Page 103 of Wings of Ash & Flame
No one answered. She hadn’t expected them to.
“Imagine your life as a human. What would your future look like? How would you feel?”
“Imagine life as a human?” Caius scoffed from the back. “That’s like asking a lion to imagine life as a mouse. We were born with magic—it would be idiotic to apologize for it or pretend otherwise.”
Kaia whipped around, glare fierce. “Caius, don’t?—”
Alaire’s fury flared, cutting Kaia off before she could finish. “And does watching others bleed fuel your sense of superiority?”
Caius’s face twisted. “Just because you slummed it with mortals doesn’t mean you’re better than us. Your little outburst doesn’t change the fact that you can’t even summon your magic.”
The barb hit its mark, a sharp pang tightening her chest, but she refused to give him the satisfaction. “At least I stand for something. What do you stand for—your ego?”
“From what I heard, you’ve only ever run away from responsibility. You’re a coward, not a leader.” Caius gave her a smug smile.
A low growl escaped Archer’s throat, his fists clenching the armrests beside him. “Enough.”
Alaire tapped his arm in warning. She could fight her own battles.
“Leadership comes from understanding and empathy, from recognizing the value ofalllives, not just those blessed with aether,” she replied, crossing her arms.
“You wouldn’t know the first thing about being a leader,” Caius shot back. “Authority without conviction is meaningless. It’s the making of a coward, not a queen.”
Unworthiness and humiliation flooded through her. She fought to keep her voice steady. “You’re wrong.”
“Empathy is for the weak. Power is what keeps us safe. It’s a lesson you and your family failed to learn the first time,” Caius sneered.
Alaire shook with the effort it took not to launch herself at him. “Power without empathy is nothing but tyranny. And tyrants always fall. Don’t take my word for it—history proves it.”
The class collectively tensed. Kaia’s fingers tightened around the silver chain at her neck, her gaze bouncing between them.
“History doesn’t favor cowards either, Alaire. Maybe you’ll learn that before you get someone else killed.”
Her chest tightened.Elodie.
Before she could respond, Professor Elowen cut in, “That’s enough. I let that run longer than usual because you’ve just demonstrated how quickly conflicting perspectives can escalate. It’s the very phenomenon that has driven magical conflicts for centuries. Navigating these kinds of scenarios is the only way to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.”
Alaire blinked rapidly, ruminating over Caius’s words.
“Perhaps it is time everyone broadened their perspective,” Professor Elowen stated.
Caius scoffed but leaned back. Archer shot him a withering look, body still taut with tension.
The professor’s words settled over the room like a damp blanket, snuffing out the tension. Kaia exhaled, slumping in her seat.
Alaire forced herself to take a deep breath. If she’d altered even one person’s perspective on what she’d witnessed andendured in Starling Gate, it was worth it—no matter what Caius thought.
Twenty-Six
The stone seats of the Aeriel Coliseum dug into Alaire’s legs as she waited for the Nocturne Crucible to begin. She crossed, then uncrossed her legs.
“Eager or nervous?” Kaia knocked her knee against Alaire’s.
“A little of both. Always a little of both.”
“I take offense at you being nervous.”
Alaire cut off her connection to Solflara, unweaving the strands of their mental bond. She needed to get her head in the right space. She’d absorb Solflara’s overbrimming confidence later.
