Aelin chose a diner on the outskirts of the business sector.

  I’d eaten most of my meals from the Temple dorm or prepackaged ready meals, so I deferred to the others when it came to picking somewhere to eat that wasn’t cooking for ourselves.

  Our bubbly guide was acting more like herself, though the extra giddiness in Aelin’s step was evident that she was in a good mood even though we weren’t going shopping.

  The inside of the diner extended to the left and right, with booths on the outer walls and tables running two rows wide down the interior. Across from the door was a counter where a woman about our age smiled widely at us. The area behind the short woman was walled off, but judging from the smells coming my way, the kitchen was on the other side of the door behind her.

  “Root’s Hollow is hands down the BEST diner you’ll ever eat at.” Aelin grinned as she looked around the small building, then pointed at an empty corner booth that would hold six people. “There!”

  “Excuse me…” The hostess coughed into her green hand and pointed at the sign by the counter that read ‘Please Wait to Be Seated’. “You’re supposed to wait to be seated.”

  “Do we need a reservation?” Aelin frowned as she looked around the diner. “You’re barely half-full.”

  “Yes, but the lunch rush will be going in soon, so we need to make sure that we seat people accordingly.” She motioned at a waitress on the other side of the building, an older woman with the same skin tone and dark raven hair. “If you’ll wait a moment, Rezal will seat you.”

  Aelin blinked, but before she could say anything, Gesai stepped forward. “Thank you.”

  “She’s just trying to get a share of the tips.” Aelin muttered under her breath as she crossed her arms.

  “Do what?” I looked over at the blonde.

  “When you work at a place like this, you have to be on the hostess’s good side.” Aelin grumbled. “The waitresses that she likes will have the people who look like big tippers sent their way, while the poorer people will be handed off to the ones she doesn’t care for as much.” She sat down on the bench that flanked the right side of the door.

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  “People do that?” I shook my head as I remembered how the managers for the Dispatchers had done the same thing. If they liked you, you were more likely to be assigned to a party that was farming on the 25th or even the 36th floor. If you didn’t know how to impress the manager, then you were stuck on the 16th floor or even the 9th, which was the worst place to be.

  “Never mind.” I muttered as I looked at the woman who was going to be our waitress, then back at Aelin. “So which category do you think she put us in?”

  Ether chuckled. “None of us are wearing gaudy clothes and it’s pretty obvious we just came from the Dungeon.” She glanced at Gesai, then looked at me. “Students are cheap.”

  “Especially first years.” Aelin agreed.

  “I guess you’re not wrong there.” I looked down at the jeans and blue leather jacket I was wearing. “Should we get something less casual when we’re out in public?”

  “The more casual you look, the less likely someone is going to try to rob us or kidnap you.” Gesai shook her head. “Poor students is a great look so I don’t have to kill someone.”

  “Gotcha.” I wove my fingers through Ethers and sat down on the opposite bench from Aelin’s. Gesai walked over and sat on my right side so she’d be closer to the door, while Fray and Justia sat down next to Aelin.

  It didn’t take long for the waitress in her late forties to make her way over to us.

  “Hello, my name is Rezal Dreena and I’ll be serving you today.” She gave a slight bow, then motioned for us to follow her. “If you come this way.”

  The six of us stood up and walked with her down the right side of the diner, where she stopped at the door near the end.

  “Yoil thought that you might want a private room.” The waitress opened the door and gestured for us to go inside. She smiled as she took in the surprised looks on our faces. “We’ve all heard about the new heir of the Alard empire and you’ll have no end of people trying to join your table on the main floor.”

  “Not poor student treatment.” Aelin whispered to me as she walked through the door.

  “Thank you.” Gesai stepped in front of me and Ether as we followed the others into the private dining area.

  There were even fewer people in this room than were in the main part of the diner. I could tell by the excited look on Aelin’s face that there were some famous people scattered throughout the tables eating their lunch. Not that I knew who any of them were. Not except for one table.

  Celia Taray sat at a corner booth with the two students she’d brought with her. I sighed as they looked up and saw us walk in.

  Gileon Alard knocked over his chair as he shot to his feet and pointed at us. “You THIEF!”

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