Page 37 of Alchemy of Souls

“I was holding my own!” I reply, one inch from exploding. While there is a little part of me that sighed in relief when I landed on his cushioned spell, the larger part was humiliated. “I’m a damn good fighter. That has always been my thing, and you just made me look like a complete fool in front of the entire class and the head Guardian.” I don’t mention that Akari’s opinion means more to me than anyone’s, because that, too, is none of his business.

For a hair of a second, he hesitates like I surprised him, but whatever thought he has, he dismisses it. “If you smashed yourself on that floor, it wouldn’t matter how good of a fighter you are, you’d have wasted a day in the healers’ hut.”

“And now we’ll spend the evening being punished. Remind me how that’s better?” I ask.

“Less hours,” he replies.

“Wow,” I say, shaking my head. “You know, I actually thought for a second that you stopped Naomi from casting that spell this morning because, for better or worse, we’re in this together. Clearly, I was wrong.”

“I’m not following.”

“Of course you’re not. I’m a person, Grayson, not just a way for you to get what you want. You stopped Naomi from casting. You cushioned my fall, not because Naomi was being a jerk or because you wanted to spare me pain—something I might understand. But because you need me in full working order to cast spells. I don’t need you to like me or even to be my friend. But damn, I won’t be treated like I have no other purpose than to serve you.”

His brow furrows just as someone whispers my name in a nearby conversation. Great. More gossip.

“Forget it,” I say. “You’ve never had to fight to be good enough. You’ve never had people look down on you just because—” I don’t finish my sentence because now I’m saying things I never meant to.

For a second he looks taken aback, like he never considered it that way. And of course he hasn’t. His life is one big shiny golden ball. “Eloise, I—”

“I’m not doing this with you here,” I say, walking toward my next class. Or rather,ournext class, because as Grayson already pointed out, we have the exact same schedule.

Two girls pass, and the one whose name I think is Willow whispers to the other: “Naomi told me she’s from a family of Laborers. There’s no way he’d be interested in her.”

That’s it, the final straw.

But before I can race away, humiliated, Willow trips and the bag she’s carrying dumps on the floor. In my peripheral vision, I glimpse Grayson lowering his hand like he just cast. He wouldn’t… would he?

“Eloise, wait,” Grayson says, but I don’t respond.

Which is when he grabs my wrist. Before I even consider it, I Alchemy a wooden dagger as I whip around, holding it between us.

He doesn’t flinch. “Give this back to me when you’re done with it,” he says, pressing a small tin into my hand.

I peer down at my palm and the label readsGreen Goddess—a stupidly expensive healing salve that costs more than an entire month of groceries for my family. One that takes away pain almost instantly.

My brow furrows and I drag my teeth over my bottom lip. “My foot is fine,” I say with less oomph, lowering my dagger.

“You’re limping. Just take it,” he says. “Please.”

Why does he make it so hard—arrogant and bossy in one moment and decent in the next?

I push open the door to Alchemy Puzzles 101 and stop short. It’s not a classroom with desks. It’s a round tower room with a fifteen-foot ceiling. There is no furniture or whiteboards. Only apothecary-like cubbies covering the walls containing raw materials—stones and metals, rope and fabric—a myriad of everyday objects for us to transmute with our magic.

There are about ten students, including me and Grayson. Butthe only ones I recognize are Willow, the girl Grayson tripped in the hallway, and Adrien. He smiles and Grayson tenses next to me.

I immediately cross the room to join Adrien by the window.

“So, you’re in Alchemy, huh?” I ask with a lifted eyebrow. “I thought you’d be in fancy Gifted classes in the Chancellor’s Wing.”

Adrien laughs. “While I do pride myself on being fancy, it’s sort of a fifty-fifty deal between Guild classes and Gifted classes; we spend half the day in each. Long days, short nights, but worth it if it means we’re that much more prepared to fight the Lawless.”

“I respect that.”

He smiles at my praise. “Also, we get to choose our first focus subject… and I chose Alchemy. You’ll be seeing a lot of me this year, Eloise. If that’s okay with you?”

While I’m sure he chose Alchemy before he ever met me, it’s nice that he makes it sound like he’s glad he did. “Of course that’s okay. I’m happy you did.”

On the other side of the room, I’m pretty sure I hear Grayson groan.