She beams and claps her hands, the rings on her fingers catching the light streaming in through the open window. “Fantastic! The blue moon will rise the weekend after finals week. What better time to have a ball, hmm?”
So, I’ve got one semester to plan a ball for the entire academy—even though the only ball I’ve been to was the one for Yule at the castle the year Alina invited us.
The door opens, and voices from the hallway stream in, along with a few second-years who’re early for class. And I’ve still not finished prepping their teacups for their tasseography lesson.
I hurriedly get back to work, being careful to measure out exactly one teaspoon of leaves per cup. The scent of lilac washes over me, and then Professor Silvermoon is beside me, her gentle hand cool where it rests on my shoulder.
“Thank you, Poppy. You won’t regret this.”
Despite the shimmering in her dark blue eyes, I can’t help but feel I just dove headfirst into a roiling sea, with no idea what might be lurking beneath the waves.
And I thought this year was going to be easy...
Chapter 2
Aric
“SEE?” I WAVE A HAND at the silver ring lying on the table. Its band is decorated with tiny orcish runes, though I have no idea what they mean. Ma never got the chance to teach me. “It’s not working.”
Maeve arches a purple brow as she flicks her gaze from the ring to me. “It’s supposed to glow?”
I nod, then slump back in my chair with a sigh of defeat. “I can’t figure out where I’m going wrong.”
We’re seated in the library at one of the smaller tables beneath the stained glass windows. The late-summer sunlight streams through the glass, casting colors over Maeve’s glossy hair as she leans forward to stare at the silver ring. All around us, other students mingle or chat or study quietly—though what they’re studying so early in the semester, I have no idea. If only I could get this damn rune enchantment to work, I could get out onto the runeball field, where Ireallywant to be. We’ve got a game this weekend, and our first-year players are nowhere near ready. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me in terms of preparing them for the field.
Thinking about runeball makes a knot form in my stomach and reminds me of the conversation I had early this week with Coach Grayward.
You’re this close, Vandermere. One more failed class and you’re off the team. You know the rules.
My nose wrinkles at the thought. I’ve still got a bad taste in my mouth even days later.
I can’t get kicked off the team; it’s the only thing that’s gotten me through the past three years here. And at the end of last year, I was voted captain for the upcoming academic season.
The captain getting his ass kicked off the team because he can’t pass his classes would be pathetic, not to mention humiliating.
“Let me see your rune map.” Maeve holds out a hand, her black nails gleaming in the light.
I drag my schoolbag out from under the table by my feet and start rustling through it.
Maeve leans over to glance into my bag and arches a brow judgmentally. “That’s a mess. No wonder you can’t find anything in it.”
Yeah, she’s got a poi—
“Aha! Here it is.” I grab the slightly crumpled parchment and pull it out. My rune maps—groups of two to five runes that are meant to interact to achieve a desired outcome—are scribbled across the page, and there’s an ink smudge staining one corner. I sit up in my chair with a victorious smile and hand it to Maeve.
Her brow furrows as she studies it.
“Aric! Hey.”
The familiar female voice has me turning.
“Hey, Morgan.”
She’s with two other girls—I’m not sure of their names—and the three of them stop next to the table. Morgan flashes a quick look at Maeve, who ignores her, then pushes a bouncy red curl behind her ear.
“What are you working on?”
“Rune enchantments,” I say, and I’m unable to keep the contempt from my voice. It’s not that I don’t enjoy rune magic—Ido—it’s that I’d much rather use it on my own time, in my own way, rather than for my classes. But I guess that’s true for most students. “These rune maps are trying to kill me.”
