Radiance - The Alight Archives Book #1

48. The Nature of Magic

The longer he kept them in a silence interspersed by the repetitive creaking of a ceiling fan, the more Elaine noticed how she was closing in on herself, fearing the abrupt yet all too expected instant when Headmaster Orion would finally address them.

The brown-haired man sat at his desk with sealed eyes and hunched shoulders, heavy breaths puffing out his nostrils every now and again as he kept his gloved fingers laced underneath his nose. She guessed that he'd learned of the incident prior to their arrival; as soon as they entered the room, he'd already his brows furrowed with a look of stifled dismay.

Raze wasn't much different than him, either. When Elaine motioned to him with a pleading stare, hoping that he'd shed some light on what was going to happen, the mage dressed in his dark-colored cloak—Elaine had never seen him wear anything else—merely raised a finger to his tightened lips, a simple signal telling her that she should remain quiet, and for the first five or so minutes, that was exactly what she had done. However, as the clock on the wall ticked on without any word from the headmaster—with the exception of a few muffled mumbles—well, Elaine was a lot more anxious than she had been earlier.

Hands in her lap, her feet crisscrossed, Elaine inhaled softly through her mouth, attempting to expel the nervousness infecting her stomach as she exhaled. Orion's office was at the top of one of the tallest towers in the academy; they'd needed to take a teleportation magic circle in order to reach it, and she hadn't realized how high up they were until she felt her ears popping with pressure on the sides of her face.

The office was a brightly-themed room with yellow-colored walls and a palish brown roof embroidered with intricate designs engraved into its wooden surface. Stuffed bookshelves had been positioned against its perimeter, pedestals housing creepy stone statues—one looked like a bald-headed man with missing eyes sitting in a posture reminiscent of that of a frog, and another near the front door replicated that of a headless horse reared onto its hindlegs—that she was certain originated from foreign countries, and Orion seemed to have a flair for floriculture as Elaine spotted numerous pots holding various, colorful plant species, some of which she'd never seen before. She imagined Fearne would get a kick out of them; she enjoyed gardening, as well.

Finally, mounted on the wall behind the headmaster was a large, blue-colored banner bearing that of Glyph Academy's official insignia, though this version of the design was a lot more detailed than the ones she'd seen on letter seals or waving on the flags posted outside. The golden feathered griffin kept one of its burnished orange eyes on them as its mighty wings stretched out of its spine and to the border of the banner itself; all the while, its beaked mouth opened wide to release an unheard screech as the beast stood tall with its forelegs clawing the air.

A ring of stars imprisoned its frame, overlapping the outer edge of its expanded wings. It was an intimidating image, but one that exuded honor, or so the professors told her, as griffins were the symbol of distinction and privilege in Incantian culture.

"Headmaster Valerian." Elaine started as Kliff, seated in one of the two chairs next to hers, was the first among anyone in the room to speak. Even Lukas looked startled, a muscle pulsing in his jaw as his green eyes went wide. "If I have your permission to speak, I would like to apologize for my actions humbly. I have no excuse. The punishment that you will assuredly give, I will accept it in full. May that be suspension or...or whatever else you have in mind. I only ask that you excuse Elaine of it."

"Kliff," Elaine said blaringly. "You don't have to—"

"She had nothing to do with this and only stepped in when things escalated the way they did," Kliff continued, cutting her off. "On the other hand, I think it also bears mentioning that neither of us was responsible for starting this dispute. The blame for that falls solely on the shoulders of Lukas."