Page 35 of Immortal Consequences (The Souls of Blackwood Academy #1)

Emilio

“It’s going to be amazing!” Josie shrieked, kicking her feet up and down. She was lying with her head resting on Tristan’s lap, legs tucked close. “Can you picture it? Dazzling decorations…beautiful gowns… dancing! ”

Emilio shuddered. It sounded like his worst nightmare.

After his final class of the day, he’d followed Tristan and Josie to the Main Yard, where they’d met with Georgia and Carter.

The five of them had spent the past hour working on their assignments and reading beneath the late-afternoon glow, stretched out on a wool blanket that was covered in textbooks and fallen leaves.

Josie couldn’t stop gushing about the Decennial Ball—going on and on about how wonderful the night was going to be.

“I do have to say I am a remarkable dancer,” Tristan teased, twirling a piece of Josie’s hair around his index finger. “I was a bit of a hot commodity during school dances.”

“Well, I’d better see some of those moves during the ball.” Josie giggled.

“I might have you beat,” Carter teased. He brushed his fingertips against the grass and a beautifully crafted tulip blossomed between his fingers, the petals glittering with magic. “My moves will have even you swooning, Abbot.”

Tristan rolled his eyes. “We’ll see about that.”

“Well, personally I am dreading the whole ordeal.” Georgia sighed, dramatically throwing herself back against the grass.

Carter rolled his eyes. “That’s only because you don’t have adate.”

“I had offers!” Georgia pouted and crossed her arms. “I just didn’t care to go with any of them.

And who knows? What if we get eliminated in the next trial?

We would be healing in the infirmary for weeks—maybe even months—and miss out on the rest of the Decennial.

I just don’t see the point of getting all excited about a ball I might not even be able to attend. ”

Emilio didn’t blame her. He’d thought the same thing himself. The second trial was bound to happen any day now, which meant there would be another round of eliminations before the ball.

It was just a matter of time.

“Either way…who am I gonna ask now ?” Georgia groaned. “Everybody has already partnered up with someone.”

Emilio shrugged. “We could go together.”

Georgia blinked at him in surprise. “Aren’t you going to go with Olivier?”

Josie and Tristan shared a knowing look, stifling their laughter. Carter didn’t bother to hide his cackle.

Emilio blushed, eyes frantically darting among the group. “What? Why is everyone laughing?”

“I can’t tell if you’re joking,” Georgia replied, deadpan.

“I’m not!”

“Um…because you two are so obviously madly in love with one another?”

Emilio was sure he had gone three shades of red. “We are not—that’s not—I don’t know where you—”

“Oh, Emilio.” Tristan placed a gentle hand on his leg. “There’s really no point in denying it.”

Emilio buried his face in his hands.

“Am I that transparent?”

“You both are,” said Josie, ruffling his hair. “Honestly, it’s rather painful to watch. I just want to grab you two by the neck and—” She smashed her hands together and made a crude gesture that Emilio could only assume was the two of them kissing.

Tristan chuckled and shook his head. “What my dear Josie is trying to say is…you just need a nudge. Something that will push you past that awkward line.”

Emilio peeked at him through his fingers. “Like what?”

“Well…there’s nothing that says grand romantic gesture quite like a ball.”

Emilio supposed he was right. If there was ever a time to attempt to express his complicated feelings to Olivier, a ball would be the perfect opportunity.

But what on earth would he tell Olivier?

That he spent every waking moment thinking about him?

That ever since he’d entered Blackwood, there’d been this horrible gaping hole inside him, this unrelenting sadness, that only ever went away in Olivier’s presence?

That looking at him hurt ? That being around him physically pained him—quite literally snatching the breath from his lungs?

That he completely, desperately, shockingly loved him?

Panic surged in his chest.

“I—I have to go.” Emilio staggered to his feet, scrambling to throw his satchel over his shoulder.

“Emilio…” Josie looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Please don’t go. We didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t,” he muttered, feigning a smile. “I’m…I’m fine. I just have a lot to think about.”

But just as he was about to run off in the opposite direction, a plume of black smoke materialized in front of them and Housemaster Calligan appeared.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said, hands shoved into the pockets of his tartan trousers. “But I’m going to need you all to come withme.”

Emilio barely had time to process what he’d said before a larger, swirling mass of smoke engulfed them, swallowing the five of them whole.

From one moment to the next, they had been transported to a grand, ornate hall. It took Emilio a second to regain his senses, but he quickly realized where they were.

The Opal Chamber.

Iridescent rays of light flooded in from the various stained-glass windows—swirling patterns of deep amber, blush and vibrant lilac washed over the pews filling the center of the hall.

He scanned the impressively large walls carved from stone, examining the corners adorned with Gothic-style gargoyles and other intricate grotesques, each of which had a pair of glistening crystals for eyes.

They were unsettling. Some students claimed that they had even seen the eyes move on more than one occasion—that they trailed your every movement, watching you from afar.

Distracted by that ominous thought, Emilio needed a few seconds to realize they weren’t alone.

Standing at the end of the hall, right in front of the infamous arched door that marked the entrance into the Ether, stood the rest of the nominees.

August and Wren stood side by side, both looking rather disgruntled.

Irene and Masika were only a few feet to the right of them, twin looks of impatience on their faces.

Olivier was restlessly tapping his foot against the floor, though his eyes instantly brightened the moment he spotted Emilio.

Headmaster Silas was positioned beside them, a dark emerald cloak flung elegantly over his shoulders.

He watched them carefully as they crossed the vast hall and joined the others.

“Apologies for the abrupt call.” Silas’s booming voice echoed as he addressed the group. “But time is of the essence.”

“Is there anything else I can do to assist?” asked Calligan behind them.

Silas shook his head. “Thank you, Calligan. Your services are no longer required.”

Calligan bowed his head and made his way out of the hall, the echo of his footsteps slowly receding.

Once they were alone, Silas turned to them with an eager look in his eyes.

“Now…,” he began, gesturing toward the golden door.

“As I’m sure you have all guessed, you have been called to the Opal Chamber for the second trial.

You will be entering the Ether in search of a lost soul.

Now, you may think this sounds routine—almost elementary—but you will find that the Ether will be a bit more… unruly than you’re accustomed to.”

“Are we allowed partners?” Georgia inquired, with a fleeting look in Carter’s direction.

“That is entirely up to you,” Silas explained. “This is a competition, but you are more than welcome to aid your fellow nominees, if that is what you’d like to do.”

Irene and Masika winked at each other, forming a silent pact.

Tristan and Josie took a step toward one another, as though connected by a thread.

Wren, being Wren, kept her gaze fixed forward, not bothering with alliances.

And then Emilio noticed August sharing a brief look with Olivier, nodding discreetly in his direction.

Weird.

“What’s the elimination process like for this trial?” asked Josie. “Last person to find the target soul loses?”

“Yes.” Silas nodded. “That is one way to be eliminated.”

Wren stepped forward. “What’s the other way?”

“There is still the matter of your wounds no longer healing magically,” Silas reminded them, a somber look in his eyes. “If you are fatally injured in the Ether…then you shall join Nick and Liza in the infirmary and no longer be in the running for the Decennial.”

A tense silence echoed throughout the group as the weight of his words settled upon them.

“When you complete the trial, you will be transported to a random location somewhere on campus. Once returned, you must promptly make your way back to the Opal Chamber with the other remaining nominees.” He glanced down at his pocket watch.

“As I mentioned, we are running on a bit of a tight schedule. We need to ensure that we are done with the second trial before the regular reaping schedule commences, so…” Silas stepped away from the door with a flourish. “Who would like to go first?”

Irene didn’t hesitate.

“I will.”

Silas nodded.

“Very well. Go ahead, Ms.Bamford.”

Irene stepped up, face set in determination, and placed her hand against the door.

The air came to life. A low hum rattled the walls, the floor beneath them rumbling.

A golden sphere sprouted inside Irene’s chest, traveling down her arms and through her hands, filling the carved runes of the door like molten gold.

Her hair rose into the air, as though gravity itself had stopped working, her eyes glowing with the magic coursing through her veins.

Emilio blinked, barely a fraction of a second, but that was all it took for Irene to vanish, swallowed by the Ether.

The second trial had officially begun.