Nightshade

Chapter One

Like calls to like

—The Book of Shadows

There's something about change that fills my body with excitement. My heart pumps a little faster, my thoughts race a little quicker, and my hands shake with anticipation. Most tend to dread the feeling.

I welcome it.

A cool breeze drifts over my skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake. Out on the horizon, I can see parts of a huge, stone building that sits atop the hill—one that has only one gravel path leading to it. It's a place that I dreamed of seeing up close for years. Ever since I was little, I had envisioned myself going up that path and going through those gates.

Blackwood Academy.

The one place that decides our fates. The place that will determine what magic has been lying dormant underneath my skin. The place that will awaken it. I can hardly contain my excitement. Years I sat on this balcony of my home and watched the sun leave the sky and watched the moon take watch.

My father and mother went to the academy a little over twenty years ago. It's where they met, where they learned that they possessed the magic of fire, and where they joined house Decadess.

I could practically feel the fire magic seething under my touch. I just needed the sorting stone to awaken it for me.

You don't get to enter the academy until you're twenty-one years of age. The place is for no child or teen, my mother used to say. It's not a place where we only learn our magic, but a place that shapes us for our future. One that could very much mean war. I've seen too many of my friends and family shipped off from Blackwood into the war to keep count.

"Jade?" a groggy voice speaks, breaking me from my trance. My head turns to see Natalia rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing out here? We have to be up early."

I hug my knees to my chest as I look back out at the horizon. "I couldn't sleep."

She heaves out a sigh and takes a seat next to me. Behind her, the curtains to my room wave in the midnight breeze. I nearly laugh at the sight of her. She can barely keep her eyes open, but she has stayed at my house long enough to know that I'm a night owl. My best friend is the opposite of me—clearly.

Her eyes drag to where I've been staring all night. "Nervous?"

"Not really." I rest my chin on the top of my knees. "I'm more excited than anything. I mean, we've waited years for this. Years we spent in small schools that taught us the basics. They prepared us for what's inside those walls. And we made it. We're going to Blackwood, Natalia."

She lets out a small laugh. "We did make it. I wonder who all will be in our class."

I let my legs drop to the ground and lean back as I cast my eyes toward the moon. "I heard Briarson didn't make it."

"What? He was one of the smartest people. How did he not get into Blackwood?"

I shrug. "Something about a breakdown, but that may just be rumors. He'll probably end up at Stoneridge."

"Gods," she mumbles. "That sounds like a nightmare. I hear all they teach you there is how to aid in the war. You know, medics and whatnot. You don't get to awaken your magic."

"Yeah, I heard that, too." I look over at her. "But we don't need to worry about that. We passed all our tests and earned our spot."

She grins. "We may make it onto the battlefield just yet. I only hope our magic is decent enough that we leave Blackwood and can fight against the Rebels—fight with some of the best magic wielders that our world has seen. That sounds crazy to think about."