Aralyn's POV
I had barely caught my breath after leaving Professor Ilven's class, and already, I was dreading what came next.
Elyra walked a few paces ahead of me, and I hurried to catch up, my arms full with the books I had managed to collect from one of the smaller libraries that Elyra pointed out a few minutes ago, even though I still had no clue at all what exactly I was supposed to be doing with them or how helpful they were going to be. The hallway was quieter now, most of the students having already scattered to their next classes. My feet ached, and I already had a small blister forming at the back of my ankle from these stiff boots they'd given me when I arrived.
"What's the next class?" I asked Elyra, trying to sound casual. "Please don't tell me it's another one where they'll make me stand in front of everyone and fail miserably at magic again."
She laughed softly, not unkindly. "No, no. You're safe from that for now, I think. This one's a bit easier—at least, the practical part is—but just so you know, the professor… isn't exactly the warmest."
I raised a brow at that. "What do you mean by "not warm?" Strict? Mean? Or just likes to throw magic spells at people who breathe too loudly?"
Elyra gave me a small smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Let's just say she has a reputation for being especially hard on new students."
"Awesome," I mumbled. "Can't wait to meet her."
But I didn't get a chance to ask anything else.
Before I could take another step, the atmosphere shifted around us.
It was so fast I didn't even notice they'd surrounded us. One second, the hallway was clear, and the next, we were boxed in. Three boys and two girls, each of them looking like they had no intention of letting us pass, and they weren't smiling. They just stood there, crowding in close, making it clear they had a purpose, and we were it.
I recognized them instantly. I'd seen them earlier in class with Professor Ilven. One of the girls had bright orange hair that looked like fire had kissed every strand. She'd shown off her magic by conjuring flames in the shape of a snake, and the class had practically gasped in admiration.
I remembered the others too, the tall boy with silver piercings, the lean one with icy blue eyes, and the dark-haired girl who hadn't needed to do anything flashy because everyone already seemed to know her name.
Elyra's entire body shifted, her stance growing sharp. Her voice came out low and firm. "What do you want?"
The taller one of the boys stepped forward, his lip curling slightly. "Stay out of this, bark-eared mutt," he snapped, his lip curling. "We're not here for you."
My jaw clenched at the way he dismissed her so easily, but Elyra didn't even flinch. She stood her ground like she was used to being spoken to that way.
"We're here for her," he added, his gaze turning to me like I was some kind of rotting fruit on display.
I blinked, caught off guard. "Me?"
"You deaf too?" the orange-haired girl added, folding her arms. "You're the only human walking these halls right now like you belong."
I swallowed, shifting my books in my arms, trying to keep my voice even. "What do you want from me?"
The last thing I needed was to show them I was scared, but my stomach was churning. My heart had started pounding faster, loud enough that I could hear it in my ears. I wasn't some helpless weakling, I never had been, but these people? They could do magic. They could literally burn me alive, freeze me, hex me, or, God knows what else, and I wouldn't even be able to lift a finger to stop them.
The tall one with the piercings stepped closer. He had a cruel kind of smile. "We just want to understand what you are. You walk in here, no magic, no sigil, and somehow, the High Priestess bends over backwards to let you in?"
"She didn't bend over backwards," I said quietly. "And for your information, I didn't ask to be here."
"Exactly," the silver-eyed boy cut in. "That's what makes it worse."
I looked at him. "I don't get it. Are you mad at me for being recruited or mad at me for not wanting to be here?"
That seemed to catch him off guard, but only for a second. Then his expression darkened again.
"You don't get to come into our academy, take a spot that could've gone to someone worthy, and then act like you're above it all," said the dark-haired girl coldly. "You've made it pretty clear you're not interested in learning anything here."
I blinked again, feeling like my brain couldn't catch up fast enough. "I—I don't understand. Today was literally my first real day here, and I barely even know where anything is. So, don't you think it's a little presumptuous of you to act like I don't want to be here or learn anything?"
That came out louder than I expected. My face flushed, but I didn't stop. "If I really do have magic like you all say I'm supposed to, then of course I'd want to be here. Who wouldn't?"
But before I could even finish, the orange-haired girl came even closer, her expression twisted with something close to disgust.
"Well, for your information," she snapped, "we don't want you to be here. People like you don't belong at Shadowvale. You have nothing to offer us or this academy. You're a fraud, a phony, and a danger to everything this place stands for."
I felt the words hit like slaps to the face. I opened my mouth to respond, to say that maybe the problem was them not being able to accept that someone human was here, but Elyra moved faster.
"That's enough, Naida," she said, her voice cold.
She turned her sharp gaze on each of them. "Naida, Kyel, Thorne, Lys, and you, Maren. You all know damn well that Aralyn was brought here by the High Priestess herself. If you have a problem with that, then take it up with the Priestess. Not her."
They all stiffened slightly at Elyra's words, and I noticed it, the way their eyes narrowed, but no one denied what she said. It was the first time I felt that maybe being brought here by the High Priestess meant something real. Something they couldn't argue with.
But that didn't stop the tall boy, Kyel, I guessed, from snapping right back.
"And what, you think you can speak for the Priestess now?" he sneered. "Did your little performance in class give you that much confidence, elf?"
Elyra didn't back down. "No, but someone has to stop you before you start tossing flames around like children throwing tantrums."
His eyes darkened, and for a moment, I thought he might actually strike her, but then, he just laughed.
"Don't forget your place, Elyra," he said. "Just because you finally did something right in class for the first time in your life doesn't mean you've earned the right to talk back to me."
Elyra didn't respond to that, but I saw her jaw tighten. Her hands were clenched at her sides, and I, standing there in the middle of it all, felt smaller than ever. My chest ached, and my throat burned, but I couldn't afford to show just how much I was panicking in front of them.
"I didn't come here to start trouble," I said quietly. "And I didn't come here pretending to be anything I'm not. I know I'm human, and I know I'm not like you, but again, I didn't ask to be dragged here, and I certainly don't want to be hated for something I can't control."
For a moment, no one said anything.
Then Naida scoffed, flipping her orange hair over her shoulder. "Then maybe you should've stayed in whatever dirt hole you crawled out from, human, because as long as you remain here, you better believe that you'll never know a day of peace."