Page 45 of Stealing Infinity (Stolen Beauty)

I gaze down at the floor. The room is cool, but I’m starting to sweat. “Um,wield?” I shrug, pull my shoulders in tighter, horrified by how quickly I’m failing this test. And even though I thought I wanted to go home, after my lunch with Arthur, I’m no longer sure that’s such a viable option. And if it is, then I’m no longer sure that I want to.

“How about solving puzzles, cryptology, that sort of thing?” His gaze is flat, his voice holding little hope.

My breath whooshes out of me. I offer a tight, pleading grin. It’s a desperate attempt at a save, but Hawke regards me with that same bored expression.

“Well,” he says, uncrossing his legs. “Guess that’s how you ended up here. I’m your last chance.”

I look at him with a startled gaze, but he just laughs.

“Not to worry,” he tells me. “You’re in good hands. You’re about to learn everything you need to know from the master himself.”

He returns to his tablet, and while he taps and scrolls, I can’t help but think how smug that last comment was. I mean, seriously? This guy is truly full of himself.

“So, I’ll leave you to it, then.” He rises from his chair and starts to leave.

“Wait—what?” I glance between the newly vacated chair and him.

“Oh, and don’t forget to take notes!” Without so much as a look in my direction, he’s gone.

I’m just about to go after him when the lights dim and Albert Einstein, or at least an eerily realistic hologram of Einstein, pulls up the chair, leans in, and says, “So, Natasha, what do you say we begin at the beginning?”