Aida’s eyes snapped wide open, the early summer sun’s rays already warming the palm of her splayed hand.

  She bolted upright, looking at the perfectly innocuous window. No sign of the phantom Ezra ever having been there.

  That was a dream.

  Exhaling, Aida looked hopelessly around her room, which was exactly as she had left it last night. Nothing out of place, her furniture and belongings still keeping their shapes when she didn’t look directly at them.

  She had heard anecdotes back in the real world of people’s loved ones visiting them in dreams before they passed on - like a last farewell. Her heart twisted at the thought.

  Springing out of bed as she heard her classmates begin bustling in the hallway, Aida threw on her athletic clothes for her match this morning.

  She would just drop in and check on Ezra really quickly before breakfast - surely Healer Luk wouldn’t begrudge her a quick visit.

  As expected, Healer Luk was miffed at the early visit, especially since she was in the midst of rinsing tea leaves for the matches, but after hearing her rambling about receiving a dream from Ezra, she let Aida in to check Ezra’s condition for herself.

  “As you can see, nothing has changed,” Luk said, accompanying Aida to Ezra’s bed. “But if you are very concerned, I will bring it up with Professor Bruce and see what he says.”

  “Can you?” Aida turned to Luk, her eyes beseeching. She just wanted answers. “Can I please finally talk with him as well?”

  Luk wavered briefly before she sighed, rubbing her temples. “Girl, you realize it has only been four and a half days since Mister Riolt was brought back here?”

  Aida blanched at the reminder. It felt so much longer than that.

  “However, I understand your worry. I will speak with Professor Bruce, and perhaps we can convince him to meet with you briefly to assuage your fears. After your match tomorrow.”

  “Can I talk to him today?” Aida pressed, not backing down against Luk’s frown. Perhaps she saw Aida’s conviction, or sensed her agitation, but she finally relented.

  “No promises, but I will make sure he speaks with you tomorrow at the latest.”

  Nodding gratefully, Aida let Luk steer her out, casting one last worried glance at Ezra as she passed beyond the curtain.

  He still looked just as healthy as yesterday, merely looking as if he was in a deep, dreamless sleep. A far cry from the gaunt, nearly skeletal body that she had visited just two days prior.

  As much as she was glad to see Ezra’s body looking healthy, she was still unnerved by what her dream meant. Was it just her own wishful thinking, paranoia, guilt, or other form of overactive imagination that summoned the oddly realistic vision of Ezra in her dreams?

  The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that it really was Ezra - and he had been trying to communicate something to her. She gritted her teeth, refusing to entertain the worst-case possibility.

  It can’t be because he’s moving on. He didn’t look like he was saying goodbye.

  “Aida! What are you doing just standing out here?” Tera's imperious voice broke through her thoughts, a slim arm cuffing her around the neck and dragging her down.

  “What’s going on?” Aida yelped before a helpful hand clasped her windmilling arms.

  “Is the thought of facing Lara intimidating you?” Natalie teased, her face right next to Aida’s. The tight grip around Aida’s neck loosened a bit as Natalie squeezed her cheeks. “Come on, you can’t embarrass Class 2!”

  “You haven’t eaten yet, have you?” Bella asked, eyeing Aida’s pale complexion. “You don’t have much time left.”

  Acquiescing, Aida let herself get dragged into the dining hall with the rest of her classmates, where she gratefully ducked behind the taller girls when she caught sight of Dev’s pale hair.

  The girls wolfed their breakfasts down, all of them exhibiting nervousness to one degree or another. Like Aida, Natalie and Tera were both facing the top-ranked student of their element today - Sue and Caleb, respectively - though they seemed to be more comfortable bluffing their way through, trying to convince themselves they would be fine.

  Ruth and Bella were more relaxed, since they were facing the fourth ranked in their elemental group.

  “Just one more day after today,” Bella said reassuringly, more to herself than the rest of the girls.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “Sucks for you all - I’m done after today,” Ruth said smugly as they threw her dirty looks. With Ezra out of commission, the Metals arguably had it easier. They all had to fight one fewer match than the other elements, resting whenever they rotated to the slot they were supposed to face him. “Speaking of - you just came from seeing Ezra, right?” Ruth’s voice had softened as she turned to Aida. “How is he doing?”

  Aida shrugged, her mouth full of porridge that suddenly tasted like uncooked oatmeal. “He’s…still alive.”

  “Sorry,” Ruth said, abashed. “I know you don’t have the energy to think about that…”

  “Anyway, at least you’ll pretty much be done after today,” Natalie said encouragingly. “What do you have so far? Two wins, one loss?”

  “I don’t know, I didn’t check my results for yesterday’s match…” Aida tapered off as her face flushed again, remembering her humiliation immediately after the match.

  “They assigned you that win,” Tera informed Aida. She glowered. “And even if you lose today, I bet you’ll be able to get a win off of Lyn.”

  “Um…how’s it going between you two?” Aida asked tentatively. The last she saw of them together, they had a major argument due to differing philosophies; and though she agreed with Tera and didn’t have sympathy for Lyn, she wondered if Tera’s glower was that of a protective sister, or someone who wanted to teach an annoyance a lesson. “Should I…hold back?”

  “No way!” Tera said hotly. “You worked hard to get to where you are, don’t throw that away just to soothe her ego!”

  “Yes, dear, don’t risk your future for someone else,” Bella agreed, nodding sensibly. “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves…we should get going now…”

  ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

  The match against Lara was going, as expected, horribly.

  The blue-haired girl wasn’t giving Aida any chance to strike back, going at Aida with the force and fury that was typically seen in Sue’s attacks.

  Is this the result of Class 1’s training? Aida thought, bemused as the sky swirled in her vision for the umpteenth time. She wasn’t quite sure how she had ended up on her back again - she suspected she had gotten struck by an ice projectile this time, or it could have been Lara’s foot, or she might even have tripped herself - it was getting difficult to keep track of everything.

  Using a quick spurt of Heal, taking advantage of the self-heal bonus, Aida cleared the fog in her mind, shaking her head as she scrambled to her feet again, slightly more alert.

  “I’m disappointed,” Lara said. She wasn’t even standing in a combat position anymore, and was instead facing Aida with her arms across her chest, looking distinctly peeved. Aida took minor satisfaction in seeing Lara waver, before she shook her head and realized Lara was standing firmly. “With all of the loyalty you’ve inspired from other, more powerful practitioners, I was expecting you to impress me with powers hitherto unknown.”

  “’Loyalty?’” Aida repeated. “You mean…from my friends?”

  Lara scoffed. “Of course. Your friends.” Lara disappeared from sight, forcing Aida to bring her arms up to guard her face as she began sensing for Lara to appear.

  Lara’s preference for physical combat seemed to have grown stronger, which Aida didn’t quite understand. She barely used any of her element, only sometimes tossing a halfhearted blast - though still dangerously destructive - to force Aida into disadvantageous positions.

  “I still don’t understand why they would deign to associate with you.”

  Even with such a long sentence, Aida still had no warning as to when Lara struck - she just found herself getting pummeled again, instinctively hunching against the strikes as she flooded her body with rapidly depleting mana to withstand the barrage.

  “Why don’t you just finish me off?” Aida gritted. “You’re just toying with me at this point.”

  “Forfeit, then,” Lara shot back, pausing in front of Aida just long enough to slam her forehead into Aida’s cheekbone - the jerk of her head the only movement she was able to execute in self-defense.

  Aida flew again, resignation overtaking the pain that was starting to feel routine. It was true that she could just forfeit - it was obvious to anyone watching that Aida couldn’t beat Lara. The moment the match started the girl had moved into close quarters, not allowing Aida room to fire any icicles. Even close-range ice blasts didn’t do much. Lara merely used her own significantly stronger Mana Penetration to take control of the ice, instantly shaping it into ice armor around her own body, making Aida’s attempts to hurt Lara even more laughable.

  Aida twisted in the air so that she would at least land on her feet - just in the nick of time, too, as Lara appeared underneath her, loading up her fist for an uppercut that would have been sure to knock out her teeth if she hadn’t rotated her body - but all that happened was the heel of Aida’s shoe met Lara’s knuckles, both appendages backed by Mana Surges.

  “I’ll admit you’ve gotten stronger, but it’s still not enough,” Lara taunted, as the two of them continued shoving mana into the standoff. “Or - don’t tell me - maybe you’re not in your best condition right now, because you’re distracted by boys?”

  Lara’s eyes narrowed into a sneer, and for a heartbeat her resemblance to Dev shined through: the sculpted cheekbones, the elegantly tapered nose, the perfectly shaped lips.

  That moment was enough to break Aida’s concentration, sending her flying again.

  She really should just forfeit. She missed walking.

  “I can’t believe I’m right.” Lara’s disgusted face appeared in front of Aida, the two girls soaring through the air together.

  “The moment Ezra’s gone, you go running right to the next guy who annoys the slick out of me. You’re really good at targeting my weakness, aren’t you?”

  Infuriated, Aida’s hand automatically reached out for a slap that didn’t connect, which only made Lara’s smirk grow wider. “The world doesn’t revolve around you,” Aida spat, which did nothing to ruffle Lara.

  “Yes, of course,” Lara agreed pleasantly, malice glittering in her eyes. “The world revolves around you.”

  Her eyes seemed to glow as she gathered her mana, capturing Aida neatly in an ice block that she was helpless to stop.