Mistake

Their appearance was no coincidence. Kael, Mira, and Brann positioned themselves in front of the dorm entrance, blocking it completely.

"What a touching scene," Kael said with his voice soft but loaded with irony. His gaze wasn't on me, but on Nina, who had frozen by my side. "A warrior-wannabe and his... private tutor."

Mira, slender and with the air of a viper about to strike, let out a low laugh. "They look so innocent. It's almost a shame to ruin the fun."

Brann just watched everything with his arms crossed, his huge figure seemed to block even the moonlight. And he didn't even need to speak for his presence to be oppressive.

"What do you want?"

I stepped in front of Nina. They had been waiting for me, looking for trouble. I already knew the reason for their hatred, but why act now?

Kael finally turned his eyes to me, with a narrow, humorless smile on his lips. "We just came to congratulate you on advancing in the tournament. It was an... interesting victory. But beginner's luck doesn't last forever."

"It wasn't luck," I said. It had been anything but luck.

"No?" Kael took a step forward, ignoring my response. "I'll save you some time and get straight to the point. I've heard why you entered the tournament, about your will to obtain the grimoire. Unfortunately, I've come to warn you that the best decision is to abandon that idea."

"And why does that matter to you?"

How did they know? I hadn't told almost anyone. Could they have found something in Professor Arven's office? It was true that his office wasn't the epitome of security... Anyone could have accessed our research. That had to be it.

"I can't allow your dirty hands to touch a relic."

Kael approached me. My hand was already in my pocket, gripping the amber crystal. When he took a step too large, I threatened to draw it. At that moment, I no longer cared. I had swallowed all their provocations without fighting back, but I wouldn't do it again. If he needed to learn through force, so be it.

"I'm not playing around. Leave us alone."

"It seems he still hasn't understood his place," Mira commented with a sharp smile.

They were buying time as they spoke, and I felt every word was a meticulous study of my movements. They could attack at any moment. The question was whether they just wanted to intimidate me or something worse.

Last time, Mira had tried to hit me with an arrow, which I managed to dodge. Now, all three of them were together. The numerical disadvantage was clear, and I had Nina behind me. She wasn't a warrior like me, and even though she was skilled with magic, I feared something would happen to her.

"At least leave Nina out of this."

"No one is going anywhere," Kael shouted, losing his patience. "It seems you didn't understand our warning last time. We'll have to be more direct."

Brann stood in front of me while Kael began to circle us, and Mira remained behind the brute, using him as a shield. If a fight started, it would be chaotic. Mira, at a distance, would be the most dangerous. I would need to neutralize her first, but with Brann in the way, the situation was complicated.

"Perhaps the best lesson for you is... Ah, I know. How about we, by chance, find a little lost girl?"

It felt like I had been punched. They knew even about that? But there was no time to think about how they got the information. I just felt something inside me about to explode. A relentless fury. They wouldn't dare mess with my sister. My fingers tingled, ready to conjure the sword at any instant.

"Don't touch that subject."

"Oh, why not?" Mira said, feigning innocence. "It's such a sad story. A little sister, lost in a violent world... Who knows where she is now? Or who she's with?"

The implication was the last straw. They not only knew but were using it against me. They were threatening her.

"Shut up!" I yelled.

The energy around me distorted, making the air hum. My sword materialized in my hand in a flash of light.

That was the breaking point.

"Get him!" Kael ordered.

Brann charged like a bull. He was slow, but his rush was an avalanche of brute force, meant to crush everything.

"Nina, step back!" I said, planting my foot to face him.

Our blades clashed with such a fierce impact that I swore the bones in my arm would break. His strength was inhuman.

While I held the line against Brann, a sharp sound cut through the air. An arrow of pure energy, fired by Mira, came toward me. I dodged by a hair's breadth, feeling the magic's heat graze my face.

Nina, going against what I said, didn't flee. With wide eyes, she raised her hands, conjuring a shield of unstable energy that deflected the next arrow. "I-I can defend myself!" she yelled, her voice trembling, yet determined.

It was then that Kael moved, not toward me, but toward Nina. Like a shadow, he appeared next to her, the tip of his thin, curved sword pointed in her direction.

"No battle is ever fair, is it?" he whispered with a treacherous smile.

Seeing Nina in danger, about to be hurt because of me, made something snap inside me. Rage took over, sharp and absolute. With a roar, I parried another of Brann's blows and, instead of retreating, lunged at Kael. I completely ignored the brute, focusing all my fury on the leader.

"Get away from her!" I screamed, delivering a series of rapid, savage blows. The surprise made him recoil, and he barely managed to block my attacks. The precision and patience learned with Lyra were replaced by pure ferocity. I felt the blade hit something, an arm, a shoulder, the adrenaline didn't let me distinguish, and a spray of dark blood stained the air.

"He's gone crazy!" I heard Mira yell, trying to take aim again.

"Finish it, Brann!" Kael ordered, still defending against my desperate attack.

The brute grabbed me from behind, and his huge arms wrapped around my torso like tentacles, lifting me off the ground. I beat, kicked, tried everything to break free. My vision blurred with anger. Then, I delivered heel strikes against his shins, repeatedly, until a grunt of pain forced him to release me.

At that moment, an authoritative voice echoed across the courtyard.

"What is going on here?!"

The pressure ceased. Brann's blood dripped onto the ground, and I fell to my knees, gasping for breath. Two professors were running toward us. Kael, holding his injured arm, was already putting on the expression of an innocent victim. Mira had disappeared.

"He attacked us!" Kael said immediately, with false indignation. "It was unprovoked!"

"He's lying!" Nina screamed, rushing to my side. "They provoked him! They threatened his..." She stopped, suddenly remembering she was about to reveal my secret.

I looked at the professors, then at Kael, whose proud smile was visible only to me. The physical battle was over, but a war of words and versions was about to begin. The physical evidence, my sword, and Kael's injury were all against me. I knew, with a cold chill, that in a moment of blind rage, I had put everything at risk.

The professors pulled me to my feet, but my mind was elsewhere, trying to assimilate the depth of my stupidity. I had fallen into their trap, exactly as they wanted. Now, they had what they needed to incriminate me, painting me as the aggressor.

I had been an idiot. And, without realizing it, I might have ruined not only my chance in the tournament but any hope of finding my sister.