Chapter 70 Strength

Chapter 70 Strength

Olivia's POV

"She's not incapable," he said. "She's just not ready yet."

He closed his textbook, walked out from his seat, came down the aisle to the front of the classroom, stood beside me, and looked up at Daphne.

Daphne stared back. Her lips parted, but no words came out.

Ethan didn't wait. He reached out and took my wrist, his grip light, as if he was afraid of breaking something.

"Let's go."

One plain line, calm and unshaken.

My legs moved with him.

We walked past the podium, past the heads turning in the front rows, down the short aisle to the classroom door. He pushed it open, and the hallway light poured in all at once, colliding with the dimness inside and making me blink.

I followed him out.

As the door closed behind us, I caught a glimpse of those people still craning their necks. I heard someone in the classroom say something very quietly, but I was already gone.

The hallway was long. The wall lamps were off. Only a bit of afternoon light came through the window at the far end. Ethan walked half a step ahead of me. He didn't look back, but the pressure on my wrist never let up. Not tight, not tense. Just enough to let me know he was still there.

At the corner of the hallway, he stopped and turned.

"You okay?"

I looked at his face. He looked the same as always, but the corners of his mouth were turned down just slightly.

"I could have answered back there," I said.

"You don't have to answer that kind of question," he said. "It was meant to embarrass you. You don't owe anyone an explanation."

Something shifted inside me.

"Shifting isn't the only thing that matters," he said, looking at me. "You can't shift, but your healing is better than the upperclassmen. The Potions professor praised your talent. You're learning Bindlight fast. You know defensive spells. You had the courage to sit next to me when you didn't know anything. The whole class was watching you, and you didn't leave."

He paused.

"You can't shift, but you're stronger than people who learned to shift years ago."

I stood in the hallway. Light from the window at the end fell on his shoulder, outlining his black robe in pale gold.

I wanted to say thank you, but the words felt too small. They stuck in my throat.

Then my lips parted. "Tomorrow's tryouts. You have to come watch."

The corner of his mouth lifted just a little. Very faint, but I saw it.

"Who's going to cheer for you if I don't?"

The next morning, Jane kicked the door open and woke me up. A loud bang shook the whole frame, and a wisp of dust even fell from the top.

"Olivia. Get up. Tryouts are today."

I poked my head out from under the blanket and looked at her. She was already dressed in her athletic gear, hair pulled back tight. Her face had an unnatural excitement, like someone who hadn't slept enough but had downed three cups of strong coffee. Her eyes were frighteningly bright.

"I thought you didn't sign up," I said, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"I didn't, but that doesn't mean I can't watch," she said. She grabbed my clothes from the back of the chair and threw them onto my bed. "Hurry up. You're the main event."

She rushed me so much that I barely ate breakfast. I grabbed a piece of bread and ran, leaving a trail of crumbs all the way to the training grounds.

By the time I got there, the stands were already packed. Robes of every color were crammed together like a spilled box of paint.

Jane elbowed me. "Quick. The professor's here. She's about to explain the rules."

I swallowed the last bite, nearly choking.

Camille walked to the raised platform in the middle of the field.

"Quiet." Her voice was magically amplified, rolling across the training grounds like thunder.

The noise in the stands died down instantly.

Camille cleared her throat, pulled a rolled parchment from her robe, and unrolled it.

"Rules for this year's Bindlight tryouts are as follows."

She spoke loudly, every word clear.

"Round one: Light Orb Chase. Contestants must navigate an obstacle course on light discs while intercepting randomly flying light orbs. The timer stops when the orb is held steadily in hand."

"Round two: Form Combat. The light orb will change sequentially through gaseous, liquid, solid, and energy states. Contestants must use different strategies for each state, successfully intercept at least once in each state, and place the orb into the corresponding light cage. Light cage positions change at random every thirty seconds."

"Round three: Practical Combat. Remaining contestants split into two teams. Within a time limit, each team must place light orbs into the opponent's light cage. Higher scores advance. Six contestants will be selected to represent the academy in the Bindlight Tournament."

Camille looked up and scanned the field.

"Each round eliminates the lowest-ranked contestants. After three rounds, the top six are selected."

The stands buzzed to life. Some were calculating odds, others were arguing about which round would be hardest. One voice cut through like glass. "Six people? Only six this year?"

The spots were ridiculously few, considering that hundreds of students had signed up.

"Oh, so now just anyone can enter the tryouts?" A sharp voice came from nearby. I didn't need to turn my head to know who it was.

Chloe was standing a few yards to our right, wearing new athletic clothes. Dina was next to her, and Adam next to Dina.

Adam's leg had fully healed. He stood with his arms crossed and his chin lifted, wearing an expression that said he'd already won.

Chloe walked toward me and looked me up and down.

"You do know this is a tryout, right?" She smiled slightly. "Not a classroom quiz that anyone can walk into."

"I know."

"Then you should also know that some people are just here to fill space." She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. "Like people who still can't shift."

I didn't answer.

"Chloe." Jane spoke up. Her voice wasn't loud, but every word landed hard. "I remember you skipped Potions five times this semester. How many Transfiguration classes did you attend? Bindlight? You only showed up twice. Once you fell off your disc, and once you hit yourself in the face with a light orb."

Chloe's expression changed.

"You—"

"Am I wrong?" Jane tilted her head, looking innocent.

Adam walked over from the side and patted Chloe's shoulder, like calming a bristling cat.

"Don't waste your breath on them." He looked at me. "We'll see the truth on the field. I just hope some people don't get eliminated in the first round."

"Then you'd better perform well," I said, looking at Adam. "You just got over your injury. Don't send yourself back to the infirmary."

Adam's eyes narrowed. The corner of his mouth twitched, but he didn't say anything else. He turned and walked away. Chloe followed him, glancing back at me after a few steps.

Jane said quietly beside me, "How does she even have the nerve to sign up? And the nerve to talk down to you?"

I really wanted to know too.

More people filled the stands. Camille began reading the list of contestants. Those whose names were called gathered in the center of the field. Names came out of the amplification spell one after another. People stood up from different parts of the stands and pushed their way through the crowd toward the middle.

"Chloe."

Chloe walked past me with her chin high. Her athletic clothes were blindingly white in the sunlight.

"Adam."

Adam strode across the field. People stepped aside to let him through. No one wanted to provoke him.

"Olivia."

I took a deep breath, tucked my light disc under my arm, and walked toward the center of the field.

The walk from the stands to the center wasn't long, but as I moved, I could feel eyes on me from both sides. Curious. Dismissive. Waiting for me to fail. I heard someone behind me say something quietly. I didn't catch it, but I knew that tone too well. Nothing good.

Twenty or so contestants were already standing in the center. Camille briefly repeated the rules, then finally looked up and asked in her magically amplified voice, "Everyone ready?"

"Ready," came scattered voices.

The entire training ground went silent.

"Round one. Light Orb Chase."

She pulled a golden sphere from her robe pocket and held it above her head.

Everyone stared at her hand.

"Three."

She let go. The orb hung in the air, paused for two seconds, as if choosing a direction.

"Two."

Its surface began to change color. From gold to silver-white, then from silver-white to translucent, nearly blending into the air.

"One."

The orb shot forward like a bullet, trailing a thin silver streak, racing toward the far end of the training ground.

More than twenty people stepped onto their light discs at the same time. A whoosh sounded in unison.

The moment my foot touched the disc, it was steady. Like standing on solid ground.

I bent down, lowered my center of gravity, bent my knees, and leaned forward. I shot off.

Wind rushed in from both sides, yanking my hair back.

The stands on either side of the training ground became two blurred bands of color. Red, blue, gray all squeezed together, rushing backward.

The orb curved in the air ahead, then made a sharp turn and dove toward the obstacle area on the east side.

Dozens of stone pillars of different heights stood there, wrapped in glowing vines. The vines moved, sometimes shooting out to grab your ankles. Between the pillars were nearly invisible magical threads that would trigger a slowing spell if you touched them.

I lowered my body and passed between two pillars.

A vine on the right suddenly lashed out. I shifted left. The tip brushed my shoulder but didn't catch.

The orb flew overhead. I tracked its path. It was heading east. No, it turned sharply and went west.

Someone shouted on my left. Adam. He was riding a silver light disc, cutting in from the side, terrifyingly fast. His robe billowed like a flag. He reached for the orb. His fingertips missed by an inch.

The orb changed direction again.

This time upward, shooting diagonally into the sky, as if something had bounced it.

I pulled my disc up hard.

The wind was stronger now, colder, rushing into my collar and pressing my clothes flat against my body. The stands far below looked small. People looked like ants. The white lines of the training ground were thin stripes drawn on green paper.

The orb was ahead of me. Closer.

Closer still.