Page 195 of House Ignis

The second-year strikers tried to trap the fireball, but the heat singed their boots, sparks hissing up their shins.

One player yelped, hopping in a frantic circle while the crowd erupted in mocking laughter.

Then, Darcy streaked across the field. She was all lethal muscle and violet-eyed focus.

Darcy threw out a hand, shadows surging across the pitch and swallowing the flames for a heartbeat.

The crowd gasped as she flicked the the darkened orb forward with the tip of her boot, fire reforming around it mid-flight.

"Darcy!" Jules screamed, hands cupped to her mouth. Her voice cracked on the name, and Ember, Maddy, and I all exchanged wicked, knowing grins.

Mid-flight, the fire sputtered out, stone replacing it with a heavy, bone-jarring thud. Jeremy was there in an instant.

He slammed his boot down, earth magic rippling beneath him as he grounded the stone ball.

His muscles strained against the weight, his jaw clenched like a blade. My chest went tight as his eyes snapped across the field, finding Asher.

Asher stood waiting, a wicked grin already spreading across his face, shadows curling off his shoulders like black smoke.

Ezra, Ryven, and Mavrik spread out beside him, their eyes locked on Jeremy's allies. Jeremy barked an order to his team, his gaze pinning mine for a fleeting, suffocating second. My stomach twisted into a knot.

"Oh, this is about to be a bloodbath," Maddy muttered, flipping her ponytail with practiced flair.

Rhea's serpent eyes glittered. "Year against year. First blood wins the crowd."

The match blurred into a chaotic symphony of fire, stone, and shadow.

Ezra was a blur, darting left, feinting right, then sending the elemental ball through the second-years’ wards with a crack of shadow that made the nets rattle.

He turned straight toward the stands, flashing a blinding, cocky grin directly at our line.

I only smirked, refusing to give him the satisfaction.

Then Ryven caught the next ball—a sleek, ice-formed orb—on the tip of his boot.

With a violent twist of air, he sent it spinning into the goal like a shard of ice. Instead of a standard celebration, he jogged straight toward us.

He stuck his tongue out at Maddy, the cocky bastard, and as he ran past, he caught her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. Right there. In front of the entire screaming stadium.

We all screeched. Even Ember dropped her pom-poms in shock. Maddy came up for air looking dazed and thoroughly flushed, while Ryven jogged back to the pitch with a grin like sin.

And then—Mavrik. Of course.

The brute crashed through two second-years like they were made of paper, seized control of the ball as it flared back to fire and powered it across the pitch like a comet.

It slammed into the net so hard the wards hissed and cracked. He turned, a wild grin splitting his face, and winked right at Rhea.

Every single one of us on the cheer line gasped. Rhea's green eyes went wide, then narrowed.

She rolled her eyes, feigning indifference, but the deep blush creeping up her neck betrayed her.

"Ohhh," Ember sing-songed, bumping Rhea's shoulder.

The score was tied. One minute left.

The entire stadium held its breath.

Jeremy had the ball, earth magic swirling beneath his feet as he tore down the pitch, heading for our net like an unstoppable force.