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“Timmons…”

The scene played out in her mind. Clyde’s blast of magic and Theo’s raised wand. The unsuspecting wizard is most susceptible to spellwork. Ren had already calculated their fates at that point. The brawl had simply provided a better cover for her own plans.

In fact, she’d decided what would happen as soon as she saw Theo and Clyde pass by her in the courtyard outside. Her mind had traced the cause and effect, how point A might lead to point B, and she’d reached down. Ren had plucked the blades of grass and hidden them in her pocket. Inside the room she’d counted down the seconds, keeping track of the room’s warnings of incoming magic. Just before the spell drew them to their separate locations, Ren had raised her own wand.

“Vega. Leave me.”

The bird took flight, winging back through the dark entrance. She didn’t want the statue to witness her words or her magic. She had no idea what Theo might be able to learn through the vessel, which existed at the very core of their bond. When the scrape of stone wings faded, Ren began explaining herself to the dead.

“I used my altered coil spell, Timmons. Remember that one? I worked on the mechanics senior year. You… studied with me. In the library. Well, you sat with me as I worked on it. But we were together when I did the research for it. Always the two of us…”

Her dead friend didn’t respond. Ren’s plan had seemed so simple. Coil spells bound things briefly together. She’d intended to use the magic to briefly link her destination with Clyde’s and Theo’s. She very specifically guided their route toward the mountains, thinking the three of them would end up a little lost. Ren would have valuable time to display her abilities to two of the most powerful heirs in the city. It would be a crucial chance to earn a spot in one of their houses.

“But I got it wrong, Timmons. I… I don’t know how I got it so wrong.”

She still wasn’t sure why Avy, Cora, and Timmons had been drawn in by her spell. She’d created specific barriers during her casting. She’d aimed her magic at Clyde and Theo. She had taken every imaginable caution to avoid having that magic impact the others.

Why had it gone wrong? Had the coil magic been more powerful than she’d originally calculated? Or was there something about the waxways that had overpowered her spell’s carefully summoned boundaries? All she knew for sure was that the magic she’d cast had worked. Too well. It had coiled around all six of them. It had bound all their locations. And then Timmons had unintentionally amplified the distances. All while Clyde was being devoured by his own active magic.

“You weren’t supposed to be there. In the forest. It should have just been me, Clyde, and Theo. None of you… none of this was supposed to happen.”

It’s all my fault.

Theo assumed she was blaming herself for not protecting them, for not being clever enough with her magic to keep everyone alive. He didn’t know—could never know—that Ren had caused all of it in the first place. Her magic had gotten them lost. Her magic had resulted in their deaths.

The ghost of her best friend watched with those bright, unblinking eyes. Across the room, Cora’s and Avy’s specters had taken their feet as well. She knew they were all dead, but that didn’t take away the guilt of their imagined glares. She screamed back at them.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean for this to happen! This isn’t what I wanted!”

Her chest pumped up and down. Ren had no tears left to give them. She’d already mourned. No, she’d come back to this place to complete a necessary task. It was important to stand in the exact place as before. She set her feet the same way and held her wand at a matching height. Her body was oriented just so. When Ren felt certain about the positioning, she performed the coil spell a second time. It wasn’t functional magic. Not this time. There were no sources to which she could link herself. But that didn’t matter. All that mattered was the performance.

Ren knew investigators would return once the residues had fully settled. They’d run traces to determine what had happened to cause the accident. Her coil spell would undoubtedly leave a mark. Every magic did. Now she’d have a reasonable excuse if they ever asked her. Coil magic? Yes, of course. She’d returned after the funerals, hoping to hold on to that final memory of her best friend. Before they were lost. Before they were hunted through the wilderness by one of their classmates. That was the source of the magic they’d sensed. Just a sad girl attempting a spell that might link her to the memories of her dead friends one last time.

She took a final look around the room.

The ghosts flickered and faded.

“I will not waste it,” Ren whispered. “I promise I will not waste this chance.”

The dead said nothing to absolve her. The silent echo of that empty room forced her to turn around. She tried to ignore the chill that ran down her spine as she walked back through the dark doorway. Vega fluttered out from a nearby tree. The bird landed on her shoulder with a sharp dig of claws. Ren gritted her teeth but kept walking. Her eyes fixed on the distant buildings. She saw the way Balmerick’s coal-black spires pierced the clouds like spears. It was a reminder of what she was facing. All that power and wealth, the boundless ambition.

Ren could not afford to dwell on the past.

Not if she wanted to win.

“Come, Vega. Let’s hunt.”