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Akari squeezed her backpack straps and followed the school security guard up the stairs. They passed through two more crowded hallways, then an empty one on the third floor. Finally, they stopped outside a supply closet. As if this wasn’t weird enough, the guard raised his hand and knocked on the door. She was alone with a madman. “Miss Zeller is here to see you,” he called out. “Perfect,” a male voice replied. “Send her in.” Akari’s blood froze as the guard opened the closet door and gestured her inside. At this point, her instincts were screaming at her to run. Then again, she was no stranger to secret meetings. Not after her little hacking side hustle. And curiosity got the better of her. Her shoes echoed against the tile floor as she stepped into the doorway. The closet was about the size of her bedroom back at her foster home. Steel supply shelves lined every wall, stacked to the ceiling with cardboard boxes. There, in the middle of the room, beneath the golden light, sat Kalden Trengsen with a gold badge around his neck. Well, shit. This week just kept getting better. Kalden spun in his leather office chair to face her. "Good morning, Miss Zeller." "Mr. Trengsen." Her own voice dripped with sarcasm as she spoke his name. Then she glanced around at the shelves. "What happened? Were all the good throne rooms taken?" "Ah, yes." He raised a disposable mug to his lips and blew on the steaming brown liquid. "The heir to Clan Fulton was already holding court in the men's room, and Alton Tusk had the spot below the bleachers." Akari blinked at the retort. Mocking Golds was usually a good way to piss them off. And they were so easy to mock. Especially when they strutted around the school acting like little kings and queens. In Kalden's case, he sat back on that chair as if it were a throne, with one ankle resting on his knee. His jet-black hair had a good three inches of volume on top, and he'd parted it on the left without a single strand out of place. His badge and shoes looked like they'd been polished that very morning, and a leather messenger bag leaned on a box next to his car keys and sunglasses. Did he know he was still a high-school student? "What do you want?" Akari asked. She'd already seen Kalden's grades in the school database, and he definitely didn't need her help. Not only were his grades perfect, but he was Elegan High's top student. "I just want to talk." "And you needed your evil minion to summon me here? We both have the same lunch hour." "You know we can't meet publicly." Her eyes fell to the gold badge on his chest, and she made a rude gesture. "I've got class in like two minutes." "Not anymore," Kalden said. "Mrs. Rhodes and I had a talk, and you're excused." Akari raised an eyebrow. "Coffee?" Kalden gestured to another disposable Jumpstart cup beside his own. "It's a Storm's Eye. My treat." "Can't," she said. "I'm allergic---" "To chocolate," he finished for her. "Don't worry, I got you one without." He knew about her allergies? Okay, that was just creepy. Still, Akari stepped forward and accepted the cup. Talek knew she could use the caffeine today, and there was no sense in letting a six-note drink go to waste. She'd wait to drink it until her next class, though. If this was going to make her pass out, she'd rather that happened in public. It also couldn't hurt to write "Kalden Trengsen did it" on her arm. Just in case. "Have a seat." He gestured to a plush leather office chair like the ones in the headteacher's office. How had he gotten those in here? Despite everything, that was the biggest mystery yet. "Make me," Akari said. "Suit yourself," he replied with a shrug. "But if you're acting childish to get a reaction out of me, you're wasting your time." He took a sip of his coffee. "Besides, I think we'd both prefer to talk business." "Which is?" "Mana arts, of course."