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“Who would I complain to? Highmage Obryn isn’t exactly my biggest fan.”
Oliver’s expression darkened. “Don’t trust Dawson. I can’t believe they even allowed him into Ivercrest.”
“What was his role during the war?” Mira asked.
She suddenly felt like a little girl, listening to her father tell her ghost stories by the fire. Even now, she felt the flames’ shadows grow longer, casting faces on the trees around them.
“That’s just the thing…there is no mention of him at all,” Oliver responded. “He was seventeen when the war began, so he fell under the minor protection act.”
Ella exhaled. “Maybe he didn’t do anything?”
He shook his head. “I doubt that. Rumor has it he used Dark Magic quite freely during the war. The only reason he isn’t in prison, where he belongs, is because his family was able to pay off the right people.”
Dawson’s inhumanly cold eyes made sense now. If Oliver was right and Dawson had used a vast amount of Dark Magic, it might have taken a toll.
Dark Magic always came with a price.
“I know it’s not my business,” Oliver said. “But if you want, I could ask around at the council for more information about Dawson.”
Mira was desperate to learn more about her training/murder investigation partner.
“That would be great.”
Oliver gave a nod. “Consider it done.”
Mira cleared her throat, hoping to switch the topic to something less sinister. “Tell me about Tinley and the White Magic department.”
“Tinley is fantastic,” Ella gushed. “You would have loved her opening lecture on the healing proprieties of fernhelm.”
“Fernhelm produces an acid that burns through skin,” Mira recalled.
“Yes, if you use the entire blade of grass, but if you just use its extract, it can heal internal bleeding in seconds.”
They talked more about the department, and Tinley. Mira was keen on learning more about Oliver’s shielding expertise. He was funny and smart without being arrogant.
“I did some research,” Ella said. “There is nothing prohibiting you from entering Ivercrest again after you graduate from Dark Magic. Technically, you could get a second degree in White Magic.”
She was trying to say a nice thing, but it wasn’t helping. This wasn’t about a degree for Mira.
“And what is the likelihood of that?” Mira asked with too much anger in her voice. “Ivercrest never accepts the same student twice.”
“No, but that’s only a rule for those who didn’t make it past the entrance test. You have already broken records by—”
“Can we not talk about this?”
Ella froze. “Of course.”
“I’m sorry,” Mira quickly added, hating this person she had become. “It’s been a rough few days.”
“I completely understand.” Ella gave a warm smile, a smile that hadn’t changed since they were kids, and it made Mira feel even worse about her reaction.
“Watch it!” a voice erupted behind her.
A shield lit up around Mira, and the drink that would have spilled all over her coat dripped off the glass-like surface of the shield.
“Sorry,” the creator of the shield said as he hung on to his drunken friend. “Did anything get on you?”
“No, your shield caught it all.”
