"Hey, Kael Vi-rel. Looks like we're partners once again."Her cheerful tone melted the heavy silence, instantly making the situation feel less like a punishment and more like a happy accident. Her presence alone had a way of dispelling the tension. For some reason, I felt an odd sense of relief, a loosening of the tight knot in my chest.Maybe… this group project wouldn't be the nightmare I thought it would be. Maybe, just maybe, this was the one unpredictable variable that would actually work in my favor.
I should have been relieved. Out of all the people in the class, at least I ended up with some familiar faces Silva my sparring partner, Clara Winslet my dungeon raid teammates, and Nad. At first glance, it seemed like a solid, if not slightly awkward, team. Silva was good-natured and earnest, a reliable teammate. Clara Winslet was surprisingly composed and seemed to possess an encyclopedic knowledge of alchemy.
