Chapter 12 THE RIVAL'S CHALLENGE
CHAPTER 012: THE RIVAL’S CHALLENGE
" I really can't choose, I don't know any of you. I just met you guys.” I sigh. " So I really can't choose.”
" Thalira, you don't have to choose but with time you'll know who to be with.” Kieran said.
“And we'll see who she ends up with." Zev said his face blazing with rage.
“You guys should stop all this cheap fight and let's go back to class." I said as I clasp my hands and walk back to the academy.
I barely slept after what happened on the rooftop. My lips still tingled from Kieran’s kiss. My mind kept replaying Zev’s voice cutting through the night like a blade.
He’d looked at me with something cold and sharp like he knew a truth I hadn’t reached yet.
By morning Sofia met me outside the dining hall. She eyed my face then rolled her eyes.
“You look like you fought a dragon and then tried to date it.” She said.
I sighed. “It wasn’t a dragon.”
“Oh so it was Kieran.” She said with a smirk. “It makes sense.”
“Sofia not today.”
She raised her hands. “Fine, fine no teasing but everyone is already talking about the rooftop.”
My stomach dropped. “Already?”
“This school feeds on drama.” She said. “You’ll get used to it or die. One of the two.”
I groaned. “Please don’t say die.”
We walked through the courtyard where groups of students stood around pretending not to stare at me. I kept my eyes forward until a sharp voice sliced through the air.
“Well well look who thinks she’s special.”
I stop, knowing it was Morgana.
She stood at the center of a circle of students. Her red hair was braided tight and her eyes were full of that same cruel spark she had the day she attacked me in combat class.
Sofia muttered. “And here comes the morning trash.”
Morgana stepped closer. “Thalira Moonwhisper. You’ve been acting bold lately.”
“I haven’t done anything.” I said.
“Existing counts.” She said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
I tried to walk past her but she flicked her wrist. A symbol burst into the air right in front of me glowing pale blue.
The courtyard gasped.
Sofia whispered. “Oh no. She didn’t.”
I stared at the floating sigil. It pulsed like a heartbeat.
“Morgana what did you do?”
She stepped forward proudly. “I’m challenging you.”
My mouth dried. “To what?” I asked.
“A formal duel.”
Everything in me went cold.
A duel in Duskmoor wasn’t a game. It was a binding magical contract. Someone always ended up broken. Sometimes worse.
“Morgana no.” I said. “I’m not agreeing to this.”
She smiled wider. “Too late. I activated the sigil with your name.” She pointed. “And the academy rules say once the sigil rises the challenge stands.”
My heart raced. “But I didn’t accept.”
“You don’t have to accept. You don't need it.” She said. “Only refuse and you were too slow.”
Sofia stepped forward. “You venomous snake.”
Morgana ignored her. “The duel will be in three days. In the Eastyard Arena.” She leaned in close to me. “Try not to faint this time.”
I clenched my jaw. “Why are you doing this?”
She tilted her head. “Because people like you need to be put back where they belong.” Her voice dropped. “And because you’re a threat.”
Those words sank into me.
Before I could respond she touched the sigil. It flared bright then vanished. The contract was sealed.
Students whispered louder. Some looked excited. Some looked sorry for me. None stepped forward to help.
The four boys appeared seconds later.
Zev first. His eyes scanned the crowd then found me. His expression turned dark fast.
Kieran stood beside him jaw tight and shoulders tense. A slight glow flickered in his amber eyes.
Alaric and Cassian followed looking like they’d just walked into a crime scene.
“What happened?,” Kieran asked. His voice shook the air a little.
Sofia pointed at Morgana. “She challenged her.”
Kieran’s breath hitched. “No. No the duels are restricted she can’t.”
“She can.” Zev said. He looked tired and angry and too calm at the same time. “And we can’t interfere.”
Alaric looked at Morgana like he wanted to set her on fire. “This is ridiculous. She’s not ready.”
Cassian stepped to my side. “Thalira you don’t have to go through with this. There are loopholes.”
Zev shook his head. “Not with Morgana. She used the name sigil. Only death or victory breaks it.”
My stomach twisted. “She wants to control me.”
“She wants to crush you.” Sofia muttered.
Kieran stepped closer. “I’ll talk to Ravencroft. She’ll cancel it.”
Zev scoffed. “She won’t. The headmistress loves her games.”
Kieran gave him a glare but didn’t deny it.
Morgana walked past us with a tilt of her chin. “See you in three days Moonwhisper.”
I stared at the ground wishing I could sink into it.
Kieran reached out but stopped his hand inches from my shoulder. “Thalira look at me.”
I lifted my eyes.
“You’re not alone.” He said softly.
Zev stepped in as well. “We’ll train you.”
Alaric nodded. “All of us.”
Cassian smiled faintly. “She’s strong. Stronger than you think.”
Sofia crossed her arms. “I’m definitely helping. I refuse to let that witch embarrass you.”
Kieran exhaled. “Meet us after classes. We start today.”
The training was hell.
Sofia dragged me to an empty field behind the alchemy building. She threw a wooden staff at me.
“We’re starting with basics.” She said. “You need to block or you’re dead.”
“Sofia I don’t know how to use this.”
“That’s why we’re practicing. Come on.”
She charged at me. I yelped and stumbled back barely raising the staff to defend myself.
“No no keep your feet under you.” Sofia said. “You’re not dancing at some village festival.”
I groaned. Sweat dripped down my back. “I’m trying okay.”
“Try harder.” She said.
She swung again. I dodged this time mostly by accident.
“See you’re getting it.” She said with a grin.
I wished she’d stop enjoying this.
After an hour she stepped back and wiped her forehead. “Alright time for spell defense.”
My heart skipped. “Do we have to do this too?”
“Yes.” She reply. “Duel rules don’t limit elemental spells. Morgana will definitely throw fire at you, or knives, or fire shaped like knives.”
“That sounds comforting.”
She placed her hands on mine. “You can do this, you just have to focus.”
I breathed in slow. The wind shifted around me. For a moment everything felt still.
“Try the time thing.” She said quietly.
I hesitated. My time manipulation was wild. Some days it sparked. Some days it refused to exist. Some days it did too much.
I closed my eyes. I reached for that strange tug inside my chest. The one that felt like a hidden clock buried under my ribs.
Tick
Tick
I pushed.
The field warped slightly. Sofia’s hair slowed in the wind. The sound of birds stretched out thin like syrup. The air bent around me.
Then it snapped.
I dropped to one knee gasping.
Sofia rushed to me. “That was good, really good. You slowed the field for at least two seconds.”
“It felt like someone squeezed my brain.”
“That should be normal.” She said.
“No it’s not.”
“Yeah it’s not.” She admitted. “But it means you’re powerful.”
I wasn’t sure if that made me feel better or worse.
Behind us someone clapped.
We turned.
Zev leaned against a tree watching us. “That was reckless.”
Sofia rolled her eyes. “Hello to you too.”
He walked toward me. “You shouldn’t push your limits without someone skilled monitoring it.”
“Sofia is skilled.” I said.
Zev gave her a flat look. “She’s chaotic. That’s different.”
Sofia gasped. “Rude!”
Zev ignored her and crouched in front of me. “Show me your hands.”
I placed them in his. His touch was cool. He studied the faint glow still flickering under my skin.
“You pulled too much.” He said. “If you do that during the duel you’ll collapse.”
My chest tightened. “So what do I do?”
He looked at me with something serious and fragile. “Learn how to control not power.”
Before I could answer the wind changed.
Footsteps approached behind us.
It was Kieran.
His shirt was damp with sweat like he’d been training too. His amber eyes locked on me immediately.
“I came as fast as I could.” He said. “I talked to Ravencroft.”
Zev stood. “Let me guess. She refused.”
Kieran didn’t answer.
Sofia cursed under her breath. “Great. We’re doomed.”
Kieran moved to me. “Thalira you can beat her.”
I swallowed. “I don’t feel like I can.”
He cupped my cheek lightly. “Feelings lie but I don’t.”
Zev stiffened but didn’t speak.
Kieran lowered his hand. “We’ll train together tonight. The four of us and Sofia.”
Sofia shrugged. “Sure add me last like I’m the side dish.”
Kieran ignored her. “Thalira you need to trust us.”
“I do.” I said even though my heart said otherwise.
Zev stepped closer. “Three days is not enough time.”
Kieran shot him a look. “Then we make it enough.”
The wind blew harder. The sky dimmed. Thunder rolled far away like a warning.
Sofia looked up. “Weather’s acting weird.”
“No.” Zev murmured. “Something is shifting.”
Kieran’s body went tense. He turned slowly toward the main academy building.
Voices rose. Students screamed. A flash of red burst from the direction of the courtyard.
Alaric sprinted toward us breathless. Cassian followed looking pale.
“Kieran!” Alaric shouted. “You need to see this.”
Cassian pointed at the courtyard. “It’s Morgana.”
My heartbeat stuttered. “What about her?”
Alaric swallowed. “She just upgraded the duel.”
Zev’s jaw dropped. “To what?”
Cassian whispered.
“Lifebinding level.”
The ground felt like it dropped under me as the words hit.
Lifebinding.
A duel where one of us might not walk away.
Kieran’s eyes turned gold.
“No.” He said. “No she’s gone too far.”
Alaric shook his head. “It’s already sealed.”
Kieran grabbed my hand. “Thalira you need to see this.”
But before we could move a dark voice drifted through the air behind us.
“I wanted you to know.” Morgana said. “I’m not planning to just beat you.”
We turned.
She stood a few steps away her eyes glowing with cruel fire.
“I’m planning to end you.”