We begin with Raelle recovering in the infirmary after her risky, yet failed, attempt to save Porter’s life. Disconcertingly, she seems to be having flashes of Porter’s memories and feelings. She doesn’t think he wanted to die. Petra wants to cancel Beltane because she’s worried that the Spree had a hand in Porter’s death, but Alder and Anacostia insist that Beltane must go ahead as it’s a sacred holiday and there’s no solid evidence that Porter’s death wasn’t a suicide. Alder says that she wants Izadora to “wake” Porter and question him.
Scylla is waiting nervously for Raelle when she gets out of the infirmary. She’s clearly relieved that Raelle is okay, but is also very intent on keeping Raelle away from the truth of what really happened to Porter. Also relieved to see Raelle up and about are Abigail and Tally, who commend her for her bravery in trying to save him. Oh, and Gerit sent Tally a drawing of his dick. Yes, an actual physical drawing.
In the crypt that serves as the Necro facility, Scylla has a huge Oh, Crap! moment when she sees Porter’s dead body, as the plan to communicate with him will blow her cover completely. She attempts to raise the temperature in the room when no-one else is around to derail the ritual, but is unsuccessful.
The unit run into Petra Bellweather, and there is some definite tension on Raelle’s end, as she blames Petra for her mother’s death. Petra scolds Abigail for her unit’s performance and then, in the same breath, tells her to invite them to her cousin’s wedding. The Dean of War College is going to be there, and it’s a chance to make a good first impression. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
The girls are given handmade scourges from the boys, because a weapon is truthfully what girls want in a gift, but Raelle keeps having flashes of Porter’s memories. She goes to Scylla’s room, but there’s no answer, and that’s when she sees a vision of Porter also knocking on her door before walking up the stairs and jumping from the roof.
But who cares about that when it’s time to party? Tally is pining for Gerit after seeing him talking to other girls, Abigail is happily flirting with both Clive and Augustín, and Raelle is approached by a Shakespeare-quoting male witch named Byron who is just as gay as she is. Turns out he and Porter were friends, and he tells her that he doesn’t think Porter would’ve killed himself. Suspecting Scylla of lying about not seeing Porter that night, Raelle confronts her, but Scylla begs her to stop asking those kinds of questions and walks off.
And now… dance break. The Reel is a tradition at Beltane; a high-energy dance that pairs up ideal companions for a night of pleasure, whether for friendship or for something a little more physical. Everyone dances with everyone regardless of gender or sexuality, and the end of the dance sees Tally and Gerit together, Abigail with both of her men, and Raelle with Byron.
Later, there are various, ahem, unions happening in the grounds of Fort Salem – including Tally and Gerit, Abigail with Clive and Augustín, and Alder and the Witchfather. Raelle and Byron, meanwhile, are chatting about love. Raelle asks Byron what he would do if he was in love with someone who had maybe done something unforgivable, and he advises her to decide if the person is worth it, and then fight for them. While everyone is out of their rooms, Petra and Anacostia are checking all the mirrors as a potential lead, but find nothing. Back in the crypt, Scylla is confronted with the very real possibility of her cover being blown when the dead Porter is questioned, but… he doesn’t mention her at all, to her confusion and relief. Clearly, someone has managed to meddle after all.
The next morning, Abigail invites both Tally and Raelle to her cousin’s wedding the next week. All three of them are in a good mood, with Tally ecstatic over losing her virginity and Raelle’s Porter-headache completely gone. Raelle spots Scylla waiting for her, who apologizes for the previous day. She continues the lie, saying that she did see Porter the night he died, but that it was because he wanted to get back together and she didn’t.
But then, something unusual happens. Scylla tells Raelle that she has feelings for her, and that they're not something she’s used to having, and by the way she’s acting it seems completely genuine. Raelle tells Scylla that she’s in this with her, no matter who she is or used to be, and they’re going to figure it out together, and Scylla has actual tears in her eyes. An interesting development, indeed.
Byron gifts Raelle with a copy of the Codecies, a witch sex and romance guide that the male witches get all their moves from. The Witchfather also gives her Porter’s scourge to wield in his memory. Tally and Gerit are getting in as much kissing as they possibly can before having to separate, but Abigail is nowhere to be seen. She’s already training, demolishing mannequins with her new scourge and once again trading barbs with Libba.
Scylla comes back to her room to find Raelle waiting in her bed, which is odd because she’s meant to be in training, but Scylla’s clearly just happy to see her. Only it’s not really Raelle, as Scylla finds out once she starts being choked in a decidedly not-sexy way, it’s a Spree agent in disguise who berates her for the mess she made with killing Porter – a mess the Spree had to then clean up. The agent reminds her that she’s meant to be luring Raelle to them, and demands that she gets herself invited to the Bellweather wedding, warning her not to mess this one up.
Tropes Used:
- A Party, Also Known as an Orgy: Beltane is… mostly a very sexual holiday, which results in multiple pairs/trios/possibly larger groups having sex outside in the grounds of Fort Salem.
- A Threesome Is Hot: Abigail has a threesome with Clive and Augustín during Beltane. There are also other trios seen walking off together after the Reel.
- All There in the Manual: Gerit and the other male witches get all their moves from the Codecies, a how-to witch sex and romance guide. Apparently the dick drawing Gerit sent to Tally is a generic drawing from the book.
- Becoming the Mask: Despite initially being a Honey Trap for Raelle, Scylla definitely appears to be developing real feelings for her.
- Bridal Carry: How Abigail both enters and exits the dance floor.
- Character Development: Abigail defends Raelle against some gossiping cadets.
- The Confidant: While she doesn’t mention Scylla by name, Byron is the first person Raelle tells that not only is she in love with her, but that she’s afraid she might have done something unforgivable.
- Corpse Temperature Tampering: Scylla attempts to increase the temperature of the room where Porter's body is being kept so that the ritual for post-mortem interrogating fails. She fails, but remains able to keep her cover.
- Dance of Romance: The Reel can definitely serve as this for some of the witches, although who it pairs you with isn’t always with sex or romance in mind (like in Raelle and Byron’s case).
- Did Not Think This Through: Scylla’s rash decision to kill Porter very nearly comes back to bite her, as Izadora has the Necro specialists help her to briefly wake Porter to ask about the circumstances surrounding his death. If the Spree hadn’t intervened, Scylla’s cover would have been well and truly blown.
- Erotic Asphyxiation: Sort of. Scylla probably thinks things with Raelle are going this way, only for “Raelle” to attempt a very non-sexy choke before revealing herself to be a Spree operative using Raelle’s face as disguise.
- Guy on Guy Is Hot: Abigail wants to see Clive and Augustín kiss each other in between each of them making out with her.
- Interrogating the Dead: As the veil between life and death is thinnest during Beltane, that makes it the perfect opportunity to briefly wake Porter and ask him what happened immediately before his death.
- Sex Montage: Beltane, baby!
- Shout-Out to Shakespeare: Byron introduces himself to Raelle with a Shakespeare quote that goes completely over her head.
- "Shut Up" Kiss: Raelle cuts off Scylla’s nervous rambling, when she confesses that she has feelings for her, with a kiss.
- Sorry, I'm Gay: Raelle more or less says this to Byron when she thinks he’s hitting on her. Byron, however, is also gay.
- Sublime Rhyme: Gerit ends up lampshading this one:Gerit: I don’t need the Reel to tell me how I feel.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Petra seems much more concerned about the Bellweather unit’s rankings than she does about Abigail’s general wellbeing.
- Work Hard, Play Hard: Abigail thoroughly enjoys herself during Beltane, but opts to start training early instead of saying goodbye to her boys the next day.
- You Have Failed Me: A non-lethal example, but the Spree are none too happy about having to clean up Scylla’s mistake. She’s cautioned-slash-threatened against making another.
