Training had resumed as normal the next day, except now William had the added discomfort of Seraphina watching his sparring matches more than often with interest, although he knew the reason he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable l.
"William Cross versus Elena Marsh," Valdris announced while gesturing them toward the center of the training area, and William stepped forward while gripping his practice sword with hands that were steadier than they'd been last week.
Elena was from House Luminara, a slim girl with pale blonde hair who specialized in wind magic, and she smiled apologetically while essence began swirling around her in visible patterns that made the air shimmer.
The match started with Valdris's signal, and Elena immediately created distance by releasing a burst of wind that pushed William back several steps while she positioned herself at an advantageous range for spell casting.
William adjusted his stance the way Seraphina had taught him yesterday, redistributing his weight to his front foot for better forward momentum, and he channeled essence into his legs before launching toward Elena with speed that left both him and her stunned.
She released another wind blast aimed at his center mass but William had already committed to the movement, leaning into the strike while bringing his practice sword up in a diagonal slash that forced Elena to abort her casting and throw up a hasty wind barrier.
His blade connected with the barrier and the impact jarred his arms, but he'd managed to close distance which was more than he'd accomplished in previous matches, and he immediately followed with a horizontal strike aimed at her exposed left side.
Elena twisted away while condensing wind around her feet, launching herself backward in a movement that was half jump and half controlled flight, and she landed five meters away before releasing a series of rapid wind blades that whistled through the air toward William.
He dove to the side while channeling more essence into his sword arm, deflecting one wind blade with his practice weapon while the other two carved shallow lines across his training clothes without quite cutting his skin.
The brief exchange had already drained more essence than he could maintain but William pushed forward anyway because retreating meant getting picked apart at range, and he closed distance again with a burst of speed that made his legs burn from the channeled energy.
Elena was preparing another spell when William's practice sword came within striking range, and she made a split-second decision to release an unfinished wind blast at point-blank range that caught them both in the chaotic explosion of air pressure.
William felt himself being thrown backward, his practice sword flying from his grip as he tumbled across the training ground before slamming into the barrier wall hard enough to knock the wind from his lungs.
Elena had been pushed the opposite direction and was struggling to her feet looking equally disheveled, but she still had essence to spare while William's reserves were nearly depleted from less than two minutes of sustained enhancement.
"Enough," Valdris called while both students caught their breath, "Elena wins by remaining combat capability, but William showed significant improvement in his approach and managed to pressure a mage into close combat twice which demonstrates great thinking prowess"
William picked himself up while his body hurt with every movement, and he retrieved his practice sword before returning to his position while trying to ignore the fact that Seraphina had that small smile again like she was pleased he had used her corrections effectively even in a losing match.
The rest of the session passed with William watching other sparring matches while his exhausted body recovered, and he noticed Lyanna Stormweaver had started observing the intermediate group's training with particular attention to his performance.
Breakfast was a quiet affair with William sitting alone at the House Ascendant table while trying to review notes for his morning magical theory class, but his concentration kept breaking because he could feel someone staring at him from across the dining hall.
He glanced up to find a girl with long black hair and cold predatory eyes watching him from the House Luminara table, and he recognized her as one of the transfer students who'd arrived last week, the one Kai had identified as Clarie Hivolt.
She smiled when their eyes met, which made William's body shiver upon contact.
He quickly looked back down at his notes and tried to pretend he hadn't noticed her gaze, but the damage was already done and he could still feel her gaze lingering on him even after he deliberately avoided looking in that direction again.
"You're attracting a lot of attention lately," Mira said while sitting down across from him with her own breakfast tray, "first Seraphina starts offering you combat advice, then Lyanna runs into you and apparently that was interesting enough to warrant continued observation, and now Clarie Hivolt is staring at you like you're a pet she wants to tame."
William looked at Mira and wondered how she knew about his encounter with Lyanna when he definitely hadn't mentioned it to anyone except Kai.
William resisted the urge to put his head down on the table and just give up entirely, because apparently even brief interactions with main characters were enough to generate gossip that would make his life more complicated.
"I'm not special," he said tiredly while pushing his notes aside since concentration was clearly impossible, "I just keep accidentally running into people who are way out of my league and they're misinterpreting basic encounters as something more interesting than they actually are."
Mira gave him a look that suggested she didn't believe him but wasn't going to push the issue.
"Well whatever's happening, you should be careful," she said while finishing her breakfast, " Clarie Hivolt has a reputation for collecting talented people and making them dependent on her, and if she's decided you're worth her attention that's really bad news."
William made it through his morning classes in a state of low-level anxiety, constantly aware of the various eyes that seemed to track him whenever he moved through corridors or sat in lecture halls.
Lyanna was in his magical theory class and had deliberately chosen a seat where she could observe him without being obvious about it, and Professor Ashcroft had given them a partner assignment that somehow resulted in Lyanna volunteering to work with him before anyone else could claim the pairing.
"We should meet this evening to discuss the project," Lyanna said after class while William tried to figure out how to politely decline, "the library's auxiliary study rooms are usually empty after dinner."
William opened his mouth to make an excuse but Lyanna was already walking away like his agreement was a foregone conclusion, and he stood there wondering how his life had devolved into being unable to say no to dangerous women.
The afternoon cultivation session with Master Erian was his only peaceful period of the day, and William threw himself into the meditation practice with desperate focus because at least internal essence manipulation didn't involve navigating complicated social dynamics.
"Your essence flow is becoming more stable," Master Erian observed near the end of the session, "continue this progress and you'll find your control improving naturally over the coming weeks."
That was encouraging enough that William left the meditation gardens feeling slightly less doomed, right up until he rounded a corner and nearly walked straight into Clarie Hivolt who was clearly waiting for him.
"William Cross," she said with a preparatory smile that he had seen during breakfast, "I've been wanting to properly introduce myself."
William's brain scrambled for an appropriate response while every instinct told him to run, but running from someone who'd been deliberately waiting to ambush him seemed both rude and pointless.
"Clarie Hivolt," he said neutrally because acknowledging he knew who she was seemed safer than pretending ignorance, "I heard about the transfer students from the Eastern Kingdoms."
She stepped closer into his personal space with the confidence of someone who'd never been told no in her entire life, and William forced himself not to retreat because showing weakness to someone like her was probably a terrible idea.
"I've been watching you," Clarie said while reaching out to touch his chest where essence naturally concentrated, and William felt an uncomfortable tingle where her fingers made contact like her essence was trying to probe his internal energy.
William carefully grabbed her hand and removed it from his chest and took a deliberate step back while maintaining eye contact, because letting her invade his space without pushback seemed like it would establish a dynamic he really didn't want.
"I appreciate the interest but I have somewhere I need to be," he said politely but firmly, "maybe another time."
Claire seemed surprised for a moment before settling into amused interest, and William realized he'd just made himself more interesting by refusing her instead of less.
"How refreshing," she said while studying him with renewed focus, "most people fall over themselves trying to please me, but you actually have the spine to set boundaries."
William didn't respond because anything he said would probably make the situation worse, and he simply walked past her toward the dormitories while feeling her gaze burning into his back.
He made it to his room and found Kai actually sitting upright on the couch looking uncharacteristically alert.
"You just turned down Clarie Hivolt," his roommate said with something approaching shock, "I saw it from the window just now, are you insane or just suicidal."
William collapsed into one of the common room chairs and wondered if there was any possible way to navigate this situation that didn't end with him dead or worse.
"I didn't turn her down exactly," he said while pulling out his magical theory textbook, "I just established that I'm not going to let her touch me whenever she wants and that I have my own schedule."
Kai stared at him for a long moment before chuckling with a shake of his head.
"You're either braver or stupider than I thought," his roommate said, "because Clarie doesn't handle rejection well, and now she's going to be even more interested in figuring you out."
'Not like I don't know' William thought to himself inwardly.
He could accept so much but at a point he just has to stop accepting somethings he wasn't positive about.