Epilogue
THIRD-YEARS
CADENCE
Summer walked past me towards the Great Hall, not noticing me behind the brick pillar at the side, and I made my move, a trick I’d perfected with Rosie’s help—flicked my wand with a flare of magic, vines launching and ensnaring her from behind, and she let out a shriek as it swept her up off her feet and tugged her towards me, where I caught her with one hand in hers and the other on her waist.
“Let your guard down,” I said with a wink, and she stared slack jawed at me.
“Holy shit, that was hot,” she said. “Hello there.”
“Hey,” I laughed. I’d genuinely been learning the duelist techniques for all the reasons I’d told Rosie about back in the spring, but knowing that Summer was into it was very good for my self-esteem.
Maybe I’d become some kind of celebrity duelist. Probably be the only person in the duelists’ circuit to do it to impress her girlfriend.
“Welcome back to Starfall,” I said. “Sexy third-year girlfriend.”
She laughed, tugging on my jacket. “Right back at you. Finally… back to every day in the same space.” She leaned in and kissed me, soft and sweet and adoring, like she had in all the stolen moments we’d had over the summer.
Didn’t have to steal moments anymore, though.
Got to see her in between classes, go back to our alchemy lab together, meet for breakfast every morning…
“Mm. Lucky me,” I said, and I pulled a face when a figure moved behind the pillar and a familiar face came out of the crowd heading towards the welcoming event at the Great Hall—Lumi, clapping a hand on Summer’s shoulder.
“Congrats,” she said, and Summer looked back at her.
“Thanks, but I mean… we got together months ago. This isn’t just a spontaneous kiss with a stranger on the side of the street.”
Lumi put her hands on her hips. “I mean, congrats on later. I had a vision.”
“What’s happening later?” Summer said—she was somehow always a little oblivious when it came to these things, and while it was cute, it did mean I withered knowing Lumi was about to say,
“You two are going to have a really good time. I can’t blame you! It’s been a minute. Have fun!”
“Oh—” Summer straightened, her face going red. I was sure mine already was. “Oh, you mean—oh my god, Lumi, are you watching visions of us having sex?”
She put her hands up. “I can’t control what the visions show me! Like I said, I don’t want to see you naked either!”
I sighed, giving Lumi a tired smile and resting my head on Summer’s shoulder. “Good morning, Lumi. It’s so good to see you in person again. Only getting to see you over video from your castle…”
Lumi pouted. “It’s not a castle, it’s my family’s house.”
“It’s kind of a castle,” Summer said.
“Hmph. I’m so grouchy now I was going to hug you, but now I won’t.”
“Aw,” I said. “Can I have a hug? It’s nice to see you.”
She caved instantly. “Okay,” she said, giving me a hug, and then Summer next. “Are you so excited for a new semester? I’m so excited for a new semester.”
“It’s whatever.” It wasn’t me or Summer who responded, but Viv’s voice, coming up the path and responding with barely a look our way. “Hey, Cadence. Hey, Summer. Hey, Lumi.”
Lumi beamed at her. “Oh, well, if it isn’t the fussy eater!”
“I-I’m not a fussy eater.” I wasn’t sure I’d ever in my life seen Viv flustered. “I just don’t like a few things. Don’t scry on me eating. Creepy.”
It was, of course, Kali who stepped in next, a hand on Viv’s back.
A little too low on her back for friends.
Not low enough to conclusively confirm it.
Seemed like the break hadn’t changed anything, even though they both went to an arcane retreat for the summer together…
because of course they did. “Don’t worry too much what diviners think of you, Viv,” she said.
“Hey, all. I’d give you a more enthusiastic greeting, but I’m starving to death. Let’s get inside.”
“Oh, saints, me too,” Lumi said. “I need a slice of cookies-and-cream chocolate cake.”
“Naturally,” I laughed, giving Summer’s arm a squeeze, and I leaned in and kissed her, my heart surging at how natural it felt—kissing Summer, my girlfriend, in front of all our friends. “Should we get a move on before Lumi and Kali both starve and die?”
“I guess I’d miss Kali,” Summer said. Lumi shot her a scandalized look.
But she was soon placated with cake, once we got inside, into where the Great Hall was bustling with activity that spilled out the front doors and into the plaza, people all gushing and talking and laughing, hugging friends they hadn’t seen since the spring.
The food spread was even more ambitious than it typically was for an event day, and Lumi got her cake, and Summer and I didn’t even have to fight this time over the last dragonberry cream muffin, even though it would have been us fighting for the other one to take it.
Rosie joined us along with Opal, who’d changed their hair color from mint green to sky blue over the summer, and Rosie had barely finished giving us all crushing hugs one by one before she led us to a big round table at the side and gushed the instant we sat down, “Guys, Drake is seeing somebody.”
“What?” most of the table blurted at once, with me talking next. “How? He never literally sees anybody.”
“I don’t know!” Rosie said. “I saw him on the way here and he was with this girl and they played it cool while she was like oh, gotta go once I was there, and he looked after her like a lovesick puppy—”
“Oh my god, I need a minute,” Summer said. “Drake? What’s he talking to her about?”
“Does he know how to talk?” I said. Rosie threw her hands up.
“I didn’t think so! Maybe the girl is into mysterious.”
“Was she hot?” Kali said, and Rosie made a face.
“That’s the thing. She was. Like, I’d have jumped her then and there if she’d asked.”
Lumi put a hand up. “Do you want me to try foreseeing if you’ll get in her pants?”
Rosie stopped, a hand in the air, as her mind worked. “Not no,” she said finally. “Keep me posted. So she’s, like, genuinely hot! She can’t just be with Drake because she’s desperate. So he must actually be interesting when he talks to somebody!”
“I think he’s interesting,” Opal said, looking at their phone. Viv made a face at them.
“You think he’s interesting because he has an artifact. And you argue every fifteen minutes because you want to touch it and he won’t let you. That’s not interpersonal connection.”
“Yeah, it is,” Opal said, not looking up from their phone.
“So, we’ve got the first project for our team,” Rosie said. “And that’s to figure out who this girl is and what she sees in Drake. Of all people!”
Lumi clasped her hands together, eyes sparkling. “Ooh, we’re a team? With missions and everything? Do we have a team name?”
“Oh… yes…” Rosie said, eyes narrowed, scanning the table as she thought of an answer on the spot, and her eyes landed on me before she said. “Skyblossom…”
Opal interjected, putting their phone down. “Artifact Force!”
Lumi clasped her hands together. “And the Chocolate Cake Crew!”
Viv stared into the middle distance. “I am not joining Skyblossom Artifact Force and the Chocolate Cake Crew.”
“Yeah, you are,” Kali said, elbowing her. “You’re in the galeria, you’re in the team. Besides, you’re not going to leave me stranded in the team by myself, are you?”
Viv looked away. “Ugh. Fine. If you’re in it.”
Summer met my gaze, suppressing laughter, and I laughed too when I saw it, eyes sparkling. “That sounds perfect,” she said. “Thanks for having me in the team.”
Rosie banged her hand down on the table. “That’s right! A force to be reckoned with across Starfall. And our first mission will be to figure out what the deal is with Drake and the hot girl!”
Lumi nodded. “I’ll be on duty figuring out if you two are going to fuck!”
Kali spoke lightly. “I hear one of the incoming first-years is getting tentatively placed in the empty room in our galeria… guess we’ll see how they feel about Skyblossom Artifact Force and the Chocolate Cake Crew.”
“Ooh, a mystery new member,” Summer said. “We’re off to an exciting start this semester.”
“Did they apply to the galeria?” I said. “Or were they automatically prompted for that room?”
“They requested it,” Kali said. “I think they’re a wannabe duelist. Maybe some admirer of Rosie’s.”
Summer laughed, elbowing me. “Getting a whole duelist collection together,” she said. I nudged her back, whispering playfully.
“I’ve noticed you don’t seem to mind me getting more practice in.”
“Psh. Not the worst thing ever.” She leaned over and kissed my cheek, just as the lights dimmed, pulling the focus in towards the stage at the end, where the five new House Champions for this year took the stage together with Headmaster Aries, and as the chatter through the hall died out, Rosie got in,
“Research the incoming first-years and figure out any interesting figures is another team mission. And whoever this newbie in the galeria is! What’s their agenda?”
I put a hand on her shoulder. “Shh. It’s okay. We can enjoy the presentation now, Mastermind Rosie.”
And we did enjoy the presentation—clapped along with broad declarations about Starfall and drank in the excitement that was palpable in the room, both from new and returning students, and I felt like the happiest person in the world seeing it all alongside the person I loved, alongside my true love.
After the presentation and a long celebration at the Great Hall, I helped Summer move her things into her dorm, chattering the whole way about the silliest little drama from around campus, from the galeria, from her various friends who she’d heard from in bits and pieces over the summer, and we kept moving until the moment we were crashed in her dorm, everything successfully unpacked, and I dropped onto the side of her bed first, Summer dropping down next to me taking a long drink of water before she set it down.
“So… another year,” she said.
“Mm. Are you excited?”
“I am,” she laughed, looking at me with that impossibly fond look in her eyes. “But somehow it’s… not just about the year’s activities.”
I bit my lip. “Oh, no? I’ve heard you’re an overachiever. Making new potion extensions isn’t at the top of your list?”
“It’s on my list. I’ve got a ton of ideas, just like I’m sure learning new spells for enchantments is on your list, but I doubt it’s at the top of yours, either, is it?” she teased, nuzzling her nose into my cheek, and I giggled.
“It might be! You know me. Big nerd.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, you tell me. What is the top of your list?”
I stuck out my tongue. “Guess.”
“Hmm.” She slipped her hand to my lower back. “Recon activities for the Skyblossom Artifact Force and the Chocolate Cake Crew?”
“Close, but not quite.” I moved my hand to her hip, holding her tenderly, and I pressed my forehead against hers. “Nope. I’m thinking something… much closer.”
“Could it be… Knot?”
“Not Knot.”
She laughed, and she pressed a kiss against my lips, long and sweet and perfect, taking her time, not rushing anything. “I love you, Cadence,” she breathed against my lips, and I smiled into the kiss, kissing her again before I said,
“I love you, too, Summer. Always the top of my list… always will be.”
“Mm.” She kissed me again and caressed my cheek with a whispered, “Let’s fly again. I’ll brew up another batch of the potion. I want to see campus… with you.”
“Yes please. But not too soon. First comes this,” I said, and I deepened the kiss, and the noise she made said that she agreed with it.
It was almost an hour later that we were sprawled out on the bed together, a little tired, a lot satisfied, and she slipped her hand into mine on the bed between us, looking over in the soft twilight that came from outside.
“Gonna be a good one,” she said. I grinned.
“It is.”