That night, Kosai lay in bed exhausted. He understood why Zenith told him about building up a tolerance. As he willed sparks of flame into existence, he had to envision his entire body on fire, and then concentrate that feeling into a small point in front of him. After the four hours of training, the mental image combined with the immense power of the Faye running through his body in an instant drained much of his energy. During the two-hour study session, Kosai was too tired to read and stared at the page, not seeing words or letters even, but black squiggles on a white background.
When Mearto arrived to hear an oral report, she was upset for his lack of effort and told him that if he was so tired, that it was better that he would just go to bed. Kosai agreed.
As the time passed, the students worked their way into their bunks, lighting candles with a snap or a touch of the wick. Eventually, he mustered enough energy to roll onto his side and stared past the shadows of other student’s candles.
A few students were up, reading and whispering to each other from books they retrieved from the library. Shàn walked by and glanced at Kosai blankly. Kosai stared back. Shàn walked to his own bunk, lit a candle, flipped through a book and made notes with a quill. Shàn looked over at Kosai and gulped; his throat constrictions were visible in the light.
Theo and another teacher, who looked like he hadn’t missed a meal and always had seconds, entered the room. Theo walked quickly, but proudly, over to Shàn, whispered something in his ear, and then moved further back in the dormitory. The other teacher walked slowly and seemed to focus more on the leg of chicken he was chewing on. Shàn looked again at Kosai, got out of bed and left. The other teacher talked to three other boys, and soon they were all walking out of the dormitory with Theo taking up the end.
“Where are they going,” Kosai asked groggily.
“Muck duty,” Theo said, “out in the city tonight for punishment.”
“What did they do?”
“Skipped class.”
Satisfied with the response, Kosai rolled over to his other side and closed his eyes. Sleep took him instantly, caressing him away in soft warmth that enveloped him from head to toe, making his skin feel like a cloud stuck in a sunset.
CHAPTER 20