Chapter 3

One year later

NICHOLAS

“Can you fucking stop?” I snapped at Christian who was busy juggling five fireballs in his hand like he was performing for an audience at a circus show. “You’re getting on my nerves.”

You would think he would stay quiet and conserve his energy, like the rest of the class, while we waited for the Professor of Elemental Confrontation to join us.

But Christian was anything but smart.

That and he would do anything to be the center of attention. And unfortunately, as usual, it was working as a couple of people, especially the first-years, were staring at him in awe.

As if he wasn’t just performing an ordinary party trick.

Christian cast me a small glance from the corner of his eye, not even taking a second to pause what he was doing. “When am I not getting on your nerves? Besides, this is fun.”

There was a small smile that stretched his lips that only served to annoy me further.

“Annoying is what it is. And a waste of energy. Don’t be mad when I kick your ass in The Crucible later.”

He snorted. “You can fucking try. Just say you’re jealous that you can’t do what I can do. Everyone knows water mages are inferior to—”

Before he could finish his sentence, I sent a concentrated bubble of water in his direction with a single flick of my hand, and the fire dissipated with a hiss.

I smirked. “You were saying?”

He growled and leveled a glare at me as he crossed his arms. Too bad for him that with his cute, almost cherubic face, and his messy brown hair, I found him about as threatening as I would find a shifter pup. Or a human.

“One of these days, I’m going to put you in your place,” he snarled.

My smile only grew. “You’ve been saying that for years. You never learn. If you ever insinuate that I’m inferior to you again, I’ll show you just how much damage water mages can do.”

He scoffed. “You can’t kill me.”

“Who said anything about killing?”

“Guys, cut it out,” Emily cut in before Christian could argue further. “Stop acting like children.”

All five of us—me, Ingrid, Emily, Christian, and my cousin, Damon—stood together in a corner of the grand hall while we waited for our professor to arrive.

The Crucible was one of my favorite training sessions at Meadows Academy. It was the one time in the week where all the elemental mages, regardless if you were a first-year or a third-year, gathered together.

It was the one place where all mages were tested under pressure, and weaknesses were exposed.

But the really fun part was I got to kick people’s ass and get away with it without it being regarded as bullying.

“It’s not my fault,” Christian said, fiddling with his phone. “Nick never lets me have any breathing space.”

I opened my mouth to counter him, but just then, a movement in the corner of the room captured my attention.

It was him. The one person I couldn’t figure out. The guy I instantly disliked on sight.

Don’t get me wrong, I disliked most people but something about this particular guy fascinated me.

I didn’t know his name, but I’d seen him enough times around the academy for him to be familiar to me.

I couldn’t explain what it was about him. Maybe it was the aura around him, as corny as that was. Maybe it was the fact that there didn’t seem to be any visible magical energy around him compared to most people. Maybe it was this sense of something… eerie and out of place.

He was wearing the same black hoodie that he always seemed to like to wear. I wondered, sometimes, if he had several of the same color or if he just kept wearing the same one.

Underneath the cap of his hoodie, I could see the white strands of his hair peeking through.

Everything about him screamed someone you should stay the hell away from.

His eyes were no exception. Even though I couldn’t see them all the way from here, I knew they were an icy shade of blue, a strange color that only seemed to further highlight just how odd he was.

It was probably weird that I’d paid this much attention to him, but there was something about him that put me on edge and drew me in at the same time.

“What are you looking at?” Before I could answer, Ingrid followed my gaze. “Oh. He’s a very weird guy, isn’t he?”

The rest of my friends also turned to look at the strange guy.

“Oh yeah. Him,” Christian said dismissively, turning back to his phone.

“You know him?” I asked gruffly. “What’s his name?”

He shrugged. “Who knows? Who cares? He’s practically unimportant.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Damon chimed in. “I heard he got into the academy on a merit-based scholarship. Apparently, he has promising talents.”

Emily scoffed. “Promising or not, he can’t be better than a Pureblood. I’m sure Professor Harrows only pitied him because he’s poor and can’t afford an education.”

A sudden, soft gust of wind brushed against my neck and I turned to see the strange guy putting headphones over his ears, shutting out the rest of the world.

I rubbed the back of my neck self-consciously.

Surely he didn’t do that. He didn’t even look at me once.

Stop being delusional, Nicholas.

I was only feeling this way because I was talking about him, which was a sign that I needed to shift my attention away from him.

“Enough talking about him. Christian is right. He’s unimportant.”

Unfortunately, my words fell on deaf ears as my friends kept going like I hadn't spoken.

“I kinda feel sad for him. He doesn’t seem to have any friends,” Ingrid said. “Do you think we should take him in?”

“Absolutely not,” I snapped.

Emily shook her head instantly. “We’re third-years. We don’t mingle with first years.”

“Not to mention he’s a mixed-blood,” Damon added.

I couldn’t help the grimace that instantly pulled on my face. Mixed-bloods were considered one of the lowest in the mage hierarchy. They were only above lowborns.

“He’s a mixed-blood?” I didn’t even try to hide the disgust in my voice.

Damon nodded.

“How do you know?” Christian asked.

Damon shrugged. “I mean, I’m not exactly sure since no one seems to know where he comes from, but those are the rumors flying around. There’s a reason everyone seems to avoid him.”

As if he couldn’t be even more strange and off-putting, he had to be a mixed-blood. An offspring of a mage and a non-mage. 

An abomination, as my father would say.

“This is a further reason why we shouldn’t take him in. He’ll tarnish our reputation,” Christian said.

I nodded. For once, we were on the same page.

Ingrid shifted, looking a little uncomfortable. “But—”

“No buts, Ingrid,” I cut in sharply before she could go on. “We are not a charity group. If he needs friends, he can fucking well make them by himself.”

Before Ingrid could argue further, the door opened and Professor Thornfield entered the hall. 

“Sorry I’m a little late,” she said as she adjusted her glasses. “Let’s get right to work.”

Shortly after that,

I was paired with a fellow third-year fire mage and we sparred for a bit before I started to get bored.

I raised a hand. “Professor?”

Everyone’s attention turned to me.

Professor Thornfield moved toward me. “Is there a problem, Mr. Ashbourne?”

“I just think there’s a way to make this more…entertaining.”

A single eyebrow rose. “Entertaining.”

“Yes. Isn’t the whole point of the Crucible to strengthen our skills? Well, how will we do that if we’re too afraid to challenge someone stronger?”

Murmurs rippled through the room. I couldn’t tell whether they were displeased with my suggestion, or happy about it. To be honest, I didn’t give a fuck.

“Mr. Ashbourne, are you trying to say that there’s a problem with my class? Do you find my class boring?”

I raised my hands in mock surrender. “No, Professor. Believe me, I’m only trying to help. As a third-year, I just feel the younger mages can learn from me. And who knows, I might learn too.”

Professor Thornfield regarded me for a long moment. 

I thought she was going to shut me down but then she sighed. “Very well. I’ll allow it. Who do you want to challenge, Mr. Ashbourne?”

I struggled to contain my smirk as my eyes roved over the crowd. It didn’t take me long to find him. He was in a section of the room facing his training partner, his attention on me like everyone else’s, that damned hoodie still pulled over his head.

I raised a finger slowly to point. “Him.”