Page 12 of House Ignis

Ember squeezed my arm tighter, practically vibrating with anticipation.

And me? My pulse still hadn't settled. The memory of that storm-colored gaze lingered stubbornly in my mind, and all I could think was—gods help me—this year was going to kill me.

We made our way toward the Ignis path.

Ember was already chattering about how incredible the Orb had felt, how the fire had rushed through her veins like music—wild, bright, alive—but her words barely reached me.

My chest still felt tight. My stomach burned faintly where the magic had twisted through me earlier.

At my side, Aether prowled with a low, irritated rumble, his tail flicking every time Luna's fiery coat brushed against him.

"You're thinking too loudly," he muttered through the bond.

I ignored him. We slipped through the crush of bodies in the courtyard, the crowd breaking around us like a river.

And then my heart dropped. Because there he was.

Leaning against a pillar like he owned the entire courtyard stood Asher Maddox, surrounded by the dark-clad students of Umbra.

His gaze found mine immediately. And held. A slow, wicked smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Someone's watching you," Aether murmured in my head, smug.

My stomach clenched. Asher tilted his head slightly, that smile sharpening into something far more dangerous. Then—gods help me—he winked. Again.

My brain short-circuited.

Ember leaned close, her breath warm against my ear. "You're eye-fucking him."

My cheeks went molten. Perfect.

I dragged in a breath, trying to collect the pieces of my composure, but the heat crawling up my throat had nothing to do with simple embarrassment.

A tight twist burned low in my abdomen—the familiar, jagged pain that always followed a surge of magic or a spike of emotion.

"You're already humiliating yourself," Aether said dryly through the bond.

Noted.

I tore my gaze away from that storm-bright stare before I could do something even more pathetic and grabbed Ember's arm. I dragged her along with me while she laughed, clearly finding this the most entertaining thing she'd seen all day.

We wove through the gardens, past blazing flowerbeds and charmed flame-lilies, until House Ignis rose before us.

Its spires were wrapped in eternal fire, its stone walls radiating a heavy, steady heat that vibrated in the air.

Ember squeezed my arm tighter, still grinning, but I kept my eyes fixed forward, my magic still restless and sparking beneath my ribs.

The towering obsidian arch shimmered with veins of emberstone, glowing faintly as though the rock itself remembered the very first fire that had ever touched it.

Crimson and gold banners cracked like whips in the wind, each one bearing the blazing sigil of Ignis—a rising phoenix.

The courtyard beyond was alive with motion.

Lava-laced paths split the grounds into glowing veins of molten light, threading through gardens that smoked and bloomed in equal measure. Third-years sparred in the open arena, their blades striking with sharp bursts of sparks while controlled flames hissed and danced around them like hungry pets.

Boundlings prowled the stone paths or soared overhead, a living storm of claws, wings, and fire.

House Ignis didn't whisper power. It roared it. It was pride and discipline. Heat and control. Home... and war.