Every first-year student received two messages in their crystals that morning, less than an hour before the event began. The first one informed their class representatives of each Challenge. The second, the time and place of each event.
“Hey, this is pretty good, no?” Jaya’s voice carried just a hint of uncertainty, the blue eyes going back and forth between his crystal and us.
“I mean, yes, but…Vex…”
Though the girl had been overjoyed when she first went through the list, she soon shifted toward me, a pained expression.
Regardless, I was satisfied.
Ceres and Liber got all the Challenges they wanted, yet I didn’t get picked for Practical Flight. Regardless, I would be a representative for three Challenges for my class, and that could give me plenty points already. After all, my true goal was not the Practical Flight Challenge—
But Ergos’ Royale Rush race.
“It’s fine. Actually, this works better for me.”
Ceres frowned, something in her voice telling me she didn’t quite believe my words. “But, didn’t you want to compete as well? You were training so much to join the Rush…won’t this get in the way?”
I glanced at my crystal, reading the contents of a third message. A message all sophomores had received.
And it turned out Director Heimdal was even more sly than I assumed.
Not only would the Strategical Flight Challenge happen in half an hour, it would end right before History—which would be held in a different building.
If that man wants to play games, I will amuse him then.
I will show him all that I’m worth.
“Strategical Flight will actually give me more points, since it’s a sophomore’s class and I’m aiming for first place. There’s also the chance of my name getting drawn for the celebratory races.”
While Ceres widened her eyes, as if she had forgotten about the draws, a dry chuckle left Liber’s lips.
“You sure enjoy relying on luck. Ever crossed your mind it can run out at some point?”
My eyes locked on his, the smile stretching across my face. “I don’t need luck this time. If I get to participate in these races, it’ll be like a nice bonus.”
While the celebratory races wouldn’t contribute much to our final scores, they were a great opportunity for students to find sponsors and internships. So they were definitely worth it, but the rosters were decided by draws that happened throughout the day. If a student happened to be in a Challenge when their name got drawn, though, they could lose their spot.
So in the end, it was truly all about luck.
The boy crossed his arms, his gaze sharper. “If your skills matched your confidence, you would replace Alantra Harris in a heartbeat.”
In a blink my smile was gone, a sour bitterness spreading on my tongue. Averting my eyes, I glanced at my crystal, checking the time.
“I will watch your race if I can—I need to catch the next carriage.”
“Good luck, Vex!” Jaya and Ceres spoke at the same time, yet by the time they did, I had already turned my back.
My heart kept racing. My hands were cold.
There was no trickery. No unnecessary complications. All I had to do was place first. That was all.
I’m living as Vex now…but I was Jackal. All his races, his glory, his experiences and knowledge, they are mine.
I can do this. No, I will do this. There is no reason I can’t.
“Given your confidence in the matter, I believe this is nothing for you to worry about, yes?”
Though Heimdal von Tosell’s voice echoed in my head, it was the man’s gaze that haunted me. Sent chills crawling down my spine, made my heart fail a few beats before it continued to race. There was no doubt in my mind that Ergos’ director would expel me unless I ranked first in that Challenge. Yet those eyes…
They made me believe that man would keep testing me even after closing Ergos’ doors in my face.
From afar, the carriage approached, pushed by a couple of saurus—creatures firstly created by using dragon genes. Although a “human creation”, they were seen as dragons’ distant cousins. Shorter limbs, scales, horns, sharp teeth, yet no tails. Their sizes were vastly smaller, yet they were still bigger and stronger than any horse.
I recalled how decades ago Ergos made the news by announcing they would be adopting saurus as the academy’s main form of transport. Many families and supporters argued how unicorns would fit Ergos’ image better, while others argued why horses couldn’t be used. If memory wasn’t failing me, the director at the time shut everyone with a single statement, one that made headlines in the entire kingdom.
“Ergos’ students deserve more than mere horses, yet the thought of majestic creatures such as unicorns being bothered as beasts of burden is deeply upsetting. Certainly, we all agree.”
…made me wonder sometimes if Ergos’ haughtiness was formed along the years, or if it was present right from its beginning.
As the carriage stopped in its designated spot, a couple of students climbed first. Carriages were big enough to carry around fourteen students, and usually they were packed. Yet maybe because I was a first-year going to a building mostly used by sophomores, the thing was almost empty. After I went to the back, someone sat right by my side, when there were still seats vacant.
At first I was simply going to ignore them, not even bothering to look. Then I recognized the journal tucked under their arm.
“…are you following me, now?”
There was a soft scoff. “You think you’re important enough for me to do that? I have better things to do with my time.”
I blinked, turning to the boy. “Then why are you here? Your only Challenge today is Practical Flight, and it’s hours from now.”
Liber was silent at first, his eyes shifting toward the window. For a couple minutes, after the carriage departed, there was no reply. No reaction.
“Are you trying to prove something?”
His words confused me. Yet through the window’s reflection, I could see the strain in the boy’s eyes. The way his fingers gripped his clothes a bit more tightly.
The laugh almost escaped me as I spoke. “Who did you hear it from? Professor Bel wouldn’t care, and I doubt many people know. Was it Morr?”
“It doesn’t matter—I still think you are being stupid.”
A grin filled my lips despite myself. “Are you saying this as my coach?”
“No. I’m saying as someone who has an actual functioning brain.” That was a sharpness I hadn’t listen in a long time, coming from his voice. A dry and merciless tone, followed by a gelid intensity that sent shivers down my spine.
Why is he mad?
In that moment, Liber turned to me again and met my gaze, his face almost a blank canvas.
Almost.
“You didn’t answer my question. Are you actually trying to prove something?”
His words stole any smile and chuckle that could come forth from me, making my heart tighten instead. I averted my eyes, clenched my fists for a second.
…in this whole academy, Liber was the only.
“You didn’t forget, did you? The reason I’m here.”
He was the only one who knew how utterly shattered Alantra Harris left Jackal’s mask—how much that mask had meant to me. Its weight, its power.
Liber narrowed his eyes, something dark crossing his eyes. “As if I could ever forget—I busted my ass training you.”
“Then you know exactly what I’m trying to prove.” My gaze met his, the words burning quietly in my throat as I spoke. “You, above everyone else, know exactly why I’m doing this.”
“All I know is how you are doing your best to test your luck.”
At first, I wanted to match the faint anger in his voice. Throw some of that sarcasm and mockery back at him. Yet I could see it. Where those feelings were coming from. And if there was a sight I could never get tired of…
…a worrying Emrys.
I let out a soft sigh, resting my head on the seat before shifting my eyes to the boy again. A faint smile touched my lips as the words left me like whispers.
“Why? Are you saying you don’t think I’m good enough, after working together for so many years? I’m hurt.”
For a split second, disbelief flooded the boy’s gray eyes. Then it was gone just as fast, the boy turning away his head to face the window again.
“This is exactly why I’m here. They allow bystanders to watch the Challenge—might as well make sure you won’t embarrass yourself and me. If you lose to a bunch of students, after everything you’ve done…I’m never teaching you a single thing again.”
Though I tried to stop it, the laugh made its way out all the same. Its sound, albeit weak, was light.
“Very well. I guess it’s only fair.”
Light enough to lessen the pressure I had been feeling in my heart.
The second I saw that door, a chill ran down my spine.
“Once your name is called, you may enter the room.”
Because it was almost identical to the Iron Drill Cell’s.
Sure, it had been a long, long time since I had the displeasure of “training” with the metal dragon. Yet the memory—the humiliation—of having Belenus Kairon sneering at me as I struggled to fly with a machine used mostly to train children…
It left me, somewhat, emotionally scarred,
“No personal objects of any kind are allowed. You may leave your personal crystals in a designated locker and retrieve them before leaving the building.”
I didn’t know from where Professor Morr would be watching the students, yet I was somewhat relieved he was nowhere near my line of sight. It was annoying enough to have the sophomores whispering and mumbling among themselves while glancing at me—I didn’t want to overhear them questioning Professor Tal.
There would be three “batches”, since the room could only take up to forty students and there were a bit more than a hundred. How exactly the Challenge would take place, I didn’t know. I had some ideas, considering the type of alchemy and materials Ergos usually used, yet I couldn’t be certain. There was no information about the previous Challenges, and I refused to ask Professor Morr.
As time passed, and the names for the following batch were called, more and more I kept anticipating to hear mine. To be, at last, done with all that waiting.
Yet seeing I didn’t get called for the first batch…I hope they will at least call me for the second one.
“I don’t think you will be called for the next batch.”
The voice reached me from my right—one I hoped I wouldn’t have to hear, yet that I was fully aware of it.
One accompanied by a scent that was far too sweet to be comforting.
“Director von Tosell will be trying to make things as complicated for you as possible. It wouldn’t surprise me if your tasks were different from the rest, or tailored for you.” Alantra spoke without ever meeting my gaze, her voice poised and calm.
In theory, the Challenge’s duration was one hour. Yet since there were three batches, the sooner a student was called, the earlier they were able to leave. Since I had History right after the last one, the best for me was to be called as soon as possible.
“Well, that’s obvious. Only an idiot wouldn’t see it.” Though, apparently, I was foolish enough to hope for the opposite.
“If you are aware, that is good. Although I hope you won’t let the pressure affect you.” Were it not for the lack of flare in her eyes and the nonchalant tone in her voice, I could assume she was trying to insult me at least to some extent. “It wouldn’t be the first time a student lost to Ergos’ ideals…yet it would sadden me if it happened to you.”
It was the genuine and almost too innocent tone in Alantra’s voice that forced me to turn. I had chosen to sit next to her. While most students from her year avoided her, me—an unknown first-year—decided to sit exactly at her side. Knowingly. Intentionally. For I could not spend the next years of my academic years dreading her very sight, each small interaction.
And while I didn’t regret my choice, it certainly didn’t make me feel happy.
“Why would you even care?” There was a hint of frustration—of anger—I didn’t hide well. Even when most of my words echoed with confusion and perplexity, there was a burning I couldn’t pull away.
Whether Alantra Harris noticed or not, she didn’t show. Didn’t even blink, her eyes continuing to trail through the open book in her hands.
“‘Some days, the greatest contradictions we decide to carry come from our own hearts, and what bleak days are those’. Sadly, though I don’t particularly mind sharing this, we are not in a relationship where you would be privy to this information.”
I had to force the laugh to crawl back down my burning throat. “But we have one where you ‘care’ about my future here?”
“Since it concerns my future as well, yes.”
My eyes blinked a few times, my brain processing her words.
For all the gods, stars, and whatever bullshit is out there—I swear I cannot even begin to understand this woman’s mind.
If she weren’t the Alantra Harris, I would recommend her a physician to evaluate her brain. Maybe even an alchemist.
“Shouldn’t you try to bring me down? I’ll be ruining your perfect score history by ranking first.”
What surprised me the most about her reaction was not the fact it was a chuckle, but by how pleasant and delighted the sound was. As her eyes shifted to meet mine, there was a faint hint of amusement in her face.
“If that is the price, then I will gladly pay it.”
“Vlaston Class V-38, Miss Alantra Harris.”
As her name was spoken, the woman closed her book and stood up almost without making a sound. Before she turned away, however, she met my gaze one last time. “I will be rooting for you, Vex.”
I don’t need you to “root for me”.
The childish words almost left my mouth, their tone petulant as it could be. Yet as I watched the timer begin for the second batch, more than humiliation or frustration for having Alantra bloody Harris, out of all people, cheering for me…
…there was the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing why she was doing so. Why she decided to bet on me, why she didn’t want me to be expelled, why she continued to give me the time of her day when I was so insanely behind her in every way.
“For a new student to be approved from the waiting list, it had to be unanimous.”
Right then, a memory came to surface. Perhaps because the room’s door was so similar to the Iron Drill Cell. Perhaps because no matter what I did, I couldn’t shake that uncomfortable feeling. Perhaps because my own mind wanted to sabotage me in that moment.
“Someone pleaded with the director to give you a chance.”
Regardless of the reason, Belenus Kairon’s words echoed in my head. Yet while back then they had filled me with nothing but confusion and shock, this time there was only dread.
An undeniable terror that sent shivers down my spine at the mere thought of a possibility becoming the truth.
A shaken laugh escaped my lips as I held my hands, never even giving them the chance to tremble.
“She wouldn’t be there. It couldn’t be her. Never.”
The whispered words lacked strength. Conviction. And for the remaining time before my name was finally called, rather than worrying and letting my heart become unsettled with a task that could get me expelled, I spent my time reassuring myself.
Until I could firmly state that I did not believe in that dreadful possibility.
Winter