The Black Pawn • The first book of the Black Academy Series

7. Flare

AZALEA FOUND HERSELF walking down the stairs of the Black Academy, and towards the library. She hadn't had a nightmare but instead, she had found herself not sleeping because of her anxiety weighing down on her. She found the source of her anxiety to be her best friend, Benjamin Bane. She wasn't anxious for any reason but instead anxious about his performance in the damned Selection.

It was clear Azalea's worries seemed to be invested in things relating to the Selection. It was justified, failing meant losing your place in the Black Academy and maybe even your life.

Her footsteps echoed off the empty hallway and she soon found herself standing where she always sat with Benjamin. He was sitting there like he always did.

"Hey," She whispered as she sank down beside him. "Do you come down here every night?"

"Every night."

"How the hell do you survive." Azalea murmured, shaking her head at him in disbelief, "I'm so lethargic after one visit here in one week, every night would be torture to me."

He chuckled under his breath, "It's because you do multiple things in every class, you answer a bit in remedies and poisons class, and in the other 2 classes you always get the most fights."

"I, however, know the art of laying low."

Azalea nodded as she continued to look around the empty library, the sounds of the wind whipping at the rattling windows in the Black Academy. The sound was comforting to her as she looked around. Her senses picked up more sounds than at first sight or first sound.

Water dripped somewhere, the reverberations traveled everywhere. Soft breathing sounded beside her, the hammering of his heart soothed her.

"You can hear everything, right?" Ben asked, his voice sounded more detailed to Azalea's ears than it ever did before.

"It's weird."

"Something happens whenever that man comes here." Ben explained, his voice remaining hushed. It was as if he was scared that the walls might be listening in, "When he's here everybody's powers flare."

Azalea was confused, she turned to him with a questioning eyebrow raised.

Ben sighed, "Anna's eyes. They're different. And – and Maine gets stronger during the fights."

Azalea's head cocked to the side as she considered his explanation. It was true, Anna's immortal heritage made her a powerful fire user. Whenever she got angry her eyes would flare. Last year when Nicholas had come her anger had gotten easier to provoke and her eyes were almost always glowing.

Elizabeth had been harder to beat, she had broken through Azalea's katana when they were fighting.

Azalea's eyes widened as the truth settled in. She had no idea what Elizabeth was, she only knew what creature Anna was, but it was accurate.

"Your hearing becomes enhanced and it's easier for you to lose your cool, especially in fights," Ben continued, he sighed, rubbing his hands together, "And for me, the storms get stronger."

She looked at him with an inquisitive gaze, "I'll be kind of rude, but I need to ask—"

"I'm a thunderbird." He cut her off, "I control storms, whenever Lavel's here everything becomes easier to control, the wind, the thunder."