Radiance - The Alight Archives Book #1

16. Aptitude

"Crows, huh?" Custas snickered. "I kinda like it. Makes us sound mysterious, enigmatic, bold!"

Elaine rolled her eyes. "It wasn't meant as a compliment, Custas. According to Hound, everyone thinks of us as a blight on the academy."

"Again, not really seeing the issue here. If anything, it just paints us as sorcerers not to be trifled with."

"Forget it," Elaine sighed. This "bad news" obviously wasn't getting through to him, its connotations flying ignorantly over his head. 

The snickering boy leaned arms crossed against the side of her desk as Fearne, having yet to get over her confrontation with Minerva—her expression bled anxiety and pain—seated herself at the desk next to her.

She hadn't spoken much since then. Perhaps she was too taken aback by what happened. Regardless, Elaine knew when not to pry. They'd make a certain kind of soggy expression—one that made their eyes droop or mouth warp—walk with a slouch, or occasionally disperse defeated sighs.

Liam got like that whenever he got told off by Mother, most usually because he did something he wasn't supposed to. As such, Elaine was well aware of the common symptoms of a person longing to be left alone. 

She trusted that Hound would honor his word and conduct a discussion regarding the trio of bullies with the headmaster. But was she being too optimistic? She'd learned that even a noble who wasn't a mage had enough power to will the world to their design, if not with tokens then through sheer force. 

If Minerva's father really was such a viable contributor to the academy as a whole, was the headmaster—or any staff member on campus, for that matter—really in the position to reprimand them?

Furthermore, despite Fearne's insistence to drop the subject, she just had to know who was spreading these secrets around the school. How did they find out about her last-minute enrollment or Fearne's status as a halfbreed? More importantly though, what other dangerous secrets were they in the possession of, and how much longer would it be before they began circulating Glyph as well?

"So, you had a run-in with the Barrows, did you?" asked Custas.

"Unfortunately," Elaine grumbled. "And I can't say they were the most friendly of folk. Stopped us from coming to class simply on account of me owning a commoner's wand instead of a "high-class" Advanced Wand."

Out of the corner of her glance, Elaine spotted Fearne wince in her seat. She wouldn't admit to Custas the real reason why she'd been targeted. Secrets were the property of their owner; that was the way it should be.

"Man, guys like them really make me sick," Custas spat. "I swear they'd have you believe the entire world revolved around them. Delusional sulmos."

"You know them?"

"Eh...sort of. Saw them once at, let's say, a social gathering for nobles in the Capital. I doubt they remember me though."

Elaine raised a brow. "You live in the Capital?"

"Lived, past tense," Custas corrected. "And...kinda...."

"Right, and tell me, just what were you doing at a noble event?"

"Hey, a guy's gotta make a living somehow," Custas snickered. "In any case, House Barrow are kinda like celebrities. They're known for their lucrative trading businesses, specializing in the mass production and distribution of enchanted items in and out of the country. 

"Word on the street is that they've got their fingers in quite a few upper-status circles. People these days crave their notoriety, their influence. So it isn't too surprising to hear they're sponsoring Glyph to some extent. But it does make dealing with their snobby nobleings that much more difficult."