Page 56 of The Order of the Bitter Hunt

Jun-seong

I always do.

Margaux

Good. If we’re mates, we’ll have to match.

Jun-seong

How cute.

Margaux

I hate you.

Jun-seong

Hate you more.

I’ll pick you up at midnight.

On the dot.

We’ll want to be fashionably late.

Margaux

Whatever.

He’s right. I do want to be late, even if it frustrates my father.

It’s not the best look for our first meeting with the Order, but it would be out of character for either of us to arrive early. My father invited us without question, but I’m still on edge. I need to seem natural.

Everything is going according to plan, but it doesn’t put me at ease.

Chapter Fifteen

For a secret society meeting, it’s all very… well, ordinary.

At thirty minutes past midnight, we enter Dowry Hall. Students float in the dimly lit room. Piano music plays in the background, and servers pass glasses of champagne around while the students whisper among themselves.

The students are of all ages, but there are more unfamiliar faces than I expected. This must be a recruitment gathering.

My father and two professors huddle together. One is a tall, strict blonde woman—Professor Stark. The other is Professor Fairweather, a man two inches shorter than her, with gray hair that was once red.

I lean closer to Jun. “Do you know them?”

His gaze wanders to the three professors. “Barely. I think she teaches business, but I’m not sure.”

It’s a relief that none ofmyprofessors are here, but that doesn’t mean they’re not a part of the Order. There’s no saying how far the Order stretches, and I’m not foolish enough to underestimate them.

I sip my wine, listening in on snippets of the conversations.

One student says, “I scheduled my classes too early?—”

Another says, “Hopefully, Professor Cruz will take it easy on me now that I’m part of his club?—”

I snort. Doubtful.