The second we stepped into the parking lot, I whirled around, cutting off Calder's next step as I planted myself right in front of him.
"What the hell was that?"
Calder barely blinked. That damn smirk still clung to his face, like he wasn't taking any of this seriously.
I jabbed a finger into his chest. "You've got some nerve showing up at my school unannounced, dragging unnecessary drama to my door." My voice sharpened, fueled by the frustration twisting inside me. "You think this is funny?"
Calder exhaled, tilting his head. "A little."
I saw red. I stepped closer, voice dropping dangerously low.
"This isn't a game, Calder. This is my life."
The amusement in his expression didn't waver. If anything, it deepened.
"You sure? Because from where I'm standing, you're making it very entertaining."
I felt something snap inside me.
My pulse pounded, heat creeping up my spine as frustration and exhaustion clawed their way to the surface.
I took a step forward, my voice low, sharp, cutting.
"Let's get one thing straight, Calder, whatever game you think this is? I'm not playing."
My fists clenched. "You don't get to show up here, throw my name around, and act like we're something we're not. You and me? That's never going to happen. So stop pretending it will."
His smirk held, but something in his eyes flickered, just for a second.
For the first time since he walked into that rehearsal hall, he didn't have a comeback.
The silence stretched between us, thick and weighted.
Then, as if nothing had happened, Calder let out a slow, amused exhale, shaking his head.
"Stars, Athens. You really know how to bruise a man's ego."
"Yeah, and you really know how to be a world-class asshole."
I folded my arms, glaring up at him. "Why are you really here, Calder?"
His smirk twitched, but for once, he didn't throw out another smug remark.
Instead, he sighed, running a hand through his hair before leveling me with a look that was too serious for comfort.
"Marcus told me something happened to you at Lune Noire. Again."
My breath hitched.
"But this time, he said you were badly injured. Unconscious."
The words hung between us, heavy and unshakable. I felt a sharp, sudden coldness settle over me.
Marcus.
I clenched my jaw, forcing my expression to remain neutral. "And what? You suddenly care?"
Calder's smirk had completely vanished now.
For once, there was no teasing glint in his eyes, no smug amusement curling at the edges of his lips.
He just looked at me.
"I care when someone I lo—" He cut himself off, jaw clenching. "—care about start getting hunted."
The slip was barely there, but I caught it.
Something tightened in my chest, but I pushed it aside. I wasn't going there.
Calder exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "Something is happening, Athens. And you're right in the middle of it."
I scoffed, glancing away. "Yeah? You're welcome to join the club."
Calder didn't laugh. "I'm serious."
I looked back at him, my pulse thrumming in my ears.
"You don't know anything, Calder."
His hazel eyes flickered, sharp and knowing. "Maybe not. But I know enough to realize you're not telling me everything."
His fingers drummed against the side of the car, his jaw clenching before he spoke again.
"Marcus didn't have the full story, though." His voice dipped lower. "Zarich, who, might I remind you, works for the fucking Council, did."
My stomach dropped.
"He told me you weren't taken to a medic." Calder's gaze bored into me now, searching, waiting. "He took you to someone off the grid."
I froze, but only for a second.
Then I rolled my shoulders back, masking the unease crawling up my spine. "So what?"
Calder huffed a humorless laugh. "So that means whatever happened to you that night? It wasn't just some bar fight or drunken mistake."
I inhaled slowly, straightening. "I'm fine, Calder. That's what matters"
His eyes dragged over me, assessing. "Sure you are."
The silence stretched, thick with something unspoken.
Then, he shoved his hands in his pockets, tilting his head slightly. "So. You're gonna tell me what really happened?"
I huffed a laugh. "Not a chance."
Calder sighed, like he expected that answer but wasn't happy about it.
"Fine. Keep your secrets, Athens." He leaned against the car beside me, gaze flicking toward the distant skyline of Lysoria. "But let me give you some advice."
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, this should be good."
His lips twitched, but his voice was serious when he spoke.
"If you're going to keep walking through fire, at least figure out if you're fireproof."
I stared at him, something in my chest tightening, like my own words had been thrown back at me.
I didn't have an answer for that.
Calder pushed off the car, stretching his arms over his head. "Come on. I'm taking you home."
I let out a slow breath, the weight of the conversation still pressing against my ribs as I stepped toward the passenger side.
As I reached for the door handle, his voice cut through the quiet.
"You're still staying with Lara, right?"
I paused. Just barely.
"Why?" I asked, not looking at him.
Calder shrugged, but the movement was too casual, forced. "Just wondering how that's going for you."
I turned to face him fully now, arms crossed. "If you have something to say, Calder, say it."
His smirk flickered, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Just seems like a complicated living arrangement. Considering."
I narrowed my gaze. "Considering what?"
Calder sighed, rubbing a hand over his jaw. For a moment, I thought he wasn't going to answer.
But then, his gaze locked onto mine.
"Considering how often you're at their place, it doesn't really seem like you live in Lowmere at all."
A slow, creeping tension curled through my chest. But I didn't let it show.
The cover story Myrren had me rehearse for situations like this, rolled off my tongue effortlessly.
"Not that complicated. My guardian, my grandmother, follows the leyline shifts. She moves with them. Has for years."
Calder's brow lifted slightly, but he didn't interrupt. I kept going, pushing past the unease in my gut. "She's always been nomadic. It's part of her craft. So yeah, I spend a lot of time with Myrren when she's off the grid."
Calder studied me for a beat too long.
Then he exhaled through his nose, shaking his head. "Right. Of course."
Something about the way he said it made my skin itch. Like he didn't quite believe me.
I tightened my grip around my arms, keeping my expression neutral. "If you're done interrogating me, can we go now?"
His smirk returned, but it was softer. Sharper. Knowing.
"Sure, love. Just making conversation."
The tension in my chest didn't ease, even as I slid into the passenger seat.
Calder got in beside me, started the car, and pulled onto the road.
I cranked up the music in Calder's car, the bass thrumming against my ribs, not because I particularly cared about the song, but because I wasn't about to entertain another interrogation.
Calder glanced at me, one hand draped lazily over the wheel, but he didn't say a word.
Good.
At least he could take a hint.
The rest of the ride passed in silence, the city lights flashing past in a blur.
By the time we pulled up to Myrren's estate, the tension between us hadn't eased, but neither of us made an effort to break it.
Calder shifted into park, his golden-brown eyes flicking toward me as I reached for the door handle.
"Try not to get yourself into too much trouble, Athens."
I shot him a look over my shoulder. "No promises."
His smirk was slow, knowing. "Didn't think so."
Then, without another word, he drove off, disappearing into the dark streets of Lysoria.
I let out a long, slow breath, dragging myself toward the house, exhaustion settling into my bones.
As I made my way upstairs, my comm crystal buzzed relentlessly.
I sighed, rubbing my temple as I checked it.
Our group chat was a complete shitshow.
Jade: I still can't believe what just happened.
Ezzy: Excuse me while I recover from that absolute disaster.
Jax: Hate to break it to you, Athens, but you've officially been claimed.
Zion: Jax, shut up.
Jax: Oh, I'm sorry did you not see Mr. Cocky Smirk and Mr. Emotionally Constipated fighting over our dear Athens? Because I did. Front row seats, baby.
Ezzy: Not gonna lie, Athens, I was waiting for you to just deck both of them and be done with it.
Jade: Forget that, I want to know WHY Calder EVEN SHOWED UP AT OUR REHEARSAL.
Jax: Athens, the floor is yours. Explain this madness.
Ezzy: We're waiting.
Jax: Tick tock.
I groaned, flopping onto my bed, staring at the screen like it might magically delete itself.
The last thing I wanted to do was explain Calder. Or Riven.
Or whatever the hell that disaster of an evening had been.
I hovered over the keyboard, debating my response, before settling on the easiest cop-out.
Me: Long day. Exhausted. Explain later.
Jax: That's a weak excuse, Athens.
I tossed my comm crystal onto my bedside table, too drained to care. I went downstairs to grab a quick dinner, then forced myself to work on my Mystic History assignment, if only to distract myself from everything that had happened today.
By the time I collapsed onto my bed, I didn't bother checking my messages again.
Sleep was a welcome escape. Tomorrow was another day.
And knowing my luck? It wasn't going to be any quieter.
As I crossed the school gates the next morning, I already dreaded the inevitable confrontation. Ezzy was running late, which meant I had to deal with only Jax and Jade for now. And, judging by the way they were waiting at my locker, I wasn't getting out of this.
Jade leaned against the locker beside mine, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
Jax, on the other hand, had no such restraint.
"Morning, Athens. Sleep well after your dramatic, tension-filled, love-triangle performance of yesterday?"
I shot him a deadpan look. "Jax."
He grinned. "What? I'm just asking how our resident heartbreaker is holding up."
Jade sighed, rubbing her temple. "Jax, shut up."
Jax raised his hands in mock surrender but didn't bother hiding the amusement dancing in his eyes.
I sighed, touching the sigil on my locker. "I really don't have the energy for this."
Jade arched a brow. "Too bad. You owe us an explanation."
I grabbed my books, shoving them into my bag. "I don't owe you anything."
Jax let out a dramatic gasp. "She wounds me."
Jade rolled her eyes before fixing me with a look that told me I wasn't getting out of this.
"Athena. Calder showed up at our rehearsal. He acted like you two had some kind of agreement. And Riven..."she exhaled sharply. "I don't even know what the hell was going on there, but the tension? It was suffocating."
I slammed my locker shut. "It was nothing."
Jax scoffed. "Oh yeah, because nothing totally has that much heat."
Jade shot him a glare. "Not helping."
Jax grinned. "Not trying to."
I pinched the bridge of my nose, exhaling slowly. "Look. Calder just... showed up. He was being Calder. I had no idea he was coming."
Jade narrowed her eyes. "And the car ride home?"
I hesitated. Damn it. I didn't want to talk about Marcus. About Zarich. About the fact that Calder knew way more than he should.
"He just wanted to talk," I admitted begrudgingly. "Marcus told him about what happened at Lune Noire. He was fishing for answers."
Jade stiffened. "He knows?"
I nodded stiffly.
Jax frowned. "Wait, what happened at Lune Noire?"
Jade and I exchanged a look. Jax's expression shifted. "Athena."
I looked away. "It's nothing to worry about."
His jaw tightened. "That's bullshit."
I let out a slow breath, reigning myself in. "Look, it's handled, okay? Just drop it."
Jax let out a short, frustrated laugh. "Yeah, forgive me if I don't believe that."
I softened slightly. "I'm fine, Jax. I just, I need some time, okay?"
Jax exhaled heavily, dragging a hand through his hair. "Fine. But you're not getting away with this forever, Athens."
Jade sighed beside him, studying me like she was trying to decide if she should push further. "At least promise us you won't keep shutting us out."
I nodded, adjusting my bag. "I'll try."
Jax didn't look fully satisfied, but he let it go.
I checked the time and grabbed onto the first excuse I could.
"I need to go, or I'm going to be late to Runic Language."
Before either of them could say another word, I turned on my heel and weaved through the hallways, disappearing into the crowded corridors.
As I pushed past groups of students, I caught sight of Zion and Riven stepping into the building.
Zion was talking, his voice lost in the buzz of morning chatter, but Riven's gaze immediately locked onto me. For a moment, we just stared at each other, a silent exchange heavy with all the words left unspoken.
And then I did the only thing I could. I looked away and kept walking, not sparing him another glance.
Because right now? I wasn't dealing with him, either.