Page 64 of Alchemy of Souls

“Maybe?” I say, wishing Grayson were here to smooth this out. “I mean, it’s notofficialofficial, but—” What am I saying?

“But it’s headed that way?” Maggie continues, and I nod gratefully.

Adrien snorts like he has an opinion and it’s not good.

“Fine,” she says, and it’s such a short sentence for her that I wait, figuring she’ll go on.

“Fine?” I repeat. “As in?”

“As in I’m here for this and here for ye if this is what you want. But I’m not here for you ditching yer friends for the very first University party of yer life,” she says, gesturing at herself and Adrien. “And if I get even one whiff that the prince is being the bell end of a donkey, I will use my invisibility spell to send him into his next life.”

I laugh. Adrien raises an eyebrow.

“Your ‘fine’ contained all that?” he asks.

And without breaking eye contact with me, Maggie says to him, “My depths know no bounds.”

CHAPTER 33Grayson

Breakfast is surprisingly low-key in a way that makes me suspicious. Naomi acts like everything is great. Meanwhile, I know Willow told her about seeing me and Eloise in the hallway. I look to Bas for an explanation, but he just shrugs.

Classes are fine. The weather is sunny for once and we eat lunch in the courtyard with our entire class. But I don’t push the fake dating ruse any further. Eloise and I just nod in agreement from across the lawn, and then I try to ignore the way Adrien leans too close to her while they eat. And the way he makes her laugh. He’s not funny.

But in the last class of the day, Alchemic Theory, there’s a knock at the door. Before our professor can saycome in, Damien opens it.

“Grayson Stone,” Damien says. “Your presence is required.” He doesn’t acknowledge our professor or apologize for the interruption. He’s the human equivalent to a caveman’s club.

I scent Eloise’s tension, but I don’t look in her direction. I just stand up from my desk and follow him into the hallway.

When the door closes behind me, I say, “To what do I owe the pleasure of you busting into my class?”

Damien doesn’t answer. He just walks in front of me in long strides, toward my uncle’s wing of the University.

“You’re in such a good mood today, Damien,” I say from behind him. “Is it the sunny weather?”

Again, silence.

He yanks open the door to my uncle’s office and stares at me until I enter. I swear he hates everything and everyone—which is why my uncle always chooses him for the worst kind of jobs.

“Grayson,” my uncle says with a practiced smile as he looks up from his desk.

I make my way to one of the armchairs across from him. “You rang?”

My uncle lifts an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t be nearly as cheerful as you if my future as a Mage were tied to a Laborer.”

I don’t react. “You know me. I’ll find a way to spin this.”

“And how are you going tospinthat you left her alone?” he says with a hint of danger.

“Sorry?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what you should be,” he says like a slap. “You left that girl to her own devices for more than an hour. I thought I made myself clear that you were to follow her every move. That if anything, and I meananything, happens that puts the Key at risk,youwill pay the price for it.”

My stomach drops. He knows about the lounge. Which means he’s either having me followed or someone in my class is reporting to him.

“Understood,” I say simply, knowing that if I try to explain I’ll only make things worse.

My uncle watches me carefully and I know he’s reading my emotions. After a long pause he says, “Update me.”