Two months later

Bright blue arrows flew at Alice, tails of light trailing in the air behind them. The green glow of her own magic swirled around her arm, as she raised it to block them. The first and second arrow sparked against her skin as the magics clashed, but then vanished without leaving a mark.

She didn't see the third. It came too fast after the second. There wasn't enough time for her to shift her magic, and the arrow lodged itself in her shoulder.

She stumbled, while her mind raced. It would only be a few seconds, before the arrow would disappear, and her inner voice urged pressure on the wound, but she didn't have time for that. She had to drop into a crouch to avoid another arrow, and she needed a plan of action. Her instincts took over, and instead of running away from Teagan, she charged towards her.

Teagan preferred ranged attacks, but wasn't bad at close combat. It was a close call, but Alice was just a little better. Even if it was entirely thanks to her magic, which was more suited for it. Teagan expected her to stay on the defensive, and was taken aback when she changed her tactic. Still, she had just enough time to extinguish the bow and instead conjure a blade. Alice blocked it with her arm, and slipped past her guard. She grabbed her wrist, spun around and threw her elbow back. The hit landed, but Teagan didn't falter. She pulled her back against her chest and slung her arm around her neck. Alice shifted most of her magic up to protect against the pressure, allowing just enough to remain in her fingers to put pressure around Teagan's wrist. She tightened her grip, until the knife started flickering. She closed her eyes for just a second, while she cracked the bone. She still didn’t like the sound, but she had unlearned the feelings of guilt when she broke bones. Pain became meaningless, when it could be mended in a flash.

Teagan bit back the scream, but Alice heard the thin whimper and the grunt of effort, as she steeled herself. She wouldn't be able to conjure with that hand anymore, but that didn't mean Alice had won. Alice was pushed back, and Teagan conjured a javelin spear, meant to keep her at a distance. Teagan's focus wavered along with her magic, as she failed to ignore the pain in her other wrist. Alice moved forward, aware of the blade, as it solidified. It wasn't the easiest weapon to handle one-handed, but Teagan was nothing if not determined. She swung high, so Alice dropped low, but the blade still caught her on the arm, cutting deep.

Alice was close again, though, and she shifted her magic to her leg and kicked Teagan off her feet. She dropped heavily on the mat, and Alice knelt down on top of her. Teagan desperately conjured a dagger, but with only one working hand, there was not much more she could do. Alice caught her arm and settled her other hand around her throat, calling her magic. She let it swirl there, around her fingers, making it clear that she had the power to kill her.

"Yield," she said, when Teagan only glared at her.

"No."

"Tea, you have no moves left."

Teagan shook her head. "I'm not done."

Alice took a slow breath. She could break her other wrist, but she didn't want to be needlessly cruel.

"What's your plan?" She was aware of their audience, waiting for a resolution. She knew this wouldn't look good to the examiners. They weren't meant to be friends in this arena. There was no room for kindness.

Some of the students were chanting, but they were too scattered to be coherent. It called attention to the empty seats, the large spaces between spectators. The arena should have been packed, but just like in the classrooms, there were too many absences. No one knew what was happening to all the disappearing students, and neither the Council nor the Academy was saying anything. They had watched their teachers slowly panicking, while assuring them that everything was fine. They had watched each other lose friends and family, with no explanation offered. There would have to be an announcement soon, but Alice suspected they were trying to get through exams

first. She only hoped the year wouldn’t end on a tragedy.

Teagan bucked under her, trying to unseat her. It nearly worked, as she lost her balance, but it only resulted in Alice nearly choking her, as she scrambled to steady herself. Teagan did get her hand free, and nearly managed to stab Alice in the side, but she was already shifting her magic, and the resulting cut was shallow. This time, she did break her other wrist.

Alice pushed herself up. She still had the power, and if Teagan didn't yield now, she would have to knock her out. The Healers were standing at the edge of the arena, ready for when the match was called.

Teagan struggled to get up with her two broken wrists.

"Yield," she said, through clenched teeth. The Healers rushed over.

Alice's side was soaked in blood from her wounds, but it could be worse. The Healer still urged her to drink plenty of water or juice to replenish her fluids. She thanked the Mage, and stepped off the mat. Nick was there, and patted her shoulder, but he was watching Teagan. He’d already finished his exam, and was wearing his uniform, if only barely. He wasn’t wearing a tie, and the sleeves of his charcoal shirt were folded up to his elbows. She glimpsed the tattoo on his forearm; a laurel wreath circling a “T”. Teagan wore a matching one with the letter “N”. They’d gotten them on their first anniversary, and while Alice had never had reason to feel threatened by their relationship, she still worried sometimes. Nick’s hand lay on her like a friendly gesture, but Teagan was going to be upset, and Nick would have to pick a side. When Teagan’s broken bones were healed, she walked towards them, but didn't seem like she was going to stop.

Nick was the one who grabbed her.

"Tea," he said.

She tore free of his grip. "Don't."

He guided her a few step away, but Alice could still hear them. "Don't pretend you don't know how this works. The fight was good, Tea."

"I know," she snapped, but then relaxed into him, resting her head against his shoulder. "I know."

Nick murmured something else to her, that Alice couldn’t hear. When she pulled away again, she looked at Alice.

Alice stepped closer, warily. "I'm sorry, Tea."

"No, I'm sorry. I just—"

"You wanted to win."

"I wanted to fucking win," Teagan said, but she was smiling now, if only faintly. "Well, I guess you deserve one last victory, before you leave."

Alice forced a smile, despite the jag she felt in her stomach. Teagan reached out and tilted her chin up. "You look a little pale. Let's go get some food."

Alice nodded, struggling to find her voice. Teagan headed for the changing rooms, and Alice started to follow, but Nick held her back.

"You have to tell her."

"What?" Alice asked, uncertain.

"What leaving the Academy really means."

Neither one of them were supposed to know. She hadn't known how to tell them, so she kept putting it off, hoping she would find some other way.

"I--" She faltered, not knowing where to begin. "How did you--?"

"My parents tried, you know, to live in both worlds. They did it for me, so my name would mean something, but they could never really settle into the fringes of magical society, and I don't think you even intend to try."

Alice bit down on her lip, but shook her head.

"It's okay," he said. "I don’t want you to go, Alice, but I get it. A clean break is going to hurt, but not as much as living in the shadow of this place."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I wish I could…"

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"I know." Nick reached out for her shoulder, and pulled back his blood stained fingers. "Right. Go change."

Alice took a step, before turning back. "I'll tell her. Soon."

Neither one of them pointed out that she would have to do it soon. There was only one exam left, and then they were done. Teagan and Nick would almost immediately start working with their mentors, but Alice had until fall, before she started college. It gave her a small window to adjust, and move out of one set of dorms and into an other. Alice had her life planned out, much of it decided before she even manifested, when her mother had still hoped she never would.

Alice's mother had taken the mandatory years at an Academy in India, had then married her un-magical father, and moved with him to America. For as long as she could remember, Alice had been told she was going to be a lawyer, and at some point, she had embraced this fate. Shortly before she manifested, Alice suggested that she might be open to her parents finding her a partner, and it hadn't taken them long to find Ravi Mishra. Alice had been too young, at the start of it, to pursue it as a romantic relationship, and Ravi had been too close to leaving for college for it to make sense anyway. Love did gradually strengthen the foundation of their friendship, but it was still, for the most part, a friendship.

When Alice manifested, she had clung on to the promise of a future with him, even as she had to lie to him. She couldn't tell him about magic, so instead, she had to make up a sting of lies to justify her stay at the Academy. The past three years had been a deviation from the plan. Alice was only supposed to stay for the two mandatory years, but had been unable to let magic go that easily. So, she had stayed, and year after year, it had become just a little harder to make up the lies.

This time, she really was going to have to leave.

When she entered the changing room, Teagan was settled on one of the benches, already wearing her uniform.

"What happened to you?"

"Nick," Alice answered, but didn't have a convincing lie in place, so she left it at that, while she pulled off her t-shirt. Nearly a quarter of it was dark with wet blood. She sighed. "I'm going to have to shower."

The fight had left her starving, and she'd been looking forward to getting to the cafeteria. Even a quick shower felt like an unreasonable delay.

"Sorry," Teagan said. "Did he give you a hard time about winning?" She said it lightly, jokingly, since they both knew he wouldn't. He might be expected to be on Teagan's side, since they were dating, but it would have been more likely for him to pay Alice a compliment. If he hadn't been too busy making her feel guilty, at least.

"Sort of." Alice shrugged, and pulled off her tights. They were only barely bloodied, so at least she didn't have to write off all her clothes. "He reminded me, that I didn't need the win." She turned to Teagan. "It really wasn't… I didn't plan it."

"Well, he was right. It doesn't matter who won."

They were judged entirely on their reactions in a fight, so even if you lost, you could still get full marks. The exam was meant to emulate a real fight, so authenticity mattered. If Alice had gone against her instincts, in order to allow Teagan to win, it would have been noticed.

"I know, but it should have been you."

Teagan swung her leg over the bench, and stood. "I'm disappointed, but that's on me. I shouldn't have underestimated you." She cupped her face. "You earned it."

"Thank you," Alice said, feeling unworthy of the forgiveness. It still felt like she had made a mistake, even though it had been the only thing she could have done. Even if it might have cost them a good grade, she should have been able to give Teagan this.

Her phone chimed, and she turned towards her locker. It was a reminder of a meeting she had in one hour. She clicked the screen off.

"I'll see you at the cafeteria?"

Teagan nodded, and headed for the exit, leaving Alice alone to shower and change. Once she had washed the blood out of her skin and put on her uniform, she only had 45 minutes left and she started feeling nervous. She had no real reason to, since she was planning on leaving, but there was absolutely no good reason for the head of the Agents to want to see her. She kept trying to think of something she might have done wrong, but nothing came to mind.

The food hall was close to the gym, and Alice was soon settled down beside Teagan and Nick with a tray of mushroom pizza and a salad, but she was rapidly losing her appetite. Her stomach growled in protest, and she picked out a slice of tomato.

"I really don't think you have anything to be nervous about."

Alice looked up at Nick, glanced over at Teagan and then back to her fork, where the piece of tomato was still attached. She knew he was talking about the meeting, but a knot joined the nausea in her stomach, when she thought about what she had promised him.

"That's easy for you to say," Teagan was saying. "I'd be nervous too, if I got to meet Hadley Thomas."

"Well, I don't think Alice is interested in his autograph."

The fork clattered on the plate, and Alice pulled her hands slowly into her lap. She wasn't interested in his autograph, but few saw the Incident in quite the same light as Teagan. Most people thought Luka Lavrin was the hero, while Teagan firmly believed that the title belonged to Hadley Thomas. Either way, there was no denying that meeting with him was a big deal.

Alice shook her head. "I just hate not knowing what he wants. He never talks to students."

The meeting request had arrived in her calendar with no warning. She had believed it to be a mistake at first, but her e-mail to his office had been answered with a confirmation that he wished to see her. No other information was offered.

Teagan got up and vanished, but returned a few minutes later with a pile of crackers. She pulled the tray of food towards herself and Nick, and handed him a second fork.

"Thanks," Alice said, and started nibbling on a cracker. Eating helped, a little, and she was through most of the pile, when the fifteen minute reminder chimed on her phone. Mage Thomas' office was on the other side of campus, in the administrative buildings, but it wouldn't take her fifteen minutes to walk there. She took a last sip of water to wash down the dry crackers and stood. She had always meant to arrive early, and now she just wanted to get it over with.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Teagan asked, when Alice hesitated.

Nick nudged her. "No, she doesn't."

"What? It was a genuine offer."

"A genuine offer to get close to Hadley Thomas."

Alice couldn't help but smile, as they continued to bicker. "I'll see you after," she said, and finally took off.

She passed the hospital and turned right at the library, an old habit to avoid the Council buildings. Even though the buildings were all done in the same bleakly gothic style, there was something especially intimidating about the way the Council buildings loomed over the Academy, and it was common for students to take the other way around. It was a small detour, as the administrative buildings sat beside them, and this way crossed over the crest inlaid in the courtyard by the entrance. Her heart started hammering, when she stepped over the shield and dragon. The glass tower shimmered in front of her, the sun casting a glowing path towards it. It was constructed to suit the surrounding architecture, with spiked towers and ornate steel work, while the stained glass was like plates of magic filling it in. She entered into a dizzying kaleidoscope of color, and then beyond, into the sudden darkness of the building.