The courtyard was buzzing with low music and laughter, a rare moment of reprieve in a school known for surviving trials more than hosting parties. Floating crystal lanterns bobbed overhead, glowing faintly with the colors of their casters' magic. Food tables lined the cobblestone edges, brimming with exotic dishes: fried starfruit slices that shimmered on the tongue, constellation-stamped mochi, and mugs of milky comet cider that fizzed slightly like champagne.
Verena sat back down on a velvet-cushioned bench beneath the arbor, watching as Sera challenged Clarina to a drinking contest with the intensity of a duel. Clarina, for her part, looked one sip away from a migraine, while Evelyn was already pulling out a scroll to chronicle "how not to flirt while drunk."
"They look like they're doing okay," Beatrice said, leaning beside her, arms crossed and expression unreadable.
Verena exhaled, her fingers tapping lightly against her knees. "I wasn't sure they would."
