Excerpts Young Adult Read an Excerpt From That Devil, Ambition by Linsey Miller There is only one school worth graduating from, and it creates as many magicians as it does graves… By Linsey Miller | Published on May 14, 2025 Comment 0 Share New Share We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from That Devil, Ambition, a standalone young adult fantasy by Linsey Miller, out from Storytide on June 3rd. First in his class and last in his noble line, Fabian Galloway’s only hope of a good future is passing his elite school’s honors class. It’s only offered to the best thirteen students, and those students have a single assignment: kill their professor.If they succeed, their student debt is forgiven. However, if an assassination attempt fails or the professor is alive at the end of the year, the students’ lives are forfeit.And dealing with the professor, a devil summoned solely to kill or be killed, is no easy task.Fabian isn’t worried, though. He trusts his best friends—softhearted math genius Credence and absent-minded but insightful Euphemia—to help. After all, that’s why he befriended them.As the months pass and their professor remains impossibly alive, the trio must use every asset they have to survive. Or else failure will be on their academic records—and their tombstones—forever. The Professor grinned. “Do you like pens? You strike me as the sort to have opinions about pens.” For the first twelve years of his life, Fabian had used his grandmother’s dip pen. It had been hand-blown in Bella Mor sixty years before he was born and was the only part of his inheritance he ever saw. A shimmering violet dye had been twisted through the glass, glittering with each stroke. Being taught to sign his name was the only memory Fabian had of his father. “I appreciate a functional one and won’t turn my nose up at beauty,” he said. “I think any good magician feels the same.” Not just anyone could afford one. A good dip pen was a sign of success, but a beautiful collection with nibs and inks meant success and status. Fabian had signed his acceptance to the Stellarium with it and then sold it so Mia and he could afford the train tickets to attend. His mother had taught him many lessons, but giving up everything to pursue what he wanted was the only good one. “I love a good dip pen, especially the glass. They’re so delicate. Inks I can leave or take. Simple to fabricate, though you lot have some lovely inorganic ones in development from Imbe that I think you’ll like.” The Professor rubbed a glob of red ink between his finger and thumb. Slowly, the color seeped into his pale skin and swirled beneath the surface. He pressed his thumb to one of the papers and left behind a pale red stamp in a language Fabian didn’t know. “You’re the first student to speak with me outside of class.” Perfect. “You are a touch intimidating, Professor,” Fabian said. “It’s the murder aspect of it all, I suspect.” The Professor laughed. “Galloway, please tell me you’re smart enough to know I’m not here to kill you.” Fabian ran his tongue over his teeth, thinking. “You’re technically here to test us.” Buy the Book That Devil, Ambition Linsey Miller Buy Book That Devil, Ambition Linsey Miller Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget “Am I?” The Professor leaned across his desk, dragging his skin and sleeves and hair through ink without a care. Red and blue splattered across the papers. Pens shattered against the floor. “My job isn’t to kill you. It isn’t even to test you. Well, killing you is a requirement of my tenure, but it’s not why I’m here. It’s not why the Stellarium summoned me. It’s not why they host the honors class at all.” The Professor crawled to him over broken glass and grabbed his face with a bloodless, inky hand. “They summon a devil to teach your class. Why can’t they do it themselves?” asked the Professor, tilting Fabian’s head side to side. “Humans are more than capable of murder, and killing a magician without them killing you is something you’ll need to accomplish if you want to be one of those honorable magicians you love so dearly.” There had been one hundred and fifty-seven honors classes, and of them, only eighty-five of the graduates were currently working as honorable magicians. Some for countries and kingdoms, some for companies and other universities, and some for themselves. Most, of course, were dead. Many who passed the honors class didn’t survive it. Of those who did, some died from sabotage or war. A lucky few eventually fell to old age. How luxurious growing old sounded. “Intimidated?” the Professor asked, nails digging into Fabian’s skin. “Confused, mostly,” said Fabian, trying to arch a brow. “Do you not know what your job is?” The Stellarium had a whole plaque about the first honors class. It had been after the Great War when trained magicians were desperately needed and devils were gorging on the few surviving magicians who dared to sever. The class was meant to teach them how to deal with devils. That was why no human teacher would do. “I like you.” The Professor let him go and retreated to his chair. Violet ink twisted through the silver strands of his hair. “I appreciate a streak of ambition strong enough to test the limits of your own morality. You tell me what my job is.” (The violet was a coincidence.) “Of course,” Fabian said, unsure how he would learn that. “By when?” The Professor shooed him to the door. “Before the end of the year. Go eat breakfast. I’ll see you in class.” As the door shut behind Fabian, he barely made out the sound of glass being snapped. And snapped. And snapped. Excerpted from That Devil, Ambition, copyright © 2025 by Linsey Miller. The post Read an Excerpt From <i>That Devil, Ambition</i> by Linsey Miller appeared first on Reactor.