“Hi, Oriel.” I turned to find a short girl standing behind me, round face, messy short curls, and flushed cheeks.

  “Senara, how are you?” I smiled and hugged her.

  “I’m ok.”

  Then I looked around to find her twin – they were always together. I found her scrunched on the ground behind her sister. “Hestia, are you ok?” I knelt before her and took her hands.

  “Nervous, just nervous, I get cramps when I’m nervous. I’ll be fine,” her voice was pained.

  “Aww Hestia, it will be fine. Deep breaths. Every fae goes through this, nothing to be scared or nervous about. Why don’t you stand and tell me what you all did during the holidays?” I pulled on her hand, she got up hesitantly. Senara and Hestia were in the Royal Fae Junior College with me the year before, but I didn’t know them well. They were identical twins; the only difference was the dark green tint in Hestia’s hair.

  “Miss Oriel Donahue,” Professor Yuni’s voice came drifting through the passageway.

  “Here I go,” I said, and Hestia sank back down. I felt so sorry for her, smiled at her, and turned my attention to her sister. I squeezed her arm. My “good luck” was more directed at dealing with her sister than the ascension.

  I walked through the crowd and stood in front of the large doors, where lava flowed and bubbled through deep cracks in the marble. I reached out to the door but before my hand came near, it opened with a heavy thud. Professor Yuni gave me a reassuring nod and I stepped inside the room. The door slowly closed behind me. My heart pounded in my chest. The marble room was empty and, as I moved forward, a flaming red arch appeared in the middle of the bare floor, making me jump.

  “Oriel, daughter of Lydon and Lassona Donahue, come to me.” A ghostly female voice came from the other side of the fiery arch.

  I took short, uncertain steps and looked up at the fire as I stepped through the arch. There was a sudden shift in my surroundings and I found myself standing in a dark room with a slight red glow. I raised my foot to take a step, but I couldn’t; my feet were bound by chains of fire. I tried to reach down but I couldn’t move my hands either. My eyes darted to my wrists; they were bound to. The fire wasn’t hot, and the chains weren’t heavy, but they were strong. I couldn’t move. I took a deep breath. Calm down, Oriel.

  The voice spoke again. “Born from fire, power to destroy, heart of warmth, touch of light, footprints of ash. Oriel, daughter of Pyre, are you ready to ascend, to be unbound?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Do you vow to use your element of fire with integrity and wisdom?”

  “I do.”

  “Repeat after me, Judicavit cor meum, sensus meus sanavit me.” My heart judged, my motives sound, within me my fire unbound.

  I cleared my throat and spoke the words.“Judicavit cor meum, sensus meus sanavit me.”

  “Sic erit,” the voice whispered, and the ghostly sounds made me shiver.

  The chains burst into tiny embers that came to rest in midair, completely motionless, and then suddenly rushed towards me, penetrating my skin, rushing to my core where they erupted, flowing through my veins. I gasped and my back arched as an immense power rushed through me, reaching every part of my body. My senses were alive, I could sense the fire move, feel the flames lick my skin, smell the air burn, taste the warmth, and hear the crackle of the fire. But just as quick as it entered my body, it dispersed and flames swirled up into the shadows, leaving me in complete darkness.

  The ghostly whisper returned, “Oriel, my child.” The shape of the goddess appeared, a tall thin lady with flaming hair and soft features. I fell to the ground kneeling, she walked towards me and stopped a few inches away, reaching out to touch my cheek. Her touch was warm and comforting. “The time is here. Bring them together.” I blinked, and she was gone. I stood up looking around. Confused.

  A light orb appeared just in front of my face. I reached out, my hand shaking, and touched it. My hand absorbed the light and I stared at it in wonder. A cold stab of pain suddenly shot through my arm. I grabbed it and gasped. Water started filling my lungs and I couldn’t breathe. I reached out into the darkness but there was nothing. Fear gripped my heart; I was going to die. I fell to my knees, reaching out to find something, anything. I started to feel numb. A tiny slither of warmth coiled in my core and shot through my body, the water dislodged, and I coughed it up, wheezing as I tried to catch my breath. A vine wrapped around my ankle. I stood trying to pull away from it, still coughing uncontrollably, whimpering as I pulled with every bit of my strength, it snapped and I fell backward, finding a gust of air lifting me into the dark. I yelled, panicked. My head throbbed unexpectedly, making me forget all about the fact that I was floating. Voices and memories that weren’t mine swirled through my mind.

  “Stop, make it stop.”

  The pain intensified and I screamed again. The world went quiet, and I listened to the sound of my scream echoing into nothingness. I found myself standing in the dark again, exhausted, confused. A blue light illuminated my body, taking away the tired empty feeling. My heart was racing uncontrollably. I stood motionless, breathing heavily for what felt like an eternity.

  The shift happened again, and my feet hit the floor on the other side of the flaming arch where the ascension had started. The arch disappeared and a door on the other side of the room opened. I scanned the room one last time and ran to the door, my mind swirling with what the goddess had said, with what happened. The cold air hit me like a stone wall. I steadied myself against the temple and only dared to move when my legs stopped trembling.

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  The ascension was way more dramatic than I had expected. I raised my head, seeing the tranquil gardens ahead of me. The edge of the garden was lit up by hundreds of floating lanterns, both sides of the pathways had lights in the shape of Guinebugs fluttering in random patterns. Tiny little orbs floated between the flowers, highlighting the natural beauty of the gardens. In the center of the garden was a long table with a crisp white tablecloth, beautifully decorated with light orbs and even more flowers. The best part, glasses full of bubbly liquid were waiting to kill the jittery feeling that was left in my stomach.

  A group of students was already gathered on the grass in front of the table. I followed the pathway, admiring the small misty clouds my breath made in the cold crisp air. It was hard to recognize anyone in the dim light. Zion stood a few feet away and I stepped towards her.

  “Congratulations on your ascension, Zion.”

  She looked surprised, clearly not expecting a fae from Leukós to be nice towards a fae from Equipoise. “Thanks, you too.”

  I smiled and stepped past her to see if I could find Troy. Why couldn’t he have shocking red hair like me? Looking around the sea of faces, I spotted him walking up the path from the temple. I met him just as he stepped onto the lush green lawn.

  “Congratulations!” I said, hugging him tightly.

  “Argh, I wish you would calm down with the hugs, Ors,” he pulled out of the hug, but he smiled. “Congratulations.”

  My lips pulled up a little, and I teasingly asked, “Ors?”

  “Yeah, Ors, it is way too much work to add i-e-l.”

  “Holy shit, you're right, how do people survive saying my name?”

  “I know, probably your mom’s idea, she does like to torture people, if not with that cold stare she gives. You know the one that makes you feel like you’re failing at breathing?”

  I nodded knowingly.

  “Then by making them say such a dreadfully long name.” His eyes sparkled with mischief.

  That made me laugh. “How was your ascension?”

  Troy shrugged. “Kinda boring. I had to say the oath, then chains broke around me and it was over.”

  “That was it?”

  “Yeah, why? Was yours different?”

  “No,” I said too quickly. “I was just wondering.”

  The professors all came filing out of the temple and walked past us to go stand in front of the table. The Chancellor made his way forward through thin air, a staircase forming out of vines with every step he took. He did this until he was high enough for everyone to see him and then spoke, “First years of Trigon Academy. Congratulations on your ascension. We would like to invite you all to take a glass and toast to your newfound power.”

  Glasses magically began to float out to each student, and I grabbed mine with a giggle. “Couldn’t my coffee come floating to me like this in the morning when I wake up?”

  The Tartarean next to me glared and growled at me. I met his glare and growled back. His eyes grew wide, I smiled and winked at him. He turned around and left, giving me one last glance as he walked away.

  When all the students and professors had their glasses in their hands, the Chancellor lifted his glass in the air. “To your ascension!”

  The students all hollered and whistled. I took a huge gulp of my bubbly. I still felt a little shaky, Troy’s ascension sounded exactly like the first part of mine, but then why did the goddess talk to me, and what happened after that? Why did the other eight elements even feature in my ascension?

  Troy and I spent some time talking to people we knew from back home, and then we slipped away and walked back to house Ver. Neither one of us appreciated the cold.

  “How do fae survive in this?” I shivered and hugged myself to get warm.

  “Shouldn’t you be able to warm yourself up?”

  “Shouldn’t you be able to use energy to make us get to the house faster?”

  “Yes, well, I don’t want to be a total show off.”

  “Do you think we should try?”

  “Try what? “

  “Let’s try to use our magic.”

  “Ors, the professor just told us not to try using our magic, I assume that is for a good reason.”

  “I can see that twinkle in your eyes. You want to try it, don’t you Troy?”

  He stopped on the other side of the moat, turning to me. He looked down, making a growling sound. “You're so going to get me in trouble, aren’t you?”

  “No. Me? I’m a little angel.”

  His one brow lifted into a sharp arch, and then a slow smile spread over his face.

  “Fine, let’s try.”

  I jumped up and down in excitement and glanced around us to see if anyone was coming.

  “Ok, let’s see,” I said, holding out my hands and thinking of fire, imagining it in the palms of my hands. Troy did the same. Nothing happened. We cringed at our attempts. He switched his stance by placing his one foot further back and pointing his hands towards the ground, making pushing sounds.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake Troy, it sounds like you’re getting ready to fart.”

  He laughed, slouching. I giggled and relaxed too. “There must be something obvious we’re missing”

  “Like what?” he said.

  “We need motivation. The first fae to create magic will be served coffee by the other fae for a week.”

  He took his stance. “Deal Ors, prepare to be ass kicked”

  I closed my eyes, picturing the flames, the feelings I had when I was surrounded by fire during the ascension. A sudden burst of heat made me open my eyes and I jumped and screeched at the fire dancing in front of me. As I moved my hand back my jacket caught fire, and Troy was so shocked he swung his hands towards me making me fly through the air landing in the moat. I scrambled to my feet; glad the water wasn’t deep. Shocked and frozen, my wet hair draped over my face.

  “Ors, are you ok?”

  I looked up, finding Troy standing on the edge of the moat with big eyes.

  “Yes, I think I am.” I frowned, looking down at my jacket, the front which should have covered my stomach was burnt away. “Did you just energy blast me into the moat?”

  “I,” Troy cleared his throat, “I think so. At least the fire is out.”

  I laughed so much that I lost my footing and fell back into the water. It was so cold, that my teeth started to clatter. I was wet and smelled like fishy moat water. Troy and I struggled for a while to get me out of the moat, between laughing fits and muddy slips, I got a footing and Troy pulled me out. I fell to the ground, gasping for air.

  “We should go to sleep; tomorrow is going to be a long day.” Troy sighed after getting his breath back. “No, on second thought, you really need to shower before that smell settles into your hair, you’ll smell like an old toad for weeks.”

  I jumped up, “Troy, come on, now you have me freaked out.”

  He bellowed a laugh and followed me, making comments about my lovely fresh smell all the way to house Ver.

  After a thorough scrub, I got into bed, but I couldn’t sleep. I stared at the ceiling trying to make sense of everything that happened in the temple tonight. “The time is here. Bring them together,” I whispered to myself. “Bring who together?” I groaned and turned on my side. What did it all mean?