The collective tension slowed my steps as we piled into GrandHall, so thick it was nearly tangible. I’d doubled up on my snout-scarves—mortified by the look but pretending not to be—though unfortunately the effect was minimal. The air was saturated with the scents of hundreds of skyborn. My senses were overwhelmed by them, my mind by the want of them. But as the gray-robed guides approached to separate us from Thors, Erek and Keshry maintained their positions at either side of me. Held fast to each of my arms.

I resented Erek’s assistance. But as I struggled unthinkingly against the pair in my attempt to remain by Thors’ side, I proved just how much I needed it. Begrudgingly allowing the others to drag me along, we continued to the heart of the hall, passing even the drummers who formed the innermost ring.

At our guides’ direction, we first years joined into our own circle around the open space surrounding the altar and an arched wooden structure which had definitely not been there before. It was like a gateway, almost. There were Gems of all sorts set into the intricate sigilwork carved all over its oiled and ancient-looking surface.

As our circle closed, the drummers started up a slow and simple rhythm. The steady beating of a calm heart. I wished I could match it with my own—but it raced ahead, and my thoughts along with it. The same words repeating over and over again.

This is it.

This is it this is it this is it.

Soon I would know which kobolds I’d be tied to for life. And—much more importantly to me in the moment—which skyborn. And perhaps some of them might be willing to—

“Silence.”

The familiar voice of the black-shrouded headmaster echoed through the hall, and all eyes turned to peer toward its source. Framed in the grandest of GrandHall’s entryways, he stood beside a deepborn only a little over half his height. She was a pale silvery color and wore an embroidered tunic in tones that echoed her own. As she moved, starting down the main aisle, the shifting of light revealed the violet-leaning iridescence to her scales and fur. Her glyphs came into view as my focus fixed on her.

Innate Reflect: Shroud of Secrecy

Despite the Ability, her status as an Opal was made clear by the low neckline of her tunic.

She took her time, strolling down the aisle with the headmaster drifting along just behind her like an oversized shadow. They came to a stop beside the archway and turned to face the direction from which they’d come.

The headmaster raised his black stone staff and brought it down again with an echoing clang.

“On this day, eight new covens will be born, and eight completed,” he declared. “We shall begin with the new.”

The drums beat just a little faster as the Opal placed her hand to the arch. At once the thing flared with power that coalesced within its bounds in the form of a melting rainbow of translucent color. Moving to face it, she reached up to press one finger to the ephemeral force, then paused as the headmaster spoke again.

“I call forth Eshta of Clan Khural, Nakat of Clan Odros, Taiyu of Clan Sadras, and Kitte of Clan Shosobasa.”

The four first years—two deepborn and two skyborn—stepped forth, lining up side-by-side before the presiding pair. The hooded one regarded them for a moment.

“Do you vow to give yourselves in binding to one another? To give your allegiance and respect to one another, your protection and guidance to the kohai to come?”

“I do so vow,” they said in unison.

“Then walk, each of you, through the gate and join your paths together.”

The Opal’s poised fingertip began to dance across the expanse of swirling color, leaving strokes of white luminescence in its wake. She was drawing a sigil…and within its curves and coils I saw the hints of spreading wings, of feathers, of a crescent moon with its points turned upward like horns.

“Your Coven Name shall be GrayOwl,” said the Opal in a clear, ringing voice. And indeed, that was largely what the sigil read as. But there were also implications of bindings and family in the multitude of smaller symbols surrounding the central design.

One by one, the four passed the shimmering veil—its colors sinking into their skin and vanishing, each kobold shivering or else freezing up or even crying out as it happened. When the last of them crossed through the gate, the sigil faded. Then another gray-robed kobold hurried over, ushering them past the drummers to form the beginnings of a new ring just behind them.

Every minute seemed like an hour as the new covens were formed and their names were announced, each one going through the same process. GrayOwl. EmberSnake. StormCrow. FarCaller. CopperHorn. FireFish. BrightThorn. SkyStag.

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And then, at last, at excruciatingly long last, it was time for the rest of us.

“We welcome our new covens and celebrate their joining,” said the shrouded headmaster, allowing a brief period of clapping, cheering, and even howling. But at his barest gesture, silence reigned once more.

“Now begins our eight completions. I call upon Coven SpearThrush. Come forward.”

Two skyborn and two deepborn parted themselves from their places four rings back from the drummers, coming forward to stand between the archway and the altar. The Opal drew their sigil in the film, and four first years were summoned forward to walk through it. None of them were me.

Then came Coven MarshWolf, and after that Coven BogBoar—and still my name went unspoken. The fourth partial coven to be called was RayStone, their sigil resembling a manta ray with a crystal embedded in its back.

I recognized one of its members at once as the grumpy kobold who’d healed my hand after I’d gouged it open on the altar. The other skyborn of the four was a tall and broad-shouldered Jasper, with fur and scales in shades of green and brown and a thick tail that reminded me of an alligator’s. The remaining two were deepborn, one of them a slender and lavender-colored Jade, the other very obviously a Diamond, with dazzling scales and a narrowed gaze.

“I call forth Destrien of Clan Sadras, Reve of Clan Soltras, Zia of Clan Ashri, and Erek of Clan Odros,” said the headmaster as the four of them took their places.

My legs rooted to the spot.

Did…did they just call me and Reve?

That absolute bastard Reve?

“Zia, we must go,” hissed Erek in my ear, tugging at my arm. Sniffing a bit, Keshry released me. I forced myself to allow the Sapphire to lead me forward, though I stumbled a few times along the way, as much to spite him as anything else.

And then, for as slowly as time had passed up to that point, it seemed we were standing before the archway in the blink of an eye. The hooded one spoke.

“Do you vow to give yourselves in binding to one another? To give your allegiance and respect to one another and to your ashai, and to open yourselves in trust to their guidance?”

“I do so vow,” said the others and I, though they started without me as I silently panicked, only joining in for the so vow part.

Destrien went through first, though his expression was contorted with disappointment, and I was pretty sure I caught the gleam of a tear in his eye before he started forward. When he stepped through to the other side, the green-brown Jasper put a hand to his back, murmuring words of welcome. Reve received an embrace from the Jade upon their passage. And then it was my turn. Erek loosened his grip on my arm, hesitating before releasing me entirely.

I would have to walk through alone.

Fighting the urge to inhale deeply first, I held my breath and stalked forward. But I hesitated at the threshold, partly because of what it meant, stepping into that future. Partly because my body was screaming at me to go cling to the nearest good-smelling skyborn and skip this whole silly ritual thing entirely.

But, as horrible as it seemed, the best possible future for me in this world lay beyond that gateway. Sure, I could refuse—I’d asked Erek about it earlier. But the Elders didn’t take well to the denial of their wisdom, and that would leave me with no place at the academy. What’s more, my father would almost definitely consider that another act of shame, which would leave me with no place to go…period.

So I continued on.

A euphoric sensation—at once hot and cold, harsh and soft—nearly swept me off my feet as the ethereal film enveloped me. My vision blurred as sublime patterns of vivid color burst across it. I think I might have gasped. And then I was through, swaying a bit in the wake of sudden, unexpected ecstasy.

I looked up to my new coven-mates, blinking as my vision began to clear. Each of them inclined their head to me—save the Garnet, who scowled, and Reve, who looked away. But no one reached out to me. So I made myself take a few more steps forward and then turned.

Time slowed down once more as I fought to keep my place and Erek made his passage. And then finally he was by my side with his arm looped through mine again, and I was able to relax. Sort of.

Not really.

I’m in a coven with Reve. I’m bound forever to Reve.

And I was pretty sure the Onyx hated my guts, too.

I wanted to throw up. But there were still four more covens to complete. My stomach churned as I walked with the others to join the fourth circle back. Then I concentrated very hard on calming it as covens BlackBranch, BlueCrab, SunShriek and RainHawk were completed. The last was the one to take Keshry, and she threw me a sad look before making her way forward with the other remaining kohai.

When it was done and only the headmaster and his Opal companion still stood at the heart of the hall, the drummers reached a building crescendo and lapsed suddenly to silence. The dark one spoke again.

“I do not doubt that many of you will struggle—it is never easy, leaving the shell of your old life behind. But I challenge each and every one of you to embrace and make the most of the futures your elders, in all of their wisdom, have opened to you, for your choices are many. We have brought you together to walk one path together. Now it is upon you to forge it.”

He paused, looking around at us all. My gaze drifted to Thors, far across the hall, and I found that he was already looking back at me, his expression unreadable.

If only I could have been in his coven, somehow.

I’d tried not to let myself think it, up till that point. But now that I had, there was no repressing the backlash of it. The heat of sudden tears bit at the corners of my eyes, and I felt, more than saw, Erek glance sideways at me.

“There are some festival foods and drinks readied in the kitchens for all covens this night,” said the hooded headmaster. “You may each of you have as much as you can carry. Eat and rest well. Your student service duties shall be assigned tomorrow evening, and your classes are to begin the following day.”

With that, the headmaster and the Opal proceeded together back up the aisle and out the way they had come without a backward glance. The hall erupted immediately into chaos.