Page 102 of Alchemy of Souls

I reach out to catch her, but before my fingers can grab hold, a thin metal rope loops around my wrist. I turn toward the shattered window, following the rope to a girl. Disbelief hits me so hard I see spots—Sage. Only now she’s dressed all in copper.

“Time to fly,” Sage says, and yanks the metal rope.

I jolt toward her, unable to stop the sudden motion. I dig my feet into the ground, trying to counteract the spell. But whatever magic is on the rope, it’s incredibly strong.

The dining room door blasts open and the shouts of Guardians fill the room.

“Shit,” Sage curses as I lift my hand to cast, but before I even get the spell started, she jumps out the window, pulling me along with her.

The last thing I do is turn to Maggie. “Nothing less!” I yell to her, knowing she’ll know what it means—a promise that I’ll come back for her, a demand that she not die. And then I’m falling through the air with no idea how to stop.

CHAPTER 49Grayson

My heart is pounding and I’m moving as fast as my wind spell will take me. I yank open Eloise’s armoire and immediately spot her party outfit, pulling it from the shelf. It doesn’t take me more than a minute of running my fingers along the seams to find what I’m looking for.

Skillfully sewn into the bottom is a tiny bundle of crushed leaves. I pull it out and smell it—goddamn tracking potion.

I move to my bedroom, yanking open my dresser drawer and pulling out my medical kit, rifling around in it for the salve that neutralizes topical herbs. It doesn’t matter that Eloise showered since she wore this skirt. Until she rubs this salve along the back of her legs, the tracking residue won’t come off.

The moment I find the tin I shove it in my pocket and fling open the door, slamming directly into Bas.

“Whoa, mate,” he says, regaining his balance and rubbing his chest where we collided. “Just the man I wanted to—”

“I’ll catch up with you later,” I say, lifting my hand to cast my speed spell, but he grabs my wrist, wrapping a thick vine around my hand.

“Slow down,” he says. “I have to—”

“Bas, if you don’t want me to blast you across the hallway—”

“Ourfriendis here,” he says over me, which is the only thing that stops me.

Sage is here? No effing way. She’d never come onto campus. It’s too dangerous.

Bas retracts his vines. “Come on, I’ll take you to the meetup spot.”

I hesitate, looking down the hall that leads to Eloise. “Okay, yeah, let’s go,” I say, because I have a few choice words for Sage right now.

I follow Bas down the hall and up a flight of stairs to the same lounge we partied in earlier this week. It takes him a minute to open the door and when we close it behind us, I throw up a soundproof bubble.

“What the hell is going on?” I say rapid-fire.

“I could ask you the same,” he replies. “Everyone’s saying Eloise called that Key while you werekissingher? And then you disappear into a hole for two days?”

“Where is she?” I say, referring to Sage.

“She said she’d be here any minute now,” he says, and I pace.

“How is she getting onto campus?” I demand, worried this could go very wrong.

He raises an eyebrow. “Sage said she found a way to avoid being detected with magically treated copper. She said you’d know what that meant.”

I freeze. Sage and I had been working on that spell together, something to mute a magic user’s signature so that we wouldn’t immediately alert the Guardians when we came for my uncle. She must have completed it without me.

Which is the moment I realize I’ve overlooked something important. “How did she contact you?” Bas doesn’t know about the tear and he can’t call her inside the wards any more than I can.

He pushes back his long surfer hair. “She found me when I was parking my car. She shoved a note in my pocket, one that evaporated after I read it.”

A jolt of panic shoots through my chest. “When?”