Page 125 of Alchemy of Souls

Grayson groans, wiping his hand down his face. “I’m not sure that’s fair play.”

“I never said anything about fair, Gray,” I say over my shoulder as I grab our doorknob.

“Oh, now I definitely like this game. It’s on Claws,” he replies, following me out into the hall.

I give him a playful shrug as we walk toward the dining hall. But being out of our room, the magnitude of the past twenty-four hours feels all the more real.

“Have you heard anything?” I ask. “About what we did last night?”

“Sage and the others are safe. I was able to contact them,” he says, and I exhale in relief.

“But there’s no more lying low, for any of us,” he says, and I glance at him, unsure.

“What’s the reaction to it all?” I ask.

“There’s shock over the video. And confusion. But there’s also relief. Your family wasn’t the only one my uncle was threatening.”

“And the wards?” I ask.

“People don’t seem to know about the wards yet, at least the students don’t. But they will. The good news is that Akari will step in as Regent Chancellor until someone new can be chosen. And the High Mage Council will have to include us in their discussions going forward,” he says, and I startle.

“Wait, really?” I ask.

“We’re the Key Bearers. Everything that relates to the safety of this University also includes us,” he says easily like it wasn’t the biggest thing that ever happened to me.

I never imagined the Council would know my name, much less ask my opinion about our world.

“It won’t be easy,” he says. “What lies ahead.”

“I never expected it to be,” I say, and he pauses outside the dining room.

“Ready?” he asks, and I nod.

He opens the door with a wind spell and it takes point five seconds for heads to turn. Everyone stares.

Grayson gives my hand a squeeze and I take a breath.

But we don’t get more than a handful of steps before Naomi, Ivy, and Bas head straight toward us.

Great.

Ivy stares at Grayson wide-eyed. “I can’t believe your uncletried to kill you,” she blurts out.

“I can,” Grayson says matter-of-factly.

“It was horrible to watch,” Ivy says. “You must have been so—”

But Naomi doesn’t look shocked; she looks pissed, her eyes flitting from Grayson to me. “Get the hell out of here, Labor girl. I have things to say to Grayson that don’t involve you.”

Just like that morning in the coffee shop, I get big mad. My fingertips tingle and my shoulders tense. My whole life I’ve been pushedaside and made to stay silent. But not today. I took the Chancellor down last night—there’s no way in hell I’m going to cower to Naomi.

Grayson bristles beside me and opens his mouth, but I touch his arm, telling him I’ve got this, a movement Naomi tracks with disgust.

“I might have hesitated in the past, Naomi,” I say with a self-assured calm. “But I’m not hesitating now. You might have more magic than me, but you’re not stronger. Because I have something you never could—the will to fight for every inch. So, go ahead and pull out that magic of yours and see what happens.Try me.”

The people around us fall silent, watching the altercation with fascination. Only this time, I don’t care. Let them see what I’m made of.

Naomi scoffs. “Your mother—”