All hands, plus Sabrina’s, which I spotted upon turning to see who in the audience was responsible for the mismatched clapping.
“The half witch Ember Blackburn has proven her worth,” announced Jaxan.
When I turned back, I found Helen staring up at the ceiling with her jaw tightly clenched.
“In two days, she will attend Selection with the incoming first years. And she is permitted to drink the magic of her choosing at Selection.” Starvos winked, a conspiratorial twinkling suggesting I might choose his.
I felt a rush of relief. That made almosttwofewer Death Bonds for Leland to worry about. Jaxan swore to get rid of the one for him to protect me, and once I was Selected in two days, Leland wouldn’t have to worry about the one tied to me making it to Selection either.
Somewhat bored, Aurora said, “Ydris, please remove her brand.”
A few seconds later, I reached up and felt the smooth skin of my forehead. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, happy I could finally pin my bangs away from my face now that all traces of the brand were gone.
Starvos rose from the bench. “If anyone needs me,” he said cheerily, “I will be in Creatus, conspiring with my fourth years to throw a small celebration.”
The rest of the Council filed out after him.
Skye rushed up to hug me from behind but pulled away quickly. “You donotsmell like an almond croissant,” she said, her face scrunching.
I swung my hair to waft around my prison stench and watched her face change from a grimace to a grin. Then I jokingly chased her with my smell, all the way down the long aisle and out of the trial room.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SEVEN
EMBER
Even in the darkest, coldest hours, I am full of warmth and aglow, for I am an Elemental, and Elementals burn brightest in love.
— Hector Ambrosia, Echelon to the
School of Elemental Magic
Alight breeze fluttered as we crossed the marble bridge, lifting the clear smell of water up from the canal. I would’ve stopped to enjoy the crisp, cool air, except I was hoping to make my way to the academy to shower before Leland walked out of the palace, and my aunts were waiting for me on the hill.
“Congratulations, dear.” Sinora embraced me in a hug, ignoring Sabrina’s childlike twirling. When the hug ended, she lifted her Lens of Intentions to her eye and began inspecting Skye with it. “We just waited to see that you had someone to walk you home,” she said, dropping the lens, “and now that I see you do, we’ll be getting out of your hair.”
“Someone who you love will die,” Sabrina said distantly.
Sinora thwacked her for it, then dragged her sister up the cobblestones.
“The aunts are strange ones,” Skye remarked once they wereout of earshot.
“Yeah,” I said fondly, watching them ascend the hill glowing bright green in the late morning sun. “They know.”
Their long black skirts blew in the breeze as they shuffled up the path. A few paces ahead of them, Case casually receded into the distance, whistling with his hands in his pockets as Farrah barreled past him in her high heels. She was heading down the hill, no doubt on her way to take my picture and demand an interview.
But she never made it.
A burst of flames blasted the air in front of her. Farrah swung her hot-pink satchel protectively in front of her chest, and the blast incinerated it to ashes. Case stopped, making wry hand gestures that appeared to be him pointing out the bald places where the blast had singed off her eyebrows. Farrah angrily spun in the direction she’d come from, forgetting about him.
A genuine smile tugged at my lips, the first smile I didn’t have to plaster on since I got here.
As we walked to the portstop, I contemplated how I felt about Sinora saying she wanted to make sure I had someone to walk me home.Home, and I hadn’t even reacted. Was home Everden now?
I was still pondering this at the academy, my thoughts straying all over the place as I was in the bath, trying to relax to a view of candle flames flickering warmly against the red stone walls. A lavender-scented bath bomb colored the water like a galaxy, and I was submerged under a thick layer of bubbly, purple foam. Head tilted back, the warm water rose to my chin. I swirled my hand and watched it ripple outward, smiling to myself at the sudden memory of Farrah’s satchel burning.
Nova strode in through the small dog door for Familiars and dashed across the stone. I had just enough time to check I was covered by the bubbles before she jumped, perching in a gracefulstance on the edge of the claw-foot tub.
