Kai's POV“Your opponent is ranked third among the visiting students.” Jafser says it like he’s delivering news of my impending funeral. I glance at the tournament board and read.SEMIFINALS: KAI OF AUREUM ACADEMY VS. MARCUS OF EVERMORE INSTITUTE.Just then my eyes fall on the Marcus boy and he is certainly worth the hype of his schoolmates. He is tall, broad-shouldered, and covered in enchanted equipment, mostly things he has won from previous battles. There's a sword hanging at his waist, two gold bracelets around his wrists, and a dagger strapped to his thighs.I count each one after the other before taking note of another metal piece around his neck. “Five actually,” I mutter. Five pieces of evidence of what he has accomplished and in comparison to me, I have nothing.Jafser follows my gaze. “Five what?” I don’t answer but he quickly notices it as he stares at Marcus. Then he looks at me. “Please tell me you’re not planning to eat all of those.”That really wasn’t what I was think

Aelia’s POV“I sent you to school, Aelia and instead, you were busy running around that boy. Weren’t you scared for your life?” My father paces the living room as a lunges question after me.“Do not keep your father quiet, Aelia. Say something,” my mother adds. “We’ve heard a lot about that boy and we do. He’s very dangerous. Why would you even follow someone like that out of school premises without our permission?”Their permission? I almost laugh. Like the letter would’ve ever gotten to them if I had sent one. Like they would have ever been at home to pick up the phone if I had called them. “Say something, dammit,” my mother yells.“He’s not a bad person,” I lash out. I know that is the last thing they want to hear. Not after all the horrible things they’ve heard. They couldn’t care less if it was a bad person or not. However, that is all I have to say.My father pulls his head back in surprise. “What the hell does that even mean? He’s not a bad person. What about all the things we

Kai’s POVThe entire gallery is packed. Students, parents, directors and all staff are packed in different sections of the gallery. Even people who once demanded my expulsion have come to watch but I make no mistake. I know most of them are here to see me fail, especially after the news went around that I won’t be using my magic to fight. Just strength and abilities. Some cheer when I enter the arena while others whisper.“That’s him? The one who lost control in the dungeon?” Must be a new student from another academy who just heard the gossip.“I heard he absorbed an entire enchantment during his last match,” another late comer chimes in. “Unfortunately, he can’t do that with Ziven. He’s not allowed to use his magic, and that was his only advantage.” I ignore all of them.Across the arena, I see Ziven already waiting with his hands behind his back. He looks annoyingly calm and relaxed like someone with no worries at all. I can’t say the same for myself. I’ve never done any of this

Kai’s POV“Kai! Stop!” Ziven’s voice reaches me through the blinding pain in my head. I pause and look at him, wondering what he has to say now. Maybe he wants to talk about the rematch. After all, no one won. We each tried our possible best to get the other down, but none of us was willing to yield. Directors from both schools had to come together and come up with some kind of solution.“Are you already preparing for that rematch?” He asks jokingly. The rematch is basically supposed to happen in a few months from now. Both academies agreed that since they had never seen a phenomenon like this and neither were willing to take the tie title home, they would give us some time to prepare again and return for a final match. I smile. “I can ask you the same thing. Although you do not look very ready,” my eyes drop the bandage on his arm. He looks at it and smiles. “Fair enough.” We stare silently at each other for a moment before I remember he’s about to leave. All the schools are leavi

Aelia’s POVI stand in front of the address Miss Linda gave me, patiently waiting for the man to come out. It doesn’t take long for him to come out and he is exactly the person I saw in my father’s study yesterday. And surprisingly, he doesn’t even live very far from my academy. I can’t say for sure if it is a coincidence or if my parents already had him stationed here before. Their job makes them have many men stationed around the place so that whenever they need them for an assignment, it is always easy to commit to.I watch as a man walks into my Academy, and my heart starts to pound. According to Linda, she heard that talking about my academy and the only connection to it is either me or Kai. I’m no longer in the school and there is an ongoing issue involving Kai. The math is not too difficult for me to put together.He stands in the corner, looking around as if he’s searching for someone. I’m doing the same thing. I’m searching for Kai. I don’t know what for but I’m just searchi