I throw my hands up in frustration. “Fine. You know what? Maybe the plane did crash. Maybe I’m dead, and this is a hellish supernatural afterlife where I have to fight monsters, travel through fire, and defend myself to people who clearly don’t want me here.”
“You’re not dead,” Logan says, each word sharp and precise.
“How do you know?” I challenge. “Maybe this is witch purgatory or?—”
“You’re. Not. Dead.” He takes a deep, controlled breath, like it’s taking everything in him to not shake me senseless. “Trust me on that.”
Wind whistles through the trees around the clearing, and my heart stumbles, caught between fear and intrigue. Because the way he said those two words—trust me—felt like they were ripped from somewhere deep and dangerous. The same place that made him kiss me like the world was ending and I was the only thing that could save him.
“Anyway.” Evie claps her hands together, clearly trying to break the tension. “It’s portal time!”
She strides toward the cave, and the others follow.
Vera mutters something about dramatic newbies. Garrett looks like he’s already forgotten I exist. Nina’s staring at me like I’m a fascinating specimen she wants to study. Sam’s still cradling his arm as if it’s about to fall off.
I hesitate, caught between Logan’s controlled chaos and Kieran’s watchful stare.
“Are you coming?” I ask them. Well, I mainly ask Logan. And I hate how much I want him to say yes. How much I want him to follow me through that portal and stop looking like he’s about to explode or implode, possibly both.
“No,” Kieran says flatly. “We stay here.”
“To monitor the next group.” Logan’s eyes are hard and locked on mine. “There are six more first-years taking the trial today.”
“But the Hydra’s already dead,” I point out what should be obvious. “You killed it. We killed it. Whatever.”
I turn to the giant corpse, and the words die in my throat. Because new, fresh flesh is growing along the severed necks. Scales appear from nowhere. One head is already half-formed, and its one eye opens—golden, ancient, and focused on me.
“Oh, hell no.” Cold sweat breaks out across my skin, my body screaming to run before my brain catches up. “Nope. Not doing that again.”
Behind me, Logan says something to Kieran, too low to catch. But I don’t care what it was. I just hurry to catch up with the others at the cave entrance, wanting to be anywhere that doesn’t have regenerating monsters or maddening proctors who look ready to self-destruct.
The cave is huge—large enough to house the Hydra—and it’s dark. Too dark. Dark enough that I’m not sure I’d be able to see my hand if I held it in front of my face.
“So, where’s this magical portal?” I narrow my eyes as I try to see into the darkness, definitely not wanting to be the one to walk in first.
Evie adjusts the pencils in her hair that somehow survived the fight. “It activates once we’re all inside,” she explains. “The fire recognizes when the full group is present.”
“The fire recognizes—” I shake my head, cutting myself off. “You know what? Fine. Why not? Fire that thinks. Sure. It’s no crazier than anything else since I got here.”
Garrett enters the cave first, because of course he does. He’s quickly followed by Vera, then Evie and Sam.
Nina gives me a look that I just know mean she’s daring me to enter first. And since I don’t want to be known as the clueless girl who knows nothing about her new magicandis scared of everything thrown in her path, I give her a small smile and walk forward.
My legs shake with each step, but I keep my chin up. Fake it till you make it, right?
She tilts her head, gives me a look thatmightbe approval, and steps in after me.
The moment her foot crosses the threshold, fire erupts around us. But it doesn’t burn. Instead, it crackles with a beautiful mix of oranges, reds, and yellows, lifting my hair with an impossibly pleasant wind.
It’s nothing like the silver storm when I was in the plane. This feels... welcoming. Like coming home to a place I’ve never been.
“Portal activated!” Sam grins like this is the best day of his life, and suddenly, my body’s being unmade and remade, every atom rearranging itself according to some cosmic blueprint I can’t comprehend. My vision whites out, my pulse deafening in my ears, and I’m burned out of existence.
Maybe I was right. Maybe Iamdead.
Then the fire dies out, and the world snaps back into focus, dropping us inside what I assume is Blaze Academy. And despite everything—the monsters, the near-death experiences, and the infuriating proctor who kisses like sin itself—all I can think is that I’msoincredibly screwed.
JADE
