Page 15 of Lucent Academy 2: Trinity Awakens
I only hoped that Vaerath was right, that there would come a day when I wouldn't have to choose which of those very special men to have by my side.
Chapter 8: Weapons Training
The weeks went by in a flurry of activity. I continued to walk that delicate tightrope between studying and having some semblance of a social life. Both Amber and Oliver helped me to keep my head above water. We were fast approaching the end of the month, and our first magical demonstration would act as a mid-term exam.
In our magical training class, Caleb's students had moved on from creating a small fire in the palm of our hand to a more complex firewave spell where we were required to make a bigger fire and send it out in a half-moon arc toward a target or a group of targets. It had a bigger area of damage but was less destructive than the firebolt spell, the one we would be required to master before the end of term to progress from Iron level magic to Steel.
One of the weapons we were taught to use was the bow and arrow, and after almost a month of training, my form was improving, and I had even managed to hit the target consistently. Miss Sinistra, one of the weapons masters who was an expert sharpshooter, even complimented me on it.
"Well done, Miss Wood!" She said after clapping me on the shoulder. My arrow had found its target squarely in the middle of the painted heart on a strawman. Miss Sinistra was a small woman with honey blonde hair in a short pixie cut. Her nose and chin were sharp and elven-like. She always wore riding leathers that fit her form snugly. At the Academy, she was hands down one of my favorite instructors. Looking at her as I blushed, pleased with her praise despite myself, I wondered for the umpteenth time if she didn't have Fae blood in her lineage. She turned to the rest of the students sitting in a line on the grass,waiting for their turn to shoot at the targets. "Now, you should all take note of Leah's controlled breathing and the way she took a big breath just before lifting the bow and firing her arrow. It was textbook perfect!"
"We should put the Imp there next time, give her something real to shoot at." Someone snickered. I didn't have to look to see that it was Ines. She was loud-whispering to her group of friends. Though she wasn't in the same class as I was when it came to magic lessons—thank the gods—she was still a first-year who had shown an affinity for long-range weapons. So, to my dismay, we had been lumped into the same weapons training class. That was the only drawback of these classes. I glanced over at Seraphina and saw that she had withdrawn into herself, sitting there with tears of rage in her eyes, her mouth clamped shut. Why was she not sticking up for herself? She had no problem making her opinion widely known before. Had the summoning ceremony taken something so vital away from her that she just had to take the abuse? Brambles wasn't even there to comfort her, and she seemed desperately alone.
Some of the other students snickered. Ines always seemed to draw the same crowd wherever she went, cronies who were taken in by her charm and thought themselves better than everyone else. I glanced at her Satyr mate, Rytus, and wondered why a creature from the beautiful Fae Realm Verenestra would have chosen to bond with someone so cruel and unkind.
I sighed and looked at her mocking face, wondering if, for once, I should snap back at her. I was trying to think of something damning and clever to say, but I wasn't the target of her cruelty and was trying to stay out of the drama.
Miss Sinistra's eyes flashed with anger, and she opened her mouth, about to tell Ines off, when someone pointedlycleared their throat. Miss Sinistra flushed and looked uncharacteristically flustered as she stared at the figure who had appeared behind the line of students. "Principal Lucius, ah... What brings you here? I mean, welcome."
I watched Miss Sinistra blush like she was a student herself and realized our weapons master may very well have a crush on our Principal. She was talking very fast, asking the Principal if he wanted to see the progress some of the other students had made in her class. He gave her a dignified smile despite her babbling. "Thank you, Miss, but I wonder if I could borrow Amber for a moment?"
The whole class turned to stare at Amber, who usually didn't draw much attention to herself. She was better than I was at sword fighting, but she had proven time and again to be hopeless at long-range weapons. Still, she attended classes with Miss Sinistra with admirable determination.
"Oh, of course! Amber, dear, you may go with the Principal."
I felt like a statue, watching Amber leave with the Principal. I really hoped she wasn't in trouble. I was also dying to know what the Principal was discussing with her.
"Leah, you may sit down, Hon." Miss Sinistra's gentle nudge pulled me back to the present, and I gave a start.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry."
I went to sit next to the rest of the students. Ines was up next, and I should have derived some pleasure out of seeing her hit the target's stomach instead of its heart, but I barely noticed.
***
"And he introduced me to the master blacksmith, Sir Renny Feujro, who said he'd be happy to teach me how to craft weapons and let me experiment with fusion magic once I'm able."
We were sitting at the lunch table in the great hall. Amber was telling us why Principal Lucius had pulled her out of the weapons training class today.
"Wow, that's brilliant," Oliver said. "Good on you for taking the initiative to ask."
"So, wait, you asked to be allowed to make weapons instead of learning how to use them?" I was amazed at the courage it must have taken for Amber to discuss it with the Principal. I was also excited and happy for her. She was obviously thrilled by the prospect of learning how to forge weapons from a master blacksmith.
"Well, no. I'll still learn how to use them, but once my magical abilities grow past a certain point, I'll be spending more time creating magical weapons. Given who my mate is, the Principal seemed to think it was a good idea. Yes, I went to see him. I've decided that's where I want to focus my studies eventually, and I thought it best to tell him so he can make it happen. He said he'd look into it, and he has. I'm not giving up, I'm just exploring my options and deciding what to focus my own particular gifts on."
I recalled the moment when Amber had first summoned and bonded with her Fire Phoenix mate, Pyrrhus. He had promised to teach her about the fire and the forge. I should have realized she'd want to explore what her particular interests and gifts meant, and considering she was a blacksmith's daughter, it made sense.
"Anyway, it's not going to happen for a while, at least. I'll still be attending the weapons training classes while I hone my magicalabilities. I need to understand how the weapons are used to create them effectively. I can read it in a book, but seeing it done is the best way to learn."
Oliver nodded and seemed to think it was reasonable. Amber smiled at me reassuringly. I leaned over, and we hugged.
"Don't worry, we'll still be in the same classes for a while yet."
I pulled away from her, and we all stood up. "This is great for you. Don't worry about me." I'd miss her, of course, if she no longer attended the weapons training classes, but this was so much more important. "Have you told Pyrrhus yet? I bet he'll be pleased."
The three of us walked outside into the gardens. We had a few minutes left before our next classes.
"Well, no. I wanted to summon him now to tell him."
