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loaded on a gurney bound for the last ambulance.
    I stripped off my gloves and watched them wheel the girl away. That could have been Rowan on his way to the hospital. My throat tightened at the thought of how close he had come to dying today. I would have had to live with the fact that the last words I had with him had been exchanged in anger. Our argument before he left for California had been an impressive one.
    “Miss Daulton?”
    I turned to find Natalie and the camera crew still present.
    “Do you mind if I do a follow-up interview? Just a few more questions?” she asked me.
    I forced a smile. “Sure.” I would prefer not to, but I couldn’t waste this opportunity.
    “Let me begin by expressing my own shock at how effective your salve is. When I heard that your salve accelerated healing, I still expected it to take a few days. But this was…instantaneous.”
    “For minor burns, yes. When there is no skin to heal, it’s not so easy.” I had to brew each of those individually after requesting a blood sample from the patient.
    “Easy.” Natalie shook her head. “I’ve heard that you’re going to start teaching alchemy.”
    “The University of Cincinnati has approached me about developing a curriculum.” The prospect thrilled me. More alchemists meant more hands to brew salve, freeing me to develop other formulas.
    “You don’t plan to reestablish the Alchemica?”
    “I would prefer to work with an accredited university. Alchemy needs to be shared, not hoarded. That always bothered me about the Alchemica.”
    Technically, that was a lie. I didn’t remember a thing about my time at the Alchemica. My Grand Master had wiped my memories when he stole the Final Formula. All he left me with was my knowledge of alchemy. I remembered nothing else about my life before that. And since my past was a dark one, that was fine by me.
    “Addie?” James stood behind Natalie and the camera crew. He gestured with his phone, then mouthed one word. Rowan .
    “I need to go, Natalie. Would you excuse me?”
    “Yes, of course.” She gave me a bright smile. “Thanks for talking with me.”
    “My pleasure.” A final smile, and I hurried over to where James stood. He wordlessly handed me his phone, then turned and led me away from the commotion and the camera crew. Elysia waited nearby and fell in beside us as we walked past.
    “Rowan?” I said into the phone.
    “What are you doing?” Rowan got right to the point. “James said the last of the injured had been taken away.”
    “There was a reporter. You know how important it is that I—”
    “Cora disposed of the Extinguishing Dust. I need you to make more.”
    I sighed. “Her paranoia is a real pain in the ass.”
    “Can you do it?”
    “I think you mean will I. Of course I can .”
    “Addie, don’t.” His tone made it clear that he wasn’t in the mood for word games. “What do you need?”
    I gritted my teeth, but held back what I really wanted to say. “To work best, I need to key it to him.”
    “His blood.”
    “Yes.”
    “I’ll have him give you a sample. Have James bring you by the manor to get it.” The line went dead.
    I handed James his phone. “I get that he’s under a huge strain at the moment, but he could try to be nicer.”
    James grunted and tucked the phone back in his pocket. “Back to the lab?”
    “The manor. I’ve been commanded to make some more X Dust, keyed to Colby.”
    “Ah.” James understood exactly what I needed. “Let me find a place to change.”
     
    I stood in the sunroom at the Elemental manor and watched the sparks fly. For once, I wasn’t the target of Cora’s impassioned outrage.
    “You had no right to bring her here,” Cora said to James, waving a hand at Elysia.
    “She doesn’t know where we are.” James’s tone was surprisingly calm in the face of Cora’s rage. “Besides, she has no desire to harm you. Ask Addie. She gave her a truth serum.”
    I snorted. “I hardly think my testimony will