The footsteps outside the alchemy chamber stopped.
Evelyn barely breathed.
Alexander's hand brushed lightly against her back—not to guide, but to ground her. He gestured toward the side alcove, and they slipped behind a tall, rune-scarred pillar, half-shielded in shadows.
The door creaked open.
A figure stepped inside, cloaked in Academy black. Cautious. Gloved fingers reached for the forged letters. The motion was swift, practiced.
But not careful enough.
As the figure turned to leave, Alexander's voice sliced through the stillness like a blade. "Don't bother running."
The intruder froze.
Then slowly—reluctantly—the hood was lowered.
Professor Alric.
Evelyn blinked. "You?"
He was young for a professor. Quiet. Kind. Always pleasant in lectures—charming, even.
And entirely unthreatening.
Alric straightened, the mildness in his expression cracking just slightly. "It wasn't personal."
"It's always personal when you try to ruin someone," Evelyn said coldly.
He sighed. "I never wanted it to go this far. But once Isabella started feeding information—"
"Isabella?" Alexander's voice sharpened.
"She was the one who approached me first," Alric admitted. "With letters. Secrets. Said it would help us both if Evelyn were discredited."
Evelyn's stomach turned, but she kept her voice even. "Why?"
Alric looked away. "Because you were gaining power. And favor. And people like me…" His lips twisted. "We stay forgotten unless we choose a side."
"You chose the wrong one," Alexander said flatly.
Before Alric could respond, the door burst open again—and this time, it was Headmaster Sorell himself, flanked by two wardens.
He didn't look surprised to find Alric there.
"I thought it might be you," the Headmaster murmured. "Valerius, Ms. Hawthorne… Thank you for your discretion."
Alric paled. "You knew?"
"I suspected," the Headmaster replied. "But I had no proof. Until now."
The wardens stepped forward and took Alric by the arms.
He didn't struggle.
But his parting words were strange—spoken only to Evelyn, and soft enough that only she and Alexander heard them.
"She's not done. And neither is the one who sent her."
He didn't say a name.
But Evelyn already knew.
Isabella.
And someone else—someone in the shadows, deeper than she'd feared.
As the door closed behind them, Alexander turned to her. "It's not over."
"No," Evelyn said softly. "But it's started to fall apart."
For the first time in days, the weight on her chest lifted slightly.
But as they stood alone in the ruined alchemy chamber, she couldn't shake the feeling…
That the real game had only just begun.