If I had hoped that the duel between me and Sophia would bring things back to the way they were before, I soon realised that I was wrong.
But perhaps it was for the best.
After the palpable awkwardness that marked the days following our reconciliation, we both seemed to have tacitly agreed to return to our usual ways with each other. Hiding behind our teasing and playful banter was much easier than expressing our feelings as we had done in Sophia's room.
But it was still obvious that our relationship had changed somewhat.
If before it had seemed that Sophia could barely tolerate my company, she now sought it out herself.
Like a personal bodyguard, I found her outside my room every morning, ready to accompany me to breakfast.
When I had asked her the reason behind this new routine, she had replied:
«Your fault. Thanks to our duel, you have, if possible, put us even more in the spotlight. Now everyone knows that if they want to win, they have to find a way to take us out. We have to expect that sooner or later someone will target us... Better to stay together as much as possible.»
As usual, what she said made perfect sense, but I couldn't help thinking that there were ulterior motives for this sudden decision.
Other subtle changes in her demeanour only fueled my suspicions.
Sophia's mellowing process, which had begun in recent months, seemed to have made great strides.
Her tongue remained as sharp as ever when she found an opportunity to tease me, but now there was no shortage of occasions when she seemed to express her affection for me in a somewhat awkward way.
She also no longer seemed to shy away from physical contact. In the past, she'd squirm furiously at the slightest touch, almost like a wild cat. Now she seemed to accept it calmly, even if she still didn't feel like reciprocating.
It would take time.
Now that I knew how much she had been through, I did not find it strange that she was not used to normal friendship.
For my part, I tried my best to make her feel as comfortable and accepted as she had never felt before.
I was happy that she was finally opening up to me in this way.
But in spite of everything, something strange was going on.
Maybe it was me who felt uncomfortable around her?
When I talked to her, or even worse, when we were very close, I felt a certain nervousness that hadn't been there before. It was a feeling I had never experienced in the company of Amy or Celeste. It was as if there was something unresolved and unspoken between us.
Lately, I often found myself staring at her intently, trying to figure out what the problem was. I often ended up meeting her gaze.
Did she also sense that something was wrong?
I wasn't completely clueless.
I had an idea of what the problem was, but I didn't like it. It would have made everything so incredibly difficult.
For now, I just wanted to be Sophia's best friend and help her slowly heal the wounds of her past.
These changes had certainly not gone unnoticed by Amy, but this time she hadn't come to me to ask about them.
Not that I would ever tell her what had happened in Sophia's room, not even under torture.
It was enough for me to see the amused looks she gave us from time to time.
She did not seem to be the same person as before either. The duel with Finch seemed to have stirred something in her. She was now spending a lot of time sparring with Celeste and had decided not to take any more points from Sophia and me.
When I had asked her why, she had replied:
«I want to get stronger and not be a burden to you Lizzie! It won't be easy because of my mana, but I also want to be useful when the time comes! I'm sorry to spend less time with you, but come on, at least now you have Sophia to keep you company!»
She had winked at me.
I had decided to ignore that last comment:
«You've always been useful, Amy. If we tracked down Chloe, it's also thanks to you!»
But I was still glad that she had gained such determination after her duel.
As for Celeste, we had returned to training together only at weekends.
I had feared that she would be angry with me for losing, given the effort she had put into helping me.
But that girl seemed to have a natural talent for seeing the glass half full. At least when it didn't involve a duel with Philemon.
«Don't worry about it! You did your best,» she had replied to my apology, «and that meteor? So cool! You have to teach me how that spell works. Anyway, now that you know how Sophia can react to your moves, you'll win next time for sure!»
Those training sessions were the only time Sophia didn't follow me around like a shadow. The animosity she felt towards Celeste did not seem to have diminished, on the contrary. She probably suspected, with good reason, that my training partner was behind the strategy I had used against her.
Despite these changes, life at the Academy continued peacefully for another month.
Now the leaderboard read:
74 students remaining.
A quarter of the students had already died. At this rate, we would not even last the two years stipulated in the letter of admission.
If I did not want these happy times with Sophia, Amy and Celeste to end tragically and prematurely, I had to stop waiting idly.
It was time to act.
***
It was the first Sunday in February.
I was sitting on the bed in my room, waiting for Sophia and Amy.
I had decided to have a meeting of sorts to assess things. Looking at the rankings had sent me into a bit of a panic. Perhaps I'd been too complacent and hadn't realised how quickly time was passing.
Ideally, I would have liked Celeste to be here as well: she would have been a great help. But I was sure Sophia would not have liked that.
The black-haired girl was the first to arrive.
The first time she had entered my room, she had done so by breaking down the door. This time she just knocked.
«Have a seat!» I invited her.
I had taken my inspiration from Celeste and used a duplication spell to create a small table and a few extra chairs.
Still, Sophia sat down on the bed next to me.
«Oh!»
As if shocked, I jumped up and sat down on one of the chairs.
«What's wrong with you?» Sophia asked with a raised eyebrow.
«Oh, nothing... you know, for an official meeting of our... alliance... better do things properly!» I muttered quickly.
"I should have asked Amy to meet in her room..."
Finding myself there, alone in the room with Sophia, had immediately brought back to my mind what had happened a month ago.
«Here I am!» exclaimed Amy as she entered.
She paused for a moment, her eyes darting between Sophia and me.
Then she turned:
«Sorry for the intrusion!»
«Where do you think you're going?» I snapped, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt and dragging her towards a chair.
Sophia continued to look at us, increasingly confused:
«What the hell is wrong with you two today?»
But she also got up and sat down at the table.
With difficulty I composed myself.
«Well, I called you here to talk about important things,» I stared at my two friends.
«I want to decide on a plan of action to escape from here!»
«I thought we had decided to wait and see how the situation develops... At the moment I don't see how we can escape,» Sophia replied quickly.
«That was the idea, but... I'm afraid things are going to fall apart soon. We have already lost 26 people in five months, six more than expected. If our numbers continue to dwindle, our classmates will become more and more desperate and there will surely be more deaths...You told me so yourself, Sophia. When the competition gets tougher, we'll see a lot more innate powers in action! We have to act before it's too late...»
«You have a point...»
«Can I say something?» said Amy, raising her hand as if we were in class.
«Of course you can!»
«I've been thinking... doesn't the whole thing seem strange? I mean, the Academy chose 100 students, and by eliminating one person a week, set the duration of the competition at two years. But by allowing us to kill each other in duels, it only shortens that time. And then there's the Chloe thing. They've practically encouraged her to kill. It's like they're really trying to get it over with as quickly as possible!»
«Right...»
«But then why didn't they just choose fewer students!!!» exclaimed Amy, «think of all the poor kids who have died so far, or even me... It's obvious I wouldn't stand a chance against you or Sophia!»
It wasn't the first time I'd thought about this. I had theories about it, but nothing concrete.
Why had the school brought these sacrificial lambs here?
Why were they allowing, even encouraging, us to kill each other?
There was something terrible behind it, I was sure. But I had no intention of finding out.
«I don't have any answers, Amy. What I do know is that we need to leave as soon as possible, before the Academy comes up with something new. Sophia...»
«Yes?»
«I think your power is the key to getting out of here...»
«I can understand why you would think that, but I don't think it will be that easy.»
«What do you mean?»
«Normally, my innate power would be ideal for destroying the barriers around the Academy. But think about it! If I'm here, it's because of my power! Obviously, they must have taken that into account when they designed the school's defences.»
Shit... she was right.
«But can they really have countermeasures against you...?»
«You of all people are asking me that? In our duel, you exposed some of my weaknesses,» Sophia blurted out.
«Sorry...»
Her expression softened.
«I didn't mean it was your fault. I meant that if you guessed my weaknesses, Skylark must have done the same. I'm sure the moment I tried to break the barrier around the school, I'd be instantly vaporised!»
«So no dice!» I sighed with a defeated expression.
«Not really... if we knew exactly what the Academy's defences consisted of, maybe we could find a weak point where my power could strike without repercussions.»
"A weak point...!"
«Of course! How could I not have thought of that before!» I exclaimed, jumping to my feet and causing Amy and Sophia to gasp in surprise.
«The barriers around the duels and the one around the academy, as well as the whole automatic scoring system, must have a source of mana to draw from!»
«What do you mean?» asked Sophia.
«Such powerful spells cannot just be cast once and run forever! They have to be constantly powered!»
«You mean someone keeps it all going with their mana? It must be Skylark.»
«Maybe...»
The old wizard was so powerful that he could cast spells without a wand or an incantation. If we had to eliminate him to break down the Academy's defences, the road was definitely uphill....
«It's possible it's him... but there could also be an external source.»
I vividly remembered the mana containers Chloe had at her disposal. Could the school have hidden more of them somewhere to power the barriers?
It would explain why they were so interested in the girl's innate power. Maybe they hoped to use it to store mana easily.If that was the case, destroying this 'power core' would have been enough to break through the Academy's defences.
I excitedly explained my thoughts to the other two.
Sophia though did not seem to share my enthusiasm.
«You may be right... But we're back to square one. If something like that existed in the school, it would be hidden and extremely well protected. Assuming we could locate it, destroying it would be no easier than taking out Skylark.»
«At least it's something to start with...»
«Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good idea to talk about these things... But we have to be careful. I don't think Skylark would have a problem taking us out if he suspected we were trying to escape. Maybe he would have done it already, if it wasn't for the fact that he considers us to be the most promising candidates for victory.»
She was right, but that didn't stop me from sulking:
«Excuse me for trying to find a way to get us out of here alive...»
Instead of the prickly reaction I was expecting, Sophia put her hand on mine and squeezed it lightly:
«I didn't mean to belittle your efforts, really... It's just that... I'm afraid of what might happen if you act recklessly. But I will do my best to protect you,» she murmured without looking at me.
I felt myself blushing.
This new way of hers was much, much worse than her usual teasing.
«Sorry... you're right. I'll try to investigate without drawing attention to myself. I promise I'll be careful...»
I moved my hand away from hers under the pretense of pulling my chair closer to the table.
«Um, but let's assume that something like that exists, or even if we decided to confront Skylark directly... I think we'd still need other allies. At least to create a diversion or something!»
I quickly changed the subject.
The first name that popped into my head was Celeste. Having her on our side would have been incredibly useful. But I would never have dared to suggest it in front of Sophia.
To my surprise, it was Amy who objected to my idea. The girl hadn't spoken for a long time and, knowing her, she had probably enjoyed the scene between Sophia and me in silence....
«I don't think it's a good idea to involve other people, Lizzie... At least not right now. It's too risky.»
«What for? Don't you think they also want to get out of here?»
«Of course I do! But consider the situation: if you and Sophia suddenly decided to turn against the Academy, do you think anyone would help you? No, no one would risk dying for nothing. In fact, I think they would be happy to see you both killed by Skylark. It would be a win-win situation. Either you miraculously free everyone, or two of their most formidable opponents are eliminated...»
I couldn't argue with that. But.
«That means I have to show everyone that it is possible to win against the Academy!»
So that first meeting ended with very little in the way of substance, but plenty of good intentions.
I would find a way to keep my promise:
I would not let Amy or Sophia die.
***
Two days later, it was clear that our fears were justified. The school seemed to be doing everything it could to create chaos in our school life.
As our trio entered the classroom that morning, our attention was drawn to a large group of students gathered in front of the classroom right wall.
This déjà vu made my blood run cold.
But when I looked up, I saw that at least this time it was not a sudden murder. The number of victims was the same as the day before.
Pushing through the crowd, we managed to catch a glimpse of what had caused the commotion: what appeared to be a parchment scroll was pinned to the wall.
As I read its contents, I could not help but shudder.
"Registration is now open for the duel doubles tournament. It will take place in three weeks' time. You can register with one of your classmates and take part in a series of duels together.
The winning pair will receive a prize of 1000 points each."
"1000 points!?"
At the moment, yours truly, at the top of the leaderboard, had 644.
Simply put, that was a number that would put anyone comfortably in first place.
A number worth killing for.