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

already there, Imaiqah working her way through a large volume she’d borrowed from the library while Alassa wrote a long letter to her father. She, at least, wouldn’t have her results made public. The only reason Alassa was still taking the exams, Emily knew, was so she knew just how good she was. Everyone else thought she was being punished for abusing her position.
    “There’s a note from Mistress Irene,” Imaiqah said, looking up from her book. “We’re to assemble in the Great Hall at nine bells.”
    “And we’re not to be late,” Alassa said. She yawned and stretched - somehow, she managed to make even that look beautiful - as she rose. “Or there will be the dire punishment of being barred from the examination chamber.”
    “Easy for you to say,” Imaiqah snapped. “My dad will kill me if I don’t get good results.”
    “You’re a noblewoman now,” Alassa said. “You have a wonderful career ahead of you if you can’t do magic...”
    “It isn’t the same,” Imaiqah retorted. “And you know it.”
    “Calm down, both of you,” Emily said. It wasn’t the first fight or near-fight she’d seen as exams loomed nearer. Caleb had told her about a fight between five boys that had sent three of them to the infirmary and the remaining two to the Warden. Other students had snapped and snarled at one another as they’d struggled to finish their papers. “You both need some sleep.”
    “This book won’t read itself,” Imaiqah said. She paused. “Well, it could , if I charmed it properly, but it would be useless for me .”
    “You’re not going to be taking much of anything in,” Emily pointed out. “Leave it now, have a shower and relax. That will help you sleep better.”
    She paused. “Are we actually starting the exams tomorrow?”
    “I don’t think so,” Alassa said. “Mistress Irene is going to talk to us, it seems. You should have tried asking Aloha.”
    Emily nodded, ruefully. Her older friend hadn’t spoken to her since Master Grey’s death. Aloha had practically had a crush on the combat sorcerer; she’d certainly learned a great deal from his harsh lessons. And now he was dead...Emily had a feeling that Aloha understood, but couldn’t really forgive. Master Grey had been precisely the sort of tutor Aloha liked.
    “I don’t think she’s talking to me at the moment,” Emily said. She undressed, showered and headed for bed. “Get some sleep, really. I’ll see you both in the morning.”
     
    She closed her eyes and concentrated on her meditations. It must have worked, because the next thing she knew, the bed was shivering, threatening to throw her onto the floor. She jumped up hastily, checked the time and showered while Alassa and Imaiqah struggled out of bed. When they were all dressed, they headed down to the Dining Hall for breakfast and then made their way to the Great Hall. Caleb sat next to her as they waited for the stragglers to enter, just before the doors closed with an audible boom . Emily had a feeling that anyone who was late would be in deep trouble.
    “Good morning,” Mistress Irene said. She marched into the room from a hidden door and stood on a podium, her cool voice carried across the room by a spell. “You stand at the cusp of taking your first set of major exams. If any of you have chosen to take a step back and repeat the year, please leave now.”
    There was a long pause. No one left.
    “Very good,” Mistress Irene said. “For those of you who are leaving us this year, these will be the most important qualifications in your life. You will find that they allow you to enter careers that would otherwise be firmly closed. For those of you who intend to continue your studies at this school, your results will hopefully convince your future tutors that you’re worth teaching. I advise you all to make sure you put forward your very best effort during the exams.”
    There was a long, chilling pause. “You should have read the official guidelines by now,