CHAPTER THREE
It was time for the first-years' dinner—a formal event designed to welcome us into the ranks, introduce us to the upperclassmen, and apparently give us a chance to "make our mark."
Translation: a high-pressure mixer with fancy clothes, too many expectations, and more judgment than a royal court.
I could practically hear Jax teasing me in my head.
Don't trip. Don't spill anything. And for the love of the gods, definitely don't challenge anyone to a duel before dessert.
He'd told me he had been an absolute wreck before his own first-year dinner.
The memory made me smile—one of those rare, precious ones that didn't stab when it surfaced.
"Okay, you better be ready, V!" Ember called as she stepped through our shared bathroom looking like a goddess made real.
Her dark hair fell in sleek, polished layers down her back. She wore a black, form-hugging gown with a plunging V-neck and a slit that flashed a toned leg every time she moved.
Luna strutted beside her, little tongues of flame licking dangerously close to the hem of the expensive silk.
"Gods, Em. You look unreal."
She winked, checking her reflection. "I know." Then she froze, her gaze snapping to me. "Wait—why the fuck aren't you dressed?"
Horror twisted her face as she scanned the room. "We have, like, ten minutes."
I groaned into my pillow, the fabric muffling my voice. "I haven't moved since you left. I got halfway through my eyeliner before I stabbed myself in the eye. Again."
Ember marched over and yanked me upright. "You absolute disaster. Come on. I'm not letting you go to your first formal dinner looking like a smudged scroll."
Within minutes, she had repaired the eyeliner and made a few subtle tweaks that somehow transformed my entire face. Then, she spotted the red and gold dress I'd left crumpled on the bed. She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.
"Oh. Oh, hell yes. Please tell me you're wearing this."
I hesitated, eyeing the bold fabric.
Her jaw dropped. "Ava Pyreson. This dress was forged in dragon fire just for you. Put. It. On."
Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the gown and headed for the bathroom. Aether huffed from the bed, his golden eyes tracking my movement. "Finally."
The dress was a deep, molten red—the color of glowing embers—with gold embroidery curling across the bodice and spiraling down the high slit.
The sweetheart neckline drew the eye to my collarbone, and the fabric clung in all the right places. Too right, honestly. It made me nervous. My hair was half-pinned back, the rest falling in loose, blonde waves around my shoulders.
When I stepped back into the room, Ember froze. She didn't say a word at first. She just stared.
Then, softly. "Oh, my gods. Ava. You look like the answer to a prophecy."
Heat rushed to my cheeks. "It's too much," I muttered, smoothing the silk over my hips. "I can't wear this."
"You can and you will." She pointed a finger at me like a tyrant. "This is first-princess-of-the-kingdom energy. Own it."
Aether, of course, ruined the moment. "You look adequate."
I turned toward the mirror and paused. The girl staring back at me wasn't a child anymore. She didn't look scared, or small, or lost. She looked like a flame. She looked like steel.
She looked like me.
"Come on, princess," Ember said, looping her arm through mine, a grin spreading across her face that promised absolute chaos. "Let's go set the room on fire."
···
We walked into the gardens surrounding the Grand Dining Hall, and it was like stepping into a fae fairytale.
The path was lined with nightshade roses and moonlily blossoms, their petals glowing faintly beneath a constellation of enchanted lights that floated above like captive stars.
Crystal chandeliers hung from the soaring glass dome of the conservatory, scattering shards of rainbow light across the marble floor. The air was rich with jasmine, citrus, and something heavier, sweeter—magic itself curling on the breeze.
Everywhere I looked, students glittered. Silks and velvets shimmered in every color of the five Houses, boundlings prowling or fluttering at their sides.
The glamour was dazzling, the energy electric. Beneath the beauty, though, tension crackled. Power hummed in the air, sharp as flint striking steel.
Then the stares began. I felt them before I saw them—eyes tracking me, whispers trailing in our wake, pressing against my skin like invisible fingers.
That's her. The Fire Princess. Zymarra's Flame. Did you see her power? Is she dangerous? She's the one Jax Pyreson left behind.
Each step grew heavier.
"Ava!" A delighted squeal cut through the noise.
Maddison. She came barreling through the crowd like a whirlwind of sunshine and perfume, dragging Ryven by the hand.
Maddy sparkled in a short, glittered silver silk dress, the skirt flaring at her thighs and the sweetheart neckline drawing every eye to the pearls at her throat.
Her golden hair was pulled high, bouncing with every step. Ryven, of course, was chaos incarnate.
He wore a loose white shirt rolled at the sleeves, scuffed boots, hair tumbling wild around his shoulders. He looked like trouble wrapped in a grin.
"Pyreson," he drawled, crushing me in a hug. I laughed softly, hugging him back.
"Ava," Maddy said, her blue eyes wide and shining. "You look like the future queen."
Before I could protest, Ember hooked her arm through mine. "Okay, are we ready, bitches?"
As we crossed the threshold into the Grand Dining Hall, my jaw nearly hit the polished floor.
It was a massive cathedral of fire, stone, and light.
The dome arched overhead like the heavens themselves, veined with glowing wards, crystal chandeliers floating freely and scattering dazzling light across obsidian tiles polished to a mirror's sheen.
Fae servers glided between tables, goblets of spiced wine gleaming beside plates of sugared fruit and pastries.
Then my eyes snagged.
The Umbra table sat at the far side, shadows pooling thick around its edges. And there he was, lounging—Asher Maddox.
Silver eyes found me instantly, locking onto mine with unnerving precision.
The smallest tilt of his lips—gods, not even a full smirk, just enough to wreck me. Like he knew exactly how rattled I was.
I tore my gaze away, cheeks burning.
"Eyefucking," Ember murmured in my ear, her voice razor-sharp. "Confirmed."
"Gods, Ember!" I hissed, swatting at her as she grinned like Luna herself. Maddison laughed, bright and merciless.
I straightened, forcing the court-perfect smile I'd practiced since childhood, pretending their stares didn't twist my stomach or make my flame threaten to spill loose.
Politics. Always politics.
We slid into our seats at one of the long banquet tables. Silver platters gleamed with roasted meats, sugared fruits, and stacks of steaming flame-kissed cookies.
The hall buzzed with expectation. Yet every time I dared to look up, those eyes were still there.
Watching. Unflinching. The weight of it pressed against my bare back, sending shivers skimming down my spine.
"Silence."
Headmaster Silas's voice cracked like a whip, echoing through the vaulted dome. Conversation died at once.
He rose from his seat at the high table, crimson sleeves whispering as he lifted a golden goblet high.
"Tonight is for celebration," he said, thunder rolling in his voice.
"But we cannot ignore the shadows that linger.
As many of you know, we have lost students this past year.
Some to carelessness. Some to temptation.
The poison of Eclipsa continues to plague our land, as it always has.
Beyond the Ring, it has taken lives, even the brightest flames. "
His gaze swept the chamber, then flicked to me.
My stomach plunged. I gripped my goblet so hard the metal bit into my palms. Jax.
That's what we were told—that he'd overdosed outside the kingdom's reach. That he had simply burned out like a candle in the dark.
"Know this," Silas thundered. "Your gods do not abandon their children. May Elara guide the lost back to the light. May Ignis rise with us in fire, unbroken."
We echoed the words, our voices rolling like a tide. "May Ignis rise with us in fire, unbroken."
For one breathless moment, silence hung over the hall like ash after a wildfire.
Then Silas flicked his hand, and the spell shattered. Benches scraped back, platters vanished with a shimmer of starlight, and music swelled.
"Finally," Ryven whooped, already seizing a jug of spiced wine and filling Maddison's goblet to the brim.
"To us!" Maddison laughed as Ryven tugged her close and kissed her sugar-stained lips.
"To power," I raised my cup.
"To chaos," Ember purred, flames flickering at her fingertips.
The music slowed, the strings rising in an aching swell that echoed through the hall.
My pulse rose with it, hammering too fast and too loud until it burned in my throat.
Before I could argue with myself, Ember seized my wrist. Her grip was iron, her grin feral. "Up, Flame. No sulking. You're dancing."
"Ember—"
"No excuses."
She yanked me upright, the silk of my dress snapping around my legs as she dragged me straight into the storm.
The Grand Hall's floor had become a living whirlwind of motion and color.
Maddison and Ryven were already a spectacle at the center—half dancing, half devouring each other, laughter spilling between their kisses as if they'd forgotten anyone else existed.
Ember snagged two glasses before the server could blink. "For us," she declared triumphantly, handing one to me.
I rolled my eyes but took it anyway.
The liquor burned down my throat like molten glass, and for a few blissful seconds, the noise of the crowd dulled. We toasted—one shot, then another.
And then we danced.
Gods, did we dance.
Ember twirled, her gown a whirl of black silk and firelight.
I tried to keep up, laughing and finally losing myself in the music, until the skin at the back of my neck prickled.
"Someone's watching you," Aether said, far too pleased.
I turned. And there he was.