Chapter 79: I am physics, and you just violated natural law.
“And then she said, ‘have him be under my tutelage’,” Fabrisse spread his palms, trying to physically recreate the scene and failing to do so.
Liene, dressed like a normal student, sprawled sideways on the bench across from him with one leg dangling off the armrest, raised an eyebrow. “Look at you. Hottest prospect in the Synod overnight. You realize you’ve become a full-blown headline, right?”
Fabrisse groaned. “I didn’t do anything.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t go for you earlier, to be honest. You’re the Chosen One of the Eidralith, after all. I’m curious, though. What did you say to them afterwards? Who did you pick? Tell me it’s Monasterie.”
“Nothing. They started arguing amongst each other, and Dir got so mad he turned into smoke again, so I didn’t say anything.”
Liene sat up, propping her head on one hand. “So you just stood there while four archmagi fought over you like some limited-edition summoning crystal?”
“Three. Draeth couldn’t care less.”
Liene gave a gasp that sounded entirely fake. “Only three?”
“Any more and I wouldn’t have been able to process what they said.” Fabrisse scratched the back of his head. “I almost tuned out when Monasterie said if I become her student, she could give me a breakthrough in my innate resonance. Something about untangling my inner bottleneck.”
She sprang up instantly like a fallen tree, but in reverse. “Wait. She said that? That’s huge. She knows exactly where your problem is! What did the others offer?”
“Dir said something about offering me a pathway to Smoke-based Thaumaturgy.”
Liene froze. “I’m sorry. Smoke? That’s real? I thought that was just what professors called a misfire when they didn’t want to admit it was one.”
“I saw him turn to smoke with my own eyes, Liene. And that if I trained under him, he’d let me in on the true blend.”
Liene let out a low whistle. “Okay. That’s insane. You know how rare that is? Smoke thaumaturgy is like the philosopher’s stone of hybrid casting. I don’t think anybody knows the base components. For light thaumaturgy, I need to blend flame and crystal. And I had to get crystal from ice, which I had to get from water! And I thought that was hard.” She paused before speaking again, “Okay, okay. What did Rolen say?”
“He told me he won’t make stupid promises, but I can get a pink aether ball as a souvenir.”
“That’s it? A pink ball?”
“It was very pink.”
She squinted at him. “Right. So who are you going to pick?”
“I don’t know.” He ran a hand through his hair.
“Don’t pick anyone,” Liene said immediately, leaning forward. “Tell them you’re thinking. Drag it out. Make them compete a little longer. They’ll all try to show off, and soon they’ll all teach you their little secrets to sway you.”
Fabrisse stared at her like she was wearing clothing she normally wore. “I don’t think that’s . . . ethical.”
“Neither is using you as political leverage for Synod funding and personal prestige.”
He stayed silent for more than socially acceptable.
Liene leaned in closer and tilted her head to try and make eye contact with him. “Well, if you don’t like that idea . . . We can go with Rolen. He’ll put the least pressure on you. Is that okay?”
“Um . . .”
“What’s on your mind?”
He finally met her gaze. “I need to practice flinging stones.”
The wisp of light drifted faster than Fabrisse would’ve liked.
It darted sideways just as he let loose the spell. The stone veered off course and plunked into the grass with all the threat of a wet acorn.