Rose wasn't sure what was worse: her thoughts, which now constantly drifted back to her like an unsummoned spell, or the fact that she had been assigned Magical Orientation Class with Professor Thimbletwig—a pixie trapped in a human-sized body and deeply resentful about it.
"Today," Thimbletwig squeaked, pacing atop his own desk, "you'll each face the Hex-Mirror Maze. It reveals your magical instincts. And also your worst fears. Any questions?"
Mortimer raised a hand. "Can I opt out and face certain death instead?"
"No. Form a line!"
The maze stood in the eastern courtyard—a towering structure of warped glass and enchantments, pulsing with eerie blue light. Each student stepped in and disappeared from sight. Some emerged minutes later, pale and shaken. One came out holding a completely different haircut.
Then it was Rose's turn.
She stepped into the maze, and the world warped.
Mirrors stretched and twisted. Some reflected her as a child, others showed her casting wild, devastating spells she didn't remember learning. One version of her laughed manically. Another wept.
"Your power grows," a mirror whispered.
"But what will you become?"
She walked deeper, heart pounding. Shadows flickered in the corners. She turned—
And froze.
In front of her stood Belladoma.
But not the one from the courtyard. This version was softer—her cloak gone, her eyes unguarded. She looked at Rose not with warning… but with want. With fear. With ache.
"I don't want to hurt you," Mirror-Belladoma said.
"I don't want to be afraid of you," Rose replied, barely breathing.
Mirror-Belladoma stepped forward, lifted a hand—but her fingers dissolved like smoke.
The image shattered.
Rose stumbled back, dizzy. A new mirror loomed, and this one showed herself—crowned in flame, laughing wildly as magic bent and broke beneath her will. It was terrible. And beautiful.
Then it too vanished.
A small doorway appeared, glowing at the maze's edge.
She stepped out into the sunlight, trembling.
Professor Thimbletwig was waiting, unimpressed. "Took you long enough. What'd you see?"
Rose rubbed her arms. "A warning. And a possibility."
Mortimer gave her a worried look. "Did it show you your death?"
"Worse," she muttered. "It showed me something I might want."
Back in her dorm that evening, Rose sat at her desk, staring at the wall.
Nimbus hovered nearby. "You saw her, didn't you? In the maze."
Rose didn't answer.
"You're not just afraid of her," Nimbus said gently. "You're afraid of what you'd do for her."
Rose swallowed hard. "And what she might do for me."
Outside the window, lightning flickered on the horizon.
Something had shifted. Not just in her magic—but in her heart.