Page 192 of House Ignis

Panic clawed up my spine. My chest tightened. The Flame Festival. The library. My father. The broken betrothal.

"I know," I breathed. For half a second, the magnitude of it threatened to swallow me whole.

But Ember saw it. Like always, she snapped her grin back into place.

"Then we're not thinking about that tonight," she declared, standing up and smoothing out her own uniform. "Tonight we are cheering our asses off and getting irresponsibly drunk."

A laugh burst out of me despite the panic still coiled in my ribs. "Fuck yes."

Luna barked once in approval.

"Terrible decision-making," Aether muttered dryly.

I grinned, pulling my hair into a high ponytail. "Exactly."

•••

The stadium throbbed.

The bleachers were living things, students packed so tight the collective shouts and whistles rolled across the grass like thunder.

My pulse kicked up as Ember and I stepped onto the field; the crowd’s roar smacked straight into me, and finally, mercifully, Asher dropped his shields.

The bond purred, warm and primal.

Need surged through the bond, and I almost melted on the spot.

Across the pitch he stood, all smug lines and slow confidence.

He leaned back slightly, arms folded, shadows crawling over the defined muscles of his bare arms.

The training shorts hugged the shape of his legs in a way that should've been illegal.

I caught his eye and found him already grinning, a look made of sharp edges and a dare.

"You need to wear ponytails more often," he murmured through the bond, amusement curling through his voice.

I answered with a wicked smile.

Ember had insisted on the look before we left—tiny ponytails with gold ribbon twined into the braids to match the House Ignis trim.

We weren't exactly going for subtle. Gold glitter dusted my cheeks and collarbone so heavily I practically glowed in the afternoon sun.

"Did I tell you my favorite color is gold?" he teased.

"You're impossible," I shot back, but my mental voice was light.

I was gilded from top to toe, and for the first time, I loved the attention. As I walked past him toward our station, I blew him a kiss—half tease, half promise.

He caught it dramatically, then pressed his palm to his chest in front of the entire Academy.

The crowd absolutely lost it.

"Cocky," I mouthed. He just flashed that infuriating grin, dimples and all.

"Someone's smitten," Ember said, elbowing me as we took our places with the rest of the squad.

“Please. Maddox? Smitten? As if.”