“Well, don’t you look awfully bored?”

I scowl at Cain who looks down at me mockingly, sitting cross-legged on the grassy floor. His smirk gives me an urge to smack it right off his face.

“I’m having a lot of fun, actually.”

He raises a brow, obviously not believing me. I wonder if he knows what sarcasm is and how far I can go before he finds out. He looks like he’s about to speak before he’s cut off.

“Cain, Professor Sofronio is asking for you.” Rosalia says as she comes over. Cain grunts in acknowledgement before trudging away to the professor.

She turns to me, wiggling her eyebrows and I laugh, knowing she drove him away for me. What an awful person you have to deal with.

“Magic class can be tiring and stressful.” She says, plopping down next to me, stretching out. “Especially for the Elementals. We always need to be the best. Other people look up to us and envy us—or so we’re taught. I think not having magic is much better.”

“Sounds hard on you.” I scrunch up my nose, falling backwards as I bask in the warmth of Faery sunlight. Vaguely I wonder if it’s the same sun as the human world. 

“It is. Well, sometimes it can be fun. But we rarely get the chance to just…have fun.” She lets out a long, dejected sigh.

“We don’t have room for mistakes. We were born to take on the role of leadership, for we have the power to do so.” She gives me a sheepish look, her face timid.

“But if I could choose, I would like to be human.” She lays down next to me, a smile growing on her face as her eyes sparkle, filled with curiosity. “Could you tell me about the human world?”

“Well,” I start, letting the memories of my life before this flood my mind. “The human world isn’t as different as you think. We also have hierarchies and whatnot. We have better technology though. We have things like cars and the internet and cellphones. What we don’t have, I guess, is just magic.”

I turn to her and she looks disappointed by my vague answer.

I let out a quiet laugh. “But I guess magic makes all the difference in the world. I used to dream about meeting fairies and having magic. There are tons of people who wish they could use magic. In a way, this is kind of a dream come true.”

In the corner of my eyes, I see something move. Droplets of water fall onto my face. That’s not right, I’m pretty sure it was super sunny just a second ago. “What the—”

I look up and gasp, finding a dragon hovering above me. Its body is transparent and its shape wavers slightly, as if the entire thing was made out of pure water—

“Impressed, Halfling?” Cain calls from the side, and when he speaks the dragon flies—swims?—up higher in the air, opening its fanged mouth to let out a loud, dominant roar. It makes the ground rumble, the air flicker.

The dragon weaves around Cain, circling him in an elegant dance, and I watch in awe as Cain runs his hand through its watery scales, creating glowing ripples throughout its body.

It soars through the open field for a few more minutes before Cain snaps is fingers and it loses its shape as it falls heavily to the ground, splashing water everywhere.

Students who were standing nearby scream as they become soaked.

“Magnificent. Truly magnificent, Mr. Emlyn.” Professor Sofronio claps, basking him in praises. He has a strange expression on his face, 

“He’s the best at controlling magic in this class.” Rosalia tell me. “I hear he’s the best in his family too. Which is saying a lot since his father is currently the Lord of Water.”

“Lord of Water?” I raise my eyebrows. “Is that a big deal?”

“One of the biggest.” Rosalia chuckles. “There are five main Elements: Water, Fire, Earth, Wind and Nature. Nature is, of course, currently ruling since Queen Titania is a Nature Faery.”

She beams proudly. “And while she is ruling, the other Elements become Lords, which are directly under the Queen and have almost as much power. being the Lord of an Element means they are one of the strongest, if not the strongest of their Kind.”

“Indeed, Ms. Flor.” Professor Sofronio speaks up as she nears us.

“And until you display magic, it will be difficult to know exactly what Kind you are. Faery magic is split into three main categories. The Elemental, which of course are the strongest as they control the natural forces of the World. The Physical Kinds, which rely on manipulation of something physical. I am within this category, for I am a Suppressor.”

She smiles at my blank face. “It means I can suppress anyone’s power. This is the reason I am a teacher—I am able to control a student if their powers get out of hand.”

She continues without a hitch, as if she’s explained this a million times. “And finally, the Mental Kinds, which are based on mental powers. Examples include Knowledge—which Professor Durney possesses—the ability to learn the knowledge of someone or something instantly, and other common ones such as Telekinesis and Emotional Manipulation.”

I struggle to retain all the information I was given. It’s difficult to wrap my mind around such foreign concepts of magic and Kinds. All this makes me suddenly nauseous, the world spinning around me like a toss.

Something doesn’t feel right within me, like something is trying to get out. Like my soul has gotten tired of my body and wants to break free.

“Kay? Kay, are you okay? You look pale—” I faintly hear Rosalia’s worried voice ask, her warm hand on my shoulder, but it all feels faraway as if it was done to someone else.

A loud squawk echoes throughout the skies and cuts her off. the sound is powerful, magnificent, even more so than the roar of Cain’s dragon. Everyone looks up to see where the sound is coming from, confused murmurs growing.

My eyes manage to focus enough to see something in the sky—a bird of some sort.

It’s dark feathers seems to reflect the sunlight and almost seems golden as it moves. Its wings soar through the air, cutting it like knives.

It is larger than most birds, long tail feathers fanning out elegantly. Its beady eyes are glowing yellow as they meet mine, another squawk erupting from its amber beak.

“Goodness.” Professor Sofronio says, squinting at it. “I’ve never seen such a bird before.”

The bird circles the sky above the class before it dives straight at me, its wings flapping ferociously as it slows and still itself. It lands before me, kicking up blades of grass and dust.

I cough and blink away the tears building in my eyes.

For a moment, all is silent as everyone stares at me and the bird. The air seems to hold its breath, and I’m afraid to move as I wait for something to happen.

Finally, the bird moves, its eyes blinking at me and, to my surprise, it bows its head low in an elegant arch.

“Oh my!” Professor Sofronio exclaims, and conversation erupts again, ringing in my ears. My body locks up and I’m afraid to move.

“What is going on here?” A familiar voice cuts through the tension, silencing everyone.

I turn to find Zephen, accompanied by Professor Durney, making their way towards me. Another wave of gasps and murmurs start upon their presence.

He looks a bit different; he carries himself with more authority, more power, demanding respect. It makes me want to cower back.

“Lord Gale!” Professor Sofronio greets him rather enthusiastically, her eyes blown wide as she hurries to explain. “It seems that Ms. Sanders has been chosen.”

“Why would it choose her?” A student yells, their voices growing ever louder with chaos. “She must’ve done something to it!”

I spin towards them, unable to believe what I’m hearing. The words that tumble out of their mouths are scorching against my mind.

My blood boils, my temperature spiking as anger licks at my feet. “Excuse me? What exactly is going on?”

The chatter grows in volume, indiscernible. They seem upset at me for some reason, but I didn’t even do anything!

“Kay,” Zephen’s icy voice makes me flinch. “What happened?”