Prologue

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Quidditch summer Camps in the french countryside have been the highlights of Zora's life for as long as she can remember. One month in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by endless wheat fields and days that never end, doing what she loves most : Quidditch.

Zora has been going since the age of eleven. Reserved for the most talented, only fourteen lucky wizards and witches are allowed every year. Viktor, her cousin, and Zora were the only ones from Durmstrang in their year to earn a spot.

Every July, when the temperatures warm up and the cicadas sing, Zora knew life would slow and sweeten. Away from the cold stone halls of Durmstrang, away from her mother's suffocating plans, away from being "Viktor Krum's cousin" or "the next Krum girl to marry." For one precious month, she was simply Zora.

This year, though, is different. For the first time, Viktor won't be there, which means she won't have to face the constant reminder that he made the National Team and not her. It's a bittersweet freedom, but one Zora intends to savor. Her family, her classmates, and even her teachers have already reminded her enough of her failures. This summer, the only voice she wants to listen to is her own.

Zora is the complete opposite of her cousin. Where Viktor is discreet, introverted, formal, Zora is loud, sociable and likes to annoy people. She is fire to his stone, thunder to his calm. Born just two days apart, they were raised almost as twins, yet their family never let her forget the one difference that truly mattered: Viktor was a man, destined for glory, while Zora was a woman, destined for decorum.

Her quidditch talents and skills were never really taken seriously by her mother and her uncle. Yes, they let her play, let her attend the summer camps, but the difference in how they treat them has always been clear. While Viktor's talent is celebrated as the pride of their family—and of Bulgaria—Zora's is seen as nothing more than a gifted hobby.

Despite Zora's protests, nothing has changed over the years. It only got worse when she turned sixteen, and the talk shifted to her "real" future: finding a suitable husband and starting a family. As Viktor dove into intensive and private training, they began giving Zora dance and manners lessons to "prepare" her for her future.

Little did they know this was the least of Zora's worries. Her future wasn't a husband or a dowry. It was a broomstick and the roar of the crowd, the adrenaline after a match and the thrive of flying.

This year's camp seems to be her chance to prove she is more than a shadow, more than a name. It's her chance to reunite with her longtime best friends she only gets to see during the summer : Angelina Johnson and Adeline Durand. The trio has shared every first—first drink, first cigarette, first time talking about love.

Most of all, this summer brings another opportunity for Zora to annoy the one and only Oliver Wood. Since their first encounter seven years ago, Zora and Oliver have been declared public rivals. Zora thrives on mocking his obsession with strategy his inability to let loose, taking great pleasure in teasing him. Few things make her happier than watching her rival stutter or lose control after a match.

Oliver, for his part, despises how Zora is the only person who seems to understand his tactics well enough to counter them—and the only one who consistently beats him. He hates how infuriating she is, her light, detached attitude toward everything. And most of all, he hates that she's the only person who can make him blush.

What neither of them realizes is that their rivalry hides something deeper. For all her teasing, Zora's knees go weak at the sight of Oliver's dimples and charming smile, as rare as they are. And for all his frustration, Oliver could lose himself in her thick Bulgarian accent and devastating look, forgetting everything—even the color of the sun.

The question remains, will they realise it?