DON'T LET HER

     We quietly walked and reached the unused gardening classroom, where Aera had taken me to meet her brother. Through the smudged window, I could see the arena and students sitting in the rows, chatting while waiting for the fight to begin. Snow was lazily falling, creating a white blanket on the ground.

The guards were positioned near the gates, likely because of the fight. Since Hana and Ela were the top of their class, people from outside were also interested in seeing them go at each other.

Locking the door, Hana grabbed my shoulder and turned me to face her.

"Explain yourself. Now," she demanded, her grip tightening. "First, start with your mana."

"Start with my mana?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "My mana is close to zero. I wasn't even able to get checked by Mr. Vlad."

"Bullshit," she retorted, stepping closer. "I saw you using that weird spell. Creating some sort of portal."