My eyebrows knitted together.Who are they?
A piece of paper landed on my desk. I looked up to see Hunter grinning at me. I wasn’t much of a note writer, but Hunter couldn’t go a full class without talking to someone. He was always passing notes to Eva and me.
I unfurled the paper and read it.
Students, third years, returning to watch the Samhain Trial.
My stomach dropped. A dozen students had come out of the van, but considering the trials were still days away, there would probably be more. Apparently, we would have quite an audience present for our first major test.
As much as I enjoyed performing, this was one show I was definitely dreading.
Chapter Twenty
As the final days leading up to Samhain flew by, Spellcasters filled up with students who I’d never seen before. Third years walked the halls like they owned the place, cocky grins on their faces. One attractive young man actually winked and blew me a kiss as we passed in the hall.
“Yeah, yeah. So you know something I don’t. What else is new?” I muttered beneath my breath.
“Excuse me? Whatcha talking about, crazy?” Eva teased.
I blushed. “It’s just all these upperclassmen acting superior around us. Why can’t they tell us something about the trial instead of smirking all the time? It’s annoying!”
Eva chuckled and shook her head. “It’s also forbidden, remember?”
Ugh, why was Spellcasters so frustrating sometimes? I huffed out a breath. At least we would only have to suffer the third and second years’ smirks, winks, and condescending chuckles for one more day. After the trial, maybe they’d actually talk to us like we belonged.
If we passed.
The fact that some students didn’t pass was terrifying. And even if you passed, your results might be lackluster. The Samhain and Beltane Trials ranked initiates from strongest to weakest in their year. Those who were the most capable had first dibs at choosing summer internships after our Culling and Grind years. Not only that, but Spellcasters reserved subjects like necromancy and spirit walking or talking for only the top Crucible year students.
I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to take necromancy, or have anything to do with spirits, but I knew one thing: I sure as hell didn’t want to come in last and have my choices limited.
“How do they choose the partners, anyway?” I asked, trying to ignore the pit in my stomach that kept on growing.
“No idea,” Eva said. “I think it’s random. Same with the Beltane Trial at the end of the year.”
Well, damn.I hoped that I wasn’t paired with someone like Diana or her little minion Phoebe. Or Alex, who, despite the strange connection we’d had—one I couldn’t stop thinking about—hadn’t acknowledged me since the day in the forest. Although I shouldn’t have been upset about it, since we weren’t friends before, it still hurt.
I thought there had been something between us during the fae fiasco. Something real.But clearly, I’d just watched too many romcoms.
I shook my head, annoyed that I was obsessing over Alex again when he wanted nothing to do with me. So many things in my life mattered more than my little jerkface crush. I couldn’t let thoughts of Alex Wardwell destroy my confidence and ruin my chances in the Samhain Trial.
“What do you say we ditch the library and head back to our rooms and do facials?” Eva said out of the blue.
I arched an eyebrow. “Right before the trial? That’s a terrible idea, isn’t it?”
Eva’s eyes twinkled. “Probably the worst. But we’re both uptight and we’ve been studying nonstop for days already. Hell, my brain hurts! The first trial is tomorrow. I think we deserve a few hours to pamper ourselves. We can study again after the ceremonial dinner, if we need to.”
I stopped in the dead center of the hallway. Masses of students flowed around me, but I barely noticed them. The flood of relief that I wouldn’t have to go to the library and stare at a pile of books and feel frustrated and worried and overwhelmed was too strong.
“Yeah, good idea. And let’s blast your beat-up, old stereo.” I did a strange little jig, and Eva giggled.
“Only if you promise to teach me that dance.” She threw her arm around my shoulder, and we pivoted to return to our rooms.
For the first time in days, the hard knot in my stomach loosened. And though I knew it wouldn’t last long, I welcomed the brief relief all the same.
That night, the Agnes Sampson Hall felt very different from the night of orientation. The most pronounced of these differences was the unbridled enthusiasm that radiated from the upperclassmen as they took up spots next to friends at the long communal tables and began catching up.
Although I thought I might vomit at any second, I smiled at the scene of two more senior girls reuniting and hugging one another. Depending on our ranks and mission rotations, that might be Eva and me soon.
