Dornar stood at his podium, hands braced on the side. Sensing he was not about to go quiet and let me finish interrogating Alexie, I sunk back into my chair with a sigh. Dprnar's light brown eyes swept over the room. "Welcome back to most of you, and to the newcomers, welcome! This year's meeting is the same as always. Today, we will take roll call and complete the roster of neutral magicks of the area. We'll start at this end of the line," he pointed away from me, luckily, "and begin by the master stating their name, the number of the apprentice, and the advancement of the apprentice. This includes the name, the age, and the time in training thus far. Give a moments for Linda to get it copied down, and then move on to the next. We all want to be finished in time for a midafternoon lunch, so let's begin quickly." He gestured to the pair at the end of the table.

  To my surprise, Allie sat directly at the end. A little bit of color drained from her cheeks as all of the attention was directed towards her. Her master, a short, aging woman, rose and leaned on her cane. Her voice seemed too loud for her small form. "I'm Beatrice Simon. My apprentice is Allie Powell, the third witch I've ever trained. She's eighteen and has been training for eighteen months. She's a level two stage one."

   Those words again... I recalled Alexie saying something similar to Dornar when he visited the cottage, but I couldn't really remember what it meant. Linda, the woman at the other podium, scribbled it down and nodded. The next pair was a boy with a plump man, the older man standing up tall and booming his name in a reedy voice. As Beatrice Simon sat down, Allie leaned around her to shift her gaze at me. Her lips pursed. I waved my fingers slightly, disturbed at the look on her face. She looked less than happy.

   The next boy was a level three stage three. He smirked at the rest of the room proudly. A girl rolled her eyes and leaned her chin on her hand. All of the apprentices looked bored, the masters politely interested. Alexie wasn't pretending to care, however. His posture was relaxed, one arm on the table. Though I knew better, considering the slight squint of his eyes. He was being as watchful as ever. 

   I didn't understand why all of the apprentices were bored. Something about hearing these short descriptions was interesting. Probably because I was basically a newborn fumbling with a covered knife. 

   Blue was next. He had been training for a little less than a year and was a level one stage four. Harley sat next to him, his own information incredibly similar. Then I realized they had the same master, which explained why. Karen was next. Her master, a woman with dark hair and eyes, stood up. Karen kept her face schooled.

   "I'm Malerie Jones. Daniella is my first mage apprentice. She has been training for two years, and she's at level three stage four. She will be ready to complete her own staff within the month." 

   I looked between the two of them, my eyebrows raising. The same black hair, the same narrow face. Karen was training under her mother. And her stage and level, whatever it meant, was the highest out of every other apprentice here, thus far. Her face said she was trying to fight a smirk. Her sharp eyes drifted my way and bored into my head, almost daring me to comment. I put on a blank expression and watched as she blew a strand from her forehead in irritation.

   The next pair went up. Realizing my turn was coming soon, I leaned to Alexie and asked softly, "What do those levels and stages mean?"

   He glanced around the room once before answering. "They are markers of achievement and progress. The higher the levels and stages, the more advanced the apprentice. There are three levels of training and five stages within each level."

   "Oh." Then I guess Karen did have something to be proud of. She was the most advanced mage in the room. The sudden silence startled me to look around and see everyone looking our way. The master next to us sat down and Linda finished writing what he'd said. Her eyes turned our way, expectant. Feeling everyone's eyes, I kept my face straight. He seriously understated how much everyone dislikes him.

   Alexie didn't get up. His voice was so soft that everyone shushed instantly. Anyone could hear a pin drop. He didn't even bother saying his name. "Roxie Reilly, nineteen, and has been training for five months. Level two and stage five."

   His words were like a bomb in the silence. Whispers erupted and some jaws dropped. Someone muttered, "he has to be lying! There's no way--" My eyes found that kid and he paled once he saw me looking. Confused, I looked at Alexie, but he had disconnected from the situation again. He looked bored.

   Three levels, five stages in each. Allie had been working for eighteen months and she was a level two stage one. Then I realized. In five months, I was already ahead of her? I blinked slightly. Okay, no wonder everyone is surprised. That made no sense. 

   Alexie fixed his eyes on the boy that had spoken the loudest. "She works hard." The three words didn't help the whispers. My fist clenched under the table. I was starting to get annoyed with the skepticism. Though it took all of my willpower to not cough under my breath, "and he tend to lock me in the attic until I can finish." I was pleased when I succeeded. 

   The final pair finished introducing themselves and Dornar cleared his throat to silence the murmurs. I still felt the burning glares of half of the apprentices. Alexie wasn't kidding. They really do hate him.

   "Thank you. The next step is the proof. Each apprentice will rise and perform a spell fit for their level and stage. The higher it is, the more advanced the spell." I recoiled, repulsed. Was he kidding? We had to perform for these people? My lip twisted. Alexie hardly blinked. In fact his posture relaxed slightly more.

   Allie stood first. She pulled free the staff strapped to her back. Her lips moved faintly and she pretended to pull something from the top of her staff. With a flourish, several tropical-looking leaves fluttered into the air and spiraled in a faint circle above our heads. She pulled her hand down sharply and the leaves turned into a faint green glitter that slowly dissipated. Her master smiled and patted her arm as she sat down. Allie looked pleased.

   I recalled the words from the book I'd read before. She was a witch and therefore manipulated the magic around living things. Considering there hadn't already been a plant nearby, she must have thrown some seeds up and caused them to sprout midair. That was neat, actually. The next apprentice, a wizard, rose to his feet. He caused the papers on Dornar's podium to dance in a circle before forming a neat pile on his desk. Dornar didn't seem pleased with his papers all out of order. The next apprentice didn't dare to touch his things.

   There were all different demonstrations. Witches primarily used seeds and small animals --  I had no idea where they were coming from -- to perform. Wizards toyed with the chairs, caused tables to rattle, and one even made the floor ripple like water. That was awesome.

   Then it came Karen's turn. The other two mages hadn't been able to do much, so she was probably going to steal the whole show. She rose to her feet and drew her staff. There was a gleam in her eyes that I didn't like. She raised her staff and twisted it over her head. Faint lilac began to condense around her and fall like a waterfall. Soon she was completely obscured from view. By the time the lilac disappeared, Karen was gone. There were some murmurs of appreciation. Dornar nodded slightly. I frowned and glanced at Alexie. He shrugged slightly, saying so softly that I could barely hear, "A spell the Jones' created generations ago. They are the only family that knows how to create small illusions using mage magic."

   Everyone else looked impressed, while Alexie didn't seem to be at all. Considering he had already shown me he knew several spells that only he knew existed, he had a right to be underwhelmed. I shook my head slightly. Karen finally reappeared in her seat, holding Linda's pen in her hand. Linda blinked and looked down at her hand. With a smirk, Karen tossed it back over.

   "Showoff," I muttered. Alexie didn't blink. All too soon, it was my turn. Every set of eyes turned to me. I stood up, feeling the pressure of their gaze. They were all expecting something big, considering who my master was. I pushed my shoulders back and lifted my chin. They want a show. Well, I'll give them one.

   The most recent spell I'd mastered was the spell for my disappearing trick. I lifted my hand and twisted it sharply. The staff appeared and I caught it mid-air with that satisfying thunk. The murmurs had already started again. "Definitely Albers'," someone said. I ignored the comment and decided on my trick.

   I exhaled and tapped into the vibrations surrounding my skin. My staff alit with scarlet ribbons. Cracking my neck, I turned in a slow circle and lifted my staff. I used my other hand to pull up from the ground and crimson seeped from my palm, billowing upwards in a growing river. It hit the ceiling and the room rattled. I spun my staff once, concentrating, and the crimson spread across the ceiling and the walls, sliding down it like water. 

   And then I pulled it all back. I pulled my hand to my chest in a fist and my magic rushed across the floor. Every chair in the room screeched in my direction a few inches. There was a collective yelp. Alexie's didn't move and he definitely noticed. Faint amusement crossed his face as I threw my staff forward in a twisting spiral. Every drop of crimson in the room surrounded it in a shell and then exploded into golden sparks. By the time the colors disappeared, the staff was gone. I had made it seem as if the staff had exploded when in reality it was simply put in my magical, invisible safe.

   I sat back down calmly. There was complete silence. I smiled slightly. Alexie shook his head, amused, because he knew what had just happened. The latest spell, besides the disappearing staff trick, had been one that taught me to be able to summon all of my power into a single blast. It was large, loud, and strong. Though I felt the strain of the spell. My head ached a bit. I had simply made the spell more of a show than a strike.

   The next boy finally stood up. The tension in the air faded slightly. I leaned over to Alexie and whispered, "Overkill?"

   He shook his head and his lip twisted into a faint smile. Not quite a full one, but it was there anyway. "Not at all."