CHAPTER FIFTY

TRENT'S POV

I kept a close eye on Ella and Lucinda from my station at the back of the classroom. Something about the way Lucinda was hovering around Ella lately put me on edge. Like she was cozying up to gain something. My instincts blared not to trust her exaggerated niceness one bit.

As the partners worked on their acid reaction experiments, I let Liam handle most of our actual procedure. My gaze kept wandering back to Ella and Lucinda, watching them like a hawk.

When Lucinda reached for a tray of chemicals near Ella, my muscles tensed, ready to spring into action at the first sign of trouble.

Sure enough, a second later, Lucinda's gaudy bracelet suddenly snagged on Ella's flowing sleeve.

I instantly recognized the downward tug that would send Ella straight into the acid's path. Everyone else froze, but my feet were moving before my brain even fully registered the crisis.

In three long strides I closed the distance between us just as Ella crashed backwards. I caught her torso agai