Call’s whole body was trembling with half-released tension as he made his way back to their rooms in the Magisterium. Tamara held his hand. Aaron was heaving shaky breaths, like he was fighting down a panic attack.

“I think we did it,” Call said finally, as they walked into their rooms. “All we have to do is walk through the final gate. We’ll have completed the Magisterium and avoided prison.”

Aaron nodded slowly, letting out a long sigh and sitting down on the sofa. “Let’s just hope this Gate of Gold lets us through. And thank you, both of you, for bringing me back to life. That’s a little awkward to say, but it was a lot more awkward to pull off.”

Tamara hit him on the shoulder. “Welcome back,” she said, and he folded her into a hug. Both of them smiled and Call was grinning, too.

“How does it feel?” Call asked. “To be all the way back.”

Aaron turned to him and even though it was Alex’s face, it was easy to see Aaron’s spirit shining through. “You mean not rattling around in your noggin? It feels a little weird, like this body is a suit that doesn’t quite fit yet. But it’s nice and quiet. Living in your head was like living in some kind of maelstrom of self-recrimination, stubbornness, and ridiculous ideas.” He turned to Tamara. “Seriously. You should see the ones he doesn’t say out loud. He was toying with one way of beating Alex that involved chewing gum, paperclips, and —”

“Okay,” Call said, interrupting as he steered Aaron toward Jasper’s room, where he hoped there would be an extra uniform. “We better go get ready. Can’t keep the mages waiting!”

He and Tamara both headed to their own rooms to change. Havoc was asleep on Call’s bed, paws in the air. Call felt a pang — who would take care of Havoc if he didn’t make it through the final gate? He rubbed his hand over his wolf’s head, trying not to think about anything else, and went to his wardrobe.

A clean deep red Gold Year uniform hung there. Call’s previous clothes had been destroyed, covered in mud and blood. At some point their actual graduations had started to become very blurred. This wasn’t the first gate they’d walked through at a different time from the rest of their classmates. It would, however, be the last.

He changed and went to get Miri, lying on his night table. He strapped her to his belt. He was ready.

Except not quite. There was a knock on the door and Tamara slipped into his room. She wore her Gold Year uniform, too, her cheeks flushed, her hair coiled up in a braid at the back of her head. Call thought she looked beautiful, and was relieved that for once there was no one in his head to make fun of him. He could just look at Tamara and think about how much he liked her, and even if someday she didn’t like him back, even if that someday was now, as long as she was always his friend, it would be okay.

“I came because there was something I wanted to tell you,” she said. “Something I couldn’t tell you before.”

Call was instantly alarmed. “What?”

“This,” she said, stepping into his arms and kissing him.

For a second Call was worried he might be too shocked to move, but that turned out not to be a concern. He flung his arms around Tamara and kissed her back, and it felt like flying. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he held her even closer, and the kiss was incredibly soft and sweet and at the same time like having stars and comets explode in his brain.

She drew back just a little, and there were tears in her eyes. “There,” she said. “I couldn’t do that while Aaron was in your head.”

“You mean it?” he said. “Like, you mean that — that you like me? Because I love you, Tamara, and I want to be your boyfriend.”

So much for it being okay if she was just his friend, Call thought. He must have been temporarily insane. He stared at her anxiously as her eyes narrowed — oh God, she was going to say no. She was going to say she’d only kissed him for closure, or because she felt sorry for him, or because she assumed he was going to die shortly.

“I love you, too,” she said. “And I really hate the idea of anyone else being your girlfriend, so I guess it had better be me.”

This time, Call was the one who kissed her, and she went up on her toes to kiss him back. They were still kissing when Havoc started barking, and when they drew apart, giggling, Havoc was scratching at Call’s bedroom door.

“Ugh, that means someone’s here,” Tamara said, drawing away from Call reluctantly. “I guess we’d better go see if it’s Master Rufus.”

They went out into the living room, holding hands. But it wasn’t Master Rufus — it was Gwenda and Jasper. Jasper looked at their linked hands and raised his eyebrows. “Could it be love’s young dream?” he inquired.

“Shut up, Jasper.” Gwenda hit him lightly on the shoulder.

“Yeah,” Call echoed nonsensically. He could make fun of them for kissing, too, but at that moment, he didn’t feel like making fun of anyone. He was both too happy and too scared, a strange combination.

“We’re supposed to take you to the last gate,” Jasper said. “The rest of the mages are waiting. It’s so not fair that you get to graduate early and I don’t. That’s definitely going to make the Collegium more likely to give you a good spot.” He sighed. “But — at least my dad’s going to be okay.”

Call nodded. He couldn’t bring himself to feel bad that Jasper’s dad was going to stay in prison for helping Master Joseph, but he was glad for Jasper’s sake that nothing else would happen to him. “The Collegium is more likely to bar us from it,” he said, trying to pep Jasper up. “In case we happen to accidentally burn it to the ground.”

“Yeah,” said Tamara. “And the choices were ‘graduate early’ or ‘go to prison, do not pass go, do not collect a million dollars.’”

Right then, Aaron stepped out of Jasper’s room. Everyone froze. He was wearing a uniform that actually fit him, so Call guessed it wasn’t one of Jasper’s.

Aaron’s smile was hopeful and full of nervousness. “I wasn’t … myself. Before. But I am now. I hope you can forgive me.”

“You’re actually on Team Good now?” Jasper asked.

Aaron nodded.

Jasper gave him a long, steady look. “Huh.”

“Come on,” said Gwenda. “Let’s find out if he’s on the up-and-up.”

Together, they trooped through the caverns of the Magisterium, passing a room with long stalagmites and steaming mud heating the air. They ducked through another doorway and into the Hall of Graduates. An archway Call had never seen before was shimmering with golden light. The carved words Prima Materia glowed on the wall above as though illuminated from within their grooves.

A smaller crowd had gathered to witness this. Master Rufus and Master Milagros, Master North and the Rajavis. Gwenda and Jasper murmured last words of luck and good wishes to Call and Tamara before crossing the room to stand with the teachers and Assembly members.

Master Rufus was wearing a tight smile, which relaxed as they came in. “Tamara, Alex, Call. You are ready to pass through the final gate of the Magisterium, the Gate of Balance. Previously, your studies allowed you to walk through control, affinity, creation, and transformation. Long ago, you passed through the First Gate, the Gate of Control, and became a mage in your own right. Now, once you pass through the Gate of Balance, you will be not only a mage but also a member in good standing of the mage world. Passing through the gate demands that you are able to put aside your own desires and emotions for the good of others. If you can see the gate, then you’re ready to be tested. Tamara Rajavi, you first.”