My spring exception.
My magic exception.
Maybe he’ll be my exception when summer turns to fall. If he’s the only exception I ever have, it’ll be enough. More than enough.
I smile against his mouth because I can’t help it, because I feel like I’m finding myself for the very first time. He doesn’t define me, but the way he sees me has given me the confidence and strength to define myself.
I think that’s why I look at him like he’s magic. Because to me, he is.
My lips part, and the kiss deepens, each of us breathing the other in as if we’re the cool night breeze or the perfect scent of daphne. He trails his fingers down my face, my neck, my arms, and when I lose my balance and stumble backward, a large evergreen is there to catch me. Sang follows, his mouth back on mine, and I think for a moment how perfect it is that two spring witches are falling for each other in the gardens at night.
I slow our kiss before reluctantly pulling away.
“It’s getting late,” I say.
“Can I walk you to your cabin?”
“I’d like that.”
He takes off his blue jacket and drapes it over my shoulders, then wraps an arm around me. When we leave the garden, the lights in the tent are off, but I hear several voices nearby.
“Clara!” Someone hisses my name, and I squint into the darkness.
I stop walking, and Paige comes into view.
She looks me up and down, then looks at Sang. A mischievous grin spreads across her face. “You guys up for a little fun?”
“What kind of fun?” I ask, my voice skeptical.
“The ring of fire,” she says.
“No way. Ms. Suntile will kill us if she finds out.”
“That’s why she’s not going to find out. How about it, Spring?” She looks at Sang.
“I’ve never played before,” he says.
“There’s a first time for everything.” Without waiting for a response, Paige grabs his arm, he grabs mine, and we’re being pulled to the control field in our formal wear. I’m tripping over my dress and clutching Sang’s hand as I try to keep up, my heart pounding.
“Do you know the rules?” Paige whisper-shouts over her shoulder.
“Vaguely,” Sang replies, laughing as we go.
Paige finally stops pulling us when we get to the control field. At least a dozen of our classmates are here, all seniors, and I wonder how many things I’ve missed out on because of my small cabin in the trees.
“Clara! Sang! You guys came!” Ari says, bouncing up and down.
“My money’s on the Ever,” someone else says, but they’re too far away for me to see who it is.
“Is everyone here?” Paige asks.
“Yep,” several people reply.
“Okay, spread out in a circle,” she says, and we all do as we’re told. “You want to be several yards away from your neighbor.”
I’m holding Sang’s hand, and we wait until the very last minute to let go.
Paige stands in the middle. “Remember: if the lightning dies with you or touches you, you’re out.”
Then she gives me a wicked grin.
“I’ll start.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Never let anyone make you feel bad about the things you’re capable of. Some will insist you step into the shadows to make them more comfortable. But I’ll tell you a secret: there’s enough light for us all.”
—A Season for Everything
I wish I could watch the game from above, surrounded by darkness and thousands of twinkling stars. I’d look to the Earth and see more than a dozen witches in a huge circle, still in formal gowns and suits and makeup and updos, passing a lightning bolt around so quickly I wouldn’t know where it began or ended. A ring of fire in a dark, peaceful night.
My heart is racing as I track the lightning around the circle, my magic thrumming in front of me, catching the charge and keeping it going before it burns out or strikes my skin. The lightning bolt is the lowest voltage we can manage, but it still hurts if it catches your hand before you’re able to send it to the next witch.
Paige stands next to me in the circle, and I toss the lightning to her, watching as it illuminates her face before moving on to Sang. The lightning never sputters or flickers when it’s in his control; he sends it to the next person as if it’s the most natural thing in the world, easy as breathing.
“Shit,” Jay yells from the opposite side of the field. The lightning bolt crackles in front of him before vanishing. He was struck, and his skin will burn for the next day or so. As Paige would say, it hurts to lose.
“You’re out,” Ari says. Jay moves away from the circle and sits on the grass to watch the rest of the game. We all move in a little closer.
“Your start, Ari,” Paige calls across the field. Fifteen seconds later, Ari is turning her lightning bolt horizontal and sending it off toward Thomas. But he isn’t ready for it, and it dies out before he has a chance to push it forward.
Jessica laughs from beside him and announces that he’s out, and he joins Jay on the grass. We all take another step closer.
Jessica creates her lightning quickly, and soon it’s racing around the circle at a speed that’s hard to keep up with. My magic is ready when it gets to me, and it passes by easily, never threatening to hurt me, never threatening to die out.
Around and around it goes until Melanie yells, “Ouch!” and darkness takes over the field once more. “I caught it a second too late,” she says, leaving the circle. She’s rubbing her hand but still high-fives the others before she sits.
Another step in.
We keep
