Chapter 44

Ben sweeps me up a few staircases, away from the rest of the boys, and he really does take a minute to show me the incredible library that takes up a large portion of the top floor – presumably on the other side of our rooms. I gape around at it in complete awe.

I mean – we have a pretty impressive library in the palace – but this? The arching ceilings are almost entirely made of glass, like the entire space was once one giant. greenhouse or something. The stacks are all tall and white, reaching so high I can’t believe they don’t topple over, with these gorgeous brass ladders steepled all over them.

Obviously, all I want to do for the rest of the day is wander around picking out a stack of books and sinking onto one of the plush velvet chairs with them, but Ben laughs, leading me away to my chemistry classroom with plenty of time to spare.

As we walk, I smile at him even as he glances at his map, trying to find the right halls. Because as much as I know he’s dying to ask me what’s going on with Luca, he’s also sensing that it’s somehow private, and that I’m not ready to go there yet.

Unlike Jesse, who I know will tease me mercilessly and press me for details the moment he gets a chance, Ben lets me have my space.

And so as we arrive at the door to my class, I take a minute to bump my shoulder into his what I’m coming to learn is the manly version of a big hug. “Thanks,

Ben.”

“Anytime, Ari,” he says, grinning at me. And by the crinkle around his eyes, I can tell that he understands that I’m thanking for him for more than the escort. “Good luck in there,” he says, nodding

towards the classroom.

I bump him again, and he grins at me before heading down the hall.

When I step inside, I’m surprised both by the smallness of the classroom and by the fact that I’m….

Alone.

I stay perfectly still for a second, the two boys who are already in the class turning to look at me.

I mean, it’s not that I’ve never been alone before…

But, I mean, have I?

I have spent my entire life in the company of my family, watched and guarded. Even when I’d go to sleepovers they’d send a guard or two along to stand outside of the house.

But now…

“Are you staying or going,” a deep, bored voice asks, brushing past me into the

room.

I stumble a little – he didn’t hit me or anything. I was just…surprised.

I watch with interest as the tall man sweeps to the front of the room, putting his book down on the black desk at the front, raising an eyebrow at me. He has dark hair, just going grey at the temples, and a long crooked nose.

I smile, liking him instantly – I don’t know why. Nothing about him screams nice, but…I don’t know.

I like him too, my wolf says tilting her head with interest, and I stand up straight, trusting my instincts. “Staying,” I say. “Sorry,” I apologize, coming into the room more fully now and taking a seat at an empty table.

The professor nods and looks down at his book, flipping through the pages.

—

I sit a little awkwardly, not knowing what to do. I mean I recognize the two other cadets already in the room, and the five more who filter in after. They were all candidates with me. But what Ben said last night holds true

Rafe and Jesse, they

really did do a good job of isolating me away from everyone else.

I have no idea who any of these people are.

“All right,” the Professor says, marching to the door and slamming it shut, twisting the lock and striding back for the front of the room, all business. “Welcome to the Espionage Track. I’m Dr. Neumann, I will be your advisor and your professor of Chemistry.”

We all sit up a little straighter then, I think anxious and eager to impress. He smirks a little at us, not unkindly, and then launches into a speech about what we’ll be expected to do here. My eyes go wider and wider as he speaks, detailing the

incredible amount of information that we’ll be expected to learn in a very short amount of time. I jump when he takes a textbook from below the desk and drops it on the table in front of him, the text making a huge thwapping sound.

“This is the first of your four textbooks for this course. I will expect you to be proficient in all of the information contained within this text by the time the holiday break rolls around.”

Holiday break? We….we have those?

“Those who do not succeed…” he says, his voice slowing now as he looks around at all of us, “will not be accepted back next term.”

I breathe in sharply. What?

“This is in addition to the school’s standard cuts at the end of the first semester,” Neumann says, looking around slowly at all of us, and the other students all flinch and begin to murmur. I look around, confused and a little upset –

Further cuts – god, I’d forgotten all about those –

Neumann’s eyes focus on me now, perceiving that I am completely lost. “In case some of you are unaware,” he says, his voice dry, “which is…frankly abundantly clear from some of your expressions, Alpha Academy cuts a further 40% of its entering Cadets at the end of the Examination.”

I go pale. What? What?

40%!?

What the hell is this Examination!? Why didn’t Jesse and Rafe say anything!? “What I am attempting to explain to you,” Neumann continues, “is that Espionage cuts on top of that. If you pass the Examination but fail your Chemistry exam? You’re out. The rates for continuing in Espionage are the mostnoveldrama

competitive in the school, which I believe is fair, considering that we do not want to produce inept agents. With an entering group of 8, as we see here, I would expect the continuing number in January to be…”

He pauses to consider, perhaps doing the math.

“Somewhere between two and three of you.”

My breath freezes in my chest. What. What?!

“Of course,” he says with a bored sigh, “there is no reason why all eight of you could not make it if you were the most spectacular incoming group of young cadets the school has ever seen. I would just…not expect it to happen.”

He takes a moment to look each of us in the eye, and I don’t miss it when he lingers longest on me.

“You will be trained for other affinities within Espionage with other professors, but all of you will meet here three times a week to study with me. You will be examined in your other affinities as well and will be required to pass those examinations too. You will also need to be fit enough to pass the Examination, which will be your own responsibility. I suggest you each work very hard. That being said, if any of you do not believe yourself up to the task, you may apply to switch to the…Ambassador Track.”

But the distaste with which he says the word suggests to us that to do such a thing would be a great step down in the world. My heart twists for Ben, who is already there. All of the young men around me straighten their shoulders, and I see that each is determined to try.

Neumann takes another moment to look us all over, not inviting questions but leaving the space open in case any of us have anything burning we need to ask. And even though questions race through my mind, I press my lips together in a firm, determined line.

I can ask Rafe and Jesse for answers to those later. Now? Now I need to listen.

“Good,” Neumann says, nodding, and then he reaches below the desk again, pulling out a stack of notebooks and pens. “Hand these around,” he says, offering them to the young man closest to him, “lessons begin now.”

As Neumann speaks I scribble furiously in my notebook, taking down everything he says because I don’t yet know his teaching style – is he the kind of professor whose lessons you pour over again and again in an attempt to memorize his wisdom? Or is he more of a guide through the field, supporting you as you your own pace? I’ve had both kinds of teachers – but until I know his style? I’m writing down everything.

learn at

The pages are soon filled with a wealth of information, and even though I’m intimidated, by the end of the class I’m also incredibly excited about what to come.

The lesson plan that Neumann has sketched out for us by the end of the semester we’re not going to refresh our understanding of the basics of Chemistry, but we’re also going to understand the chemical compositions and the mechanics. of how to create twelve subtle poisons that he understands as the basic toolkit of any self–sufficient shadow agent.

Those poisons, he promises, will be the basis of our examination at the end of

term.

My hands are almost shaking with nerves and excitement when we close our notebooks at the end of the three–hour class. I slip my pen into the notebook, clutching it to my chest as I get in line with the other students picking up my textbook at the front of the room.

When Neumann places it in my waiting hand, he smirks when I almost drop it, my eyes going wide at the surprising weight. “Going to have to work on that, Cadet,” he murmurs. “If you can’t carry the book, how can you expect to carry the

knowledge?”

“Well, it will weigh a lot less when it’s all in my head,” I murmur, lifting the book more firmly into my arms as I turn away.

To my surprise, Neumann laughs, and he nods to me as I glance over my shoulder on the way to the door. When I trip over a desk because I’m not looking where I’m going, he just laughs again good– heartedly, hanging his head a little with a sigh and

a smile.

I dart into the hall, embarrassed but smiling.

I probably shouldn’t be as surprised as I am when I walk immediately into my brother, basically bouncing off his chest.

“Ari,” he says, frowning down at me. “What the hell is going on with you?”