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Alex groaned as everything fell into place.No flipping way.

Hunter actually had the nerve to chuckle at her reaction. “You can keep it as a token prize. No one has ever recovered the target before in all my years of teaching the class, so it only seems fitting considering your exemplary performance. And it may come in handy, especially with the trials you’ll be facing in the future

Alex chose to ignore the implication in his last statement— and the question of how the necklace would ‘come in handy’— and she addressed the rest of his words. “You can’t do this, Hunter. It was an accident! I wasn’t even meant to be out there. Things just… happened that way.”

With an uncaring shrug, he said, “That’s not my problem.”

“I’ll be terrible at your class!” Alex tried, hoping a different angle might work. “I’m not stealthy or subterfuge-y. And I… um… I don’t like spiders!”

Not her best argument, but she would just have to roll with it.

Hunter arched an eyebrow. “Your point?”

“Not just spiders—all bugs. We don’t get along,” Alex said. “And I’m sure your class will spend time in the forest and,well, you don’t need me squealing every time I feel something crawling up my arm. That would totally ruin the, uh, stealthy atmosphere.”

Hunter regarded her for a moment and then pushed off the door, losing his casual appearance.

“Listen to me, Alex,” he said with a quiet intensity. It was the first time he’d dissolved his politely official demeanour and she could see he meant business. “Part of my gifting involves perception. It allows me to be aware of the people around me at any given time. Right now I can tell you that there are currently fifteen people on this floor alone. Six of them are asleep, four are catching up on homework, two are gossiping about boys and two more are bouncing around in their room as if drunk on dillyberry juice.”

He paused and added, “Coincidentally, those last two happen to be your friends, and the next time you see them, you might want to let them know that their mattresses aren’t intended to be used as trampolines.”

Alex wished she was with Jordan and Bear right now, not sitting and waiting for Hunter’s other shoe to drop. Because she was sure it was about to happen.

“The final person is standing right here:me,” Hunter continued. “If you have any basic mathematical skills, you’ll have worked out that there’s one person missing from my count:you. I can’t read you—not at all. Not where you are, not what you’re doing. I believe this is because of your own gift and the protection it affords you; an invaluable asset, in my opinion. But that alone isn’t enough to warrant your enrolment in my class. I had no idea you were in those trees yesterday afternoon, and not just because my gift didn’t sense your presence. Your technique—intentional or not—was nearly flawless.”

“But, I—” Alex tried to speak but Hunter continued, not letting her cut in.

“Firstly, you weren’t supposed to be out there, so my SAS spotters didn’t know to look out for you. That was an example of subterfuge at its finest—strategic deceit.”

“No, I—”

“Secondly,” Hunter pressed, his hard look warning her not to talk over him again, “you avoided all my traps on the forest floor by remaining high above the ground for the entirety of your journey. Again, that was a clever ploy. And thirdly, you moved through the trees like you were born to do so. I only noticed you right at the very end, but it was clear how comfortable you were running and jumping from branch to branch. You claim to lack stealth, but I disagree.”

That’s just what happens after a few hours of tree-hopping, Alex thought. But she didn’t try to interrupt him again.

“Your ingenuity and adaptation sparked my interest,” Hunter informed her. “But it was your curiosity that sealed the deal. From my viewpoint, I could clearly see you were injured. And yet, when you noticed the pendant shining in the tree, you didn’t turn away, you continued onward to collect it. You exhibited determination, a character trait that’s essential in my class. For most new students it’s the only requirement for their qualification since, as I mentioned before, no one else has ever found the object of their search.”

“Maybe if you made it clear that they actually had tolookfor something,” Alex muttered under her breath.

“It’s easy to show determination when there’s a focus point,” Hunter said. “But when the end result is less clear, that’s when a person’s true character is tested.”

Alex sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to win against him. He had his reasons—quite a few, apparently—for wanting her in his class, despite her lack of willingness.

“I officially don’t like you,” she said with exasperation. “Andjust in case you missed it before, Idefinitelydon’t want to take part in your class.”

“Your opinion has been noted,” Hunter said. And with that, he spun around with a whirl of his cape, saying over his shoulder, “I’ll see you on Tuesday night, Alex.”

She blinked at the spot where he’d been standing and watched as the door closed automatically behind him.

“What just happened?” she wondered out loud, leaning forward to rest her head in her hands.

A moment later the door sprung open again, causing Alex to jump in fright.

“Hey!” D.C. greeted her, walking over to drop her books on her desk. “I just saw Hunter walking down the hall. He nodded at me but didn’t say anything, so I guess I didn’t make it in. It’s probably for the best, anyway. Like you said, things are pretty crazy without having to add an extra class to the workload. And I think—Are you all right?”

D.C. must have finally noticed Alex’s strained expression.

“Has something happened? It wasn’t Aven again, was it?”