"The chances that Felix's calculations are wrong are slim," Orion said, grinning. "Looks like even among us freaks, you're the biggest freak of all."
Laughter erupted from the group, the teasing lighthearted but relentless.
Jace felt his face heat up in embarrassment before he finally gave in and laughed along with them. He knew they weren't wrong, if he was the only one among them who could do this, then yeah… maybe he really was a freak.
"Well, sounds like you guys don't want my help then," he said, feigning offense.
That only made them laugh harder.
Aurora, who hadn't laughed at either occasion, spoke up, her voice calm as ever. "I didn't laugh. You're still going to assist me, right?"
Her sincerity sent the rest of them into another round of laughter.
Aurora looked around at the group, confused as to why her question had made them laugh even harder. It took her a moment to realize, Jace must have been joking, and her serious response had only made it funnier to the others.
Understanding dawned on her, a slight smile crossed her lips.
The rest of the class passed without much else happening. Jace remained stuck at the halfway point, unable to push further, while the rest of his group shifted their focus toward improving their mana sensitivity.
Aurora theorized that this was Lord Severian's true intent behind the lesson. Without a high level of mana sensitivity, there seemed to be no way to accomplish the exercise.
But, like everything at the academy, the true challenge wasn't just the task itself, it was recognizing the lesson hidden within it. The academy had always preached the importance of understanding a lesson, rather than simply completing it.
As usual, their classes ended early enough to leave plenty of time for self training, research, or scouting opponents.
Realizing how much of an advantage adaptive magic could be, Jace decided to dedicate extra time to practicing it, at least until their now routine nightly training session.
However, with the second contest set for the following day, both he and Aurora agreed to hold back from pushing themselves to exhaustion. They needed to be fresh and ready for the matches ahead.
The next morning, Jace woke feeling good, grateful they had shown some restraint. After a light workout to loosen up, he grabbed his things and made his way toward the arena to meet the others.
"Hey, Aurora," Jace called, waving as he approached. He wasn't surprised to see that she was the first one there.
Aurora glanced up from her notebook at the sound of his voice. "Hello, Jace. It seems someone is rigging the contest again." She gestured toward the schedule posted for each round.
Frowning, Jace turned to look at the board. At first, nothing seemed off, but then he saw it.
Team Elizabeth was the first team to compete. Again.
"They really don't want anyone watching their matches, huh?" he scoffed.
"It's a deliberate move," Aurora said, irritation creeping into her tone. "They're making sure that by the time they face us, we'll have as little information on them as possible."
"I thought House Dusk believed in handling things themselves?" Jace asked, his confusion evident.
Aurora nodded. "They do. I'm assuming this is just my sister using her influence to get what she wants." She glanced back down at her notebook, flipping a page. "Or… Mother wants to prove a point badly enough that she's willing to overlook the rule."
Jace scoffed, shaking his head. "That's just like the nobles, rules are rules until they get in the way of something they want."
"Do you expect anything different?" Astra laughed as she and Elias joined them.
"I'd like to think I'm different…" Aurora murmured, her hands suddenly still over her notebook.
Astra tilted her head. "What was that?"
"Nothing." Aurora responded quickly, realizing too late that she had spoken aloud.
But Jace had heard her. He just wasn't sure what to say. Her voice had been quiet, almost sad, like, for just a moment, her real self had slipped through.
Before he could dwell on it, Ethan and Selene arrived, shifting everyone's focus. Jace decided it was their turn to be teased.
"You know, every time you two show up, it's together," he said with a smirk. "Are you sure you're not the real lovebirds here?"
Ethan hesitated mid step before letting out a laugh. "Fair enough. I deserved that one."
"You absolutely did," Selene said, laughing as she elbowed him.
As the rest of the group approached, their focus shifted back to the contest. With everyone gathered, they began reviewing their strategy, making sure their plan was as solid as possible.
It didn't take long before their group was called, scheduled for the third contest of the day. The three participating in the conjuration round stood and made their way toward the arena.
"You three, make sure you crush them," Jace called after them. "Elizabeth's team isn't the only one who should make a statement."
Aurora paused, turning back to face him. "Don't worry. There's no chance they'll defeat us."
Her voice carried zero doubt, pure confidence.
Jace couldn't help but grin. She wasn't one to make empty promises.