The world narrowed to the sight of Arria’s body jerking uncontrollably on the ground. Elora’s thoughts were muddled.This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening.But the awful reality was right in front of her.Why is no one doing anything!?
She turned on the masters. “Please, do something!” Elora desperately pleaded. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest, and she hoped Tehvan would feel it. He would know what to do.
Elora fell to the ground beside her poisoned friend, grasping her hand, noting the icy chill of her skin. “Help her!” She begged again, her voice shrill and breaking. But the masters remained like statues, completely indifferent.
“We cannot intervene. This was her test. And she has failed.” His words were a cruel verdict. The other masters stood silent, watching, waiting for the poison to take its toll.
They’re going to let her die.Elora couldn’t believe what she was hearing. They might be apathetic, but she wouldn’t stand by and let that happen.Fate be damned.
She glanced around frantically, searching for anything that might help. Her eyes landed on Rowan standing near different herbs andingredients. “Rowan!” she called, almost choking on the name. “Get me some Glintgrape! Quickly!”
He skittered out of a trance and nodded, while scrambling to grab a handful of pale pink berries known for their restorative properties. Tossing them to Elora, she crushed them between her palms, the juice staining her hands crimson.
“Arria, stay with me,” Elora whispered, as if speaking too loudly might shatter whatever fragile hope remained. She smeared the crushed berries against Arria’s lips, trying to coax the juice into her mouth.Don’t die. Don’t leave me.
Arria choked, her body convulsing again, but Elora didn’t give up. “Swallow…” she urged, shaking her friend’s shoulders as if that would somehow make her listen. “Come on, please.”
Seconds passed like hours. Arria’s eyes fluttered, her desperate gasps for air now faint and shallow. Elora kept whispering to her, pleading with her to survive.It has to work… it has to.
Arria’s body seemed to relax, and a spark of hope rose in Elora’s chest. But it was fleeting. Arria’s eyes settled, her lips still tinged with blue, and her chest stilled. Her fingers clawed weakly at her throat before falling limp. Lifeless.
Chapter 3
Elora
Tears stung Elora’s eyes, her vision blurring. She gripped Arria’s hand tighter. Maybe if she held on, her touch could pull her back from the brink. But it was futile.
Elora gasped. It felt like she couldn’t get enough air in her lungs. Everything around her slowed, the world narrowing to just her and the body of her best friend.
No… This isn’t real. This can’t be real.
Her thoughts were like distant whispers, barely breaking through the fog that was clouding her mind. She stared down at Arria’s beautiful face. Her eyes, once so full of light, stared blankly into an abyss.Can she see me? Does she know I haven’t left? That I would never leave?
Elora felt the room tilt around her, the dizziness threatening to topple her over. A ringing filled her ears, muffling the surrounding sounds. She thought she could sense movement, robes rustling along the ground, feet moving near her. But it seemed distant, muted, as if she were underwater.
“Arria,” she squeaked. “Please don’t leave me…”
A voice broke through the haze, sharp but muffled, like talking through a closed door. She barely registered the words at first. “You interfered with the test.”
Elora blinked, her eyes slowly turning towards Master Egorim. She couldn’t comprehend what he had just said.Interfered… You… you… didn’t. You let her die.
Her gaze returned to Arria, willing her to suddenly gasp for air, to sit up and laugh at this cruel joke. But there was nothing, only the stillness, only the silence that pressed in around her.
Slowly, the sounds of hushed whispers broke through the barriers her mind was working overtime to build. The masters were talking, conversing, possibly deciding her own fate then and there. But Elora couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. There was a gaping void in front of her that was pulling her in, swallowing everything she knew and held dear.
“What is done is done,” Master Fern said, her tone carefully neutral. “Let’s continue. Elora and Alfie, please present your potions.” The woman, this supposed master, disregarded Arria as if she were no more significant than the rat.
Alfie’s face was pale, his eyes glistening, but he stood. He threw a handful of white powder into the air above them. The powder transformed into a dark, brooding cloud, its low rumble of thunder echoing across the forest. Alfie’s tears mirrored the steady drizzle that fell. The downpour was a somber reflection of the group’s grief.
Instinctively, Elora leaned over Arria’s still-warm body, shielding her from the rain.This wasn’t how this was supposed to go.She gritted her teeth.Arria deserves better than this… better than to be discarded as if she didn’t matter, as if she were nothing.
The rain grew heavier, each drop striking like a cold needle against Elora’s skin. Her hands clenched into fists, berry juice seeping through her fingers.They don’t care. How do they not care?
Her nails dug into her palm until she felt the sting of broken skin. The pain mingled with the fury building inside her. She wanted to scream, to tell the masters that they were heartless monsters who didn’t deserve the amount of power they wielded. Why have such power if they won’t use it to help people, to guard and protect people?
But she knew better. They would see any outburst as defiance, a challenge to their authority, a reason to make her fail. A reason to keep her here. Despite freely challenging Thorn’s authority, she knew these masters wouldn’t let her get away with it. No, she couldn’t risk it. So, she swallowed her anger.
The gray cloud above them shriveled and dissipated, leaving behind a heavy, humid stillness. “A simple effect, but expert level,” Fern said. “Elora, what do you have to present?”
