But Lyra just gives me her trademark mischievous smile and says, “I have my ways. But I think it’d be fun. We’ve gone to the festival three years in a row, and this is our last year here. We should make it count.”
The reminder makes my stomach pinch.
My last year at Coven Crest.
Our time at the academy has gone by so fast. And I still don’t know if I’ll have a place in the Arcanum Collective next year.
A sense of sadness starts to creep over me. I’m going to miss this. After this year, my life will never be like this again. Our mornings in the dining hall, evenings soaking in these pools together, drinking copious amounts of tea while studying—soon, it’ll all be a memory.
“Maeve?” Alina asks, drawing my attention. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I dunk my head under the water quickly, then smooth my hair back from my face as I break the surface. “Just thinking.”
“About the party?” Lyra asks. “You want to go, don’t you?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe. I was thinking about this being our last year here.”
My words might as well be a sadness spell, because all three of my friends lose their smiles.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about that too,” Poppy says quietly. “It’s hard to believe this is our last year together.”
“Stop right there,” Lyra says, pointing a finger at Poppy. “You’re going to make me cry talking like that.”
“Me too.” Alina wipes her eye, then smiles. “We can start getting sad next semester. Until then, no talk of endings. Deal?”
We all look at one another, our smiles returning.
“Deal,” Poppy, Lyra, and I echo together.
“Good.” Alina reclines back against the edge of the pool, letting her eyes close.
“Okay, back to this party,” Lyra says, making me roll my eyes.
“Why do you want to go so badly?” I ask.
“Because it’s our las—” She cuts off quickly, then says, “Because it would befun, and I want to go with you. Cairn has to work, and Poppy said Aric isn’t visiting for Samhain, so it’ll just be us girls. Well, and the grumpy dragon.”
Alina’s lips flick up into a tiny smile at the mention of Raelan, but she doesn’t open her eyes.
“We can drink and dance and flirt with the spirits who come through the veil. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
Nowmylips are slowly pulling up into a smile.
That does sound pretty fun, and I could use a break from worrying about the fellowship, even for one night. Briefly, I wonder what Severin’s plans for the holiday are. Do vampireseven celebrate Samhain like witches do? Felex never did, but he didn’t like socializing much anyway.
I flick water at Lyra and say, “Fine, fire witch. I’ll go with you to the party.”
“Yay!” Lyra’s raised voice causes some of the other women who’re bathing to glance in our direction, but anyone who knows Lyra—or knowsofLyra—is used to this. “Alina, Poppy, you’ll come too, won’t you?”
And Poppy surprises me by nodding resolutely and saying, “Yeah, I’ll come.”
Since last year, she’s really started to come out of her shell. Being with Aric has been good for her. I’m glad that after how rocky it was, everything worked out for them.
“Yes! That leaves you, Your Highness,” Lyra says, turning her gaze to Alina.
And given the smile trying to pull at Alina’s mouth, I already know what she’s going to say.
So I guess we’re all going out to party on Samhain.
