Soul Fire (23 page)

“They’ll banish you, Sky, like they did Lena! Do you
want to go back to Ar Cena? You’ll never see him again.
And how do you think he’s felt, watching you and Dustin?
He did well to hide his feelings for you, to pretend that he
almost
hated
you. Phoenix knows the stakes.”
“It will never come to light, like it did with you. I can
hide my feelings, and hope like hell they go away.” I
snapped, reddening as he mentioned Dustin.
“It will never go away!” He yelled back. “It’s always the
students with the green eyes. Always.”
I suddenly remembered how cold Netalia had always
been towards me.
“As soon as Netalia saw the colour of your eyes, you
and Phoenix were put on watch. You have Iain himself
watching you! I’m supposed to be as well, but they know I
don’t agree with this law. They question me every few
weeks, and I always give them the same report.”
He shuffled through some papers on his desk.
“These are the orders I’ve been issued with.”
He handed me a piece of paper. I read it quickly. It
stated that if I began to show any romantic feelings for
Phoenix or vice versa, we were to be brought before Iain
and questioned.
“I’ve been living in a trap this whole time?” I asked
quietly.
“Yes. Though everyone hoped the curse might be
lifted,” he eyed me off, somewhat disappointedly.
“Though, it appears not.”
I threw the paper back onto his desk.
“How many times has…
this
happened before?” I
demanded.
“A few times in the past three centuries, though only
two of notable mention. That shade of green doesn’t come
up very often, but we’re wary when it does.”
I paced the room.
“Were you ever going to tell me this?” I asked.
Jett shook his head, and I resumed pacing. It made
sense.
“Phoenix knows all of this too, doesn’t he?” It wasn’t
really a question.
“Yes,” Jett said reluctantly.
I left then, quickly, my heart hammering. I needed to
get back to my room before anyone saw me.
I wasn’t so lucky on this trip, however. I had just set
foot on the base of the stairs when someone started
coming down them.
“You,” Eleanora said dangerously, her violet eyes
flashing. “You disappear with him for three days and
when he comes back he breaks up with me,” she
descended the stairs and I stepped back. “Did you really
think I wouldn’t notice?”
“I had nothing to do with it,” I said, standing my
ground now. She reached the bottom of the stairs but kept
advancing. “If you must know, I tried to convince him to
prolong his relationship with you. Obviously it didn’t
work, but still. The thought that counts and all that.”
Violet fire began to flicker along her arms. I summoned
my own magic to my veins, but kept it hidden. I didn’t
want to provoke her now that I knew I was being
watched.
“Sky!” Dena and Theresa rounded the corner and
stopped dead when they saw Eleanora with the violet
flames curling around her.
“Protected by your friends?” she asked with a smirk,
and I felt anger flash through my veins, flush with the
magic I was beginning to summon closer and closer to the
surface.
“I don’t need protection,” I snapped, my emotions still
riding high after my conversation with Jett. “I don’t know
if you’ve forgotten, but it’s been a long time since we
fought. I’m a lot better now.”
“Last time we fought you ended up with a whip weal
across the face,” she reminded me, hatred making her
ugly. “Don’t tempt me to do it again.”
It was an invitation. I flared magic into both of my
hands as she summoned her fire whip.
“Guys, stop!” Theresa yelled from the sidelines, but
neither of us paid her any attention.
“You think you’re so strong,” Eleanora said, uncurling
the whip. “Killing the Du’rangor was a fluke. You had no
idea what you were doing.”
“But I do now,” I replied, quietly, dangerously. “You
know I’ve killed two now? I sank a sword into the head of
another one. I know exactly what to do now.”
Surprise registered in a brief flicker, but then it was
replaced by malice.
“Oh you’re cute. You think you’re a big scary mage.
You’ve been here for what, a year? I’ve grown up here. I
know this world. And I know you don’t belong.”
That hurt. I wished desperately for my twin swords.
“Unlike you, I’ve lived in both worlds. That’s
something you’ll never get to experience and I feel sorry
for you for that.”
“Don’t pity me!” she screeched. “You of all people do
not get to pity me.”
“But I do!” I replied, laughing, and it was only half
hysterical. This was all the things I’d wanted to say to her,
everything that I had pent up inside me. Every time we’d
run the obstacle course together, when she’d broken my
arm by scaring Echo; it certainly wasn’t about her
parading Phoenix around like some kind of trophy... not at
all. “You had one of the most powerful mages in the
Academy and you lost him,” I leant forwards, almost
shouting in her face. “He doesn’t want you!”
The whip lashed through the air as she screamed
something at me. I dodged it easily, winding my own fire
around my hands.
“Sloppy,” I tutted. “Very sloppy.”
She screeched and lashed out at me again. More people
were beginning to gather now, but they were staying well
out of the reach of her whip.
“Oh c’mon,” I rolled my eyes as the whip hit the
flagstones where I’d been only a moment ago. “Seriously?
Have you not practiced at all since last time?”
She brought the whip down again. Timing it perfectly,
I caught it in one fire covered hand, grabbing a hold of it
and yanking it, pulling her closer.
“I’ve learnt a few tricks,” I confessed, and pulled my
dagger from my belt sheath, lengthening it with the same
charm as I’d used on the Paw Islands and bringing it
forward in the same movement.
I severed the fire whip as she screamed, and one of my
hunches was proved correct; she was also controlling the
whip with her mind. I’d caused her physical pain by
severing that link.
“And that just makes it worse,” I told her
disapprovingly as she fell to the floor from the pain.
“Because you should have been better at that.”
She pounded a fist against the floor, and what I thought
had been an act of frustration turned out to be one of
violence as an electric charge rolled towards me. I tried to
block it, but I’d reacted too slowly. The charge snapped up
through my body, reminiscent of the obstacle course nets.
I gasped as the pain released me, more angry with
myself than hurt. She’d used my cockiness to her
advantage.
“That’s a new one,” I told her, trying to keep the gruff
admiration of out my voice.
“I invented it,” she told me curtly, climbing to her feet.
“So you couldn’t possibly have seen it coming.”
That was happening to me a lot lately. We both took up
stances, ready to react if the other one moved. I held my
small sword at the ready, though I wasn’t quite sure what
to do with it; I didn’t really want to seriously injure her.
A hush rolled through the crowd as one of the
professor’s approached. Not wanting detention again, I
shrunk the knife and slipped it back into my belt sheath.
The crowd parted to let Netalia through, and I was sorely
tempted to pull the sword back out.
“What’s going on here?” she asked, beadily eyeing us
both off.
“We were having a conversation,” Eleanora said
immediately, flipping her long hair. “Sky is ignorant.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes.
“I am. She was helping me learn some new moves,” I
told Netalia, lying almost as easily as Petre did.
Netalia looked at us, trying to figure us out. It was
pretty obvious that we’d been fighting, but it wasn’t
obvious if the fighting had indeed been educational. She
sniffed, making up her mind.
“Very well,” she said stiffly. “But please refrain from
doing so in the castle from now on. The grounds or the
practice hall serve that purpose, not the corridors.”
She continued on past everyone and slowly the crowd
dispersed. Eleanora fixed me with a glare as though trying
to figure me out, but then dismissed it and marched off
past me.
“What the hell was that about?” Theresa asked,
watching the blonde woman stalk off.
“Phoenix broke up with her and she thinks I had
something to do with it,” I replied, shrugging.
“Did you?” Dena asked after a second.
“No,” I said, a little too fast. “But that reminds me... can
I meet you guys in a little while?”
“Sure,” Dena said, looking out the corner of her eye at
Theresa. “We were heading to the games room.”
“I’ll meet you there soon.” I said, and began to walk up
the stairs.
“Sky!” I turned around and faced Dena again. “Don’t do
anything... hasty.”
I nodded and continued on my way. I knocked on the
door and stood waiting, my heart in my throat. I had
almost lost my resolve completely when Dustin opened
his door.
“Sky… I guess I’ve been expecting this.”
“Can I come in?” I looked up at him. “Please?”
“Sure,” he stepped back, allowing me into his room. “To
what do I owe the pleasure?” the pleasant tone in his voice
was very forced.
I got to the middle of his room and turned around, and
my expression made him stop smiling.
“Though I get the impression this isn’t going to be a
pleasure,” he said quietly, not looking at me as he closed
the door.
“Dustin,” I began. “I’m really sorry. I’ve made up my
mind.”
He looked up at me sadly.
“Is there a reason why?”
I wrung my hands, biting my lip.
“I just have a feeling things are about to get really
complicated soon,” I said quietly.
“You don’t like me anymore, do you?”
My heart seemed to be gripped in a vice.
“Dustin, I’m sorry-”
“Don’t be,” he said, holding his hands out towards me.
“I’m sadder right now than I’ve been in a long time, but
please don’t be sorry.”
He hugged me, and I gripped him tightly.
“I am sorry, though, you know,” I said, sniffing up at
him through my tears.
“Me too,” he replied, and kissed the top of my head.
We stood that way for a long time, clinging to each
other. The awful feeling was back but I knew it’d be worse
to drag it out. It would be painful for both of us.
“Are we still friends?” I asked a little while later.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said, stepping
back from me, his eyes bright.
“Thank you... for understanding. I’m sorry it couldn’t
work out between us, Dustin.”
“I know.”
I left him alone and walked quickly back to my room.
Despite what Dena and Theresa had said, I was in no
mood to join them in the games room. I sat on my bed,
resting my chin on the windowsill. Morri flew through
the open window to perch on my head.
“Hello,” I greeted him sadly. He peeped and began to
preen my hair. “Long time no see.”
The door opened behind me, and Morri flew to the
person who entered. I didn’t need to turn around to know
that it was Larni; she was the only other person he would
go to apart from Jett, and the only other person who
would enter my room without knocking.
“Are you alright?” she asked quietly, and I shook my
head slowly.
“Dustin and I broke up.”
“Oh,” silence fell, and I knew she didn’t know what to
say.
“I didn’t feel the same way about him anymore,” I said,
turning around and kneeling on my bed.
Larni met my gaze evenly.
“And did someone else take his place?”
Larni was the only one in the castle who could read me
like an open book. Not even Dena knew me as well as
Larni did.
“Yes,” I replied, saving her the trouble of interrogating
me.
“I guess I don’t need to ask who,” she said sternly,
sitting next to me on my bed. It was only then I realised
she wasn’t carrying anything; she’d come on a social visit.
“Remember what being a soul mate means, Sky. You can’t
fall in love with him.”
“And what if it’s too late?” I asked tearfully. “What
happens then, Larni?”
She stroked my hair with shaking fingers.
“Then you try your best to fall out of it,” she replied
unevenly. “You can’t love him, Sky.”
“But I do,” I whispered, tears beginning to fall. “And he
loves me.”
Larni held me as I cried, terrified of myself. When she
left, hours later, I rolled up into a ball on top of my covers
and cried myself to sleep.

The fight with Eleanora had been my last burst of
energy; the next few days passed in a blur. I felt like I was
underwater for a lot of it; someone would talk to me and I
would only hear mumbling. I slept a lot and barely ate,
which worried Larni to no end; she’d seen how much I
could eat. I hardly saw Phoenix, and I felt guilty
remembering the trip, though when I laid down to go to
sleep, I allowed myself a few guilty moments,
remembering the feel of his lips on mine, his hand on my
neck, the feel of his chest under my hand. During those
moments, I wished he was here next to me so that we
could talk and kiss and laugh as freely as we had on the
trip into the mountains.

When Netalia called an emergency meeting with all of
the mages and staff, my heart seemed to shrivel up and
become a pebble in my chest.

This is it, I thought as I dragged my feet to the Main
Hall along with the rest of my classmates. Now I get
banished.

Suddenly the Academy seemed like the most wonderful
place on the planet. As though sensing it was about to be
taken from me, my magic sang in my veins, heightening
every sense. By the time we stepped through the doors to
the Hall, I was about ready to try my luck with sailing to
another country if it meant I could stay in this realm.

We settled on chairs that had been laid out in rows and
waited for Iain to speak.
“I trust that you’ve been working hard on your studies,”
Iain began. He looked strangely untidy, as though he’d
been up all night. “Unfortunately, this meeting is not one
of good faith or wishes. It has come to our attention that
the Academy will be under attack soon.”
“What?” I said in disbelief. Cries echoed throughout the
hall. Way to stir up the general populace, Iain, I thought
bitterly. “Attacked by whom?” I asked Dena, who shook
her head, eyes wide.
“A group of mages from the North-”
“I knew it,” Petre growled on my left, and I ignored
him.
“- have made their demands clear. I tell you this so that
you will be on alert. In the meantime,” he made eye
contact with Phoenix, who was sitting close to the front.
“If you could come with me.”
I stood up when Phoenix did.
“Sky, sit down,” Dena said worriedly, tugging at my
shirt.
“If Phoenix goes, I go,” I told her and began to shuffle
along our row. People murmured to each other as I passed,
but I ignored them and caught up with Phoenix just as he
was about to exit with Netalia and Iain.
“Sky, what are you doing?” he asked in surprise.
“I’m coming with you. You’re my soul mate,” I
reminded him.
“She can come,” Netalia said. “Over here.”
They took us up a flight of stairs to an office that I
assumed was Iain’s. Inside was surprisingly bare except for
the usual furnishings of an office, a sword in its sheath
leaning against the desk and a glass bar on the wall behind
the desk, filled with green pebbles. As I watched, a few of
them shivered like they were contemplating moving, but
the bar stayed perfectly level.
“Phoenix, the mages who made the demands are from
Orthandrell,” Iain said, not wasting any time. “They had
one demand.”
“What was it?” Phoenix asked, and I was the only one
who saw his hand shaking.
“They want us to hand over a student.”
“Which student?” Phoenix asked, but I already knew
the answer.
“You,” Iain said, just as I interrupted.
“No, not happening,” I snapped, stepping up to
Phoenix’s side. “You’re not thinking of answering the
demand?”
“Of course not,” Iain said, his brow furrowing as he
looked at me. “When Phoenix came to this Academy he
entered our service of protection. We have no intentions
of answering the demand.”
Netalia fidgeted, like she wanted to say something, but
Iain glanced at her and she stayed silent.
“Well, what happens then?” I asked. Phoenix seemed to
be struggling with something.
“They’ve made it clear that they’ll come to the
Academy and take him by force.”
“Over my dead body,” I hissed furiously. “Why him,
why Phoenix?”
“Because it’s my father,” Phoenix muttered. “Isn’t it?”
Iain nodded as Netalia said, “yes.”
“Your last foster father,” I breathed. “The letters...”
“He stopped sending them because he gave up. He’s
coming to take me back to the Mountains.”
“Aloysius is an extremely powerful mage,” Iain said,
leaning against the desk and crossing his arms. “We’ve had
dealings with him in the past.”
“What does he want?” I asked, looking from Phoenix to
Iain and back again. “What is so terrible-”
“He wants the magical realm to be for those only of
magical blood,” Phoenix interrupted, meeting my eyes for
the first time. “He believes that humans should never have
been brought here.”
“That’s why you left,” I whispered. “That’s why you
came here.”
“Yes. I didn’t agree with him.”
“Obviously,” I said, smiling just a little, and he smiled
back.
“But I can’t let the Academy be attacked because of
me,” Phoenix said, looking to Iain and Netalia again. “I’ll
go to him.”
“No!” I protested, gripping his arm. “Phoenix, you
can’t-”
“I can,” he replied, peeling my fingers from his arm,
something warning me in the depths of his eyes. I released
him and stepped back. “Iain, it’s my choice.”
“No,” Netalia broke in. “When we took you into the
Academy we promised you protection from him and your
kind. We will honour that agreement.”
“Phoenix,” I pleaded and he looked at me. “Please.”
He looked at me for a long while, and then finally
relented.
“I’m sorry,” was all he said.
“We’ll deal with this,” Iain said, standing up straight.
“We’ve already sent word to Gowar and Abdoor; they will
be on alert but I have a feeling Aloysius will be prepared
for them.”
“He’ll sail around the coast,” Netalia filled in for me.
“And so, the mages from those states will be joining us
here,” Iain looked out the window as though expecting
them already. “This castle was built to hold many more
though; we welcome them.”
So you send for mages from other states, but you won’t
help the people when they call for help or instruct them
to help the impoverished, I thought angrily.
“What about our friends?” I asked, gesturing to the
door. “The other students?”
“They can fight if they wish,” Iain said, holding my
gaze. I shuddered and looked away; it had felt too much
like someone reading my mind. “But we won’t ask them
to.”
“They will anyway,” I said, knowing how indignant
Theresa or Yasmin would be if they missed out on a
confrontation of any kind.
“We must head back downstairs,” Netalia said. “Please
return to your rooms.”
They left, leaving us alone in Iain’s office. Against my
better judgement I flew to Phoenix and buried my face in
his shoulder. He held me tightly, resting his chin on my
hair.
“It isn’t fair,” I mumbled into his shirt, gripping
bunches of it between my fingers. “I’ve only just gotten to
know you-”
“This isn’t going to be the end, Sky. It can’t be.” I lifted
my face and met his gaze, then ran my fingers through his
hair.
“Your hair is a lot longer than when we first came
here,” I said quietly, tucking a few strands of it behind his
ear. He watched me carefully, and when I was done, I met
his gaze.
It suddenly struck me how very close we were standing
together. Our noses were almost touching, and if I reached
up on my tippy toes
“You’ll be the death of me,” he said, stepping back.
“Sky, we have to be careful.”
“I know,” I said, my heart pounding. We’d been so
close. “But why you, Phoenix? I don’t mean to sound
insensitive, but are you the only mage in your village?
Aren’t there others that he could... tutor?”
“Of course,” he said, turning away from me and
running his fingers through his hair. “But for some reason
he fixated on me. That’s why I left the village and came
here; he was never going to leave me alone.”
“So now he comes here,” I muttered, looking out of the
window.
“Sky, you can’t fight them. He’ll bring a few of his
friends with him, and they’re prepared to do whatever it
takes to take me back to the Mountains.”
“I’ll be beside you every second of that day,” I said
sternly. “Just try to get rid of me.”