"GET IN LINE, MAGGOTS!" A voice boomed across the massive stadium with enough force to shake dust from the ceiling beams.
The sound jolted me from my brooding thoughts about my academic situation. I turned toward the source and spotted what could only be described as a mountain of muscle with a voice to match—clearly our combat class instructor.
"Hey, Selena!" I called out, trying to get her attention as I spotted her across the field.
She completely ignored me. Without even sparing me a glance, she walked away from where I was standing, her pace brisk and her posture radiating clear displeasure.
This had been her attitude ever since I'd arrived at the stadium. After my eventful and expensive visit to the vice principal's office—where I'd been reassigned to a different dormitory room and handed replacement uniforms to replace my destroyed belongings—I'd rushed to try to catch up with my classes. Unfortunately, I realized I'd already missed most of my morning lessons due to the disciplinary meeting.
So I'd decided to skip ahead to combat class at the stadium, figuring that would be more important anyway.
That's when I'd first spotted Selena. She'd been sitting alone in a secluded corner of the stadium seating, her arms crossed defensively and looking like the entire world had personally wronged her. I'd approached her with the intention of explaining why I hadn't been able to meet up with her as planned, but the moment I got within speaking distance, she'd stood up and walked away as if I didn't exist.
What was her problem? Was she really that angry at me for not showing up earlier? I'd tried to explain the situation, hadn't I? But she wouldn't even give me a chance to get a word in.
The irony wasn't lost on me. Suddenly, I was the one doing the chasing in this relationship. How had the tables turned so completely?
I sighed internally. 'Don't worry, you fairy bitch. I'll make sure you pay for all the stress you've put me through,' I thought bitterly.
It turned out that somehow, the fairy had managed to track me down to my dormitory room. And not only had she found me, but she'd apparently tried to kill me in my sleep by wrecking the entire space with destructive magic. The only reason I'd survived was pure luck—if that bed frame had collapsed differently, or if I'd been sleeping in a slightly different position, I'd be dead.
'I hate you... I hope you die a painful, slow death,' her voice echoed in my mind, dripping with pure venom and malice.
But I brushed off her mental tantrum. She was going to get exactly what was coming to her, and I was going to enjoy every moment of it.
What I'd discovered was that she was now bound to the Trinket of Destiny—not just protecting it, but actually enslaved to it. That raised some interesting questions about why this hadn't happened in the original novel. Was it because the story mentioned that she'd drained her essence trying to protect the relic and died in the process? I wasn't entirely sure about the mechanics.
My initial reaction when I'd found her in my destroyed room had been pure, murderous fury. I'd wanted to kill her immediately for what she'd done to me and my belongings. But when I'd confronted her about it, I'd found her surprisingly... compliant. Obedient, even.
When I asked her what had happened, she answered honestly. When I demanded to know why she'd done it, she explained her reasoning. Even when I asked why she'd destroyed my entire room while somehow leaving me completely unharmed, she'd given me a straightforward response.
Apparently, as her new master through the blood bond, she was magically unable to cause me direct physical harm. So she'd taken out her rage and frustration on everything around me instead.
Now she was stuck, invisibly hovering around me with a permanent expression of disgust and hatred etched on her beautiful face. Oddly enough, seeing that look of pure loathing actually helped calm my anger somewhat. There was something satisfying about knowing she was trapped and miserable.
But make no mistake—she was still going to pay for what she'd put me through.
"I AM MODRICK ELSINAR!" the massive instructor's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, addressing the entire assembled class with the subtlety of a natural disaster. "I WILL BE YOUR COMBAT CLASS INSTRUCTOR UNTIL THE GRADING EXAMINATIONS BEGIN! LET ME MAKE ONE THING ABSOLUTELY CLEAR TO ALL OF YOU—I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CONTROL MY TEMPER! THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE OCCASIONS WHEN I'VE BEATEN STUDENTS HALF TO DEATH IN THE NAME OF PROPER DISCIPLINE! RULE NUMBER ONE: DON'T GIVE ME A REASON TO DISCIPLINE ANY OF YOU!"
His words started to blend into background noise as my thoughts wandered again. I turned slightly to glance at the fairy floating invisibly beside me.
'What's your name?' I asked telepathically.
"Nelia," she spat back, her teeth clenched with barely controlled rage.
'So, Nelia... why was the fairy race completely wiped out?'
Her entire body went rigid at the question. Even her constant angry glare softened momentarily, revealing a glimmer of genuine sadness and pain beneath the hatred.
"Please... can we not talk about that right now?" she pleaded, her mental voice almost fragile. It was clear she didn't want to relive whatever memories my question had triggered.
'Fine,' I relented, deciding not to push that particular wound for now. 'Then tell me about the trinket instead. Why were you made into a slave to it?'
"I didn't have a choice in the matter," she admitted reluctantly. "It was necessary to fulfill an ancient prophecy."
'What prophecy?'
"I don't know the complete text. The fairy race only ever discovered fragments of it over the centuries. What we did know was that it spoke of a time when the world would be on the brink of total destruction, and that a great hero would rise to save it... but it also mentioned that a hero of darkness would emerge as well."
'And that's literally all you know?'
"That's all any of us knew. The Fairy Queen never revealed more details, assuming she even had them."
Interesting. The original novel had never mentioned any kind of prophecy like this. But if what Nelia was telling me was true, then Lucas was almost certainly the prophesied hero of light. The timing and circumstances fit too well to be coincidental.
Still, something about this whole situation didn't feel right. There were too many pieces missing from the puzzle.