Immortal Consequences

There was power in that. In caring deeply and feeling everything.

I know you want to run from it, to pretend it doesn't exist... but that won't make it go away, August. Grief isn't the villain. It just wants to help you remember that despite losing someone, despite the sadness and heartache and pain... there was also once love.

How much time do you have?” “For you?” Olivier sighed. “An eternity.

It was why they tormented each other mercilessly, desperate to find ways to somehow, despite everything, still feel alive.

But it was you who turned the light back on, Wren. The one who brought me back to life after years and years of drowning. It was you who dragged me back from hell. It was you. It was always you. It will always be you.

If this is you trying to flirt with me,” he whispered, leaning in closer, “then I have to admit…it’s working.

The dead weren’t meant to dream. Though she supposed they weren’t dead—not really. They existed in the place between. The place parallel to life and death, the one right on the cusp of birth and the dawn of the afterlife.

Isn’t it obvious?” he groaned against her mouth. “How desperately I need you? How hopelessly I am yours?

And as he stood there, contemplating what on earth had possessed him to touch her in such a shameless manner, he couldn’t help but listen to the other half of his brain. The half that begged him to tell her that the only thing he could ever think of, the only thing he could ever dream of, was her. That from the moment she’d appeared before him, from the moment he had first laid eyes on her, he’d known, beyond doubt, that Wren Loughty would become the immovable force that would redirect the trajectory of his life forever.

Sometimes I think...I think I was never truly alive until I met you.

August pressed one hand against the wall behind her, the other wrapped tightly around the hilt of the dagger. He knew she couldn’t feel the edge of the blade against her throat, but that didn’t matter. Hurting her was never his goal. Annoying her was entertaining enough.

Like I said, we have resources here to heal her. It might take a while, but…that’s simply a consequence she must face.

Well. I’m sure I’m not the first girl to tell you this, but faster isn’t always better.

There was no moon in the night sky. No Earth. No universe. No world that she once knew.

August was overcome with the sudden urge to reach out and touch her. It was so strong

He needed a drink. Or perhaps a lobotomy. Honestly, either would do

We won’t be able to avoid touching it.” “Then what do you suggest?” The truth was, a plan had come to her, though something told her the two of them wouldn’t be thrilled about the idea, considering it involved kicking them out of the cloaking enchantment and using them as bait.

You’ve been trailing after her like some lovesick puppy dog ever since she first arrived.” “Irene…,” Masika muttered with a giggle. “If this is you trying to prove you’re not jealous…I’m afraid you’re not doing the best job.

I’m just a victim of his stubborn curiosity.

There was Pettyworth, known for housing some of the most academically inclined yet stubbornly reclusive students. Litterman, with its notorious troublemakers and party animals (with the rare exception of Emilio), housed students who tended to excel in illusionary magic. A basement connected Chambers and Fiddle, both of which housed students with an affinity for elemental magic—and a penchant for creating enchanted liquors and other elixirs. There was Ivory, of course, the dormitory that Masika and Irene lived in, known for its cutthroat, corporeal-inclined students and equally ostentatious décor. And lastly, Holsterd, the dormitory Liza belonged to, which was home to some of the best defensive magic students in the entire school.

And, more importantly, she was spared from the immortal consequences of the Forgetting.

Once all four trials were complete, the nominee would be awarded a choice: formally graduate as a student and become an official Ascended, or venture into the unknown and cross over to the Other Side, putting their soul to rest. Permanently.