Happy Easter to those who celebrate! As my gift, here's an extra chapter :)

   The five of them were chattering in excitement, but all I could hear was the ringing in my ears. Blue grudgingly handed over Liam's bet money. Allie was still laughing as Winston mimicked the look on Karen's face. "That was flipping epic!"

   "Sure," I groaned, snagging my room key and swiping open the door. Something slammed shut and I blinked a bit, confused, until realizing it was probably a draft closing someone else's door. The other five didn't seem to care. 

   "Wait, didn't you--?" 

   "Sorry, guys, but I need a nap. It was cool and all, I get it, but I've got a killer headache." And without looking, I closed the door. There were some mutters until I heard Allie start whacking heads. "Shut up! Come on, let's get something to eat." And then they were walking away.

   I sat down hard and tugged at my shoes. It felt like my head was stuffed with fiberglass cotton balls: light but sharp. I writhed out of my shirt and kicked off my jeans, collapsing backwards and not even bothering with the cover. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep.

   Some time later, I opened my eyes. It had gotten dark outside. A sharp breeze cut through the open window. I sat upright and rubbed my bleary eyes. My head still ached enough that I knew I needed some more sleep. It was better, but not enough.

   I yawned and swung my legs over the edge. After snagging the plastic cup by the side of the bed, I washed down some room-temperature water and scrunched my nose at the feeling of my dry tongue. My eyes shifted to the window and suddenly my hackles raised. It had been closed when I went to take that nap... 

   Suspicious, I lifted my hand and conjured magic. The crimson didn't glow very much, but it did provide enough light for me to move towards the window. The clouds obscured the quarter-moon and basically everything else. I leaned forward and peered outside. Nothing but the breeze moved. Frowning, I leaned back inside and stepped back, grasping the window. Just as I started to close it, something rattled behind me.

   I swore with surprise and spun in a circle. The sloppy crimson spike flew and hit the wall, causing the mirror to shatter and rain to the ground. A shadow surged forward, knocked aside my second attack, and then hands tightened around my throat. Long fingers dug into my windpipe. I rasped in panic, beating at their face and jerking with my head.

   Sharp nails cut into my neck. Stars danced in the corner of my eyes. I tried to conjure my magic, anything, but it sparked out every time. My back hit the wall and the attacker pressed harder. Strangled sounds left my lips as I bucked my hips and raked my nails down their face. Pain sparked across my own and suddenly I was released. I tumbled to all-fours and coughed, almost vomiting onto the ground.

   The other person coughed hard. Their breaths rattled almost as much as mine. I lifted my head, a shaky hand throwing forward a rope of red for their throat. The figure knocked it aside with ease and rose to their feet, staggering for the window. I scrambled upright and put my hands together, power pooling into a rough shape, and launched it at them. They jumped out of the window and my paralyzing spell soared past them. However, I was able to see their face.

   Eyes the color of the midnight sky glinted in the red light. Dani Darhk looked demonic in the faint glow, her braids swishing down her sides like a waterfall of oil. Her pale skin visible through the tattoos seemed to glow. I had no time to debate whether or not it was a good idea. Instead, I twisted my hand and thrust the other forward. My head exploded into agony at the effort of throwing the blocking spell twice in a day. A scarlet bullet soared for her center. Dark purple magic appeared as she slashed her hand and the bullet cut into two. My jaw fell open.

   She looked up, still catching her breath, and -- almost as if it were easy -- snapped her fingers. I thrust my hands up and conjured a shield, but the spell shattered it into pieces. It sunk into my chest and I felt myself go airborne before I went unconscious.

   I snapped awake like a gunshot had been fired next to my ear. My lungs sucked in air and I groaned as every nerve in my body screamed. I was freezing. Shivering, I pulled myself off of the ground and heard glass rattle. It crunched under my bare foot. I hardly felt the pain as blood dripped from the gash. Everything hurt. I wheezed through my bruised throat as I looked around.

   The window was still open and morning light poured in. Besides the shattered mirror and blood, there was no sign that anything had happened. The pain everywhere in my body said otherwise. I felt cold, beyond the physical cold. I had launched the best spell I knew, and Dani had deflected it like nothing. She'd destroyed it. And then she'd shattered my shield with hardly any effort. 

   Even after five months of preparing to defend myself against her, she'd defeated me easily. I felt a shred of doubt. It hadn't made a difference all this time. Was there even a point in continuing training? I could handle my magic. There was no more danger of anyone getting hurt around me. Besides, it seemed as if I'd never be able to take on Dani and fight for longer than thirty seconds, much less beat her. There was no point.

   I sat down and stared at my trembling hands. I seriously didn't want to walk out there, beaten to hell, and face everyone. I just wanted to go home.

   With a sigh, I lifted my hand and focused. A sharp hook speared between my eyes as I tried to use my overworked magic, but crimson surrounded my hand anyway. I condensed the golden sparks all into one and sent it through the wall of the room. I had been studying on how Alexie managed to shock me awake across his cottage and finally figured it out. I just had to hope I was strong enough to keep it working until the spell found him.

   Apparently, it worked. Someone talked loudly, protesting, by the time someone else knocked on my door. "Sir, you can't be down here--"

   "Roxie?"

   It was Alexie. I got to my feet, wincing as I saw my bloodied foot, and limped over. It took a second to open the door with the deadbolt still on, but I managed it. Alexie stood on the other side. His eyes widened slightly and then suddenly his face was cold. "What happened?"

   Clearly, my throat had visible damage because he slowly started to seethe. I looked over his shoulder at Mary, who waited for Alexie to finish so she could try and escort him away from the apprentice hall. I looked back at him, exhausted. "She's not dead. And she's not exiled."

   He realized what I meant at once. I would have been worried for my safety if I weren't so tired, the look on his face was so dangerous. He turned around on Mary. "You can inform Dornar that we're leaving. Now."

   Mary opened her mouth, bewildered, but Alexie didn't care. He moved past me and closed the door. His eyes swept over the room and found the shattered mirror and the blood. He seethed. "Why didn't you alert me until now? Some of the blood is dry."

   "I've been unconscious," I muttered, limping to the window. "She hit me with something. I had no chance."

   He picked up one of the shards of glass and thumbed the side. "When did it happen?"

   "Some time during the night."

   Alexie rose and faced me. I'd sat down and was in the process of pulling out the glass out of my foot. Something about his demeanor softened. "Where are you hurt, besides your foot?"

   I snorted, my chest aching. "I've got a killer headache, something messed up in my ribs, a bruised windpipe, splinters in my hands, and a gash open in my foot. Everything hurts, dude."

   He grunted. "Pack your things. We're leaving as soon as you're done."

   "I don't exactly have much." I moved to the bed, snagged the two items across it, and stuffed it into my pack. After grabbing my toothbrush and toothpaste, that was it. Alexie glanced at the door, thought for a moment, before he turned to the window. Pushing it open, he ducked through and stood up outside. I raised my eyebrows. 

   "I figured you would not want to walk through a crowd."

   "Oh." Yeah, I definitely don't want to walk around with these injuries . . . Too many questions. I followed suit and stumbled outside. My leg threatened to buckle, but I put my hand against the side of the building to steady myself. Alexie was already marching towards the nex gate in order to transport us away. I followed the best I could, wishing I'd thought to put on a jacket.

   His grip tightened over my arm the moment I sensed we had reached the gate. There was a tug in my stomach and everything was sucked away. And suddenly we were back in the forest and Alexie strode down the small path to his cottage. The moment we were inside, he pressed his hand to the door and fog spread out from his arm and sunk into the wood. He turned around as I dumped my pack onto the couch.

   "I know you have questions," he started. "And I will answer them. But I must check something first." His hand glowed. I frowned and opened my mouth, confused, before his thumb pressed between my eyes. I tried to smack his hand away but it was too late. I was out cold for the third time in a day.