For a moment, a heavy silence fell. Ariana broke it, sniffling softly; Vivi reached over and put an arm around her.
“We will not forget our sisters. Either their sacrifice or their mistakes.” Scarlett drew a deep breath. “But the harvest is also a time of plenty. A time to celebrate what we still have as we prepare for the long, dark winter ahead.” She stretched out her hands. Mei stood on her right, and she clasped that hand. Vivi took her left, her other arm still wrapped around Ariana.
One by one, the Ravens linked hands.
“Tonight, our ritual will renew the bond of our sisterhood. We will pledge ourselves to one another, share our magic and our loyalty both. But first . . .” Scarlett squared her shoulders. “We must decide on a new leader.”
Traditionally, the exiting president nominated their first pick, and almost always, Kappa voted that person in. This time, however . . . “Mei?”
With a reassuring squeeze, Mei dropped her hand and knelt to pick up a bundle at her feet. Feathers. But not the pure white feathers they used to vote girls into the sorority. These were already a lush black, tinged with metallic green and purple.
Mei passed them around the circle to every Raven. While she did that, Scarlett explained.
“Any Raven may nominate a presidential candidate. Once we have all the nominations in, we will vote on our chosen sister.”
When Mei reached Scarlett, she winked as she passed Scarlett her feather. “I nominate Scarlett Winter,” Mei said before anyone else could speak.
“Seconded,” Vivi spoke up from her left.
Scarlett bowed her head. She’d known that was coming, at least. “All right. And the other nominations?” The patio fell silent. She stared around the circle at each girl, expecting at least one other option. Maybe Jess would speak up for Juliet, or Etta for Mei?
But the only sound was the wind gently rustling the trees in the distance, tugging at the girls’ skirts and toying with their hair.
Scarlett’s throat tightened. Every Raven simply stared at her, waiting. As if she’d already been chosen. “But—” Scarlett started.
Mei interrupted. “Cast your votes in favor,” she said. As she spoke, the feather in her fist tilted upright. It took on a brighter shine, ruffling lightly as, fiber by fiber, barb by barb, it transmuted into a gleaming metallic gold.
Slowly, around the circle, every other feather began to do the same. Vivi’s transformed last, and her Little smiled, a proud glint in her eye, as she lifted her golden feather to Scarlett in salute. Everyone else mirrored her, until only Scarlett’s feather remained.
The other girls watched her, clearly confused about the break in the ritual.
Scarlett took in her sisters, thinking about just how complicated it was being a witch and a Raven. She was getting exactly what she wanted, but in a very different way from what she’d always pictured. It wasn’t a triumphant rise but an appointment born of heartbreak and necessity. But looking around the circle, with its gap where two sisters used to be, she realized that she was stronger than she’d ever imagined, and so were her sisters.
When Scarlett was preparing for rush, Minnie had told her, You can be the most powerful witch in the world if you believe in yourself and you believe in your sisters. But being the best witch and being the best Raven aren’t one in the same.
At the time, she’d thought it was Minnie being Minnie. Minnie was so very good. But now, Scarlett saw the truth of Minnie’s sentiment. Being a Raven had always meant being the best. But being the most powerful witch and being the best sister were not the same thing. The Ravens pushed one another forward constantly. The pressure of competition was what made them all their best, or so she thought. But what if she had stopped striving and taken time to notice what was happening with Tiffany? What if she had seen her friend hurting and then had stopped her from hurting anyone else?
There was a part of their history, a part of themselves, that they had failed to deal with all over again. How many witches had to die before they learned from their mistakes?
Scarlett looked around at each of her sisters. “I know how deeply I screwed up. How I put us all at risk. But if you trust me, I want us to become a different kind of sorority. One that values sisterhood just as much as it values power. I think we can do better. I think we can be better. I think we can make sure that what happened to Gwen and Dahlia and Tiffany and Evelyn all those years ago will never happen again. But only if we keep our eyes open. Only if we admit that there is a capacity for evil in each of us. I will accept this position if and only if you all want a new Kappa. One that doesn’t ignore the evil but faces it. One that we can all be proud of. Now, I’ll give you a minute, in case any of you want to change your feathers back.”
There was a long pause. Jess tightened her grip on Juliet’s hand. Bailey exchanged a glance with Ariana. Mei just stared at Scarlett, her expression unreadable. Finally, Vivi broke the silence.
“The only feather we’re waiting to change is yours, Big,” she said with a smile. The other girls nodded and grinned.
Surprised by the rush of emotion, Scarlett had to blink back tears. She cast one last glance into the center of the circle, where Dahlia’s table sat.
I won’t let you down, she silently promised her Big Sister. Then Scarlett lifted her own feather and let the golden barbs glitter beneath the night sky.
She looked from one sister to another. They had faced the evil and won. And there was nothing to say that they would ever have to do it again. Except history.
“I accept,” she said, and she watched as the feathers lifted into the air, soared toward the center of the circle, and knit together to form a crown. Scarlett bowed her head; Vivi plucked the wreath from the air and carefully placed it upon her new president’s head. When Scarlett lifted her chin, her eyes met Vivi’s for a second before alighting on each of her sisters.
She felt their magic flowing through her. And she felt their magic around her. For the first time she felt like she truly understood what it meant to be a witch. The power. The sacrifice. The privilege. Vivi was right. She could do this.
She was a witch. She was a Raven. And together she and her sisters could do anything.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my friends, collaborators, and cheerleaders at Alloy who’ve made my writerly dreams come true: Les Morgenstein, Josh Bank, Sara Shandler, Joelle Hobeika, Viana Siniscalchi, and Romy Golan. And extra-special thanks to our editor Lanie Davis, whose wisdom, creativity, kindness, and immense storytelling prowess make her the most valuable witch in any coven.
I feel very lucky to be working with the fabulous team at HMH, especially Emilia Rhodes, whose keen editorial mind is one of the sharpest in the business. You believed in this project from the very beginning and your enthusiasm and clear vision inspired us to tell the best story possible. And thank you to Jessica Handelman for creating the witchy cover of our dreams.
A huge thank-you to the Rights People and all the foreign publishers who’ve produced such gorgeous editions of my books and allowed me to meet amazing people all around the world. Special thanks to Blossom Books, 20/20 Editora, and Éditions Robert Laffont for their support, and especially to Fabien Le Roy for his help with my French spellwork.
I’m so grateful, as ever, to my staggeringly talented and endlessly encouraging writing group: Laura Bisberg, Michael Bisberg, Laura Jean Ridge, Matt Gline, Nick Eliopulos, Grace Kendall, and Gavin Brown.