Chapter 6: Ten

I knew I was moving because the platform kept getting closer, but I couldn’t tell what my feet were doing. The connection I felt to Hunter in the dining hall took me by surprise. Having him walk beside me made it almost impossible to breathe.

Or was it the fact that the masters broke a girl’s brain right in front of us and the same could happen to me as soon as I sat in that chair?

“Do I know you?” he asked. His voice, low and rich, made my hands sweat.

“No,” was all I could say.

My heart started to beat fast. Heat rose to my face. ~What is going on with me?~ I wondered.

I’d spoken to guys before. Yes, it was at the market back home, they weren’t of noble blood, and I was selling vegetables to them, but why did Hunter’s attention make me want to hide my face from him?

“I’m Hunter,” he said.

“That’s what I heard,” I muttered, trying to focus on the path before me.

“Oh, so you heard about me?”

~I’ve not just heard about you. I’ve seen you in my dreams~, I wanted to say, but that would’ve made me sound like a stalker, a crazy person, or both, so I kept it to myself and walked faster.

“You’re Hollis, right?” he asked, trying to catch up.

“Yes.” I kept my eyes on the administrator as we made our way out to the middle of the arena.

I felt him smile at me the way I’d seen him smile at the girls in the dining hall. Hunter was confident because no lady had probably ever said no to him, but I couldn’t fall for his charms. Like Celestria said, he was a heartbreaker and he technically wasn’t available. Besides, I had other things to worry about, like how I was about to lose my mind or get sent home because I had no power to speak of. There wasn’t any time to be toyed with or to get my heart broken.

Just before I reached the bottom of the steps, Hunter grabbed my hand. I looked down at our intertwined fingers. When I looked back up at him, my confusion was reflected in his face.

He cleared his throat. “Good luck,” he whispered. “Trust yourself and you’ll do just fine.”

Then, without explaining why he touched me or why he cared about me at all, he walked up the podium and sat in one of the chairs.

I was so thrown off by what just happened that I didn’t even notice the moment Administrator Dawson got me to sit and the enchanted belts strapped me in place.

“Once we touch your heads, we will try to manipulate you to do certain things,” Master Bavol said. “But we won’t be using our powers. We will be tapping into yours, which means that if you don’t have any, we won’t be able to get you to do anything. Master Sable?”

“You will be scored based on how many tasks you complete,” Master Sable continued and walked over to Hunter who was listening intently. “The tasks will range in complexity and will be worth a certain number of points. If you complete all of them, which rarely happens, you will get a perfect ten. If you don’t complete any, you won’t get any points and will be asked to see Administrator Dawson who can go over your options with you. Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” Hunter said.

I only nodded because I was too busy trying to figure out if I knew the way to the administrator’s office. Surely, I’d be heading there in the next five minutes.

Master Bavol stood next to me and guided my head into the headrest. “Take a deep breath. It won’t hurt if you let it happen.”

Everything went dark. A chill hit the side of my temple. It swept down my face, my neck, and then hit my heart, making it skip a beat. Then, it raced back up to my brain. I imagined a small ghost exploring the insides, but I couldn’t do anything about it.

“Unlatch yourself,” Master Bavol ordered.

I didn’t know what that meant, but my body spasmed as soon as I heard the instruction in my head.

“Change your eye color.”

My eyes burned, but that was probably because I squeezed them shut. The thing was, I didn’t want to see the disappointment in her eyes, or to see Hunter easily follow all of these insane instructions right next to me and know that I’d never be able to do that.

“Change your hair color.”

~How does she expect me to do that? ~I thought, feeling bad for wasting her time.

“Turn your right hand into a snake.”

~Sure, let me turn my limb into a reptile when I haven’t been able to as much as boil water without having to make a fire first…~

A pressure that had been building in my chest exploded and all at once pulled me back to reality. I panted as Administrator Dawson flicked his fingers. The belts that had kept me tied to the chair fell away.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered, my voice shaky and my body covered in sweat. The masters stood before me, shielding me from the crowd of students. “I knew I didn’t have any powers, but I wanted to come to Oswalda so badly. I shouldn’t have wasted your time.”

Master Bavol’s eyes grew wide. “Wasted our time?” she asked. “Take a look at this and see for yourself if there’s anything you need to apologize for.”

She raised her right hand. Once her palm transformed into a reflective surface, I leaned in. What I saw made me even dizzier than I already was.

My blue eyes had turned a deep shade of purple. My hair was pure gold. Anticipation filled me when I looked down at my hand and realized that green scales covered it from my elbow to the tips of my fingers.

As soon as I saw the changes, my body returned back to normal.

“You did this all by yourself,” Master Bavol said. “For a student to not only complete all of the tasks, but to force me out of their mind before they had a chance to perfect their powers at the academy—let’s just say it’s never been done before.”

I saw Hunter stare at me from the corner of my eye, but I couldn’t hold in my question.

“None of my family members are magically skilled,” I whispered. “How is this even possible?”

“I’m Master Audrey, dear,” a woman said and knelt before me. “Have you ever tried to make something happen with your mind before you came to Oswalda?”

I thought about it for a quick second. “No, because magic gets passed down from the parents. I thought there was no point in trying.”

“Looks like you thought wrong,” she said.

Master Bavol looked at Administrator Dawson. Whether he could read her mind or just knew what she wanted to say based on her expression, he nodded and headed back toward the main building.

I couldn’t think. I couldn’t move. Nothing made sense.

“A perfect ten for you, Miss Hollis,” she said. “The first ten Oswalda has seen in many years.”

Once the masters moved out of the way, I could see Celestria look at me with anticipation, but I couldn’t meet her gaze.

I glanced at Hunter. “The master wasn’t supposed to say my score out loud. Don’t tell anyone, okay?”

“Why not? You did amazing. Why wouldn’t you want anyone to know?”

I bit the inside of my cheek and instantly tasted blood. “I just don’t.”

He nodded. “Fine. If you’re curious, I got an eight. And I’ll keep your little secret. But you owe me, and I always collect my debts.”

Hunter opened his mouth like he was ready to say something else, but I stood up, got down from the platform, and marched back in the direction of the dorms as fast as my wobbly legs allowed.