Chapter Three
THREE
Sebastian Zain’s glare cuts through me like glass. Never have I seen him look at me like he is right now, as if he’s struggling to hold himself back from stalking over and ripping me from my seat. Hatred, that’s what burns in his eyes. Hatred – for me.
I was eighteen when he arrived on our doorstep for the first time.
The two of them were at the end of their first year at the academy, and it was Lukas’s last allocated visit for the year.
I spent the entire week following them around like a lost puppy.
I was enamoured with Sebastian, hypnotised by his green eyes.
For three nights I lay awake dreaming of running my fingers through his dark brown hair.
I’d replay the way his playful smirk lit up his face when he and Lukas practised combat in the backyard, showing off their new skills.
It was on their second-to-last night when my father and I got into a particularly nasty argument.
It was one we’d had before: him berating me for my lack of magic and general inadequacy in the family, which always sent Lukas into a tailspin, jumping in for my defence.
Which would result in Mom shutting down and disappearing while I just sat there, feeling my chest tighten as my hands shook under the table, wishing I didn’t care so much what my father thinks of me.
Wishing that I didn’t care that he does not love me.
I hadn’t sat there that time though. Instead, I was so embarrassed that Lukas’s friend had heard how useless I was that I fled the room with tears pricking my eyes and found myself sitting in the dark, by the narrow stream that ran by our house.
Sebastian found me, and he sat with me until I stopped crying. He didn’t say a word, just stayed beside me, a silent companion in the dark. It was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for me … simply being there when I needed to feel less alone.
A cold sense of dread settles over me as I look down at a person I hardly recognise.
His frame is bigger, more built; even beneath his robes I can tell he’s filled out since I last laid eyes on him.
His hair is longer, too, and a few dark strands fall over his forehead and into his eyes.
Eyes that narrow at me before he takes a step back, retreating to the shadowy cove of the archway.
Something is wrong. Does he know it’s me under my hood? Maybe he thinks I’m somebody else?
‘There we have it!’ My attention snaps back to the man on the dais.
‘Agate, our Scholar Unit. Opal, our Healer Unit, and Malachite, our Warrior Unit. I will now begin to call you each forward. You may try your element if you feel it’s strong enough or come forth and give your blood with this blade.
’ He lifts the dagger. ‘I am your Headmaster, Bartollo Zain, and I welcome you to Valmora Academy.’
Zain.
So, this is Sebastian’s grandfather? The notorious headmaster Lukas told me about, the one Sebastian hates.
I study him for a beat, trying to pick out the similarities between the two men, though I don’t find any.
Then I remember being told that Sebastian takes after his late mother, and Bartollo is from his father’s side, who also is no longer alive.
Tilly curses beside me as everyone starts to applaud, yanking me away from my observations of the headmaster.
‘What are you going to do?’
I turn in her direction. ‘Sorry?’
Her hazel eyes roll. ‘Well, you sure as hell can’t choose Malachite like your brother did, given the way the unit leader looks like he’s five seconds away from bursting a blood vessel just by looking at you.’
‘How do you …’ my words trail off. She noticed Sebastian looking at me. I fight the urge to turn back to him, just to see if he’s still watching. Did anyone else notice? Moreover, she knows my brother, or knows of him at least, though that’s not a big surprise. He has become rather infamous.
‘Oh, Stars!’ Her voice dips low, as the clapping around us dies down. ‘Are you planning on choosing the Warrior Unit?’
‘Maybe,’ I say, though I’m not sure why.
I’d always envisioned myself being in Opal.
I’d spent the last few years watching over my mother’s shoulder as she tinkered with healing tonics, picturing myself one day doing the same.
But when Lukas died … everything changed.
My father wants me to succeed at the academy, has ordered me to put my head down, to right the wrongs that he believed Lukas created and bring success to our family name once more.
But me? I want to find out what happened to Lukas. What really happened.
Opal no longer feels like an option for me.
Malachite is the unit my brother was in, and it’s the best place to start looking for answers.
While I know my parents were grieving the loss of their son, I despise the way they both simply accepted the punishment the council had already befitted my brother.
He did not deserve to burn. He deserved a trial at least, a chance to prove his innocence.
Headmaster Zain begins to call students forward. His baritone voice echoes throughout the room, stealing everyone’s attention, including mine.
‘Amalie Abbott.’
A girl of medium height in the front row stands with her shoulders back. Something about the way she confidently strides toward the unit leader of Agate tells me she’s a legacy student. Her head dips in acknowledgment before she walks past and hovers her hand a few inches from the stone gate.
Tendrils of air wisp from her outstretched hand and absorb into the stone. A second later she is yanked forward and disappears.
My gasp echoes that of several other students. Even Tilly jumps beside me, her hand finding my arm and clutching it tight.
We look at each other, her wide-eyed expression mirroring mine.
‘I’m sorry.’ She relinquishes her death grip and settles back in her seat.
‘It’s all right,’ I tell her. ‘I wasn’t expecting her to get sucked in like that.’
A small smile curves her lips. ‘I know! I’m afraid I’m going to fall on my face when I get to the other side.’
I hadn’t even thought of that. Great. How does one get sucked into a magical stone wall and walk out on the other side of it gracefully?
Two more students get called forward. The second gets sucked into Agate after using their element, also air. The third gets pulled into Opal after a few drops of water dribble from his palm and seep anticlimactically into the stone.
Someone ahead of me sniggers at the weak display of power. If that’s funny to them, they’re in for a bloody treat when I step up there.
‘Xavier Davis,’ Headmaster Zain calls out next from his list.
The student in question stands and, instead of walking toward one of the three gates, makes his way toward the dais, until he’s standing in front of the headmaster.
‘He mustn’t be able to wield his element yet,’ Tilly whispers beside me.
I’m glad I’m not the only one.
I watch with rapt attention as he holds his hand out, palm facing up, and wince as the blade is sliced across his skin.
Xavier’s sharp hiss echoes through the hall before he turns with his hand cradled against his chest.
He heads toward Malachite.
I sit up a little straighter. No one has chosen Malachite so far.
I’m yet to see what happens when they do.
From what I know, Malachite always has the least number of initiates.
Those who do get accepted risk their life during their three years of training.
Even if you survive the ruthless training challenges, there will most often be someone ready to stab you in the back to get a higher ranking and climb their way to the top.
Xavier’s stride seems to slow the closer he gets to Sebastian, as if he’s not quite sure of his decision.
Just when I think he’s going to change course, he closes the distance to the door and slams his hand against it, smearing his blood over the dancing green stone.
He waits. We all wait. But nothing happens. An entire minute goes by, but the stone remains the same and Xavier is not pulled inside.
‘Xavier Davis, Malachite has not chosen you,’ the headmaster announces from the dais.
Xavier’s head drops between his shoulders for a long heavy silence.
Soft murmurs start to build within the room until he looks back up and turns around, sporting a blinding smile that is stretched across his face like he’s … relieved?
Without hesitation, he moves to Agate, nods to the unit leader then lifts his hand to the stone. It takes only a second before Xavier is sucked inside.
‘Pathetic,’ I hear a girl scoff from the third row.
I shift to look past the students in front of me.
There’s a redhead, with a long wavy ponytail brushing the back of her chair.
I recognise her voice as the same girl who laughed at the water wielder previously.
‘What a fucking embarrassment. Wait till my uncle finds out his only son chose Agate.’
‘Who is that?’ I lean over to Tilly whose lips are pressed in a tight disapproving line.
‘Moira Davis,’ she informs me. ‘Xavier’s cousin and, trust me when I say, it’d be wise to stay away from her.’
‘You know a lot about the students here, don’t you?’
I, on the other hand, can’t pinpoint a single familiar face other than Sebastian. I only have one friend from home, and Corvin isn’t here.
‘My aunt is on the council, so our house tends to become a makeshift boardroom at times. I’ve heard and seen a lot that I probably shouldn’t when it comes to students at Valmora.’
Her aunt is on the council. My walls start to rise and I shift away. Tilly notices the sudden distance I’ve put between our bodies and once again catches on fast.
‘She isn’t one of the members who voted against your family!’
‘And I’m supposed to just believe that?’ I ask sceptically.
‘Do you think I’d be bold enough to sit here speaking with you if I agreed with everyone else, let alone lived with someone who could have done that to your brother?’
I don’t respond, because I’m not sure if I trust what will come out of my mouth.
‘Well, I’m not,’ she insists, and there’s something so certain in her eyes and the defiant tilt of her chin that it makes me want to believe her. I nod, accepting what she said at surface level, all the while reminding myself that I need to tread with caution here.