“She did it!” someone shouted.
“Who?” Exos demanded.
A petite male with curly dark hair stood slowly and pointed at Sickle. “I felt her water energy roll over me just before it surrounded the Halfling.”
“He’s right,” Vox added, still standing at my side. “I felt it, too.”
“Same.” The high-pitched voice came from the fae I’d first thrown the ball to at the beginning of the game.
Sickle was frozen on her knees, her expression one of shock. “I… I…”
“I recognized the signature as well,” the white-haired male said from the doorway, his voice carrying over the crowd. “It flooded the room. And as you’ve put the distinctive Powerless Champion cuff on your mate, Titus, it most certainly did not come from Claire.”
Several gasps filled the air as Vox lifted my arm. He tugged up the sleeve to reveal the bracelet underneath while I stood stock-still beside him, unable to properly breathe.
Sickle did this?
That just seemed too obvious somehow.
“I didn’t do this,” Sickle said, her head rotating back and forth. “I would never… I mean… I’m not… This can’t…”
“What about the vortex?” Aerie asked, her wiry form shaking beside Sickle. “And the fire? Sickle didn’t do those.”
“Yet they targeted both me and Exos,” Titus broke in. “Odd, considering we’re the only two fae helping Claire. Why would she try to harm us?”
“Because she’s insane,” Ignis muttered from across the room.
“No, I suspect something else is at play.” Elana stepped forward in a pristine white outfit, her hands clasped before her. Energy seemed to ripple around her as she moved, the air shifting beneath her, the grassy floor rekindling with life beneath her feet.
Several in the room gave her a wide berth, their reverence palpable as they kept their heads bowed for both Elana and Exos. Even Titus and Vox appeared to defer to them, making me wonder if I was supposed to be kneeling or bowing instead of gaping.
But I couldn’t stop.
I couldn’t look away.
I needed to see what the hell was about to happen, hear whatever she intended to say. This woman—the Chancellor of the Academy—held my future in her hands. Exos never said that; it was just something I knew. And now she seemed to be considering her options, weighing the events of the room in her mind, and stroking the guilty parties with her spirit.
It slithered over me, a darkness that surprised my senses—there and gone in a flash. But it left an inky texture in her wake, confusing my ties to my inner elements.
Wrong.
Intrusive.
Reject.
Exos moved to stand beside her, his hands tucked behind his back, his spine erect in a distinctly regal manner. Titus remained at his station near the side of the room, unmoving, gaze downcast.
But the white-haired one strode forward with purpose, his eerily light gaze sweeping over everyone he passed.
“Stand.” Elana’s command sent a shiver through the air, but only three obeyed.
Ignis.
Aerie.
Sickle.
“Chancellor El—”