Free The Alchemists Academy Book 2: Elemental Explosions by Kailin Gow Page B

promise to Spencer to keep an eye out for Alana. This had to come under it. Even when there was a good chance that it would hurt Alana’s feelings, Wirt had to say something.
    “Alana, I-”
    “Wirt-”
    They both stopped, in an awkward, silent moment when Wirt wasn’t sure whether to say anything or not. Alana went on before he could make up his mind.
    “Wirt, I’ve had a really good time today, here with you. I just wanted to say… I just wanted…”
    Alana leant towards him, and Wirt knew that she meant to kiss him, the way they had kissed once before, back in the previous term. Wirt could still remember that kiss. It had been sweet, and gentle, and almost perfect. Would this one feel the same? Would this one be even better? After all, Alana was, if anything, even more beautiful this year than she had been, and Wirt knew that the moment was exactly right.
    Well, not exactly…
    There was his promise to Spencer to think about, after all. Wirt was pretty sure that doing his best to look out for Alana didn’t include kissing her. In fact, it was about as big a betrayal of his friend as Wirt could think of. One that would undoubtedly destroy their friendship if Spencer heard about it. For all that Spencer and Alana were officially over, Wirt was sure that the other boy still had feelings towards her. Knowing that, could he really kiss her here, like this?
    Wirt knew the answer even as he stepped back, away from Alana.
    “Wirt?” Alana’s expression was hurt. Confused. “What is it?”
    Wirt wanted to explain. Wanted to make her feel better. The trouble was, he couldn’t think of anything he could say that wouldn’t just make things worse.
    “I’m sorry, Alana, I just can’t.”
    Alana looked, if anything, even more hurt by that, but she didn’t have a chance to say anything, because one of the dragons ran up to her, having finished its nap. Wirt recognized the one that had bumped into the wall earlier. It transformed into a human toddler, clutching its mouth.
    “Look Miss, my tooth is all wobbly!”
    The child changed back in that moment, and as it did, something fell from its mouth. A tooth. Wirt watched it tumble. Then there was an armor clad shape throwing itself between Wirt and the dragon, as Sir Percival dove full stretch to catch the tooth before it could touch the ground.
    “Honestly,” the knight said, “do you two want to spend your afternoon fighting un-killable skeletal warriors?” He looked around him. “Still, a good job with the little ones, overall. You can both head back now if you like.”
    Wirt didn’t need any further prompting, and it seemed that Alana didn’t either, though the little dragons seemed sorry to see them go. The two of them headed back up through the tree, up to the student common room. Alana didn’t say anything to Wirt on the way, and quickly broke from him once she got there.
    Roland was there, of course, playing his guitar for the other students. To Wirt, the way he played seemed to be all showing off and volume, but the other students obviously liked it, because several of them had gathered around. He stopped playing as Wirt and Alana entered, putting his guitar down.
    Alana rushed over to him. Genuinely rushed, as though she couldn’t wait to be in his arms. Roland, for his part, was only too happy to enfold her in a hug that seemed totally protective. Why would she do that, so soon after almost kissing Wirt? Unless Alana had been just looking for comfort like this from Wirt, and now that she couldn’t get it… As Roland led Alana to a corner of the room, holding her hand and talking softly to her, Wirt cursed himself for his stupidity.
    He still couldn’t believe how fast Roland had managed to move in on Alana though. Maybe he should have told her what he’d seen, if only to stop things getting this far. As it was, it was almost certainly too late. Roland even looked at Wirt over Alana’s shoulder, smirking in a way that made it clear what his thoughts