“That was kind of...”

  “Yeah, I don’t remember Shale Port’s shows being this bad…”

  “Is this how we’re going to go into adulthood?” Pritchard asked plaintively. “I’d rather continue to be a child.”

  Aida followed quietly behind Dev and his friends as they slowly moved with the crowd up from Shale Port’s pebble beach. The boys were grumbling about the disappointing fireworks show, and Aida couldn’t blame them. Several fireworks hadn’t even been able to go off, and the ones that did were snuffed out so quickly they barely even managed to get their colors out.

  Dev fell behind to walk beside her.

  “What did you think of the fireworks?”

  “They were fireworks,” Aida said vaguely, glad she could be somewhat honest about her thoughts.

  Dev chuckled. “Yes, it makes me wonder if everyone on the cusp of adulthood felt the same way during their last Fire Festival. It would certainly explain why adults are so jaded!”

  Aida chortled along, unable to offer more insight.

  As they moved slowly along the crowded main street of Shale Port, Aida kept her eyes peeled for her friends. It’s such a small location, how come it’s so hard to find anybody?

  “Yo, Abedi!” Myk called over the heads of all the people in front of them, waving frantically. Aida saw Abedi’s golden head turn, and saw him raise a thick dark arm in the air before he moved to the side of the street, getting out of the way of the human traffic.

  The five of them fought their way over to Abedi, where the boys converged on him and peeled him away from Vanita, who had been standing behind him. Aida met up with Vanita, who had a pleasant smile on her face.

  “What did you think of the fireworks?” Aida asked conversationally. Vanita grinned, abashed.

  “Um, I didn’t actually watch it…” Vanita giggled unwillingly as Aida arched an eyebrow at her. “I…I gave him the charm.”

  Aida’s eyes widened unwillingly as a smile spread across her face. “And?”

  “He accepted,” Vanita said softly, her cheeks twitching as she tried to hold back an embarrassed smile. She couldn’t stop fingering the charm around her neck. “He says he has some better quality leather cords back in his room to put the charms on…”

  Aida shook Vanita’s shoulders in silent glee, unable to contain her own enthusiasm as Vanita’s excitement washed over her. Cheering for Vanita, seeing her own smooth progress in the romantic side of her life made for a pleasant distraction from Aida’s own conflicted emotions.

  “Tell me everything!” Aida coaxed Vanita as a small family moved between the two of them and the group of boys. “How did you give it to him? What did he say? Did he look shy?”

  As Aida peppered Vanita with her interrogations, she noticed Lily and Edward fight their way through the crowd from behind them. “Guys, she did it!” Noticing that the silver-haired boy was missing from their posse, Aida furrowed her brow at the two newcomers. “Ezra wasn’t with you?”

  “What?” Lily asked breathlessly. “No, he said he was going to wait for you.”

  “So where’d you two—“ Aida started before she tapered off, noticing another matching set of tetrahedral pendants dangling around Lily and Edward’s necks. “Ah.”

  “So Vanita and Abedi are wearing charms?” Lily asked avidly, conspicuously avoiding Edward’s smug expression behind her, though Aida couldn’t help but notice Lily had Edward’s sleeve in a gentle grasp.

  “She was just about to tell me everything that happened,” Aida said mischievously. “You arrived at a good time.”

  Lily forced Vanita to recount the blow-by-blow of how she presented the love charm set to Abedi as their small group finally made their way out of Shale Port’s gate, where the guards admonished citizens to remain in the safety of the gate’s torchlight, while continuing to maintain a vigilant gaze along the shadowy tree lines. Several transportation golems were already lined up along the road, the drivers holding small signs indicating which destinations they were headed towards.

  A crowd of Maglica students were still huddled at the edge of the gates, evidently waiting for their own transport to arrive. No silver-haired boy was among their ranks.

  Growing exceedingly concerned, Aida peered back through the gates to see if she could spot Ezra among the stragglers. He couldn’t have already left, could he?

  “Maglica students, this way!” a guard hollered as the long golem transport they had all taken to the village trundled up.

  Feeling more and more nervous, Aida boarded with the rest of her friends, where they took a seat in the same vicinity as Abedi and Pritchard’s friend group.

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  “Ezra isn’t here,” Aida said aloud, keeping a sharp eye on the crowd of students loading onto the golem.

  “Maybe he’s stuck in a bathroom?” Edward suggested, peering back at the gates with her. “Should probably let the operator know so he can wait.”

  “Good idea.” Sliding her way towards the front of the golem, Aida approached the driver, tapping his shoulder.

  “Good evening, sir. I just wanted to ask if you could wait a little? One of my friends hasn’t boarded yet.”

  “Ah, that should be no problem. I’m scheduled to leave in fifteen minutes.”

  Thanking the driver, Aida sat at the seat behind him, anxiously watching the gate for the familiar silver hair. With several groups of people having already left Shale Port, the glut of mana in the air had cleared a bit, allowing Aida to better parse through the life force of everyone in the vicinity.

  She couldn’t quite put her finger on why she was so unnerved that Ezra was missing. She supposed it was because they hadn’t fully resolved Ezra’s cryptic wish for her happiness. She didn’t even get a chance to respond before they had gotten swept up in the rest of the Festival events.

  Was that a farewell?

  Aida stood up abruptly.

  “Excuse me, I’m going to go find my friend. I’ll be back soon,” Aida said to the driver, who gave her a wary look despite allowing her to get off the golem.

  “We’re leaving in ten minutes!” he called after her.

  As soon as Aida pushed through the crowd still gathered at the gate, she took off down the cobbled road at a run, her mana senses stretched to its limit as she hunted for that familiar golden aura.

  Where is he?

  Aida was utterly perplexed at how he had somehow managed to disappear from the tiny village.

  She was back at the pebbled beach now, looking out across the dark water. The pyrotechs were coming back to shore now, hauling burlap sacks off of the rafts they coasted in on. One of the men saw her standing there.

  “What are you looking for, young lady?”

  “I’m looking for my friend,” Aida said. “Our ride back to Maglica Academy is leaving soon, and he wasn’t at the gate.”

  The men exchanged glances. “Have you checked the rest of the village? We haven’t seen anybody out on the waters.”

  Aida bit her lip, trying to suppress her panic. Surely he wouldn’t be out at sea?

  What was she supposed to do when she had no idea what he was thinking in the first place? First, he had been adamant that he was willing to throw everything away just to be with her, then he broke their relationship off with some sort of half-assed excuse about how he couldn’t be with her because of the circumstances of her arrival, and then his last words to her was wishing her happiness?

  Unpredictable and illogical. Aida was utterly at a loss now.

  “Aida!” Aida was jerked back from her thoughts by a rough hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”

  “I can’t find Ezra,” Aida said helplessly. She stretched her mana out across the choppy waves, digging into the water to try to find any sign of her first friend in this world.

  “Calm down,” Dev’s voice said, as the hands on her shoulders pulled her back from the water’s edge. “He’s not out there.”

  “What if he is?” Aida’s voice had risen hysterically.

  “He isn’t,” Dev insisted. “Come on, I’ll help you look for him.”

  Aida was dragged away from the beach, stumbling over the pebbles as she continued stretching her mana.

  How did it get to this point?

  Aida’s eyes were drawn to the ocean, despite Dev insistently maneuvering her back towards the center of the village.

  I didn’t even get to speak my mind.

  “Aida!” Dev shook her shoulders roughly, forcing her to look at him. “They found him!”

  “What?” Aida asked dimly. Dev turned her towards the center of the village, where several men were carrying Ezra’s limp form out from behind some buildings. “Ezra!”

  The next instant, Aida fell upon Ezra’s sleeping figure. He looked so peaceful, completely at odds with the rising panic and concern around him.

  Her hand shaking, she took Ezra’s wrist in her fingers, feeling for his pulse. It took her a moment before she was able to calm herself enough to verify his heart was still beating.

  But how?

  “He’s alive,” Dev murmured in wonder, kneeling on Ezra’s other side. He had managed to get the villagers to clear out and give them space, and Aida noticed several of them running towards the gate, calling for help. Several other women stood behind her, clucking with concern. “But his mana…”

  “It’s so faint,” Aida breathed. That explained why she hadn’t been able to find him during her mad dash through the village - even though she was directly next to him, she still wouldn’t be able to feel him if she wasn’t explicitly concentrating.

  Did he get attacked again? But I didn’t feel anything, and nobody else did either… Aida shuddered, her mind revving into overdrive.

  If Ezra got attacked alone, despite the fact that he had been in the safety of the village, surrounded by guards and other people…what did that say about the unknown power they were facing?

  Not only did the monster from the Lake get stronger, but that meant it also developed some sort of intelligence if it was able to evade detection and target a specific person. Aida felt herself begin spiraling, with no solution as to how they could stop The Evil if they couldn’t even tell it was on the prowl.

  But the faint mana worried her…it was different from when they got attacked at the Lake. His mana had still been present, albeit weak and nearly lifeless. But this time, it was almost as if his mana had completely disappeared.

  Aida glanced at the other villagers surrounding them, her horror rising. His mana felt just as faint - no, even more faint - than the average, mana-less, villager.

  What if Ezra didn’t get attacked…and he decided to push his limits for Ascension Meditation?

  A stone thudded in Aida’s stomach, effectively stalling her doom spiral, though leaving her with a gaping void that sucked away all remaining thought.

  “What is it?” Dev asked. Aida became aware that he had his hand on her forearm, gripping it tightly as he brought her back to earth. His blue eyes were completely filled with concern.

  “Did Ezra fail on his meditation?”