As they neared the outskirts of the Citadel, the direness of the task ahead returned to Ellery. But even as she tried to train her thoughts on their shared duty, her focus slid back to the press of Domenic’s arm, to the way she’d nestled against him. Their thighs pressed together. The scent of his cologne. Longing fluttered inside her like a flurry of snow.
Their car hadn’t even reached a full stop before Ellery and Domenic threw open their doors, cloaked themselves, and raced through the maze of academy buildings. They found the cave already vacated.
It looked just as Ellery remembered, a space the size of a classroom carved into the mountain. Two trees flanked the entranceway, their roots and branches threaded into the stone. Enchanted graffiti shimmered across the walls. Embers flickered inside a pit in the dirt floor, sending weak puffs of smoke through a hole in the ceiling. Discarded cups, bottles, and candles lay scattered everywhere, crunching beneath their feet as they took in the mess.
“Okay, walk me through how this…” Domenic tapped an empty chip bag with his shoe, “ceremonyworks.”
Ellery’s certainty wavered. “The oldest students start the fire pit, and then everyone else lights candles and adds their own flames to it. I think we should start by lighting it, too.”
“Makes sense to me.” He was a silhouette amidst the cave’s dim and the faint glow of Valmordion. The only sounds were the two of them catching their breaths. Side by side, they raised their wands, but neither cast a spell.
“You know,” Ellery whispered, “if we’re caught, we’ll get a week’s detention.”
He wheezed out a startled laugh. “Shit. Another strike on my record, and I’m out.”
“Then we’d better be quick.” She nudged him with her elbow. He nudged her back.
“All right,” she said. “On three?”
“On three.”
As Ellery counted down, her nerves dissipated. For so long, the past had rooted her in a place of fear and shame. But whether they were right or wrong about tonight, they would find a way forward. She trusted him. She trustedherself.
Together, gold and silver flames ignited within the fire pit. But rather than blending into one, the colors intertwined into a spiral. They danced and blazed and churned until, suddenly, they exploded.
Magic swept across the cave. Flowers blossomed from the dirt, encrusted in ice that melted into dew. The branches in the ceiling sprouted fresh leaves, first a tentative, softer yellow before bursting into brilliant Summer green and then an alien, vivid crimson. They detached from the tree and tumbled through the air, their veined patterns as delicate as snowflakes.
“What is this?” Domenic gasped. They both sheathed their wands, then stared, stunned, as their accidental enchantment sputtered out. Ellery had heard of such phenomena in other lands, but never here.
Before she could respond, wind whistled through the now-shriveled leaves.
in treacherous land an enemy lies
but what was lost invasion can reclaim
She turned to Domenic and recited the piece aloud.
“I was right,” she said breathlessly, victoriously—until it dawned on her exactly what the piece said.
“An invasion,” Domenic croaked, echoing her own thoughts. “So it’s finally happening. We’re finally going to reclaim the fallen territory.”
“This was our fifth piece. That means there’s a chance the next one could be… the final one.”
They stared at each other in mirrored shock. Then, as one, they broke into celebration. Ellery laughed into her palm. Domenic spun, glass shattering beneath him, before hollering so loud the sound of it reverberated across the cave.
“Careful,” Ellery teased. “If someone hears us, we really might get detention.”
He halted, his smile mischievous. “Oh no, can you imagine the scandal?”
Even as their laughter ebbed, the word lingered between them, growing all the more substantial in the silence.
Again, her gaze caught his.
“I can think of a better one,” Ellery said.
Then she kissed him.
Domenic kissed her back, so immediately and so fervently that there was no question this want had ever just been hers. He clutched her hips, pulling her closer, while she snaked her arms around his neck. And although Ellery had kissed boys before, she knew in an instant that this,he,was different. Domenic was pure Summer even now, on the darkest night of the year. His lips were soft and honeyed, and he smelled of moss and wildflowers. His magic sang against hers, sizzling heat against shocking cold. Power pooled in her stomach, her throat, sluicing through her in an intoxicating rush of adrenaline.
