The windows stretch high—at least three stories—and the glimmering air above us holds remnants of the firebird that I created so long ago. It’s odd how the dust of our power lingers, holding space as if transfixed in time. Are we all this way? My hands tingle with the itch to release Laphia once more. I enjoy its flames, and in a way, we truly are one.
I stare at my hands as we walk down the steps and approach Corvus.
