"See?" Erika grinned as she sat besides Mara. "Told you, easy!"
Her body language immediately outed her as a liar though, as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. Her voice was exhausted, and her hands were still trembling a little. Her panting hadn't stopped yet.
Mara hesitated. She soon had to go down there to fight her own fight, and her fears seemed to have returned. Her forced chuckle put a frown on Aether's face. He was worried, not because she wasn't capable of winning, but because she was actively stunting her own success.
"Mara," He said with a fake smile. "Remember, you don't need to hurry to defeat them. You're the one who knows more spells, the longer the battle, the better for you."
Mara nodded. She pressed her leatherbound notebook against her chest and hugged it tightly. "I know. I'll be careful, and I won't hurry." She glanced at Erika. "Like you did."