Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, Valerie knew that Cyrus was planning a huge party on the last day of the truce with the Fractus. But she was still surprised when she stepped out of the Capitol building after a long day of negotiating with the Grand Masters to see The Horseshoe elaborately decorated. Music played, though not loudly yet, and glittering lights hung in the air like fairy children, reminding Valerie of her first date with Cyrus.

Cyrus had also permanently lit the multi-colored path around The Horseshoe that usually only glowed when it was stepped on. The result was otherworldly. Which she supposed it literally was.

When Valerie's foot touched the bottom step of the Capitol building, it lit up in a blaze, and all eyes turned to her. She laughed as fireworks shot up around her.

"To the brilliant, pure, beautiful leader of all that is right with the world, Valerie Diaz!" Cyrus's voice was amplified all around her.

In response, the hundreds of Conjurors gathered in the courtyard whooped. Valerie flushed at their response to her entrance, unable to hide her surprise.

After a beat, she burst out laughing. Cyrus had turned her into a rock star worthy of Hollywood.

She caught Cyrus's eye. He was standing to the side of the Capitol building, and he shrugged when he met her gaze. Her smile must have been huge, because his whole face lit up when he returned her smile with one of his own. It hit her then how long it had been since she'd seen him this happy.

A booming base drummed out a beat that everyone began dancing to, turning the spotlight away from Valerie. She launched herself into Cyrus's waiting arms.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"I remember when you wanted to be a rock star," he said. "I think you were eight. And now, a mere ten years later, you kinda are, minus the guitar."

Valerie hadn't thought about that in a long time. Any dreams of standing out from the crowd, dazzling people and attracting attention, had been beaten out of her in foster care. But Cyrus was right. Once upon a time, she hadn't shied away from the spotlight like she did now.

Valerie saw Thai watching her with Cyrus, but the smile on his face was genuine. He joined the throng dancing to the beat thrumming around them, his graceful dance moves melting into the crowd.

Nearby, Dulcea and Jack danced together, their bodies moving like they were one person. With them was a crowd of boys that Valerie didn't recognize at first without the black stitches on their throats. Her heart grew even fuller as she watched them enjoying the music and checking out girls.

"Come on!" Cyrus said, pulling Valerie into the bobbing mass of bodies.

Valerie gave into the music, letting go of her worries for a little while. Even Henry joined in the dancing.

"I've got a surprise for you, too, sis," Henry said a while later, gesturing to a speck in the distance that was flying toward them.

It was Dasan, the leader of Henry's guild, the Empathy Collective. Everyone cheered as he flew above their heads.

Henry's mind was open enough that she could sense that he was lending his power to Dasan. Together, they cast a spell of peace over the crowd in The Horseshoe. As Dasan's magic trickled down, like a soft, warm rain, Valerie let it wash away her worries.

Colors were brighter, and the light in her mind was able to overtake the dark, for once. Dasan settled to the ground beside them.

"Thank you, Dasan," Valerie said. She felt so light, she thought she might float away.

"A slice of peace is no more than we all deserve," Dasan said, but Valerie saw that he was examining Henry with his head cocked to the side.

"If only Kanti were with us," Valerie said to Henry.

Henry's face fell at her words. But her own anxiety had dimmed, and she didn't overanalyze it when he left the party.

Instead, Valerie embraced having her worries temporarily tucked away by Dasan, and danced with her friends.

It was hours later that she collapsed against a tree, her mind empty enough to enjoy a cool breeze for the first time in a long while. She watched the party, which was still in full swing. She'd find a way to make it like this all the time after the war was over.

Someone sat next to her, and she knew without looking that it was Thai.

"Nice moves out there," Valerie said.

"Looking good yourself. Where did you learn to dance? Judging by the seizures that pass for Henry dancing, it isn't genetic."

Valerie paused. Sometimes her life before magic felt like a dream. "I had an older foster sister who let me practice dance moves with her while we watched MTV. I was never as good as her, but at least now I understand rhythm. Unlike my brother."

"What happened to her?" Thai asked.

Valerie swallowed. "She turned eighteen. Was swallowed up by the streets. Last time I saw her, she was dealing drugs under a bridge where I lived for a while. She didn't recognize me."

She turned her head and found Thai's eyes searching her face. "You deserve a happy ending. Maybe once this war is over, you'll finally get it."

"We all deserve that. And we're going to make it happen," Valerie said. She didn't know if it was because of Dasan's magic, but she believed the words as she spoke them.

"I want to kiss you so badly right now," Thai whispered.

Valerie was hyper-aware of the inches of space between them. She knew that if she leaned forward, even by a hair, that he'd close the gap. Having that thought was a betrayal to Cyrus, and Valerie stood up, stepping back to increase the distance between them.

"I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry," Thai said. "Blame it on that red bird. What's his name?"

His joke cut the tension, and she laughed.

"Dasan," she said. "And I have to get back to the party."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Valerie," Thai said, and headed in the direction of his dorm.

Valerie made her way through the grass toward the glowing lights and laughter, but stopped when she saw something glowing on the ground a few yards away. She knelt to pick it up.

It was a flower formed entirely of light, and there was only one person who could have made it.

Valerie's temporary peace vanished. Guilt was the first emotion that flooded back in her mind as she slowly returned to reality.

Valerie couldn't find Cyrus anywhere at the party, so she turned her steps home. She found him there, sitting on her front stoop. The strangest wave of dread passed over her.

Cyrus stood, his face more still than Valerie had ever seen it. "Remember when you, Henry, Kanti, and I all pledged on Pathos to tell the truth to each other?"

"Of course," she said, gripping the hilt of her blade, which hung in its sheath at her side.

"It binds us. Even if you wanted to lie to me, you couldn't," he said.

"But I haven't lied to you. And I never will," Valerie said.

Cyrus's face softened by a fraction. "I know. And I know you're too honorable to cheat on me. That's not what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid that you're going to stay with me for the rest of your life, even though I'm your second choice."

"Cyrus, I love you. I want to be with you," she said, but a mounting fear was growing in her heart.

"Tell me you love me more than you love Thai," Cyrus said. "That I'm your soul mate."

If Valerie could have lied then, she might have. Cyrus had been the only constant in her life, and if she broke his heart and he left her, she might die. But even as she tried to form the words, they turned to ashes in her mouth. She didn't know if it was the spell or her own conscience, but she couldn't mislead him.

"I don't know if I could survive without you," she said, her hands clenched into fists. "I love you. Believe that."

"I do," he said softly. "But you love Thai even more, don't you?"

Valerie stared at him, tears pooling in her eyes. She didn't answer.

"Don't you?" Cyrus said. "Say it!"

"Yes," Valerie whispered.

Cyrus seemed to deflate, to shrink before her eyes.

"We're over," he said. "You're free. Go be with who you really want."

Cyrus turned and left, and Valerie didn't try to follow him.

Henry's soft knock roused Valerie from a restless sleep. She shuffled to her door like a zombie and opened it.

"You're getting better at shutting me out. I didn't know what happened until I found Cyrus," Henry said.

"I learned from the master," she said, and regretted her words when she saw Henry's mouth turn down.

"You have no idea how much I wish I didn't have to do that," he said.

Valerie relented. "Maybe what Cyrus did is for the best. I'm only going to end up hurting everyone I love when my magic destroys my mind. The sooner he distances himself from me the better."

"It doesn't have to be that way. If you hold back from using your vivicus power—"

Valerie shook her head. "I won't watch people die if I can help it. Every battle I'm in, I think about if I can save more lives by fighting or by using my vivicus power. In the end, after the fighting is over, it always makes sense to save someone. I couldn't live with anything else. By the end of this war, I might be no better than Darling. Cyrus deserves more."

"That's his choice to make," Henry argued.

"Maybe it's for a different reason, but he already made it. I'm not going to stop him," Valerie said.

"Just know that you can never send me away. So don't try."

"I think it's the other way around. You're the one pushing me away," Valerie said. "Cyrus made me tell him how I felt about Thai by using the truth spell on Pathos that binds us. I thought about asking you some questions that you wouldn't be able to lie about, too."

"Part of me wishes you would," he said, his voice ragged. "But a bigger part of me might lose it if you did."

She nodded. "I'm not going to force you to tell me anything. I don't like being cornered, and I'm not going to do it to you."

Henry hugged her then, holding on to her like a lifeline.

"Everything sucks so much, you know?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do," Valerie said. "I keep thinking we've hit the bottom, and then it drops out from under us again."

The early morning light stole through her room then, turning everything pink as Henry quickly wiped a tear from his eye. "This night is finally over."

For the next few days, Valerie threw herself into planning her battle strategy with more energy than ever. Azra and Gideon spent as much time as they could helping her refine her ideas.

Inevitably, Valerie was thrown together with Cyrus as they planned potential ways to combat the new light-sucking powers of the Fractus, but that was somehow less weird than her interactions with Thai. Cyrus was always watching them, and she could sense that he was waiting for a sign that she'd moved on.

Finally, Thai cornered her at the Lake of Knowledge, where she'd gone for a dip to clear her mind.

"Hard to believe that a few years ago, you didn't know how to swim," he said.

Valerie shook her short hair to get the worst of the water out and wrapped herself in her towel.

"It reminds me that I'm capable of overcoming something that really scares me," she explained, remembering the first time she'd leaped into the ocean. It was the fact that she was so terrified that made her success so thrilling.

"You've come a long way since then."

"I'm more afraid than ever," she said with a shake of her head.

"I don't think so. You used to have your fear hidden away, but now it's out in the open and you're dealing with it. I think that's brave," Thai said.

He'd stepped closer, and Valerie wrapped herself even more tightly in her towel and started walking home.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on between you and Cyrus?" he asked her when they reached The Horseshoe.

Her heart hammered. "He dumped me."

Thai was quiet for a long time. "I'm sorry. I know how much you love him."

"But not as much as I love you, and that's why he's gone," she said.

He stopped her then, taking her arm to turn her to face him.

"What did you say?" Thai's eyes were alive, his entire face lit up.

But she shook her head. "I wanted you to know. But it doesn't change anything. If he saw us together, it would kill him. And I won't do that."

"But later, after he's moved on..." Thai started.

"I can't give you any promises, Thai. I don't know who I'll be if we ever come out the other side of this war. I can't stand to lose anyone else, and that means I'll use my vivicus power a lot. Even if my body survives this war, my mind might be stripped away from using my magic."

"You don't get it, Valerie. Even if your mind was lost and all that's left is your heart, you would still be the only one I want. When this is over, if all you need is a friend to keep you safe, I'll be your friend. If you need an ally to help you recreate this world, I'll be your ally. And if the day comes that you need a man to love you with every cell of his body, I'll be that man for you. But for now, while you're not sure what you need, how about I just be here for you?"

IfThai would have touched her then, there wasn't a force in the universe thatcould have stopped her from kissing him. But he didn't. He smiled at her, therare one that made her heart speed up and her mind slow down, and then heturned and continued walking her home.