By the time I made it back to the dorm, it was way past midnight.

Armed with a backpack full of supplies, a large tube of super adhesive glue, ten feet of clothesline I'd snatched from the laundry downstairs, and one of those cheap plastic hooks, I slipped into the room. Glass clinked softly, reassuringly, as I shut the door behind me.

Some might think spending the night in a room with someone who wanted me dead was a pretty brainless thing to do. Well, maybe. But unbeknown to my attempted murderer, I was armed to the teeth and ready to obliterate his ass. Sort of.

All three of my roomies were still awake. Kenas sat at his desk, bent over a textbook so huge that looked almost normal in his hands. His hair was messy like he'd run his hand through too many times, and those golden eyes of his were barely open.

With a brief nod and a tight smile, he greeted me.

In true sloth fashion, Haze lounged on his desk wearing nothing but sweatpants and a loose tank. His back leaned against the wall and both feet rested comfortably on top of his desk chair.

Suppose I should be grateful that he'd at least put in minimum effort in regards to clothing. Not that that tank left a lot to the imagination...

Those crimson eyes zeroed in on me and he raised a dark brow provocatively, but said nothing.

Jaydis stood next to the bookshelf, one hand on a particularly ancient-looking tome, and grinned at me. "Hey, Ari." Rubbing the back of his neck, he added, "You almost had me worried."

"Why?" I asked as I crossed the room. "You bet against me again?"

He laughed, his yellow eyes following my every move. "Not this time." He cleared his throat, his smile suddenly sheepish. "Just, uh, felt bad thinking maybe we scared you off for good."

Carefully lowering my backpack onto the floor, I said, "It's gonna take a little more than that."

He nodded slowly. "Good to know."

Haze, who'd been following our conversation closely, crossed his arms. Something that looked suspiciously like a frown flashed across his face, but the reaction was so brief that I might as well have imagined it.

When he saw me staring, he narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Do you need something?"

"Actually," I said with my best screw-you smile, "yes."

He blinked at me. "That was a rhetorical que—"

"I need you to pick up that safety hazard over there." I nodded at the pile of clothes, textbooks, and food containers between his niche and the bathroom door.

He yawned, stretching his arms high above his head. "Maybe later. I'm kind of busy right now."

"Oh, yeah? With what?"

"Theorizing." He smiled that taunting smile of his and then slowly closed his eyes.

I'd never been so tempted to toss an instant paralysis potion at someone in my entire life. Preferably one with a little zap. Too bad I needed all mine for my little setup.

Grinding my teeth, I grabbed the large midnight purple drape I'd taken from the penthouse and got to work.

Gluing the plastic hook to the brittle outer wall and connecting the intractable clothesline turned out to be harder than expected. It took almost the entire glue and ended up looking like a three-year-old had tried their hands at abstract art, but this was not the time to be picky. It held, and that was all that mattered.

Kenas had turned in for the night, but Jaydis kept glancing over to me from his spot on the fridge. When I lost my balance and nearly fell off my desk trying to tie the other end of the clothesline to the bookshelf, he crumpled up his bag of cheeseballs and hopped onto the floor.

"Need some help?" he asked.

"I'm good," I wanted to say, but then the surprisingly heavy drape slipped through my fingers and a muffled curse escaped my lips instead. Not wanting to drop the clothesline too, I extended a leg, toes angled up in an attempt to keep the curtain from sliding to the floor, but, of course, it fell anyway.

Jaydis tossed the crumbled bag into the trash can and picked up the heavy cloth before I could protest. He waited for me to finish tying a bulky but secure knot, and then held the drape out to me.

"That's kind of neat," he said, eyeing my improvised construction.

The clothesline gave a melodic hum when I plucked it with one finger.

"Thanks," I said.

While he held up the bottom, I took the top of the drape and tossed it over the clothesline. Then I hopped down from my desk to adjust the ends.

"You can ask for help, you know?" Jaydis's smile lacked its usual brilliance. "I'm not your enemy, Ari... Despite what the majority of your kind may think."

Was that...hurt in his eyes? Anger and disdain I could deal with, but hurt?

"I'm just..." I sighed. "Just used to doing things on my own."

"Sure"—he lifted his shoulder in a subtle half-shrug—"I get it."

Haze, who'd been watching our interaction once again, shook his head and laughed. "Get over it, Jay. They're never gonna give a shit about any of us. As long as they keep getting their crystals and none of us steps out of line, everything's just peachy for them."

Of course, a demon would argue that way. Maybe if his government hadn't tried to sabotage negotiations the first time around, Infernis would have been offered a better deal.

"It's called trade," I ground out. "Crystals, technology, resources—what's the difference?"

"The difference is"—he sat up, eyes darkening—"that trade should be fair. You of all people should know that."

"Me?" I glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

A cruel smile appeared on his face. "Don't play dumb, Ambassador Daughter."

They knew. How the hell did they know? Dad and I didn't even share the same last name.

That changed things... Maybe whoever had poisoned me hadn't done it because of me at all, but rather because of who my father was. Somehow, the possibility that it wasn't even about me specifically made it worse.

"Drop it, Zee," Jaydis said quietly.

"Why?" Haze growled. "Her father is the reason they're marching into Silvarden next. Bet the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Before I could ask what he was talking about, Jaydis clenched his fists and hissed, "Screw you." Then he grabbed his jacket, marched to the door, and left.

Not bothering to hide his resentment, Haze cursed and launched himself off his desk in one fluid movement. Without sparing me a second glance, he disappeared into the bathroom.

They didn't know me. None of them did. Hell, my own family didn't either. It shouldn't matter what anyone thought of me.

Then why did Haze's words suddenly bother me?

I shook the thought away. Having the room almost to myself would make finishing my preparations that much easier. I didn't need anyone catching wind of how I planned on protecting myself.

Pulling the makeshift curtain shut behind me and reaching for my backpack, I got to work.

Soon enough my desk was transformed into a makeshift alchemy lab. The blue phosphorous was easy to spot among numerous bags filled with colorful herbs and mineral powders. Due to its proximity to my violet nightlight, it glowed brilliant metallic cobalt.

Perfect. The paste I was about to mix up wouldn't shine quite as brightly, but it didn't have to.

Using a simple binding agent Professor Flamel had utilized for a similar mixture in my first semester of alchemy, I combined my last vial of Vedian water and the phosphorous in my trusty mortar and set it aside. Then I wiped the outer wall next to the curtain and the floor between my desk and said wall and, with one of my foundation brushes, applied a thin layer of the mixture.

Due to the nature of the binding agent, it wouldn't dry out for at least a few days. Hopefully, that would be all the time I needed to figure out which one of my roomies wanted me dead.

Now, for something a little more fun.

I poked a hole into the drape on the left side, threaded a short string through it, and attached a small vial filled with clear blue liquid to the clothesline. If anyone moved the curtain more than a smidgen, the cap would be pulled off, dousing whoever was underneath in about four ounces of Liquid Ice. While that didn't sound like much, it would be enough to cause an uncomfortable cold burn and hopefully scare the crap out of my unlucky adversary.

Next, I tied another nearly invisible threat between the back bedpost and my desk, creating a neat little tripwire. One end was attached to a solar flare strapped to the bottom of my bed. Should the tripwire be activated, the top of the flare would be pulled off and anyone in a direct line of sight would be staring right into a portable sun.

These things seemed fairly harmless, but I knew firsthand how painful looking right into one was. A flare had exploded in alchemy last semester and I hadn't been able to see clearly for nearly three days.

Unlike that one, mine had a little extra zap. Whoever triggered it wouldn't just be blinded. If any of the tiny sparks made contact with exposed skin, they would send a nice little electric shock right through one unlucky individual. Double the fun.

If an icy shower and electric light show weren't enough, I still had a couple of emergency paralysis and confusion potions in my nightstand. Hopefully, I wouldn't be needing those, but they'd sure get the job done.

Careful to avoid stepping on the homemade glow paste and triggering my freeze trap, I stepped back into the main area to inspect my work from the outside. Unless you knew where exactly to look, the curtain was as inconspicuous as any.

Perfect. If my attempted assassin thought I was going down without a fight, they were in for a rude awakening.

Admittedly, I couldn't fully ignore the anxiety that made my palms feel clammy and my breathing shallow, but I couldn't afford to entertain it either. I was as prepared as I could be. For now.

The bathroom door opened and Haze stepped into the room. Glancing at my makeshift curtain with hooded eyes, he said, "Cute."

"Figured you'd like it." I smiled. "Now my little nightlight won't blind the sensitive demon."

He opened his mouth to reply, but when his eyes flitted to something behind me, he just brushed past me, jaw clenched, and dropped onto his bed.

Naturally, I turned around, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

I was about to go into the bathroom to get ready for bed when my foot caught on something and I fell to my knees. With an insult directed at Haze on the tip of my tongue, I stared at the empty space at my feet, blinking rapidly.

I'd tripped over...absolutely nothing.

Tilting my head slightly to the side, I had a perfect view of the messy floor beneath Haze's desk. Surprise, surprise, more clothes. Oh, and multiple jars of peanut butter and candy wrappers.

Despite his sour personality, he seemed to have a sweet tooth.

But that wasn't all. Barely visible beneath a towel or something was the distinct end of a black hilt.

What use did a demon of sloth have for a sword?

That question kept me up until well into the night.

***

I knew something was off the moment my eyes landed on the glowing nightlight. It was too bright.

Just like that, I was wide awake. One hand reaching for the extra solar flare it'd stashed under my pillow, I slowly sat up. Yup, the violet crystal flickered.

Someone was moving right on the other side of the curtain.

With my heart nearly jumping out of my chest, I held the flare in both hands. Its weight was foreign yet strangely reassuring.

Ready to aim it at whoever was there, I soundlessly slid out of bed. As I neared the curtain, the violet glow intensified.

I took a deep breath and climbed onto my desk. Having the high ground never hurt, especially if it was Kenas on the other side.

After another ten seconds or so of absolute silence, I pulled the curtain just enough to peer through—and saw absolutely nothing. There was no one there.

But...that couldn't be. The crystal didn't lie.

Swapping the flare for the nightlight, I lowered myself to the floor. Just as I'd hoped, the area between the curtain and desk shone blue in the violet light.

The glow paste was untouched, safe for a single paw print right in the middle.