by Jillian Keep
“I did well enough to stay at least,” he said with a sigh. “I understand you did so well they threw out the test for you,” he remarked with good humour.
“Well, I was busy rescuing you so I couldn’t get those last few hours of study in,” she said dismissively. It was so nice just to be back with him, and she was surprised how much she’d really missed him. Her heart thudded harder in her chest and she had to look away. “Just… talk to me next time, okay? I’ll be honest with you.”
A weight seemed to lift from Mae’lin’s shoulders and he reclined back into their nook with her. “I just didn’t want to be clingy and possessive. It’s not like… we’re dating or anything,” he remarked with a noticeable red tinge to his cheeks.
Her lashes fluttered and she looked down, nodding. “Still. At the very least we could have studied together. Like always.”
“Yeah,” he responded, and his hand came to rest beside hers. “I wouldn’t want to lose that, Firia,” he said softly, a gentle smile on his bashful face for her.
“Me neither,” she agreed breathlessly. Her pinkie finger extended, touching along his so gently, so bashfully, and yet still she had to look away. She’d been so confident back in school, but that was because she simply didn’t care to know anyone. Now she couldn’t do this by herself, and Mae’lin had been such a rock for her to lean on.
Other than when he thought she was seeing Bran…
She knew it must have been hard, and embarrassing for him. To think she was with someone else.
She couldn’t help but forgive him.
Very gradually she felt his larger hand reach over and encompass hers with such a gentle touch. “So our study dates are back on?” he asked with a hopeful smile that lit up his face, making him look so much more striking to her eyes.
She nodded, her motions so slow and careful. She’d never been in a situation quite like this before, and it made her stomach clench and feel so tight and fluttery all at once. “Well… yea. We’ll have an exam coming up before we know it.”
A smirk formed on his face, such an uncharacteristic expression for the pure-of-heart Mae’lin. “There’s always an exam around the corner,” he mused in return, leaning in closer towards her, dipping his head as he spoke lowly to her. “Thank you for forgiving my foolishness, Firia.”
“I don’t want to lose you over something so silly.” It was honest, and she bit her lip as if to silence herself before blurting out more truthfulness.
Mae’lin’s spindly fingers squeezed her hand tighter and the tall elf moved slowly in, closing the gap between them in that quiet moment. Their lips met in such a cursory manner that it barely felt like a kiss at all compared to what Varuj had done in times past. Yet the simple touch was so perfectly Mae’lin, gentle and careful, yet driven by an inner passion that few could appreciate. Other than her.
She swallowed, and for a moment it was almost as if her lips were filled with sensation and devoid of it. She could taste him, lingering there, and she pushed back against him, harder and with all of that anger and tension she felt coiling through her body.
Her enthusiasm surprised him at first, but then he squeezed her hand back and pressed into the embrace tighter, lifting his free hand to touch at her back as they kissed.
It wasn’t the fiery passion with which Firia and Varuj had embraced, but it was its own uniqueness, its own special flavour. She could savour that as they pressed their bodies together in their private nook, feeling the tension melt away over what was and wasn’t between them. Their lips locked together, there seemed so much less to worry about.
Her skin tingled and burned with prickly heat, but she wouldn’t pull away. Varuj had left her, and now there was no question, no guilt. She hadn’t realized just how strongly she’d felt for Varuj until he left.
Yet by the same token, she hadn’t admitted just how much she liked Mae’lin as well. With the demon out of the picture, it was almost as if he’d freed her in a manner, and her tongue gently pressed along the seam of Mae’lin’s lips.
They parted for her, and the curious elf met her tongue back with his own, so moist and warm, yet tentative. He didn’t have the experience of Varuj, and in fact it was his first kiss, his inexperience showing.
Though he stroked along her back and gave a soft little moan of pleasure as they made out. He enjoyed her touch, her press so intensely, and that innocent pleasure eked out of him so plainly.
She felt so in touch with him. With Varuj and Bran she’d always been surprised, confused about their motives. With Mae’lin, she understood them. He was so much easier to read, and her fingers went into his hair, massaging his scalp with her nails.
It was so pleasant, so relaxing, and she shifted closer into him. The heat was growing so intense beneath her robes, but it didn’t matter. She just wanted to feel more of him.
Time was lost, and she had no idea of how long they were locked in their embrace. Mae’lin’s furtive touches, his cautious excitement were such a contrast to what she was used to, though he never seemed to grow tired of it. Of her.
The moment was only spoiled when the sound of books slipping off the shelf onto the floor and feet retreating jarred them from the illusion of privacy, and they jerked away to look around.
Firia’s cheeks were flushed bright red, and she squirmed away from Mae’lin more out of concern for embarrassing him than anything. He tasted so… nice, and she licked over her lips unconsciously.
Though for every bit of embarrassment she showed, Mae’lin seemed to show double. “Sorry for getting carried away,” he murmured to her. “I don’t know what came over me.”
Such innocent words from him, when compared to how she’d seen other men behave.
“It’s fine,” she managed to breath out, fanning herself with her hand as she pushed herself up. Her lips were numbed from the kiss and she kept licking them, hungry for more. “I mean, it was good.” Not fine, Firia. Nothing about that was as benign as fine, she chided herself.
“You… you think?” he asked, his pale cheeks tinted rosy, his lips looking puffy and full from their making out. “I mean, I’m not… I’m new… I just haven’t… before I mean.” He struggled then broke into a soft laughter. “Sorry, I feel so silly. Giddy!”
He was so adorable sometimes. She couldn’t help but smile, her gaze dropping to the floor. Her heart was still racing and she nodded again, feeling quite the same. “Yea. Yea, it was good,” she reiterated.
Chapter 34
The days at Gaul’di-mere Academy were long, yet short. So packed full of activities, so exhausting, but never enough time to do all Firia needed. Certainly not enough to do all of what she wanted.
Though free time was given, those who didn’t use it to hone their abilities and enhance their knowledge sank in the sea of competing sorcerers and sorceresses. So many of them eager to crawl over the backs of the slothful to claim the fruits of success, including appointments to senior instructors and advanced degrees.
So despite their initial interlude, the days went by with little more than time spent studying with Mae’lin. Though she cherished those moments.
“Snap out of it,” said Ala’nase, snapping her fingers quite literally in front of her face. “You’re in a complete trance,” she remarked as they walked along towards the dining hall for dinner.
“Sorry, Ala,” she apologized to her friend for what was surely the dozenth time. She kept drifting off, smiling at those hidden glances and forbidden touches that she and Mae’lin now shared. It was so simple, and so enjoyable, all at once. It didn’t feel complicated or frightening. And despite them being different races, it felt quite right.
“You’re a real aether-case these days,” mused the dark-skinned elven woman as she clutched her own books and walked along. The sun was out in full force and she was enjoying it, “Classes keep getting tougher. There’s no easing up here, is there?” She mused aloud.
Firia began to notice, people seemed to be rushing about a bit more than us
ual.
“There’s always something on the go,” she said with unease. “Why do you think they’re all in a hurry? Did I miss something in my, ah, daze?”
For all her chiding, it seemed Ala’nase was no less lost in her own world, for she hadn’t even noticed the growing furor amongst the people. “Hey,” she remarked with some consternation, “is it just me or are they all heading away from the dining hall?”
Firia had little time to ponder that, for as they were but a few meters shy of the great doors to that hall, they burst open – quite literally – with a shower of splinters sent flying.
Before the two young sorceresses loomed a giant beast, with hooked-talons for claws, long spindly arms, and a beak-like snout. Though far from resembling a bird, the hideous monstrosity loomed over them more like a ravenous bear, and a great, skull splitting shriek tore from its gaping maw.
“What the…” Firia gasped, taking a step back. Her instinct wasn’t to run, though. Somehow it was as if everything at the academy translated into a test, and her first response was to succeed. Completing the game to save Bran and Mae’lin had ignited that love of magic in her once more, and instantly she called Luka to her side.
Normally summoning forth Luka was such a beautiful process, though calling him out so abruptly, it was like a tear in the air as the light burst forth in a crackling fit to form the spectral fox.
It was scarcely a moment too soon, for the great beast lashed out with one of its taloned hands, and Luka dove before Firia to block its blow.
The crackle of light that erupted from the display was both beautiful and startling, and Luka lost form as a fox and spiralled about the creature’s almost human-like hand to fend off those claws. For its part, the beast recoiled, then shook its limb to try and free itself of the tendrils of light that burned and constricted about it.
“We should run!” cried her friend at her side, grasping Firia’s arm and tugging.
But Firia wasn’t going to back down from any test.
“We can do this, Ala!” she shouted, even as she felt that ring begin to tingle as she summoned its powers, falling back on her element. Fire. Everything was weak to fire.
Wasn’t it?
Regardless, the surge of heat that coursed through her set her hair to dancing behind her head. She watched flames lick up around her arm as she conjured forth fire to her palm.
So great was her display it drew the attention of the beast before her, and it lunged forward onto its forelimbs and snapped its beaked maw at her.
It was only the quick thrust of her arm and the surge of flame that thwarted the beast’s ravenous attack. It shrieked in agony as the fire burned its face and set its furry hide to smoldering. Though it was not quite as effective as she had hoped.
As Luka slipped away from the creature to dash to her side again in the form of a fox, the beast retaliated quicker than either of them could hope to counter.
Those giant, raking talons tore through the air faster than anything Firia had experienced, and were enough to easily cleave her in twain.
By sheer good fortune, Ala’nase finished her own spell, and the stone and earth beneath them rose up in a sheer wall that caused the creature’s talons to rake upon it instead of them.
Stone rubble fell about Firia’s feet, the wall that had appeared so mighty shattered to bits and the creature little more than surprised.
Why weren’t the other students helping? They could defeat it if they all joined together…
She ran backwards, but never did she stop conjuring that flame, willing it to burn brighter and hotter than anything she’d worked with before. She’d given it her all to get into the school, but she felt that relaxed calm flood through her.
For the first few months school had seemed overwhelming and complicated. The theories. The studying. Learning a new language.
She wondered if she hadn’t been overzealous thinking this was her calling.
But in the moments that she was truly working magic, bending the world to her will, she knew this was her calling. She’d never felt so passionate about anything in her life.
Well, aside from surviving the day.
“Fight!” she cried desperately to the fleeing students.
Though she was so wrapped up in her own battle, she failed to realize there were no fleeing students left. They were all long gone but for Ala’nase, clinging to her “coattails” as it were.
The great beast was in pursuit, down on all fours as it barreled towards her again and again.
The heat from her flames was so intense, the waves washed over her and sent her robes billowing back behind her, the cloth moulded to her shape.
She continued to build that heat to such an intensity, and Luka bought her time to hone the spell while Ala’nase chipped away at it.
Chunks of stone flew from the ground to peck at the creature, doing it little harm but distracting it and making it wince on occasion. Its great bulk was able to take the brick sized stones like mere annoyances.
Luka darted about so spryly, at times slipping in beneath it when it let its guard down to nip at its great ankles and cause it to stumble.
Upon one of those stumbles, its head impacted the ground, and though it looked ready to lunge forth once more, Firia took her opportunity.
The concentrated fire in her palm glowed blue rather than red, and it struck forth like a missile rather than flame. So powerful was it, that caught in its wake, both her and Ala’nase were knocked back a few feet further by the heat waves as they missed the moment of triumph when flesh and fur were seared and the tower of looming death let forth a mournful cry.
All before swaying and struggling to its clawed hands before slouching forth and collapsing in heavy, laboured breathing.
Firia didn’t take the time to celebrate, though. Instead she began conjuring again, feeling that magical ring burn her finger, but she suppressed it. She wouldn’t be caught off guard.
“Where are the professors?!”
She didn’t need to wait long for an answer, for Ala’nase pointed to the side, and right there was a familiar sight.
Several instructors rushed forward, looking surprised. Amongst them she recognized the haughty elf who had nearly cost her admission to the academy, Gway’lin and the old human who had stood up for her.
“Petulant child!” cried professor Yae’ra, the one who had tried to steal her dream. “Why did you take on an aviard beast instead of fleeing?!”
The looks upon their faces were a mix. Some aghast like professor Yae’ra, others shocked, while the two most important to her were quite different. The old wizard looked impressed beneath his beard, while Gway’lin looked equal parts frightful and joyful. For her.
She gasped and let the flame dissipate, looking to the fallen beast. “I couldn’t run! It was… instinct.” Her heart was thudding so heavily, and with the three of them staring at her suddenly she did want to flee. From them.
Ala’nase still tugged at her sleeve, as if the two could still simply run off and escape any trouble.
“You are far too inexperienced to take on such a threat by yourselves! The danger you put yourselves and others in by attacking and enraging that thing are–”
Gway’lin stepped out in front. “You both are unhurt, I trust?” he asked with concern, his melodic voice so heavenly as he looked to Firia with those wide, round blue eyes of his.
“I think so, and to be fair, sir, it was kind of already enraged when it burst through the doors and started trying to attack us…” Her voice kept getting softer and softer at the attention, and she moved a bit closer to her friend.
Maybe Ala knew of a spell that would let the ground swallow them up.
The other professors moved to contain the still-breathing creature, but she retained the attention of those three.
“For this outrage you’ll both be–”
“Given a special reward,” interrupted the aged human, arms folded across his chest.
The other two el
ves looked to him with surprise. “You can’t seriously mean to reward these two for their reckless behaviour?! Think of the example it shall set for the whole of the academy!” cried Yae’ra.
Gway’lin butted in again, “Surely we can handle this in such a way that word does not get out to encourage all the students to tackle such issues beyond their abilities.” He was pleading on their behalf, and his melodic voice was so convincing.
Not, however, to the two powerful sorcerers he contended with.
“It is already too late for that,” intoned the old human whom Firia had thought was on her side. “We tell these students that everything is a test here. That they must solve the many puzzles we put before them to succeed.” The wizened wizard arched a brow. “Do we really intend to feign surprise that they take this to heart even in the face of mortal danger?”
“And how could they even be absolutely certain it was mortal danger,” added Gway’lin again. “They may have thought it was merely an apparition. A test!”
“Isn’t it, though?” she asked, her eyes furrowing towards the beast. “I mean… how else did it get in the cafeteria?”
“Of course it’s not!” snapped Yae’ra.
Gway’lin looked to the creature, which the other professors had bound and were in the process of having suspended in the air and taken away. “I’m afraid it wasn’t a test. Not at all. But likely someone at the academy dabbled in powers beyond their ability. It happens from time to time. Despite our best efforts to temper people’s enthusiasm.”
Firia’s eyes widened. Throughout it all she’d half assumed she wasn’t in real danger. That the professors were able to keep this world safe and controlled.
Knowing that wasn’t true made the very real fear chill her spine, and she clutched Ala’s arm tightly. “I.. thought it was just a test. To… see what we’d do in the face of danger, without planning. It all happened so fast, that was just my first… thought.”
“You see?” murmured the aging wizard as he moved forward and watched the giant aviard towed away by the other professors. “You’re free to go, ladies. You’ll receive an appropriate reward later.”
