CHAPTER 90: OLD FLAME

Sister Mirabel’s classroom smelled like disappointment.

"The divine light flows through all things," she said, circling Aegis like a particularly judgmental vulture. "Even those who have strayed can find their way back to righteousness."

Aegis sat on a hard wooden stool, spine straight, trying not to think about how her ass was going numb. This was supposed to be private tutoring. Special one-on-one time to help her master divine magic.

Instead, it felt like being trapped in a sermon delivered by someone who’d caught her masturbating in church.

"The shadows may seem appealing," Mirabel continued, silver hair catching the afternoon light streaming through stained glass windows. "They promise power without consequence, strength without sacrifice. But darkness corrupts, Miss Starcaller. It seeps into the soul like—"

"Like water into a sponge?"

Mirabel’s eye twitched.

"Like poison into a wound."

"Right. Much more dramatic."

The priestess stopped pacing, fixing Aegis with those ice-blue eyes that probably made altar boys confess to sins they hadn’t even committed yet.

"You think this is a joke?"

"No, Sister. I think metaphors about darkness are overdone."

"Perhaps you need a more practical demonstration." Mirabel raised her hand, divine light coalescing around her fingers. "The light reveals truth. Shows what lurks beneath. Shall we see what shadows cling to you?"

[Oh fuck no.]

Before Aegis could come up with an excuse that didn’t sound like ’please don’t expose my illegal magic training,’ the door burst open.

"Dear Mirabel!" Professor Nazraya swept in, red eyes scanning the room until they landed on Aegis. Her lips curled into that particular smile that meant someone was about to have a very interesting day. "Have you seen my pet?"

Mirabel’s entire body went rigid. The divine light around her hand flickered, sputtered, then died completely.

"Your... pet?"

"Mmm, yes. Young Miss Starcaller here." Nazraya glided forward, robes billowing dramatically. "I promised her private training this afternoon. Advanced magical theory waits for no one, not even the righteous."

"We’re in the middle of a lesson."

"Are you? How delightful. What are we learning today? The seventeen variations of divine wrath? The proper genuflection angles for maximum piety?"

"Nazraya—"

"Or perhaps," Nazraya continued, now standing directly in front of Mirabel, close enough that their chests nearly touched, "you’re trying to save yet another student’s soul again. You always did enjoy a good redemption arc."

The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. Then rose twenty. Then settled somewhere in the middle while both women stared at each other like they were having an entire conversation through facial expressions alone.

"I am trying," Mirabel said through gritted teeth, "to ensure Miss Starcaller understands the importance of choosing the right path."

"The right path. How boring." Nazraya reached out, fingers trailing along Mirabel’s jaw. "You used to appreciate the scenic routes."

Mirabel slapped her hand away. Her cheeks were pink.

"That was a long time ago."

"Three years isn’t that long."

"It is when you spend them reflecting on poor decisions."

"Ouch." Nazraya pressed a hand to her chest. "You wound me. Was I really such a poor decision?"

"You were—" Mirabel stopped, glanced at Aegis, then back to Nazraya. "We are not having this conversation here."

"No? Pity. Young minds benefit from witnessing adult discourse."

"This isn’t discourse. This is you being deliberately provocative."

"You used to like when I was provocative."

"I used to like a lot of things that were bad for me."

"Name three."

"You, you, and you."

Nazraya laughed, genuine and delighted.

"Oh, I’ve missed this. The verbal sparring. The barely suppressed anger. The way your left eye twitches when you’re trying not to hex someone."

"It’s not twitching."

"It is."

"It’s not!"

"Mirabel." Nazraya’s voice dropped an octave, became something honeyed and dangerous. "Gods, you’re being adorable."

And that’s when Nazraya kissed her.

Not a polite peck. Not a friendly greeting between colleagues. A full, thorough, tongue-definitely-involved kiss that went on long enough for Aegis to wonder if she should leave, stay, or start taking notes.

[Holy shit. HOLY SHIT.]

When Nazraya finally pulled back, Mirabel looked like someone had factory reset her brain. Her mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. No sound came out.

"Come along, pet," Nazraya said cheerfully, grabbing Aegis’s arm. "We have theory to discuss."

She dragged Aegis toward the door, leaving Mirabel standing frozen in the middle of her classroom, one hand slowly rising to touch her lips.

They made it halfway down the hall before Aegis heard what sounded suspiciously like a chair being thrown against a wall.

"So," Aegis said as they descended into the crypts, "you and Sister Mirabel."

"Hmm?"

"You dated."

"We did." Nazraya smiled like she was very, very proud of that fact.

"The uptight priestess and the shadow magic professor."

"She wasn’t always uptight. That’s a recent development."

"What happened?"

Nazraya produced a key from somewhere in her robes, unlocking the heavy door that led to their usual training spot. Candles flickered to life without being lit, casting shadows that danced independently of the flames.

"What always happens. We wanted different things."

"Like?"

"She wanted me to stop looking into forbidden magic. I wanted her to stop being sanctimonious about it. Neither of us got what we wanted, so we got nothing instead."

She settled onto her usual chair, the one that looked like it belonged in a dominatrix’s office rather than a magical training room.

"The kiss, though. That was new."

"Was it?" Aegis sat cross-legged on the floor. "Seemed pretty practiced."

"Three years of muscle memory." Nazraya examined her nails. "She still uses the same lip balm. Honey and mint. Terrible combination, but she insists it’s soothing."

Aegis got a feeling, hearing that. A feeling so strong she spoke before she could stop herself.

"You really loved her."

"Love. Present tense. That’s the problem with profound connections, pet. They don’t actually go away just because they’re inconvenient."

"Could you fix things?"

"Probably. If either of us were willing to compromise our fundamental beliefs. But I’d rather practice shadow magic than pretend the divine light doesn’t give me hives, and she’d rather maintain her moral high ground than admit she misses getting railed by someone who knows exactly where her buttons are."

"That’s—"

"Too much information? You’re the one who asked."

"I was going to say depressing."

"Life often is. Now." Nazraya straightened, shifting into professor mode. "Show me your shadow bolt. I want to see if you’ve been practicing or just fucking your way through the semester."

"Both?"

"Multitasking. I approve."

---

Dinner was lamb stew that tasted like the kitchen staff had given up halfway through seasoning it.

Aegis sat between Scarlett and Lune, trying to focus on her food instead of the way Talia and Liora were aggressively not looking at each other three seats down. Sophie was regaling the scholarship students with a story that definitely didn’t happen the way she was telling it. The Summerfang twins sat at their own table, tails twitching in perfect synchronization while they whispered in whatever passed for cat-girl conspiracy.

Everything was normal. Chaotic, but normal.

Then Headmistress Valdris stood up.

The dining hall fell silent immediately, that particular kind of quiet that meant everyone suddenly remembered they were students who could be expelled at any moment.

"Good evening." Valdris’s voice carried without effort, reaching every corner of the room. "I have an announcement regarding the Winter Trials."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. The trials were still a month away. Early announcements usually meant changes, and changes usually meant someone was about to have a bad time.

"In addition to the standard evaluations, this year we will be hosting the Crystal Masquerade."

More murmurs, confused this time.

"For those unfamiliar with the tradition," Valdris continued, "the Crystal Masquerade is a formal event held one week before the trials. Attendance is not mandatory, but highly encouraged. It serves as an opportunity for students to showcase their social graces, form alliances, and celebrate before the challenges ahead."

"It’s also," she added with what might have been a smile, "traditionally where partnerships for the trials are formed. Choose wisely."

She sat back down. Conversation exploded.

"A masquerade?" Scarlett frowned. "Like with masks and fancy clothes and all that shit?"

"Presumably," Lune said, already sketching something in her notebook. "Though I imagine the ’crystal’ part means there’s a specific theme."

"It means," Talia said, having suddenly appeared behind them because apparently she’d learned teleportation, "that everyone wears masks made from enchanted crystal. They show your true nature to anyone who looks closely enough."

"That sounds terrible," Aegis said.

"It’s meant to be. The whole point is testing whether you can maintain your composure even when your secrets are partially exposed."

"Again, terrible."

"Not for those of us with nothing to hide."

[Girl, you’re secretly dating Liora and getting dicked down by me twice a day. You have EVERYTHING to hide.]

"When’s the last time they held one?" Scarlett asked.

"Twenty years ago." Talia’s expression darkened. "They stopped after someone murdered their trial partner during the dance."

"What?"

"Politics. The masks revealed an affair. Blood on the dance floor. Very dramatic."

"And they’re bringing it back?"

"Apparently."

Across the hall, Serilla Frost raised her glass in a mock toast, catching Aegis’s eye. Her smile promised absolutely nothing good.

[One week before the trials. Seven days to prepare for the trials, while also dealing with whatever chaos this masquerade causes.]

Aegis reached for her water, missed, and knocked over the salt instead.

This was going to be a long month.