The only real difference between Light and Dark Mages is the source of our magic.
The witch hunters claimed that Dark Magic was inherently evil because it was fueled by negative emotions and grew stronger with people's suffering. Do we still believe that? Have we as a society not progressed beyond the Middle Ages when the mundane world has long left them behind? Light Mages have taken magical energy from positive emotions and used it to commit atrocities. If the source of our magic really was what makes us good or evil, what room does that leave for the things we do with it?
Finnian had to leave it to this DeVille girl, she was being productive. He had no idea when she had managed to write all these essays, but this was already the third he had encountered in less than forty-eight hours. Was there even anyone else writing Let Us In essays? Or was the whole movement essentially an invention by a Dark Mage girl with a thirst for revenge?
Shaking his head, he put down his phone. He didn't understand why Elaine was so worked up about this whole thing. She claimed she didn't care, and then she kept on sharing all these articles just to complain about the points they made, and Finnian always looked at them because Cassander wouldn't and someone had to. It had helped him when the subject had come up in politics class, though, so there was that.
Right now, however, he had more important things to think about.
Hikaru wasn't there yet when he made his way to the flying grounds for tryouts, which both relieved and disappointed him. Instead he met his regulars: Solace Lyons, Roshan Rahmani, the Han siblings Clara and Lucian, their captain Helio Aguilar, and—he bit back a grimace—the vice-captain, Bianca Monteiro. The very same Bianca who even his rival was nice to.
He didn't even know why that last part bothered him so much, but he hated it to the bone. If only Hikaru had been rude and abrasive to her too. Then at least he would've had a good excuse to hate him, because then everyone would know him as an insufferable jerk, because no one was rude to Bianca and lived to tell the tale. Not even because she herself did anything about it. She didn't have to do anything; others took care of the problem on their own.
But like this? Like this, people would know him as Bianca's friend, and that meant they would adore him by proxy. And that was the last thing Finnian wanted. Hikaru was already more talented than he could stand; there was no need for him to become universally adored on top of it.
At least, that was what Finnian told himself. It was a plausible enough explanation; no need to look into anything else.
"Someone's spaced out," a voice said behind him, and he jumped. "You're not gonna fall off your broom today, are you, ace?"
Glaring, he turned around to find himself face to face with Sol. Of course it was Sol. No one else had the nerve to sneak up on him like that.
"Oh, please," he said with a smirk, hoping to look as confident as he sounded. "When have I ever fallen off my broom?"
"When have you ever spaced out before practice?" Sol countered, their blue eyes glittering with distant amusement. "There's a first for everything."
Like losing? an unhelpful voice supplied in Finnian's head, and he shut it down. "Maybe I'm growing up and need time to think," he snarked back.
"What, have someone on your mind?" Sol replied and took a gulp from their soda, which was so venomously green Finnian wasn't sure it wasn't actually a potion. "I thought the day would never come."
Finnian had half a mind to strangle them, but Sol was graduating in spring anyway and also pretty cool when they weren't being a bastard, so he restrained himself. "Don't make me laugh," he said. "My one true love will always be flying."
"Jock," said Sol, sending the soda bottle back into the locker rooms with a snap of their fingers. "You should try being disgustingly in love sometime, it's fun. You can gross out so many people."
"Like you and Helio?" Finnian answered, making a face. "I'd rather fall off my broom at full speed."
Sol only ruffled his hair and glued themself to the team captain, who barely seemed to notice his partner draped over his back. Finnian pointedly did not look at either of them. Instead he went over to Roshan; at least that guy had the sense to date outside the team.
Everything was normal, suspiciously normal. Students from all years came pouring in for tryouts. Some were obviously freshmen; others were people who had been trying for the team for years and never made the cut. Most of them, Finnian thought, should just accept that they didn't have what it took and move on to more realistic dreams. There were a few, of course, who had simply been unlucky, overshadowed by someone just slightly better than them; and those were the ones that would make it in the end.
Hikaru, however, made no appearance.
On one hand, Finnian was glad. On the other, he was irritated. That guy was clearly made for the flying team. Why wasn't he coming to tryouts? Did he think he was so good he didn't even need to try out for the team? Did he not care? Or was he simply planning to show up fashionably late to ensure all eyes were on him when he made his entrance?
If it was the latter, he would be in for a surprise. If you showed up late, you might as well not have bothered at all.
A whistle rang through the chatter, cutting him out of his thoughts. A tall, familiar figure wove her way through the crowd, coming to stand on the green of the flying grounds with her hawk familiar sitting obediently on her shoulder. Even though she had yet to say anything, everyone fell silent at once.
"I see a lot of new faces here," Coach Greene said, her voice carrying effortlessly over the distance without any magical help. "Am I right to assume that you're all here for the tryouts?"
Nods from everyone but the established team. Finnian stood flanked by Helio and Bianca, arms crossed, regarding them all with obvious scrutiny.
"Excellent," Greene continued. "The rules for these tryouts are simple. You'll be divided into groups of five and fly a relay race, like at a real competition. We'll be judging you based on your speed, broom control and teamwork. Any questions?"
No one said anything, and Finnian bit back a smirk. This was exactly why he liked her. Lydia Greene was only a first-generation mage, and her magic powers were nothing of note, but as a flying coach she was the best anyone could wish for. Her instructions were quick and to the point, and together with the hawk on her shoulder her sharp eyes could spot the tiniest details in anyone's technique.
The candidates stood in line as Ms. Greene divided them up, sending each group of five to get a broom and a helmet and stand ready at the starting line. Finnian waited alongside the other regulars to fill up the numbers as needed, although Greene would doubtlessly send in the slower ones first to avoid rigging the race too much.
Still no trace of Hikaru.
Little by little Finnian was getting restless. He didn't want the exchange student on the team—he didn't like him, and he certainly didn't want his position as the ace compromised—but the fact that he wasn't showing up was bothering him more than he'd care to admit. It was starting to feel increasingly like a trap, like walking into a haunted house and not knowing when something would jump out and growing more and more apprehensive the longer nothing happened.
A few feet away, Bianca was tensing too, narrowing her eyes into the direction of the school building. "This is weird," she kept muttering. "He said he'd be here, so what is he doing?"
Finnian pointedly ignored her question, even though he knew exactly what she was talking about. Instead it was Clara who replied, "What's going on?"
"The exchange student." Bianca frowned. "Hikaru—he said he'd come to the tryouts, but he's not here. I know he was at school today, so what happened?"
"Maybe he got lost," Roshan mused. "It's a big school building."
"Or he got held up," Helio suggested.
"Or he accidentally opened a portal to a secret dimension," said Sol, "and now he has to fight alien monsters before he can get back."
The others stared.
"What?" they said. "It's not impossible."
Lucian gave them a long look. "Methinks there's a reason why they made Bianca vice-captain instead of you."
"Don't know what you're talking about." Summoning their horrendous green soda with a snap of their fingers, Sol took a big gulp, ignoring Ms. Greene's disapproving glare. "Anyway, is someone else gonna go look for him or should I?"
Somehow Finnian had half a mind to offer himself, if only so he could see for himself what Hikaru was up to and taunt him on the entire way back. But he also had a reputation and wasn't supposed to care about the new guy, let alone make it look like he was helping him.
Then again, he would be suited for the job. He was the ace; Coach Greene wouldn't call him to complete the numbers unless all other options had already been exhausted. Maybe he should go after all. He had a good enough excuse—
"I'm very sorry I'm late!"
So much for that.
Half the pitch turned towards the figure that came running from the building, long, light, speedy steps revealing the natural athleticism of a born flyer. Hikaru Hiyama came to a stop in front of Ms. Greene, barely giving himself a second to catch his breath before bowing.
"I'm sorry," he said again, speaking in that subtle but irritating accent Finnian wouldn't be able to place without knowing where he was from. "The teacher wanted to talk to me after class." He looked around. "Can I still join?"
"Absolutely not!" Finnian spoke up. "If you can't even get to tryouts on time, we can't use you on the team."
Hikaru pointedly ignored him, his eyes still on Ms. Greene. The coach hesitated for a moment. "You're the new exchange student, right?"
He gave a brief nod. "Yes."
"In that case, I can make an exception." She motioned to the locker rooms. "Go get changed, and get a broom and a helmet. If you don't know where anything is, ask someone on the team."
"Yes!" he said again, already hurrying off. "Thank you very much!"
Finnian glared at his back.
"Why does he get a chance even though he's late?" he asked Ms. Greene. "If any of us tried that, we'd get sent straight home!"
"He's new," she replied, not missing a beat, "and just arrived here from a different country. It would be unfair to expect the same thing from him as from everyone else."
Finnian scoffed. "If he really cared about this, he'd still make it to practice on time."
But Greene only smiled, that strange, meaningful smile she always had when she was up to something. "Watch him fly," she said. "Then you can judge if he cares."
I already have.
The image of Hikaru riding through the skies flashed back through his mind, unwelcome and unbidden. He hated it now, hated how mesmerized he had been, but even so he had to admit that it was obvious he cared. No one could fly like that without caring deeply for the sport.
The relay races went on. Hikaru returned when most of the teams had already raced, and the rest were set and complete and ready to go. Most people would probably look lost in his situation, but he only let his gaze roam over the grounds, taking in the situation without batting a single eye.
Ms. Greene clearly realized the problem, because she turned to the regulars. "I have an idea," she said. "If we add him, you guys can race in two teams of four."
Finnian's head snapped around. "That's favoritism!" he said.
"It's completing the numbers," she replied, "and his team will need someone to race against, and if I make some other team fly again, that'll be favoritism."
Finnian opened his mouth to protest, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He spun around to glare at Bianca.
"I don't know what you have against him," she said, "but just play along, okay? You're part of the team and we need you."
He couldn't say anything against that, not without making himself look bad, so he grudgingly complied. While the other students crowded together, heatedly discussing their results, Ms. Greene divided up the regulars into two teams of equal strength. Helio, Lucian and Bianca were on a team with Hikaru. Finnian, meanwhile, was part of one of his favorite combinations: Sol to race against Helio and prevent him from building a lead, Clara racing her brother, and Roshan to hopefully outfly Bianca and build a lead for Finnian, who was the anchor.
Which, of course, meant he'd be directly up against Hikaru.
Forming a perfect line, the regulars picked up their brooms, and at once everyone else went still.
The wind was in their faces. Their movements were quiet but decisive, in perfect sync like a well-rehearsed dance. Like one mind in seven bodies they strode out to the starting line, then swung themselves onto their brooms and waited.
Then Ms. Greene blew the starting whistle, and Helio and Sol shot into the air like bullets.
Finnian tried not to hold his breath as they darted through the skies, barely more than a glimpse, a blur of motion and wind and polished metal. He had seen them do this before, a million times over. He was even faster, he knew that. And yet, every time he watched them, he couldn't help getting chills.
Helio and Sol arrived back at almost the same time, opening the stage for the Han siblings. Finnian sneaked a glance at Hikaru. But the exchanged student ignored him, and if he was at all fascinated with the seniors' flying skills, his face didn't show that at all.
Lucian and Clara returned, passing the batons to Bianca and Roshan. Finnian tensed on his broom, waiting for his moment, his turn. He could feel his pulse in every limb, every vein of his body, a steadily quickening rhythm of nerves and adrenaline.
And then everything happened very fast. Roshan held out the baton. Finnian grabbed it and kicked off, forcing himself to think of nothing but the race, the obstacle course ahead of him. Hikaru had beaten him once, yes. So what? He was this team's ace, the champion. That one time had been a fluke. This time around, he would win.
But when he crossed the finish line and turned to look for Hikaru, the exchange student was already back on the ground.
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