Page 85 of Alchemy of Souls

Which, of course, he cansmelland it makes him frown.

I stare back at him, daring him to comment.

But he only says, “I’d rather not work in the library because my uncle can spy on us there. However, my bedroom is spellworked to prevent it.”

Not only his house—hisbedroom? Kill me now.

“If you’re uncomfortable—” he starts, but I cut him off.

“Nope. Fine. I’m fine,” I say.

“Good,” he says. “Because how would you also feel about staying the night?”

“Um,” I say, and that’s as far as I get.

“It’ll let us work late and avoid distraction,” he says, which makes perfect sense. So then why is my heart throwing a fit? “But fair warning, if I ask my uncle for an overnight pass, he’s going to assume this is part of the seduction plan.”

And now I’m ten kinds of itchy and scowling at him.

Just the same, I nod my agreement, because for once he’s beingstraight with me. He’s including me in the decision instead of shutting me out.

But when he leaves me in the foyer to go send a message to his uncle and grab some snacks, I get fidgety. So much so that I decide to pop into the library.

Only as I open the door, I deeply regret my decision. Because the library isn’t empty. The Chancellor and Akari are in it and they seem to be having an intense discussion, one that I interrupt.

They both turn to me with matching expressions of annoyance.

“Sorry—” I start, attempting to reclose the door.

But the Chancellor flicks his wrist and the door opens wider, jerking me forward because of my grip on the handle.

Seriously?

“No need to shut the door,” he says casually with no apology. “We were just finishing up here.”

“Sorry for interrupting, I was just waiting for Grayson and thought—”

“Thought you’d go snooping around my house?” he asks with a pretty smile.

My eyes widen. “Definitely not,” I say.

The Chancellor sizes me up with his cold stare. “I hear you went shopping today?” he says, and I freeze.

Does he know why we were at the cobbler’s? Could he know? “Uh, yeah, I…”

Which is thankfully also the moment that Grayson waltzes into the room.

“I got us some—” He stops, holding a tray covered in snacks. “I didn’t expect you here, Sir,” he says good-naturedly, and I don’t know how he does it—this game of pretend.

“Didn’t expect me in my own house? Funny, because I expectedyou. But Eloise tells me you were in so little of a rush that you made a stop at the cobbler’s?” he says, now specifically naming where we went.

Akari goes still and my worry deepens. Is she the one who followed us? Did she somehow hear our conversation and report it back to the Chancellor?

Grayson shrugs and I have to resist the urge to clap at his performance.

The Chancellor raises his eyebrows as he turns to Akari. “When was the last time you saw your dear uncle; are you due for a visit?” he asks, and the horror of his question hits me.

Even Grayson doesn’t manage to completely hide his shock.