He blew out a breath.
He didn’t feel like he was making enough progress, but he knew that was his impatience talking. Kinan and Delana had both forgiven him. Molun had not. That was two out of three, which was probably better odds than he deserved. Nisal was a question mark for the moment. Should he try talking to Arvus next? He was sure that Molun would explain exactly what had happened to his partner, and if Arvus wasn’t upset directly at Cormal, he’d be upset by the impact he had on Molun.
He’d give them a few days to calm down and then reassess.
After about an hour with paperwork, he went to check on the novice training. Not to interfere, just to observe. Brannal had once told Cormal that it was like fire had a life of its own, different from any of the other elements. He was the only person Cormal knew who could actually compare all of the elements and what it felt like to wield them.
(Yet one more reason that they were the poorer for having lost him. No wonder Molun thought Cormal was trying to ruin everything.)
Cormal eyed the group. There were three Water Mages in training at the moment, as well as an Air Mage. Arvus and Simiala were supervising, and they seemed to have things well in hand. Simiala was one of their main instructors, but Arvuswas on a teaching shift like all the Mage Warriors had to cycle through. Brannal had instituted the change when he became Summus, wanting everyone to remember what it was like to learn, and to help the novices connect with all the Mage Warriors.
Arvus wasn’t looking at Cormal like he wanted to bury him in the ground, which probably meant that he hadn’t talked to Molun yet. Cormal briefly considered trying to say something now but decided that was an underhanded move that would do him no favors.
Although, now he thought about it—
He’d made it all about him again, hadn’t he?
He headed all the way into the classroom.
“A moment of your time, please, Arvus.”
Simiala nodded at the other man to indicate that she was fine with the class.
Arvus raised an eyebrow at Cormal, and Cormal ushered him out in the hallway before speaking.
“I think you should go see Molun.”
Arvus straightened even straighter than normal. “Is he all right—?”
“Physically, he’s perfectly fine,” Cormal hastened to assure him, feeling stupid for not clarifying that straight away. “Let’s just say that I was my usual self this morning, and I upset him without meaning to. I think he would benefit from seeing you, that’s all. I can work with Simiala and the class.”
Arvus was looking at him strangely.
“Go,” Cormal said. “You can help Molun dump me in the moat later.”
There was worry in the man’s eyes but the faintest quirk to his lips as he nodded and left. Cormal felt a little bit better, and he hoped that Arvus would be able to make Molun feel better.
Cormal headed back into the classroom, striding up to stand beside Simiala. She would no doubt be fine on her own, but Cormal was here now, and maybe it was time he tried to do a lot of things differently.
“As you all know,” Cormal told the students, “I can’t be useful at all when it comes to helping you feel what you should when it comes to water or air. I don’t control either of those elements. But, there’s one thing I can definitely help with.”
He summoned a fireball, forming it between his two hands until it was big and crackling, the heat a comfort to a Fire Mage where it would have been unbearable to anyone else. Everyone was staring.
“One of the first things you should learn as a Mage is how to put out a fire. It might be a Fire Mage who’s lost his temper—if you haven’t heard that yet, it’s definitely not just a rumor that I’m a hothead—or it might be a fire that’s sprung up naturally. But you should always know how to put it out, and you should be able to react quickly, because fires can get out of control very easily.”
They were still staring at the fireball in his hands. None of the elements conjured in your hands was natural, of course, but fire was always the most eye-catching.
“So,” Cormal prodded, “what are you waiting for? There’s a fire right here in front of you. What do you do?”
For a moment, nothing happened, and then a trickle of water fell onto the flames, making them splutter but not go out.
“Not good enough!” he told them. “Come on, what if it were your house on fire?”
And with a rush of sound, a deluge of water poured down, soaking him entirely and putting out the fire. They all stared at him in shock as the water dripped from his clothing and skin.
Given the sheer force, he was pretty sure that it had actually been Simiala who’d provided most of that water. He probably looked like a drowned rat.
“Now you’ve got it!” he told them, smiling at them despite the fact that he was soaking wet. “But that wasn’t very fast. Again!”
