he fireman put a plate filled to overflowing in front of me and gave a cheeky:
“Do you want me to turn them away?”
- How? Will you go in a fit of fake coughing? I sighed nervously, and Victor chuckled.
- I breathe fire.
I jumped in surprise when I imagined this scene. But she quickly pulled herself together. She shook her head and started eating breakfast. Without much enthusiasm, she put a piece of omelet into her mouth - and narrowed her eyes rather. Tasty.
The lingering aromas of spices and fried bacon hung in the air, which, due to excitement, I felt only now. Looks like Auntie Fi did her best today. I should visit her later in the kitchen and have a chat.
She worked more actively with a fork and a knife, feeling how the desired relaxation comes as her stomach fills. As they say, war is war, but lunch is on schedule.
Miri, Victor, congratulations! - Angi threw cheerfully, flying past. She unceremoniously moved her neighbor Mark and plopped down into the vacant seat. - Well, you did it yesterday! The Academy is standing by!
I shrugged and continued to vigorously devour Aunt Fai's cooking.
Miri, won't you burst? Well, you have an appetite! She chuckled and suddenly broke off, confused. “But you don’t take it by any chance… Victor, she doesn’t…”
Fireman bared his teeth and lazily hugged me. He played with his eyebrows.
- Anything can happen.
Angie gasped in fear. She covered her mouth with her hand. I looked at her, puzzled, and then at my boyfriend.
– Mmmm... What are you talking about?
Victor grinned disgustingly and pushed his plate towards me:
- Eat, Little Fox, do not be distracted.
And then it dawned on me what Angi was hinting at. I blushed, choked on my omelet, and when I cleared my throat, blurted out indignantly:
- What?! How are you... No!
– Right? – insinuatingly specified Victor. And the look is so innocent.
- Exactly! – snorted offended. - Do you doubt it?
“Well, you can never be 100% sure about things like that.
Mark and Angie looked at each other.
- What kind of questions? – I asked with pressure. Just let him try to give out something else like that!
- In life-determining ones, - Victor answered with a lean face. Apparently, the instinct of self-preservation was not alien to him. But then he chuckled. Here is the lizard! And out of anger, I kicked him under the table.
- Well, stop mocking! - she snorted indignantly, which finally provoked this lover of nasty jokes.
Victor laughed out loud. So much so that the cooks in the kitchen didn’t hear him! And Mark with Angi next. And countless curious glances of adepts again rushed to our noisy company.
Chapter 3
After a hearty breakfast, Victor opened a portal for us near the classroom for combat magic. Mentally thanked the Primordials for the fact that this couple was the first in the schedule. Unlike other teachers, Professor Griddek treated me well. He did have a wicked sense of humor though.
- Don't be afraid, fox. Now no one will dare to offend you,” Victor whispered, as if he had read my thoughts. - Now go. Although ... - He smiled mysteriously and in the next second gave out something from which the earth shook under my feet: - Perhaps I will keep you company.
- What?! - I frightened goggled at him and desperately waved my hands: - Not this! You are welcome. I can handle everything myself!
But Victor, a cold-blooded beast, shamelessly ignored my plaintive protests.
“It won't get worse,” he summed up calmly and gently pushed my tense, freedom-hungry ass to the door.
We entered with him - well, as we entered, - I reluctantly moved my legs, shafts, and he, grinning disgustingly, slipped with a leopard jump into a spacious office, divided into two sectors - training (with desks and a board) and training. As always, an intimate blue twilight reigned here.
The high walls cast a mysterious green. Conspiracy frinit. An expensive unique stone, which, after being enchanted, was impossible to break through with any spells. All the best for the color of the Norland aristocracy.
- Mr Stelm? the professor was surprised. He stood in a black three-piece suit, leaning his hands on his favorite rare table and lazily scanning the tops of fussy adepts. But at the sight of our colorful couple perked up. - And what did you forget here? - A black eyebrow mockingly crept up.
“I decided to brush up on my knowledge a bit,” the fireman explained casually. “And practice self-control at the same time.” I'll wander around here for a bit, professor. Do you mind?
Griddek looked thoughtfully at him, then at me, blushing to the roots of my hair, and grinned.
- Not at all. What a phenomenal craving for knowledge... – the professor remarked ironically. “Miss Foxley, have a seat.
Under the guns of the greedy gazes of the adepts, I went to Will. As I walked down the aisle, I tried not to think about how much my classmates now looked like hungry pit bulls drooling over a meat bone. That's just in the role of a juicy treat was my personal life. It's hard to get used to this.
I slipped past the neighbors and plopped down next to the curator. She hung her backpack on the back of a chair and looked down in embarrassment. Cheeks burned terribly. What a shame! If only Victor didn't think of looking after me on other pairs!
“Let’s get started,” the professor clapped his hands vigorously. - Today we will work out the spell "Injection of the elements." This is a modification of the “Sphere of Elements” well-known to all of you with profile differentiation, but at a qualitatively higher level…
Simply put, we had to pronounce the worked-out formula, but spin the energy flows in a new way. In my case, water. To thin them, turn them into the tip of a dagger.
After the theoretical part and the demonstration of a sample implementation, moreover, Professor Griddek showed a spell for both watermen and firemen, we closed the notes. We took sticks and started training. The mentor began to slowly walk around the office, watching us and giving recommendations.
- Rammet-gran! – not very diligently I shouted and squinted at Victor. He had taken a liking to the professorial table and was now blissfully blissfully in his favorite professorial chair. But, catching my eye, he flashed a vile grin and winked. And I turned away.
In time. I just noticed that something shapeless escaped from my wand and crashed into the wall with a shameful smack.
“Miss Fawksley, don't be distracted!
“Very well, professor,” I muttered, and trying not to think about the shameless lizard nesting nearby, who decided to take care of me in such an inhumane way, I repeated the enchanted words: “Rammet-gran!”
This time, my sphere became concentrated, dense, but for some reason it turned into a scarlet haze, lost its blue tint... Although it crashed into the wall with a respectful crash.
- Miss Foxley! You are a water mage! Use your element, not fire!
- I'm trying ... - she whispered under her breath, straining even more, and again shouted:
- Rammet-gran!
This time, my sphere almost flashed with lightning and went whitish tints.
Have I messed up with Nortalian again?
- Miss Foxley! Leave the fire alone,” Griddek advised wearily. “Be gentler, as if…” He paused for a moment, then darted a sharp glance towards his frustrated ward, grinned and continued with mocking intonations in his voice: “It’s like you’re cooing with Mr. Stelm, and not butchering the carcass of a wild swiver.”
My cheeks immediately turned into ripe tomatoes, and the adepts giggled stifledly. But the humorous moment was interrupted by Victor's resolute shout:
- Little fox, don't you dare! - He jumped from his familiar place and in two jumps found himself beside me, languishing from shame. The gift that did not shrink, like a raisin. “Professor, let her continue!” Haven't you seen that the fiery and water flows are almost intertwined?!
Griddek stopped walking around the office. He looked thoughtfully at the fireman.
- Nonsense! Fire and water do not mix. And Miss Fawkesley is slipping into traditional magic because she has little idea how to use her natural power. You would have noticed it too, Victorian, if you weren't so enamored with her.
Griddek grinned smugly, and the rest of the adepts, finally emboldened, followed his example. Ari was completely amused.
Victor rolled his eyes.
- Yes, yes, I got the girl that I need. I do not argue. But that's not what we're talking about now! he said enthusiastically. “You're right, Miranda doesn't understand how to control her gift. But therein lies its strength!
I watched their bickering with undisguised horror. Is it that Victor will now gnaw out praise for me from every teacher?
The original, so no good!
I opened my mouth to make my overzealous boyfriend disappear, but my mooing was successfully ignored. She snorted annoyedly, stepped back so as not to strangle the treasure of the academy out of anger, but the tenacious dragon paw interrupted my demarche in the bud.
- ... She conjures not according to formulas, but on a whim! Victor added imperturbably, pulling me by the scruff of the neck towards him. - And weaves into spells everything that he can weave! Every time I'm blown away by her magical improvisations.
“We understood that,” Griddek taunted him, and the adepts burst out laughing again.
Viktor made an inimitable grimace.
- All right, I'll prove it to you now. Little fox, let's quickly cooperate with you. Do what you did, but with a greater emphasis on the water element. I will take on the fiery component.
“Viktor, what are you doing…” I muttered, throwing lightning glances at him. “Maybe we shouldn’t put on a show?”
“You'll see, our spells will intertwine,” he said optimistically and added more quietly so that only I could hear: “Trust me. Let's count three.
And now I had to roar at him, insist on my own. But there was something so tender and trusting in those piercing blue eyes that I snorted in annoyance. But she raised her wand. And Victor, pleased with me and himself, smiled.
- One two Three!
- Rammet-gran! - A water sphere escaped from my wand, but in flight it was overtaken by the fiery Victor, and she, hissing, was destroyed without touching the wall.
Griddek spread his hands to the sides, saying that was what was required to be proved. The adepts exchanged understanding smirks.
- Satisfied? I said softly. "Would you like me to take it easy now?"
Fireman didn't seem to hear me.
- Again!
I frowned, but tried again. More and more. She was inflamed, pouring all her strength into each blow, pronouncing the words of the spell more and more clearly, struggling with a terrible accent. But everything was to no avail.
Our charms did not want to intertwine in any way. It was simply impossible. As Griddek said.
“Mr. Stelm, can we finish the experiments already?” the professor inquired ingratiatingly. “Your partner is not happy with them.
- That's for sure.
Victor thoughtfully rubbed his chin, and I was about to relax: that's the end of my torment, as blue eyes shone. And the fireman, with the energy and enthusiasm characteristic of young Dragons, stunned us with his brilliant discovery:
- I understand what's going on! The spheres simply do not have time to intertwine!
Griddek slapped himself in the face with his fist - a natural facepalm. Will shook his head, and it blew through me.
- Come on?! But nothing that fire and water are polar elements and by definition they are not able to merge?! - hissed a viper, which they suddenly called a sheep. What are you trying to prove?
“Little fox, stop grumbling,” Victor waved him off. - Get it together! I will hit with a continuous stream of fire, and you throw your spheres at him. And add more strength, pressure. Attack to the max!
I growled in annoyance, mentally cursing myself for not getting rid of this overprotective lizard in the dining room, but raised my wand again. If Victor had hammered something into his dragon head, then arguing with him was useless.
- Rammet-gran! - And again, failure. Ari sent me a sympathetic smile. Sal pursed her lips grimly. Will frowned even more. And the mouths of the rest of the adepts broke into broad smiles full of boundless happiness.
Viktor, this is crazy! I hissed, dreaming of escaping from the abyssal couple as soon as possible. “We’ll practice like this until the end of time!” I don’t know what you dreamed about there, but our spells do not intertwine! You see! Let's stop this farce...
- Again!
- What for?! I have the most ordinary magic! And I'm quite happy with it...
- Bay! Victor commanded harshly, and I, gritting my teeth, sharply turned on my heels.
Angrily, she waved her wand and barked furiously:
- RAMMET-GRAND!
A blue concentrated sphere appeared in the air and hissed into the fiery avalanche. The trembling, carving snow-white sparks, swept through it like a skate blade on ice, and with a deafening roar that made me jump on the spot, crashed into a panel of enchanted frinit. Cracks crawled from its center to the edges - and a huge slab split into pieces.
I was speechless, frightened pressed my hands to my mouth. The professor dropped his wand, Will's eyes widened, and the rest of the adepts dropped their jaws as if on cue.
- THERE IS! Victor shouted in admiration, making an appropriate gesture with his hand, and jumped up on the spot with happiness. – I knew that sooner or later I would be able to split this abyss of frinit! Now you can graduate from the academy with peace of mind!
He glanced wildly at those present, assessed the devastation that we had perpetrated, and added contentedly:
“Professor, don't worry. I'll send the rector a bill for property damage!
– Yes… if you please… – Griddek scratched the back of his head in confusion… But he quickly came to his senses and said with burning enthusiasm: – Mister Stelm, I suppose this is a new patent?
- Oh yeah! - smugly drawled the fireman, pressing the numb me to his hard, hot chest.
- Good. I will inform the members of the commission,” the professor replied in a businesslike manner. - Do you think you will be able to make a presentation before the holidays?
Victor threw a sharp look at me, who was perplexed, and grinned.
- Certainly.
- Fine! Then start exercising today. I'll talk to the rector and ask him to release Miss Fawkesley from minor couples.