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“Akemiii!” Ramona calls.

Leaf spots me and immediately lifts a bottle. “THE GOAD QUEEN ARRIVES!”

Castor’s head turns more slowly, but the moment his eyes meet mine, the intensity is immediate.

I pretend not to notice as I weave through the crowd and drop into the empty chair beside Ramona.

“You missed the speeches,” she says.

“Thank the gods.”

Leaf slides into the seat across from me and slams a cup of wine in front of me.

“To the most brilliantly worded jibes the goad squad has ever known,” he declares.

“You ignored every taunt I aimed at you.”

“Exactly. We won.”

Castor clears his throat and gently lowers his own drink beneath the table when two cadets pass nearby.

I snort. “You know they can still see you, right?”

“I am a professor now,” he mutters. “There must be boundaries.”

“You’re holding a tankard.”

“It’s… herbal tea.”

Ramona leans over and takes a sip.

“Wine,” she says.

Castor sighs.

Leaf points at Ramona accusingly. “You doubted me earlier.”

“I said you’d probably win,” she replies.

“You said, and I quote, ‘Leaf, please stop talking before you embarrass the team.’”

Ramona scoffs. “Because you were standing on the lunch tables shouting battle speeches at the first-years.”

“It was motivational!”

“You challenged three of them to arm wrestle.”

“I was building morale.”

“You spilled stew on the captain of another team.”

Leaf lifts his chin proudly. “A sacrifice for victory.”

Ramona rolls her eyes. “If I were actually on the team, I’d bench you.”

He grins. “Good thing you’re stuck waving ribbons, then.”

Esther suddenly raises a finger.