The message arrived three weeks later, slipped into Victor's academy locker with no explanation of how anyone had gained access to a supposedly secure building.
He found it during a rare visit back to campus, a plain envelope with his name written in careful, unfamiliar handwriting. Inside, a single card bore nothing but a location, a date two days out, and a short line beneath both.
*Come alone. Or don't come at all. Either way, we'll be watching.*
"You're not seriously considering this," Caleb said, reading over his shoulder with obvious alarm.
"I'm considering it."
"Victor."
"I said considering, not doing." Victor tucked the card away, already turning the problem over in his mind. "But ignoring the Foundry entirely doesn't feel like it makes them go away. It probably just makes them try something less polite next time."
