Ayden woke up to see cara Silverstone peering down at him. He lay in the infirmary. Healers drifted from one bed to another treating the wounded and by the count of them, many people were injured. The memories flashed and he shot up. Cara placed a hand on his shoulder and pressed him.

  “You’re safe,” she said.

  “We got them?” asked Ayden.

  “You did,”

  “How did I-”

  “The force of your spell pushed you into a wall. You were concussed, bleeding out from your wounds, and burned severely in the back. You’re fine now, though you will have a permanent scar on your back.”

  Ayden wished he a mirror to check. How grizzled would he sound when he showed people that scar. It throbbed, but he could take the pain. The effect it would have on his reputation excited him. A realization dawned on him. It was the next day and Vellis had been stumped twice in a row now.

  “Can I leave?” asked Ayden.

  Cara frowned. “Don’t you want to rest?” she asked.

  “No, I had somewhere I needed to be. Someone waiting for me.”

  “I’m sure this person will understand, given the circumstance.”

  “Well I don’t know if they know what happened,” said Ayden, leaving his bed. Cara didn’t stop him and he found his… His coat Janari had made for him was in a tattered heap.

  “We figured you’d want it kept to decide what to do,” said Cara.

  Ayden bit back a pang of sadness. He didn’t realize how close he’d been with that coat. “I’ll have it rewoven in the city.”

  Cara nodded. “Just to warn you, you’re a bit of a hero out there. So get ready to be swarmed.”

  The news made Ayden smile. Finally!

  ****

  When he walked out there was no hero’s welcome as he’d hoped. Just a few people glancing over at him and giving him a respectful nod. He supposed all he did was take down a few mages. His mind drifted to Vellis, fuming at his absence. Guilt pained him. He turned down a secluded alley and leaped up the walls to reach the roofs, using Green as usual.

  He started leaping from building to building, loosening his limbs and warming himself up before picking up the pace. It took a fourth of the time it’d have taken to get to Vellis’s estates than if he’d walked. He sat perched on the ledge of a neighboring building looking over the gardens. There Vellis read her book like she had the last time around noon.

  He leaped off and landed with enhanced legs, causing some people to yelp and scatter. He winced, hoping the guards didn’t come to check. He entered the gardens by hopping over a fence and sneaking over to where she sat on the bench.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Vellis,” he whispered.

  A lightning bolt ripped through the air and almost took Ayden’s head off. He’d been channeling Green so he managed to roll aside.

  “It’s me!” he cried coming out of his cover and waving his hands.

  Vellis was ready to fight and with the recent rogue mage incident, why wouldn’t she be? “Ayden?” she snapped. “Do not sneak up on me like that.”

  “Lesson learned!” he cried.

  “You abandoned me! Was this some cruel joke? Did Francel put you up to this? I found out you’re dorm mates.”

  “No!” he cried. “I was there, Vellis. I was at the attack.”

  Vellis lowered her guard. “Oh,” she said. Her hands fell to her side. “You saved those people?”

  “Yeah,” said Ayden. “And killed the mages.” He winced. His first kills. Human kills. Why did that matter? Why did that hurt? It only now registered, and despite the significance of it, it had to be done. Innocents were in danger. They mages made their choice to harm.

  “Wow,” she said with a scoff. “Okay, as far as excuses go, that’s a fair one.”

  “I had hoped it’d be,” Ayden said with a smile. “Are we okay?”

  “Yes,” she said. “Except I wasted two of my free nights waiting on dates that didn’t show up.”

  Ayden winced again as he remembered he still had so much work to do and with the recovery time, he’d wasted half the day and many classes. He figured they’d make an exception for him given the circumstances. “We share some classes. Why not work together?”

  Vellis’s lip curled into a smile that made Ayden’s heart flutter. She crossed her arms and shrugged. “Sure, why not?

  Ayden beamed.

  ***

  Weeks passed and Ayden grew closer with Vellis. They had dates in the tavern and found out the few things they had in common. One date had them buzzed and sitting on a table, just the two of them.

  “When I first saw you,” said Ayden. He hoped it wouldn’t too cringy. “I thought you were the most beautiful person I’d ever seen.”

  Vellis laughed like fallen gemstones and Ayden heat rise in his cheeks.

  “When I first saw you, I’ll be honest, I was wondering if you were lost or in the wrong place,” said Vellis.

  Ayden gave a chuckle, but didn’t enjoy the fact that he still felt out of place. Whether it be a lecture hall or in a study session. He liked Vellis, and enjoyed time with her, but her friends always poked at him or assumed bizarre facts about him just because he was from Mahar.

  Ayden wished he could argue that Mahar was a warrior culture with some of the greatest military generals in history, but he’d be parroting what Tarmon told him. Ayden also wasn’t a warrior. He was a mage with unorthodox training which in some ways helped, and in others didn’t.

  “My mother mentioned she chose you,” said Vellis. “Said you have raw power that others only ever dream to have.”

  He liked hearing that a noblewoman other than Cara liked abilities. Especially one that despised Cara. The animosity did not pass down to Vellis who regarded Cara as a worthy rival and competitor.

  “Have you told your mother about me?” asked Ayden.

  “What do you mean?” asked Vellis with a laugh.

  “About us…”

  “Oh,” she said, looking at her drink. “She doesn’t pay attention to my romantic life anyways.”

  “So it’s not important for her to know?” pressed Ayden.

  “Well it is, but…” She pushed Ayden’s drink to him. “You’re too sober right now. We’re here to have fun, Ayden, not stress. All this academy work is already a weight on me. Can we please just have a pleasant night?”

  Ayden wanted to push, but he also felt stressed. Examinations were coming and he hadn’t met the requirements for Green Healing. “Okay fine,” he said. He took a swig of his drink and let the buzz intensify.

  The night also intensified for Ayden and Vellis and when they awoke the next morning, hungover, they held each other under the sheets and allowed themselves to skip a class or two.