Kalden Trengsen lounged on a bench outside the high school. It was a crisp Hexember morning, and the trees had just begun dropping their leaves, cluttering the sidewalks with patches of orange and red.

“That’s her,” Darren Warder announced. The heavyset Silver sat further down the curved bench on Kalden’s right. Like Kalden, he wore the usual school uniform of gray trousers and a white button-up shirt. He’d even rolled his sleeves up in the same way Kalden did—a double fold, with the cuffs tucked neatly behind the elbows.

Kalden followed the blond boy’s gaze toward the crowd. The morning train had just pulled in, and several dozen students filtered out into the quad.

“Could you be more specific?” Kalden said. “There’s like fifty girls over there.”

“She’s Shokenese,” Darren said. “Short black hair—black glasses.”

“She’s half-Shokenese,” Maelyn Sanako said from the other side of the bench. “Her father was Espirian. Also, her hair isn’t black. Just very dark brown.”

Kalden grinned at the competition between his two informants. They were always trying to outdo each other with things like this.

It was Darren’s job to understand current events; not just around the school, but around the entire Archipelago. What were people doing? What was the most recent gossip?

Meanwhile, Maelyn specialized in the people themselves. Who were they? What did they want? Most importantly, how could they help Kalden achieve his own goals?

Naturally, their work overlapped, hence the competition.

Kalden lowered his sunglasses as the girl stepped into the shadow of their three-story high school. “What was her name again?”

“Akari Zeller,” both his informants replied in unison.

Kalden gave a slow nod. Like the other girls in the crowd, Miss Zeller wore a knee-length gray skirt with black leggings underneath. Or were those tights? He never knew the difference. She also wore a white blouse beneath a ragged gray hoodie, and several bandages covered one side of her forehead.

The girl seemed to glare at everyone who passed her. That sort of attitude was dangerous for a Bronze. He wouldn’t be surprised if she’d attracted her share of bullies or fights.

Kalden turned to Maelyn. “What else can you tell me about her?”

Maelyn sat up straighter, adjusting her silver-framed glasses. She was Shokenese like Kalden, and her straight black hair fell halfway down her back. “Miss Zeller is a fourth-year student, born on Tresember, 45th, 854. Her mom was killed in an accident two years ago, and she’s lived in foster care ever since. Dad’s alive, but out of the picture.”

She took a deep breath and continued, “Her best subject is Computer Science. Her worst is Social Studies. Average grades overall. Known to sleep in class. She’s been in her share of fistfights, too. I counted five just this year.”

“Impressive.” Darren stroked the blond stubble on his chin. “But how does she take her coffee?”

“Black,” Maelyn replied without missing a beat. “And her all-time favorite drink is the Storm’s Eye from Jumpstart. Minus the chocolate. She’s allergic.”

“Tragic,” Kalden murmured. Then he gestured back to Darren. “What makes you think she’ll take the job?”

“I missed the start of this talk,” Maelyn said. “What job?”

Darren didn’t answer her. “My sources say she went to Magnus’s dojo last night, but he turned her down.”

“She was trying to learn mana arts?” Kalden raised an eyebrow. “Curious. Can a Bronze even do that?”

“Not unless you count legends and ancient history,” Maelyn said.

Kalden nodded. “So, Miss Zeller went to this underground dojo last night. I assume it didn’t go well?”

“The owner let her off nice and easy,” Darren said, “but one of his students followed her when she left. There was a fight, and she lost the money she brought. All eight silvernotes.”

So, not only was she eager to learn mana arts, but she’d be more desperate than ever.

Maelyn spent a full second clearing her throat. “Still lost over here. What do we need from this girl?”

“I need access to the dark web,” Kalden told her. “And I need a skilled hacker to help me get there.”

“I don’t know what the dark web is,” she admitted.

This brought a wide grin to Darren’s lips. Until now, the conversation had seemed shifted in Maelyn’s favor.

Kalden glanced down at his watch. Two minutes until the first bell.

“Give her the quick version,” he told Darren.

“Right.” Darren sat up straighter. “The state doesn’t like it when their secrets get out. Especially when it comes to mana arts. They monitor and censor most online activity, but not the dark web. See, everything’s anonymous there. And if they can’t track the source, they can’t shut it down. The Espirian government developed the tech during the Vaslana War—mostly for their soldiers, so they could call home.”

Maelyn blinked. “So you’re digging for secrets online, and you think Zeller can help?”

“She’s good,” Darren said. “I paid her to hack the school’s database and change my grades this year. Just as a test, of course. She explained her process, and it’s legit.” He leaned forward on the bench. “But here’s the good part. Zeller doesn’t have a computer at home. She does all this at school, in broad daylight.”

“Okay,” Maelyn said. “So why the obsession with mana arts? Why not take those skills and do something productive? A Bronze can still get a decent job.”

Darren shook his head. “She’s got her sights set higher than that.”

Maelyn rolled her eyes. “So she’s delusional.”

He shrugged his wide shoulders. “Some hackers whisper about this thing called advancement.”

“Advancement?” Kalden asked. “As in . . . using mana arts to jump from Bronze to Silver?”

“Bronze to Silver . . . Silver to Gold.” Darren shrugged again. “They even talk about ranks beyond Gold.”

“But that’s been proven false,” Maelyn said. “We can increase our souls’ mana, but we’re stuck at the rank we’re born with.”

“I know that. I’m just explaining her internal logic, and how she’s no stranger to hard work. If any Bronze can become a mana artist, it’s probably Akari Zeller.”

“Wow.” Maelyn snorted. “Why don’t you just ask her out already? You already know her favorite drink, thanks to me.”

Darren flushed and looked away. Kalden couldn’t blame him though. The girl was cute, and who didn’t like a badass hacker? Not that he would ever look at a Bronze that way, much less say so out loud.

After a moment, the blond boy cleared his throat and turned back to Kalden. “You want me to set up a meeting?”

“Maybe . . .” Kalden began. Discretion was important for these inter-rank meetings. The whole school would talk if anyone saw them together, and that would go badly for both of them.

Before he could finish his sentence, he spotted Alec, one of Elegan High’s security guards, walking across the quad.

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“On second thought”—Kalden stood and shouldered his bag—“I’ll take care of this. See you two later.”

The first bell rang as he fell into step beside the Silver security guard. The lanky man had unkept brown hair that always fell halfway down his forehead. He walked with a slumped posture, and his gray uniform always seemed one size too big.

“Alec.” Kalden patted him on the shoulder as they walked. “How’s my favorite guard this morning?”

“Oh, hey Mr. Trengsen.” Alec gave him a shy smile before looking away. Timidity was an odd trait for a guard, especially a combat artist who was twice Kalden’s age. Then again, Elegan High was a suburban school without much crime.

Kalden cleared his throat. “I hear Zach wanted tickets to the surgeball game this Talekday. That’s his birthday, right?”

Alec blinked in surprise. Clearly, he hadn’t expected Kalden to know his son’s name, much less his birthday. Fair enough. In all honesty, Kalden hadn’t known either fact until this morning’s meeting with Darren and Maelyn.

“Yeah, well . . .” Alec shrugged and averted his eyes again. “Ironhaven’s playing Shoken Port, and the tickets sold out right away. Even if they hadn’t . . .”

Kalden cleared his throat. “What if I told you my sister got four extra tickets—front row seats—that she needs to get rid of?”

Alec raised an eyebrow. “I’d wonder how big of a favor you wanted.”

“A small one, all things considered. Tell me, do you know a student named Akari Zeller?”

~~~

Akari struggled to stay awake for her first few classes that day. Last night’s train ride had been long and miserable, to say the least. She’d spent the first half in the coach’s restroom trying to make two bandages fit over a finger-length wound. She would have stayed in there if some old Silver lady hadn’t pounded on the door.

After that, she’d curled up in the back, watching the miles of farmland roll by, and regretting her life choices.

She was still pissed at Magnus, but he’d actually done her a favor last night. His own students ranked among the biggest dangers in Tidegate, and he’d probably known that in hindsight. That might even be the real reason he’d sent her away.

The bell rang, and Akari uncurled herself from her chair, joining the tide of students as they flowed toward the door. From there, she inched through the crowded hallway toward her Espirian Literature class on the second floor.

Her route took her past rows of navy blue lockers, tall glass windows, and clusters of students. These were mostly Bronze and Silver. Not only were Golds the rarest of the three ranks, but not all Golds attended public school in the first place. Sometimes, their parents hired private tutors instead. Either that, or they took classes at the local university.

“Miss Zeller?” Someone called her name, and a hand tapped her shoulder.

Her heart almost broke through her ribcage as she spun around. The security guard yanked his hand back as if he’d pressed it to a hot stove.

“Don’t touch me,” Akari snapped at him. Her tone drew the attention of several other students, but no one actually stopped.

“Oh. Um—sorry.” The guard scratched his head and looked away. Akari couldn’t remember his name. She just thought of him as the socially awkward one.

“I need your help with something,” he said. “If you’d follow me, please?”

“Help? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll see when we get there.” And with that, he turned and strode down the crowded hallway.

Talek. Why her? But credit where credit was due: this guy was the most polite of all Elegan High’s security guards.

Akari squeezed her backpack straps and followed him 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, he raised his hand and knocked on the door.

Talek help her, 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 at the Cliftons’ house. 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.”

That got her attention. He must have seen it on her face, because his smile widened.

But Kalden wasn’t a mana artist. He was studying alchemy. At least, that’s what his student file had said. Alchemists only had a theoretical knowledge of mana at best. They could harvest it from plants and animals, but only for pills and elixirs.

“You visited Magnus’s place last night in Tidegate,” Kalden said, “but he turned you down.”

“Talek’s tits and teeth,” she muttered. “You really have spies everywhere.”

Kalden raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t Talek a man?”

She rolled her eyes. “You must be fun at parties.”

“I want the same thing you do,” Kalden said. “And I think we can help each other.”

She frowned. “You wanna be a mana artist?”

He nodded. “A combat artist, specifically.”

“But you’re a Gold,” she said. “You can literally snap your fingers and make it happen.”

“You think it’s that simple, do you?”

“For you? Hell yes. Just waltz in the Mana Wing and sign up for a class. The teachers will roll out a red carpet for you.”

“I would need a permission slip from my mother,” he said. “And my mother wants me to be an alchemist.”

“It’s your life. What’s she care?”

Kalden seemed to weigh his words for a moment. “When you’re as rich as Clan Trengsen, you can hire ten combat artists for the price of one alchemist.”

So it was all about money? Typical. Still, she hadn’t considered that someone like Kalden Trengsen would have restrictions, even small ones like this. But it made sense in hindsight. As powerful as Golds were, they couldn’t hold a candle to their parents.

“You already know about Magnus’s dojo,” Akari said. “Why not go there and have him train you?”

“You think a Gold can walk into that place like that?”

“Get a private lesson, then. Better yet, buy the whole dojo and make him one of your evil minions.”

He shook his head. “Again, it’s not that simple. My mother gets a statement in the mail. She sees every purchase and withdrawal I make from my bank account. Could I sneak a few lessons? Probably, but I’d still get caught, and we both know a few lessons wouldn’t make a difference.”

These all sounded like petty excuses to her. The idea of a Gold not being allowed to learn mana arts? It was like a bad joke.

“Trust me,” Kalden said, “I’ve given this a great deal of thought. I’ve also consulted my informants. Or my ‘evil minions’ as you so elegantly put it. There’s only one way to learn mana arts without a teacher.”

“The dark web,” Akari realized. And then it clicked. This was why a Gold had lowered himself to her level.

He needed her.

She’d considered going to the dark web before. Doing it from a school computer wouldn’t be easy, though. You needed all sorts of special software. Not just a specific browser, but a virtual private network to encrypt your movements. Ideally, you also wanted your operating system up-to-date, which her school didn’t bother doing. Then you needed to emulate another operating system on top of that to ensure no personal information got out.

None of this was impossible at school, but it would take longer than a one hour session in the computer lab. What’s more, there was no guarantee she’d find anything. She’d heard rumors about secret mana arts communities, but rumors were just that.

“Here’s my offer.” Kalden leaned forward in his chair. “I have a computer in my house with internet access. I can get you whatever software you need, and time isn’t an issue. If it takes a few sessions, then it takes a few sessions.”

A computer free from watchful eyes? The idea sent her heart pounding in her chest.

“So what do you say?” Kalden asked. “Do you want to learn mana arts together?”