Jade
Power surges through me, wild, desperate, and uncontrollable. It’s the same power that answered my call on the Crown.
I need to get out. I need to breathe. I’m trapped, and I can’t be trapped—
Wind howls against the glass dome. Thunder crashes so close that the Observatory shakes, sending astronomical instruments clattering across the star-mapped floor. The brass telescope groans as it shifts on its base.
The golden fire in Tobias’s palm gutters and dies.
And then—
Crack.
Lightning strikes the dome.
The world turns silver. Glass explodes inward, razor-sharp shards raining down like deadly snow. I throw my arms over my head as rain lashes my face, wind tears at my hair, and electricity crackles through every nerve ending in my body.
The lightning calls to me. And the moment the electricity connects with my palm, my heartbeat steadies. My breathing evens out. The panic doesn’t vanish—it’s more like the storm wraps around it, absorbs it, and makes it bigger than my fear.
Tobias stumbles backward, creating a heat shield to protect us from the debris. His careful stillness is gone—he’s moving on instinct now.
“Get down! Stay under the shield!” he shouts over the howling wind.
Before I can answer, a section of the wall behind Tobias shimmers and dissolves into a doorway that wasn’t there a second ago. Cold air rushes through the opening, carrying the smell of old stone and deep earth.
Logan.
He moves through the chaos like he was born in it, storm-gray eyes finding mine before his hand closes around Tobias’s wrist. Fire flares from his other hand, the edges burning black.
The air shifts—my magic quieting the storm.
Tobias drops his shield and pulls his wrist out of Logan’s grip as quickly as possible, his hand shaking.
Logan faces Tobias, holding his black-lined flames in front of him.
“You searched her memories,” he says, his words layered and rich in the way I know means he’s using compulsion. “She stepped outside for air during the ball and got lost in the storm. Her story checked out perfectly.”
Tobias’s pupils dilate, his eyes going unfocused. “Her story checked out perfectly,” he repeats. “She got lost in the storm.”
“You don’t need to speak with her again. She’s cleared.”
“She’s cleared.”
“I was never here.” Logan’s flames burn brighter. “The lightning struck, the ceiling shattered, and you were alone with Jade Harrington when it happened.”
“Jade and I were alone,” Tobias murmurs.
Logan snuffs out his fire and steps back, his eyes meeting mine again. His expression is wild, but his voice is controlled when he speaks.
“Go back to the ballroom. Now.”
He disappears back into the passages, the rain obscuring the door that shimmers in and out of existence.
I stand frozen in the wreckage, rain streaming down my face, processing what just happened.
Logan was here. Logan compelled Tobias. Logan saved me. Again.
Now he’s gone, and I’m standing in the ruins of the Observatory with a Council investigator who thinks he finished reading my memories and found nothing of note.
The thunder grows distant, the wind dies down to a whisper, and the rain slows to a drizzle. Through the shattered dome, patches of gray sky break through the clouds.
“We need to leave.” Tobias’s eyes refocus, and he gazes around the destruction surrounding us. One trembling hand comes up to his temple, a crease forming between his brows. “It isn’t safe up here.”
As I follow him down the stairs, my legs move on autopilot while my brain continues its spectacular meltdown.
He checked my memories. He believes my story that I got lost in the storm. That’s what he’ll report.
“Are you hurt?” he asks as we descend the stairs, looking back to check on me.
“I don’t think so.” I glance down at myself. I’m drenched, and there are a few small cuts on my arms from the flying glass that are already healing, but other than that, I’m fine. “Just shaken up.”
He nods, seemingly satisfied with my answer.
“I know the weather patterns here are unpredictable, but when I was at Blaze Academy, I never saw a storm come in that fast. One moment everything was fine, and then...” He trails off, his brow creasing.
“I’m sorry. I’m having trouble remembering everything clearly.
That doesn’t usually happen to me,” he says, then adds, quieter, almost to himself, “That never happens to me.”
His hand drifts to his temple again, pressing lightly, like he’s searching for something that isn’t there.
We pass Delia on the landing, her notebooks clutched to her chest.
“Tobias! Jade! I heard the thunder, then there was this enormous crack, and I didn’t know if I should come up or get help or—”
“We’re okay,” Tobias says, steadier now. “But the Observatory was significantly damaged.”
“Oh no.” Delia presses a hand to her chest. “I know how much you loved that room. You practically lived there when you were a student.”
“I always found it calming up there.” Tobias glances over his shoulder at the stairs that lead up to the Observatory, his eyes going distant again.
“We’ll find an alternative location. And don’t worry—I’m sure the Observatory will be repaired soon.” She gives him an encouraging smile, and the three of us continue our descent in silence.
When we reach the doors to the Starflare Ballroom, I hear raised voices and worried chatter as Helen tries to maintain order.
Tobias pauses with his hand on the door handle.
“Jade.” He turns to look at me, and while his pale eyes are more focused now, there’s a shadow behind them—a faint crease between his brows, like he’s trying to recall a word that’s on the tip of his tongue.
“I know that was scary, but you stayed calm when it mattered. You didn’t panic, and that’s not easy. ”
I choke back a hysterical laugh. Because I did panic. That’s literally why the storm happened.
“Thanks,” I manage. “I think I’m still in shock.”
“Understandable.” His gaze catches on nothing, then returns to me. “Go back and get some rest. You’ve been cleared.”
Cleared.
The word echoes in my head as he opens the door to the ballroom.
Sam’s the first one through. “Jade! Are you okay? We heard thunder, and then someone said they saw lightning hit the tower, and—”
“I’m fine.” I manage a weak smile. “Just... really wet.”
Evie appears on my other side, her amber eyes scanning me for injuries. “What happened up there?”
“Lightning struck the dome.” Naming my magic out loud tastes strange on my tongue. “The whole ceiling just... shattered.”
Before Evie can reply, Helen’s voice rises above the chaos.
“Everyone, remain calm.” She’s moved to stand at the Memory Flame, her composure impeccable despite the commotion.
Tobias stands beside her, his clothes damp, his hair disheveled, one hand occasionally going to his temple.
“The Observatory sustained damage from a lightning strike, but no one was injured.”
Murmurs ripple through the crowd.
“Memory verification sessions will resume once a new location has been secured,” she continues. “When we recommence, we’ll be starting with Vera Jackson.”
Vera. Not Jade. Not please detain the first-year with impossible magic who just blew a hole through the ceiling.
I’m cleared. I’m safe.
Because Logan rewrote an innocent man’s memory to ensure it.