Chapter 6 #2
From the podium, Mage-Instructor Mundise looked up and halted their opening remarks. Their mouth quirked in a crooked smile, making it clear they hadn’t forgotten my frequent tardiness during my first-year classes with them.
“Mr. Corvellan, how nice of you to join us this morning,” they said, their tone heavy with irony.
“Sorry, Mage-Instructor,” I muttered, and looked around the crowded lecture hall to locate Lukhan.
I’d just slid into the seat next to Luk when the door swung open again and the three island sisters entered.
“And yet more late arrivals,” Mundise said, their tone still amused but tinged with resignation now. “Students, when I arrive in this class, I expect you all to be in your seats and ready to take notes. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Mage-Instructor Mundise,” Miss Fishwife said, her face and neck gone blotchy red with embarrassment. “Our apologies. It won’t happen again.”
I heard whispers and tittering as Talisa and the twins crept up the aisle to take their places at the back of the hall with the other commoners.
I sighed and opened my copy of Sancola’s Advanced Applications of Magecraft. It was going to be a long semester.
∞∞∞
Elio
I spotted Talisa the moment she entered the dining hall for the midday meal. My stomach lurched at the sight of the stains marring the front of her academic robe.
So, it’s true.
My blood had been boiling ever since Tomas had told me about the “accident” in Intermediate Potions.
I just knew that bastard Lukhan FitzMurad was responsible.
As Talisa passed the tables reserved for the aristocrats, a wave of malicious whispers and snickers followed her. Her expression was drawn, but her head was high as she and the twins lined up for the midday meal.
When Talisa and her sisters had collected their trays of food, I waved frantically until she saw me. Relief softened her expression as she and her sisters made their way to our table.
“The food is really good here,” Juno remarked as they slid onto the bench across from me.
Today’s menu was a velvety split-pea soup seasoned with butter and leeks, chicken roasted with garlic and herbs, honey-glazed root vegetables, and creamed cabbage with nutmeg.
It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anywhere close to the meals our family cook served back home.
Still, who knew what the food was like in the Western Isles? Probably a lot of fish and potatoes.
“Are you all right?” I whispered as Talisa seated herself next to me, close enough that I caught a lingering, acrid scent rising from the purple stains.
“You heard?” Talisa murmured. She shot her sisters a glance, but they were busy arguing whether the soup was seasoned with chervil or tarragon. “I haven’t told them what happened. I don’t want them to worry about me.”
I nodded, fighting the urge to take her hand. “Someone I know from back home is in that class with you. He told me what happened.” I lowered my voice even further. “He said that your dragonfly wort got swapped out for stagger-wort.”
Talisa’s eyes widened. “I thought something looked off! But the packet was in my ingredients basket…”
“I know,” I said grimly. “Someone—and we can guess who—must have switched your ingredients.”
Her fingers curled around her soup spoon so tightly that her knuckles whitened. “Divine Mother, they could’ve blinded me!”
“Or worse,” I said, unable to hide the fury in my voice. “Back home in Baleares, an apprentice who played a prank like that would be banned from every guild in the Province of Espola.”
A huff of bitter laughter escaped her. “Too bad this isn’t Baleares, Elio. It’s the Imperial Academy, where hurting a commoner nobody like me is just good fun for Lord Lukhan and his friends.”
I’d only known her since yesterday, yet I felt the overwhelming urge to protect her.
When she’d stood up to Lukhan here in the dining hall yesterday, I’d instantly adored her.
“How did Mage-Instructor Varro react?” I asked, already guessing the answer.
“He blamed me for the disaster,” she confirmed, poking at her piece of chicken.
“Said I was careless. Lord Lukhan and his friends all looked at me afterward like they expected me to crumple to the floor and bawl.” She looked sideways at me, her full lips pressed into a determined line. “I won’t give them the satisfaction.”
“What about Mira and Juno? Did anyone try anything with them?” I demanded.
My voice was louder than I had intended. Mira and Juno instantly broke off their conversation.
“Some mean second-years tried to corner us before our Fundamentals class,” Juno said. “They wanted to throw us into the fountain.”
“But Mr. Corvellan made them stop,” Mira added. “He seemed pretty angry at them.”
I nearly choked on my soup. “What? Lord Lukhan’s pet attack dog saved you?”
“I know. I don’t understand it either.” Talisa shook her head. “He made it clear he still despises me, though.”
“He told those second-years that we were ‘off-limits’ but that Talisa was still ‘fair game,’” Mira said.
“How noble of him,” I said sarcastically. “Well, I’m glad you’re both all right. But one decent act doesn’t erase who and what Corvellan is.”
Talisa sighed. “I know. But at least my sisters are safe for now.”
She smiled fondly at the twins. The tension eased from her features, replaced by genuine warmth.
Her hazel eyes lit up, looking more green than brown today, flecked with gold. I noticed the light sprinkle of freckles over her nose and cheeks, and my mouth went dry as an unexpected wave of longing rolled over me.
I suddenly wanted to brush my thumb across her cheek to see if her skin felt as soft and smooth as it looked. I ached to kiss her full lips and discover if they were as soft as they looked and tasted as sweet as the smile she turned on me.
I cleared my throat, trying to rein in my heated thoughts before I humiliated myself. “You’re lucky to have your sisters here. I miss my family.”
I had three older sisters. Only the oldest, Danila, and I had tested positive for mage potential. She was a fourth-year student here, with a packed schedule, and I’d only seen her briefly since we arrived together last week.
Talisa nodded. “Without Mira and Juno, I probably would’ve packed my bags after that disaster in the potions lab this morning.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” I said.
Her gaze met mine, questioning. I forced myself to look away before I blurted out something stupid to a girl I’d known for less than a day.
“You know,” Talisa said, gesturing around the dining hall, “it doesn’t have to be this way.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“This system where they get to treat us like dirt beneath their precious silk slippers.” She leaned closer, lowering her voice. “There are more of us than there are of them. Always have been.”
It’s like she’s reading my mind. Working in my family’s import business, which catered to aristocratic clients, I’d formed strong opinions about the way the world worked.
“What are you suggesting, Talisa?” I asked, intrigued. “We stage a revolt?”
She grinned at me, warming to the subject.
“Nothing so dramatic. Just… form an alliance, maybe. The commoner students barely know each other. We’re all strangers to each other, and scattered across different dormitories.
Meanwhile, the aristocrats all seem to be connected through their families, and they all know and protect each other. ”
“Exactly!” I nodded eagerly. “First thing we need is information. Who among the mage-instructs might be sympathetic to our cause? Which of the aristocratic students are the bullies, and which are more reasonable?”
“Well, we already know who some of the bullies are,” she said dryly.
“Let’s promise that we’ll look out for each other,” I suggested.
She gave me a smile that made something warm unfurl in my gut. “It’s a deal, Elio.” She extended her small hand. “Allies?”
A shock ran up my arm as my fingers closed around hers, and my heart skipped a beat.
“Allies,” the twins said in unison, and reached over the table to lay their hands on top of our joined ones.