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Back The Art of Exile Save as PDF
Chapters (51)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Map
  4. Dedication
  5. GENESIS INSTITUTE GUILDS
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  50. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  51. IMAGE DESCRIPTIONS

“Very distant cousin,” I say defensively. “More of a friend.”

“I might die.” She puts the back of her hand to her forehead in a swoon. “Like, if there’s a single guy on this planet who could turn me bi, it would be him.”

Sigh. I didn’t realize how nice it’s been to be away from 24/7 Kor-mania.

“While I love Kor, I might puke if I am subjected to too much of your adoration,” I say to Georgie, who is dramatically fanning herself.

She grabs an empty sewing box. “Here, puke bucket. I’m not about to stop.”

“How do you even know about him?” Kor only shot to notoriety in the past two years, after Georgie had already moved to Arcadia.

She puts her hand on her heart. “Ada, I was a fan of Korach Chevalier before he was famous. I’ve been listening to his music for years.” She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “Okay, I’m over my fangirl paralysis. Show me pictures of the rest of your family.”

I open the most recent pictures I have of my dad. He’s waving at the camera from a beach in Costa Rica, where, last I heard, he was spending his days playing guitar for tourists and surfing. His wavy brown hair is grown out almost as long as mine, so different from the neat cut he always had when I was young. I’ve been missing him more than usual lately. He’d love to know about my new interest in sustainable agriculture and that I’ve been getting better at guitar. We might finally have something to talk about.

I swipe to a photo of Grandfather. I only took it a few months before I left, but he was already so much thinner the day I said goodbye, and even worse today. I feel my tears returning. I hope he’s okay.

The Makers could help him. I must get ahold of their cures or find a way to make Sire abilities more accessible. For Grandfather, for the Families, and for the rest of my world. Now that I’m an Alchemist, I have access to their Testament scrolls. I’ve gotten too distracted by guilds and guys and hoverboards.

It’s high time I visit the Ark.

18

I asked Hypatia to come with me for my first visit to the Alchemist Guild Testament, and she scheduled us a time slot in the Ark for today.

As I approach the winding staircase that leads up to the Ark, I’m surprised to see that next to the ever-present stone-faced Guard stands Simon, wearing a matching black uniform. His shiny silver buttons are smudged.

“What are you doing here?” I ask him.

“My family doesn’t want me to fall behind in my Guard training while I’m away from Avant, so I’m doing some basic training here. Congratulations on joining the Alchemists, by the way.”