Phantom Hunters | Saphir Casters Academy

17 | Gifts of Welcome

XVII | GIFTS OF WELCOME

    A thick rope of water slapped next to Kael, pushing him to run even faster. He grit his teeth and accelerated, sure that his clothes were soaked more from the spouts of water than his own sweat.

    "Come on!" a harsh feminine voice urged. "Put your back into it! Run like scared the little puppies you are!" She laughed maniacally as if she enjoyed the torture she inflicted on the students.

    Another whip of water escaped her glaive, splashing a student who was slowing down. Steam rose from flustered girl, and she jolted into a frantic sprint while crying in pain.

    "If you don't have enough energy to run, how do you think you'll have any energy to fight phantoms? Get a move on!"

    Kael made his fifteenth lap around the arena. He slowed to a stop, gasping for precious air. A shower of boiling water rained down on him.

    "Are you taking a break?" The fitness-combat teacher seemed to be glowering over him, her eyes darkening into a near black shade.

    She's worse than Aunt Lana on a bad day!

    "I-I'm done with my laps," Kael heaved a breath, wiping away the sogging hot water from his forehead. Seis Aqwivl, a woman who radiated with dominance, was short and slim, reminding Kael much of his aunt. Her small size, however, did absolutely nothing to dilute the terrifying prowess she had with her glaive, which she so often threatened the students as she did to Kael now.

    "Did I say you could take a break when you were finished with your laps?" Seis pointed the sharp blade of her glaive so close to Kael's chest that he would have been impaled if he took even an inch of a step forward.

    "N-no, ma'am! Sorry, I'll start again."

    Seis expertly twirled her weapons away from Kael and stamped the butt of it into the ground. "Get on with it, then! Give me another fifteen laps!"

    Kael grimaced. Another fifteen laps? This was absolute torture.

    "What are you waiting for?" A spiral of water spouted from the blade, and Seis swung her arm back. "MOVE!"

    Out of sheer terror, Kael sprang into action and ran as hard as he could. It was a good thing, too, because steaming water destroyed the ground he'd just been standing on.

    For the next hour, the students ran nonstop around the arena. Seis had pushed them so hard that some of the students with weaker bodies had to be taken to the infirmary after throwing up or falling unconscious from exhaustion and heat.

    When time was up, everyone fell to the ground in unison. Kael gripped his knees and panted. He wiped the sweat dripping down his cheek, but it seemed as if his sweat glands were on overdrive.

    The arena smelled of sweat from the exertion of more than one-hundred students. No one even had the energy to speak, so the arena remained quiet with the exception of the huffs and puffs of breaths.

    Then, like a miracle, cold water sprinkled down on them. Kael grinned at the refreshing mist fanning down his heated skin, relishing in a small cloud of frosty droplets.

    "There you go, class. You deserve it after all that running." Like a switch had been turned off, Seis's fierce shouts receded, and she spoke with such motherly tenderness that Kael thought a twin had replaced her. Yet another trait that reminded him of his aunt — and Afia.

    Replenished with some energy, Kael stood. Now that class was over, the first students who recovered were leaving the room. Kael searched for his friends and noticed Garun near him.