"What if I fail?" Stellan whispers into the darkness, his voice so small it breaks my heart.
"You won't," Jade says immediately, his demon certainty absolute. His arms tighten around Stellan possessively.
"But what if I do? What if I freeze up when I see the hunters, or lose control when they start testing me, or transform wrong and prove them right?"
"Then we deal with it together," I interrupt, running my fingers through his hair. The strands are warm, always warm, like he's still made of fire even in human form. "But you're not going to fail, Stellan. You've been training for this every day. You know what you are now. You're not the scared kid who didn't understand his fire anymore. You're a phoenix, and phoenixes don't break. They burn and rise again."
My other mates add their agreement, their presence solid around me. The fear is still there but so is something stronger. Trust. In each other. In what we've built together.
And somehow, that makes it bearable.
"I love you," Stellan says suddenly, the words directed at all of us. "All of you. Whatever happens tomorrow, I need you to know that. You've given me more in the past two weeks than I've had in years. You've made me believe I'm not a monster."
"You're not a monster," Rumi says fiercely. "You're magnificent. And tomorrow, everyone else is going to see it too."
We fall asleep like that, tangled together in a knot of limbs and essences. Six mates facing impossible odds together.
Tomorrow, we show the world what we are, and everything changes.
15
STELLAN
Themorningofthetest arrives too quickly and not quickly enough. I wake up surrounded by my mates, all of us having given up on separate rooms entirely over the past few days. The bonds won't let us stay apart for long. Every time someone tries to sleep elsewhere, the marks burn and ache until we're back together, pulled by invisible strings we can't ignore even if we wanted to.
I can feel the sun rising through the window, feel the academy waking up around us, feel the weight of what's about to happen settling over me. It's hard to breathe, my chest constricted like my ribs are trying to compress my lungs into nothing.
"Morning, firebird," Jade murmurs against my neck, his warmth surrounding me in a cocoon of heat that should be uncomfortable but isn't. He's been feeding on my essenceall night, taking my anxiety and filtering it into something manageable. I don't know how I'd survive this without him. Without any of them.
One by one, my other mates wake. Skye presses a kiss to my shoulder and I feel him already running through plans, contingencies and backup strategies humming through our bond. Harlow phases solid to touch my hand, grounding me. Rumi's wings manifest briefly, golden light filling the room.
"It's time," Ambrose says quietly, his voice gentle despite the hard truth of the words.
My stomach drops. I'm not ready. I'll never be ready. How can anyone be ready for something like this? For standing in front of the entire Magila world and proving you deserve to exist?
But I get up anyway, because my mates need me to. Because hundreds of students are counting on me to prove that different isn't dangerous. Because if I fail, the Council will use it as justification to strip essence from anyone who doesn't fit their neat little boxes. Because Vera's sister and countless others like her deserve better than what they got.
No pressure.
We get ready in silence, the weight of the day making conversation feel impossible. Words stick in my throat, refusing to come out. I pull on the clothes Ambrose selected yesterday, nothing too formal, nothing that makes me look like I'm trying too hard to impress. Just simple pants and a shirt that will survive if I accidentally manifest fire. Dark colors that won't show soot if things go wrong.
My hands shake as I button the shirt, and Jade has to help me with the last few buttons. His claws are careful against my skin, precise and controlled in ways that would have terrified me a week ago. Now they're just comforting, a reminder that dangerous doesn't mean bad.
"You're still tense," he murmurs, leaning close enough that his breath ghosts across my ear. His tail wraps around my waist, pulling me against him. "Want me to help with that?"
"We don't have time," I manage, even as my body responds to his proximity.
"We have five minutes." His hand slides down my chest, claws dragging lightly over the fabric of my shirt. "I can work with five minutes."
He drops to his knees before I can protest, and suddenly I'm gripping his horns while he shows me exactly what a demon's mouth can do when properly motivated. It's fast and intense and exactly what I need, the pleasure burning away the last of my anxiety and leaving me loose-limbed and clearheaded.
When he rises, licking his lips with obvious satisfaction, I'm panting and my legs feel like jelly. "Better," he declares, adjusting my now-wrinkled shirt with a smug grin. "Now you'll be thinking about that instead of being terrified."
"I hate you," I lie.
"You love me." He steals a kiss that tastes like fire and want. "Now let's go show the world what a phoenix can do."
The demonstration space is in the main courtyard, and when we arrive, I see that it's already packed. Students line every available space, sitting on windowsills and hanging from balconies to get a better view. Faculty members stand along the walls, their expressions ranging from supportive to hostile. And Vera's camera crews are positioned at strategic angles, five different setups that will capture everything from multiple perspectives.
