I give her a signal, flashing her a hand sign with two fingers held up. She nods and pushes herself faster, lengthening the distance between us on the field. When she’s in position, I slow my pace just enough to drop the sphere and kick it, sending it arcing through the cloudy sky—and right into Mona’s waiting arms. She sprints the rest of the way, and our team cheers behind us as she carries the sphere to victory and does a dance between the goalposts.
We all clap, and then I wave to my teammates, yelling, “Bring it in!”
My team, Hexrush, circles up around me. We’re all sweaty and breathing hard, and Leo’s floppy dark hair is pointing out in all directions as he scrubs his face with his sleeve.
“This new play might be tricky to pull off in game,” I say, “but if we can slip the sphere past our opponents and get it to Mona, she’ll be able to carry it the rest of the way—but offense, make sure you run interference.” I exchange looks with two of my forward players, and they nod, still fighting to catch their breath. “With Morgan leading the Strikers, she’ll likely lean heavily on her fire magic. So make sure youalwaysknow where the runes are, and send that sphere through frigus or blast it with water magic to keep the flamesin check. If we let the fire run away with us, they’ll start scoring, and that’s the last thing we want. So practice your water and frost magic for Saturday. All right?”
A rumble of affirmations goes around the circle.
“Good. Hexrush on three. One, two, three—”
“Hexrush!” they all cheer.
“Practice adjourned. Get out of here. You’re all a sweaty mess.”
There’s a round of laughter, and then all my teammates—save for Leo—head off to grab their gear and hopefully take a bath. Leo helps me gather up our team’s practice gear, and once the field is clean and ready for another team to practice, we sling our exercise bags over our shoulders and head back toward the castle.
As we walk, a memory from last year drifts into my mind. I remember being out here in the snow, finding Maeve and her roommates fooling around on the runeball field right before finals our first semester. And I remember Poppy running after the arcane sphere, only to slip in the slush and go tumbling into the snow. When I hurried over to help her, I found her cloak covered in snow, her cheeks red, and her glasses askew on her face, the frames smudged with snowmelt.
And I remember now how cute she was in that moment. But as soon as I pulled her to her feet, she was gone, wanting to go back to her dorm to dry off and warm up.
Why didn’t I think about her again after that? And how did I forget who she was despite seeing her in my cooking class every Friday? Maybe it’s just because my head is always in the clouds, or maybe because I assumed a brilliant, studiouswitch like Poppy Waverly would have no interest in an orc who’s about to get kicked off his runeball team—and maybe have to repeat his senior year.
A shudder rolls through me at the thought. I’m ready to get out of the academy, ready to start my life away from the castle’s walls. What I’ll do with my life, though, is still a mystery, even to me. It’s one of those things that keeps me up at night, chasing sleep away when I need it most.
“Yo,hello?” Leo bumps me with his shoulder, but it barely gets me to budge. “You on planet orc or what?”
I shove his shoulder, sending him stumbling. “I sometimes forget what a dick you are.”
Leo pushes his mop of sweaty hair off his forehead and jogs to resume his place walking beside me. Our lightweight shoes are quiet on the cobbles, and I tip my head up to look at the trees dotted around the grounds. They’re starting to turn autumn colors: red and orange and a yellow so bright I can almost swear the leaves are made of gold. They’ll start falling soon, blanketing the campus until the groundskeeper rakes them away.
“Where’s your head at? I’ve been talking at you for the past three minutes.”
Damn. I had no idea. “Sorry. Thinking about my tutoring this weekend.”
Leo lights up. “With Maeve? Can I come?”
I shoot him a sharp look. “Do I need to push you again?”
He holds up his hands in mock surrender, and I sigh.
“No andno. Not with Maeve. Poppy is tutoring me now,remember?”
“Poppy?” Leo fumbles around in his exercise bag for something and comes up victorious with a green apple sticky pop held in his hand. He has such a strong sweet tooth, it can make my stomach turn. Leo puts the sticky pop into his mouth and tilts his head. “Don’t remember you mentioning a Poppy.”
Didn’t I? Maybe not. Maybe it was my roommate, Felex, that I told about Poppy.
I’m not sure I want to go through the whole thing again. Leo’s just fixated on Maeve; if he knows she’s not the one trying to tutor me anymore, he’ll lose interest before that sticky pop turns his mouth green.
Right on cue, a second-year witch from the Black Cats—a female-only runeball team, and they’re fierce on the field—walks by. She smiles at Leo, completely distracting him, and he immediately veers away from me, calling back, “See ya!” as he scurries to catch up with her.
Now I’m alone, and I’m grateful for it.
I climb the stairs to the castle and enter through the towering double doors, stepping into the grand entrance hall, with its marble floor, painted ceiling, and brightly glimmering chandelier casting light from overhead. The air smells of fresh-baked bread, french onion soup, and roasted asparagus. My mouth waters, and my stomach lets out a grumble.
First I need to take a bath, and then I can let myself feast.
AFTER DINNER, I RETURN TO my dorm room feeling ten pounds heavier. The food they serve here iswaybetter than what my dad and stepmom make athome—though not for lack of trying; they’re just a hazard in the kitchen. It’s one of the reasons I learned how to cook.
