Moonveil Academy: Trapped With The Five Kings

Elara:

Now that it was Alaric’s turn to demonstrate his elemental control, I went on full alert. I had learned enough about him over the past few weeks to know that his silence was never a sign that he had given up. If anything, it usually meant he was preparing something far more irritating.

I kept my gaze fixed on him as he leaned back and raised one hand. A faint glow immediately surrounded his fingers, followed by flickering flames that began twisting and weaving through the air between us.

Professor Fenrith watched from the front of the classroom, apparently expecting him to complete the exercise exactly as instructed, while I kept every one of my senses focused on what Alaric was doing.

The flames moved quickly, forming a structure in front of me. It took only a few seconds for the shape to become recognizable, and when the fire finally settled, I found myself staring at what looked like an enormous golden eagle standing upright with its wings spread dramatically. I frowned.

Was that supposed to be me?

Before I could even decide whether I should be offended, the eagle’s head suddenly shifted. Its beak disappeared, its wings folded inward, and the magnificent bird transformed into a tiny, fluffy duckling with an absurdly round body and ridiculously tiny feet.

The classroom exploded.

Laughter erupted from every direction. Some students slapped their desks, others leaned against their friends while trying to catch their breath, and somewhere in the back someone actually whistled.

I stared at the ridiculous duck standing in front of me, my expression slowly becoming flatter and flatter.

Professor Fenrith’s brows drew together, and for once there was genuine irritation in his voice when he addressed Alaric. "Mr. Ravenshade, would you care to explain yourself?"

Alaric didn’t look remotely ashamed. If anything, he looked pleased with himself. He gestured toward the little duck as though he had just presented the greatest work of elemental art in the history of Moonveil.

"The assignment was to create a replica of our partner," he said loudly enough for the entire classroom to hear. "That’s exactly what I did. I created the creature that resembles my partner the most."

More laughter followed, accompanied by another round of whistles. Professor Fenrith immediately told everyone to quiet down, though even he looked as though he was struggling to maintain his patience.

I didn’t say anything. I simply watched Alaric. There was a certain confidence in his eyes that told me he wasn’t finished.

"Of course," he suddenly added, turning his attention toward me, "if everyone wants proof, I can provide that too."

I knew it.

I barely had enough time to tense before heat brushed against my face. My braid, which rested over my shoulder and fell down the front of my uniform, suddenly erupted into flames.

A sharp gasp escaped someone nearby, followed by an eruption of laughter that was even louder than before. The flames crawled along the silver-highlighted strands without burning them, their orange glow reflecting against the polished surface of the desks. The warmth touched my cheek, but there was no pain.

I could practically hear the laughter surrounding me, and yet I remained completely still. I didn’t scream. I didn’t jump. I didn’t panic. I simply stared at the flames dancing through my hair.

The laughter gradually died, as one by one the students realized I wasn’t giving them the reaction they had expected. The classroom became strangely quiet. Even Professor Fenrith had stopped speaking.

I slowly lifted my fingers toward my braid and touched the burning strands. Something strange happened the instant my fingertips brushed against the flames. A familiar warmth stirred deep inside me, almost like an echo responding to the fire. The flames flickered. For one brief second, I wondered whether I had done something. Then the fire vanished completely.

I looked at my perfectly intact braid, with no idea whether I had actually dispelled the flames or whether Alaric had simply released the spell, but I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of knowing that. Instead, I lifted my gaze toward him and smiled.

"I heard your primary element was fire."

His expression changed slightly.

I ran my fingers through my braid as though checking whether there was even a trace of damage. "But I’m starting to think fire isn’t actually your strongest ability. Without illusion, you barely seem capable of doing anything impressive."

The class became dead silent.

I continued before he could interrupt. "And considering you just spent half the class creating a duck and setting my hair on fire to prove how powerful you are..." I tilted my head. "Maybe you should return to primary school with me. You might finally learn something useful there."

The gasps that followed was almost beautiful.

Alaric’s face darkened so quickly that I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

He was on his feet in an instant. His chair scraped violently against the floor as he crossed the short space between us, stopping so close that I had to tilt my head back slightly to look at him. His eyes were blazing with fury. His hand curled into a fist at his side as he lowered his voice.

"You really have no idea when to-"

"Enough." Professor Fenrith’s voice cut through the tension.

Alaric turned toward him with clenched jaw. Professor Fenrith had finally put down his book, his expression carrying the exhaustion of a teacher whose patience had been tested too many times in a single lesson. "The exercise is over. Return to your seat, Mr. Ravenshade."

Alaric didn’t move immediately. His gaze remained fixed on me. There was no humor left in his expression now. No teasing. No smirk. Only a promise of retaliation that didn’t need to be spoken aloud.

I held his gaze anyway.

Finally, he stepped back. But instead of returning to his seat, he grabbed his bag from beside the desk and slung it over his shoulder.

Professor Fenrith frowned. "You still have ten minutes remaining."

"I have lost interest." He said it without even looking at the professor. Then his eyes returned to me one final time.

I could practically feel the threat behind that stare. But I refused to look away.

Alaric walked toward the classroom door and disappeared through it without another word.

The door closed behind him.

For several seconds, nobody spoke. Then Professor Fenrith sighed deeply and announced, "Minus ten credits for Mr. Ravenshade."

I slowly sat down, feeling slightly happy after hearing that.

My heart was beating harder than it should have been, but I kept my expression calm.

I had no idea what Alaric planned to do next. But one thing was becoming increasingly clear. At Moonveil Academy, every time I stood up for myself, I seemed to earn another enemy.

And somehow, I was beginning to think I didn’t care anymore.

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