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That’s fine. I don’t want to be a member of the Elite anyway.
I want to be in a position to find out the secrets that have been buried within this society.
And given that the only clue my brother gave me was somehow coincidentally tattooed onto the bodies of at least three of the members inside this room, I’m going to push myself past whatever limits I have.
Because once I’m out, everything is lost.
“Everyone in this room,” Syn says, finally breaking his silence and my thoughts. “Everyone. You all answer to me. This is not a committee. This is not even a democracy. And anyone who chooses not to follow my instructions will violate their contracts and should look forward to the consequences of that.”
He’s already used this threat on me several times, but the reaction from the members in front of me is more noticeable.
They have things to lose.
No one wants a sex tape released—myself included—but my face, name, and even reputation have already been dragged through the mud, so much that there’s little of it left to cling to.
“When I say she’s our latest initiate, I’m not putting this up to vote. She’s an initiate of the Elite. She’ll be held to the same standards you were. She’ll be put through the same initiation process as you. The only difference…” He turns his head just a fraction, but it’s enough to meet my eyes. “Is that she’s going to have to do it all by herself.”
Although it might not have sounded like it, there’s a threat in his words that sends a shiver down my spine.
He smiles as he sees my shudder, and then he looks back to his audience. “If you want to see the benefits that being in the Elite offers you—both at James Keyingham University and after you graduate—then you’ll do exactly what’s expected of you. Which includes showing the same level of respect to her as you do to your fellow members.”
I blink, turning my head to look at him, only just stopping my mouth from falling open.
Respect?
Show me, respect?
And then Syn smiles. “At least, in front of the rest of the student body.”
A sea of faces blur into one as they all look at me, and there isn’t a single friendly face in the crowd.
IX
Syn
Whenever I read the news and find a story about how a building has collapsed, I always look at the comment section. Without fail, I find people writing about how they never saw it coming.
It amuses me greatly that people think this.
Sure, how well built the building is plays an important part of that, but any building, no matter who built it or what materials were used, are only as good as their weakest point. No matter where or what that is, the longer you chip at it—the more stress and pressure you put it under—it can only withstand so much before it crumbles.
She has a wall around her, one she thinks she’s built tall and strong.
Maybe it is.
My current amusement lies in trying to work out when it will crumble, and what will be that final stressor.
Tonight, I saw the hint of a fracture. Small enough that she was able to run out and fill it in, but still, a fracture.
No matter what she’s used, the crack is still there, and her whole front is now dependent on that fracture surviving the upcoming onslaught.
We get back to the house before she does, even with Driving Miss Daisy at the wheel. Regardless of how slow she walks, she’s not going to get lost. Even she’s not that stupid.
Inside, Gemini heads straight upstairs, taking the steps two at a time. His current hyper-fixation is some online game, and he’ll probably be playing that for the rest of the night now.
Royal follows, muttering something about being at the gym first thing.
Then it’s just me, waiting in the hallway.
