Erah lifted both his eyebrows. They were just as blue as his hair, of course.
“I’m not exhausted or anything, that’s what I’m trying to say,” she added, seeing that he didn’t seem convinced.
“All right.” He leaned back in his chair but never took his penetrating gaze off her. “All right.”
She shifted awkwardly in her seat.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“Oh, not at all!” Was it that obvious? She bit her lower lip.
“You see, Alexi brought the weekly report on Friday and made a rather unexpected request. I mean, the request itself is absolutely normal, but I just thought it came incredibly early.”
This piqued Sophie’s curiosity. “What kind of request?”
“He asked if they could start the training sessions with the prisoners.”
Sophie’s mouth formed a cute “o”, but no sound came out. Training sessions with the prisoners? It was early, indeed. She didn’t feel ready at all.
“Normally, I would give a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ depending on the apprentice and the weekly reports, but this time I wanted to talk to you. Do you feel ready, Sophie? Are you really making the progress Kain and Alexi have been recording in their reports, or is it just their ego that wants to speed things up?”
Sophie swallowed carefully and made sure she had perfect control of her voice. “Yes, I believe I’m ready.”
?
“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!” Sophie stormed into the packed library and ran to Lamia’s table, by the window, while getting annoyed glances from the other cambions.
Lamia jumped in her seat and threw her roommate a worried look. “What’s wrong with you, woman? Keep it down!” she whispered.
Sophie took the chair next to her and leaned closer to Lamia so no one could hear them. “You’ll never guess.”
“What? What did Erah tell you?” Sophie was practically beaming, so it had to be something good. It had to be really, really good. “Spill it out already!”
“Alexi and Kain asked him if they could start the training with the prisoners. Can you believe it? This is it. The next step. I can’t screw this up, Lamia, I can’t! If my mentors think I’m ready for the next level, then it means I am, right?”
Lamia’s smile fell. She shifted in her seat and closed the book she had been reading. “I don’t know… It seems a bit early.”
“Erah said the same thing, but he asked me how I felt about it.”
“And you said you felt ready.”
“Obviously.”
“But… do you?” Lamia looked deep into her roommate’s eyes, and Sophie’s enthusiasm wavered significantly.
“I guess… I mean, who am I to tell? Surely, Kain and Alexi know what they’re doing.”
“Kain and Alexi are two hotheads,” Lamia sighed. “The prisoners are no joke, Sophie. They are demons. Real demons who did really nasty things before they were caught. My mentor thinks I still have a long way to go until I’m ready to face them, and that’s okay by me because I don’t look forward to it.”
“Oh…” Sophie thought about it for a
moment. Lamia had been at Lure longer than her. If she wasn’t ready for the training, then why would Sophie be?
Great potential, amazing progress… Did her mentors actually believe those things, or were they inflating the truth? Unfortunately, there was no way she could know for sure. She had two possibilities: either let herself influenced by Erah’s and Lamia’s obvious hesitation, or have faith in her two mentors. Personally, she couldn’t tell if she was making progress or not. She was just doing her best to follow Kain’s and Alexi’s instructions, her only goal being to please them. In the last month, she had worked so hard to gain their approval. She couldn’t back down now. This was her chance to show them they hadn’t been wrong about her.
“You know what? I’m doing this.” Her voice sounded determined. Lamia watched her curiously. “I can handle it. I know I can. If they say I’m ready, then it means I’m ready. I know it’s not going to be easy, but I’ll do my best.”
“Sophie, are you sure? Please don’t take this the wrong way… I’m your friend and I want to know that you’re safe.”