City of Mages

Chapter 10: Alara

The rest of the day was a blur. Alara was still tired from the previous night's events and the spikes of anxiety she had been coping with since yesterday. It was amazing to her how exhausting it was just to be...nervous. And going over the events again and again in her mind didn't exactly calm her.

Thinking back to her fight with the wind mage in the dark marketplace, she couldn't believe she had let Quenti get her caught up in that situation. In the moment, it seemed like the right thing to do, but Alara should have stopped the match herself—thrown down her spear or something. Instead, she fought, almost blasting her opponent and the onlookers with an uncontrolled burst of fire.

Alara let out a groan and slumped forward onto the surface of her desk.

"You feeling sick?" Mitteo asked softly next to her.

They were sitting near the back of the classroom, the professor droning on about the early history of Sombria and the continent of Inti. The ancient history class was supposed to help magites learn more about the early times before the Bruya Wars and how the premages lived.

It focused on the early sciences of magia and survival, which Alara usually loved learning about, but today she couldn't stay focused, and she kept drifting into her own mind.

"I'm fine." Alara said, giving Mitteo a weak smile before trying to focus back on the lecture. She must have been out of it for longer than she thought because a few minutes later they were being dismissed. The class was done, and Alara officially had three lines of notes to prove her attendance.

"So they haven't kicked you out."

Alara let out an awkward laugh as she turned toward Raquel, who had walked up behind them as they were leaving the classroom.

"No, not yet."

"Emaru looked furious that night. I'd say I haven't seen her that angry before, but let's face it—it's like her go-to mood."

Alara's laugh was genuine this time. "So how did the mission end up after I left?"

Mitteo, Raquel, and the other magites had stayed an extra night to complete the mission.

Raquel gave a pout, but Mitteo is the one that answered. "Nothing. Didn't catch a single bruya after you left, but the raids have apparently stopped."

"For now." Raquel cut in sharply. "Seriously, Alara, when are you going to grow a backbone and start acting like a mage. Sombria could use someone with your fire strength. The Haven could."

Alara could have responded, but she was already sick of having the same argument with Emaru. Instead she just gave an exhausted sigh.

"El'dyo, you are such a waste of talent." Raquel turned down the next hall. "Off for magite training. See you both at supper."

"She's right, you know," Mitteo said. "If you don't start controlling and strengthening your powers soon, getting kicked out is inevitable. Then where would you go?"

"I'll be fine," Alara said, ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach. "Maybe you should practice some more, yourself. I'm not the only one who was a mess out there. Talk to Senya Cruz about controlling those stomping feet of yours. It's a wonder the bruyas weren't scared off for miles that night." Alara turned and marched down the hallway before Mitteo had a chance to argue with her. She knew it was a cruel thing to say, but she despised the look of pity that had been in his eyes.

Alara knew she should have headed down to the practice rooms to work on her fire skills—as she was scheduled to do—but instead, she found herself wandering toward Adelmo's home. She felt a nervous energy buzzing underneath her skin and needed to get out some aggression.