"What the hell happened?" The words came out sharper than I intended.
Selena studied my reaction with those unsettling peach eyes. "They're still investigating, but whoever did it drained him completely. No mana left in his system. Probably used Necrotox."
Necrotox was nasty stuff—illegal for good reason. It severed the connection between your mana veins and pool, leaving you powerless and vulnerable. But that wasn't the weird part.
"The authorities checked for mana signatures from the attack," she continued. "Found nothing. Whoever did this used atmospheric mana."
I felt like someone had dumped ice water down my spine. Using atmospheric mana meant two things: unlimited power and complete anonymity. Anyone with that ability would be virtually unstoppable.
"How do you know all this?" I asked.
"My sister's a third-year. She hears things." Another detail the original story never mentioned. Selena had family here, connections I knew nothing about.
"Is Silver going to make it?"
She shrugged. "Doesn't look good."
Despite my discomfort around Silver, I didn't want him dead. Beaten up for being annoying? Maybe. Dead? That was a different story entirely.
"Mr. Ryan." The Professor's voice cut through our conversation. "How about you join us up here?"
Great. I untangled myself from Selena's grip and walked down to the platform, where Ethan was already standing with that insufferable smirk of his.
"We're going to demonstrate the difference between high and low-level mana manipulation," the professor announced.
This felt like a setup. The academy knew about my mana situation—or lack thereof, until recently. My family might have disowned me, but they'd still prepaid my tuition years ago. So why put me in this position unless someone wanted to humiliate me?
"I'll teach you both a basic fireball spell," She said, addressing the class. "This will show you how mana pool capacity affects spell potency. Purer core, larger pool. Larger pool, wider veins. Wider veins, stronger magic."
She began the incantation. "Elemental magic..."
I felt something stir inside me—my newly returned mana responding to the words.
"Flames of Ephynia."
Ethan's fireball materialized instantly, massive and crackling with power. The class murmured appreciatively, and he preened like a peacock. But when he looked to the professor for praise, her attention was elsewhere.
She was staring at my fireball.
Mine was smaller—about the size of my fist—but that wasn't what had everyone confused. The flames were purple instead of the usual orange-red.
"Why is it purple?" someone whispered.
Good question. I had no fucking idea.