Page 73 of Alchemy of Souls

I wince because she’s right. “I can’t—”

“Can’t what?” she says, cutting me off. “Can’t leave Eloise for two seconds? Someone you didn’t even know existed until a few days ago? Damn it, Grayson. We’re friends. We understand each other in a way no one else does. Yet since we showed up here you haven’t bothered to ask meliterally anything. And just in case you were wondering, everything’s been shit. My mother lit into me after the exam. Told me my fire spell was an embarrassment, that she was thankful she has my younger brother to be better.”

I hesitate. “You got Elemental Guild with one of the strongest showings.”

“You know that doesn’t matter,” she says. “Your uncle. My mother. They don’t care about anything other than being the best. I couldn’t shield my fire spell. I tried, but it didn’t—and then I drenched some of the students. My magic has been—” She exhales. “Temperamental.”

I pause, genuinely shocked. I thought she did those things on purpose. “I didn’t realize,” I say. If my magic was acting up like that, I’d be worried, too.

“Of course you didn’t,” she says. “You’ve been tied up with revenge issues.”

My eyebrows push together. “Revenge issues?”

She rolls her eyes. “You always act like everything’s a secret. But Adrien told me how you recruited him to get back at Labor girl for sabotaging your exam. And I have to say, reeling her in to shatter her heart is pretty dirty, but I respect it.”

For a second I stand there in stunned silence. Suddenly, Naomi’s illusion spell makes sense. She wouldn’t be capable of it, butAdrien might be. It also explains why Naomi wasn’t mad at me at breakfast—Adrien must have told her that I’m spending time with Eloise to destroy her.

“Look,” Naomi says before I can get my bearings. “I won’t keep you. I don’t want to mess with your plan and all. But I just wanted to say that I miss you. Because there is no one in this school who makes more sense together than you and me. Come find me soon. Anytime. Any night.” Then she pops up onto her tippy toes and plants a kiss on my cheek that is way too close to my lips and leaves the room.

And despite the fact that I usually have a good leash on my temper, I’m pissed beyond measure. My hands clench and my magic surges, and I have to close my eyes and count my breaths like I used to when I was younger. I make it well past thirty before I open the door and even then, I kinda want to punch something.

CHAPTER 37Eloise

“Okay, spill it. What did you do at the prince’s house? Hmmm?” Maggie wags her eyebrows as Grayson walks away. She’s dressed in black wide-leg pants and a cropped black tube top like a lady boss. “You were practically climbing him like a tree trunk before I came over.”

“I was not!” But I do think it probably looked that way, and while I was doing it partly to get back at Grayson, I have to admit that I enjoyed it. “It’s just, well—”

“Is he a good kisser?” she asks with every ounce of seriousness, and I’m pretty sure I turn an awful shade of red. “Good god, well, at least he lives up to the hype.”

I don’t correct her. He probably does live up to the hype. Instead, I change the subject. “Sorry I’m late, by the way, and that we couldn’t get ready together.”

“Yeah, well, you can make it up to me by partying until ten minutes before curfew and then running back to campus with me shoeless and wild like the goddesses we are,” she says, and I grin.

“Deal,” I say, and mean it. This is my first party, maybe my only party, and I plan to enjoy every second of it with her.

Which is where our conversation ends, because Adrien and Sofia are suddenly there, and Maggie stops talking altogether.

Sofia is in a gold strapless dress with a slit up one thigh, perfectly complementing her light brown skin. Her dark hair is in ringlets over one shoulder and her lips are crimson. I might get in line to date her, too.

“Feck me,” Maggie whispers.

Sofia raises an eyebrow. “My brother tells me you ladies want a tour of our house?”

I flash Adrien a grateful smile for helping Maggie like that.

“We’d love to!” I say, when Maggie just stands there staring. “But first, I need to use the restroom. Can I catch up with you guys?”

Sofia looks like she’s completely aware of what’s going on. “Uh-huh.”

Maggie blushes. “We can wait for ye, Eloise—”

“Don’t bother, Maggie,” Sofia says with a sigh. “I suspect my idiot brother arranged this so he could get some alone time with your friend. Besides, I give a pretty damn good tour. You’d be sad to miss it.”

Which is all it takes for Maggie to throw back her beer and follow Sofia.

“All lies,” Adrien says to me with a devilish grin as they walk away. “But while we’re here we might as well…”

I laugh. “Seriously? We sit at the same table for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We’re friends. You don’t need gimmicks to hang out with me. I’m willing.”