Free Wedding Hells (Schooled in Magic Book 8) by Christopher Nuttall Page A

work, releasing the stasis field and studying the blue-green liquid in the caldron. The analysis spell showed her some of the ingredients, allowing her to mentally add several more; she knew, from experience, that several ingredients wouldn’t mix with others without exploding or turning the liquid into useless sludge. In fact, the more she saw of the ingredients, the more she believed it was a modified strengthening potion. It wasn’t a recommended recipe - unless she was very wrong, it would be dangerously addictive - but she was sure she knew what it was meant to do.
    Just as long as no one tries to drink it more than once , she thought, as she wrote down her conclusions. Professor Thande - she was certain he’d brewed the potion - loved varying the recipes, just to see what would happen. They’d become addicted within two or three doses .
    She pushed the thought aside as she turned her attention to the second caldron and read through the list of instructions carefully. It was hard to be sure, as there were three separate parts where the tiniest mistake might have led to an explosion, but she had a feeling - going by the colorcolor - that the mistake was in the final section. The brewer had added too much of one ingredient, overbalancing the potion. She gritted her teeth, prepared a handful of countering agents and released the stasis field. The smell made her gag - she had to fight to keep from diving under the table at once - but she poured the first countering agent in, watching carefully to make sure it wasn’t about to explode. It bubbled unpleasantly; she hastily added the remaining agents, praying desperately that she hadn’t unbalanced the recipe in a different direction. There was a long pause, then the brew settled down. Emily breathed a sigh of relief, bottled four samples and turned away from the workbench. It was done.
    “You may leave,” the supervisor said.
    Emily nodded and walked back to the dorm. Alassa and Imaiqah were already gone - Alchemy was their last exam - but Melissa and the Gorgon were still waiting for the second Healing exam. She nodded to them both, then settled down on the bed to go to sleep. No one had told her anything about the Military Magic exam, but she had a feeling she should wait until she knew what was happening. But she wanted to leave...
    She was woken, four hours later, by the supervisor. “You have been entered for the Military Magic exam by Sergeant Miles,” she said. “You’ll only get half credit, because you’ve only been entered for the theoretical side...”
    Emily rubbed her forehead, but nodded reluctantly. Sergeant Miles presumably knew what he was doing. She’d ask him when she left the examination halls. Until then...she ate, slept and followed the supervisor into the examination chamber for the final exam. Behind her, the handful of girls taking the second Healing exam waited for their supervisors to arrive.
    The Military Magic supervisor looked her up and down as soon as she arrived, then pointed to a desk and waited for her to sit down. “It is irregular for a person to take half of the exam,” he said, “but apparently it has to be tolerated. You have two hours to answer as many questions as you can. Do not leave the room...”
    “I understand,” Emily interrupted. She just wanted to get it over with. “Can I begin?”
    “Of course,” the supervisor said. He made a show of turning a giant hourglass over to mark the start of the exam. “Off you go.”
    Emily scowled at the paper as she opened it. Like the other exams, it contained a list of questions that forced her to think rather than merely scribble answers down by rote. Some of them were easy enough - Sergeant Miles had talked her through the basics of military affairs in Martial Magic - but others were too complex for her to answer. She did the best she could - she pulled one solution directly from Earth - and finished the paper just in time for the last of the sand to run out. The