Adeline had faced fighting a corrupt group of fae, starting a magical Academy and losing her freedom.
It all paled when compared to the task that stood before her. For all of those other accomplishments, she knew that she could rely on her skills. Facing life-threatening decisions was something she had agreed to when signing up to be a recruit of the fae order; protecting herself and her sister in the process.
That morning, she faced something entirely new. It had been early when she finished training outside. Her skin had been bright red, bitten by the early morning frost. It wasn’t until she stepped into her room that she noticed the problem. It was freezing.
It felt even colder than outside. She quickly moved over to turn on the gas heating. Canberra was notably colder than where she used to live, and the act of turning the heating on when she got inside had become almost instinctual during winter.
The A/C unit seemed to whir to life, pause, and… silence. She couldn’t hear any airflow coming out of the air conditioner. Its fans sat still, ignoring her request. Annoyed, Adeline turned the switch on and off, praying for the air conditioning to suddenly stir to life. Its red light stubbornly blinked back at her, unresponsive.
Adeline wanted to punch the thing but decided against it. This was a task for a professional. She should have listened to her sister, Valerie, when she had told her in autumn to book air conditioning services (Canberra had a number of fae-friendly experts who could assist and wouldn’t blink an eye appearing at a magical academy). The problem was, this was not an issue that could be solved immediately. As the unit, maybe angry at Adeline’s constant use since the day of the installation, refused to budge, she knew she was in for a long day.