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One of the leaders is up front going on about loyalty, or whatever nonsense they’ve decided matters this week, and I tune out all of it, because none of it means a thing to me. I’m not here for the rituals or the little power trip some of them seem to get off on. I’d burn the whole society to the ground if it got me what I want. Of course, they don’t need to know that.

I hear my secret name being called, so I step forward. Supreme is in the small room at the far end, behind the desk, his mask covering every inch of his face and his gloves hiding his hands, so there’s nothing I can tell about him, except for the color of his eyes. The man’s made his whole reputation on being impossible to figure out.

“I hear the girl still wants nothing to do with you,” he says.

Ah, he’s heard about last night. There are eyes everywhere, and I’d bet at least a couple of them were watching Veronica turn me down in front of everyone. Great. Anyone who disappoints Supreme doesn’t get a second chance.

“I’m handling it,” I say. “Some things shouldn’t be rushed.”

“But the opportunity is right there, and you’re not taking it. Break her, isolate her, then pull her in.”

“She’s not like the others,” I say. “The rumors are good, and the whole campus hates her, so she’s alone now, but she doesn’t fall for the usual stuff. I need to take things slowly with her, or we’ll lose her. But I’ve got her curious now, and I’ll find a way. I just need a little help with something first.”

“Whatever you need. Just get it done.”

I incline my head and head for the door. The hallway toward the exit is empty, so I take my time and get a good look at the doors I pass along the way, like I always do. One of them might be left open by mistake. You never know.

Most of the doors are locked, though, and won’t budge when I try them, but there’s a heavy door near the end that’s cracked open. My pulse speeds up. Whatever’s behind it might be worth a look. I glance back down the hallway to make sure I’m alone, and then I step forward.

“What are you doing?” A male voice comes from behind me.

I turn, and there’s a robed figure a few feet back, with the mask on. Where the fuck did he come from? Probably another door.

I give him a small shrug. “Just trying to find my way out. These tunnels all look the same, and I swear I take a wrong turn every time I’m down here. I thought this was the way to the exit.”

“The exit’s in the other direction,” he says.

“Right. Thanks.” I give him a nod as if I’m grateful.

I head in the direction he pointed, and I feel his stare on my back until I turn the corner. Every time I think I’ve found a chance to snoop around, there’s always someone, as if they’ve got every inch of the tunnels watched. Maybe they do. They don’t give you anything until you’ve climbed high enough to be trusted, and I’m not there yet.

A year of doing everything they’ve asked, and I’m still on the outside of every door that actually matters. Every meeting, they dangle the inner circle in front of me like a treat. It pisses me off more than I let it show, because the answers I came here for are behind one of these locked doors, and I’m stuck chasing a freshman to earn my spot. But I’ll do whatever it takes, no matter how annoying it all is, and nothing will get me off my path.

THE SOCIETY BRINGS me the master key to the dorms. I wait at a safe distance because I know Veronica has a class. Soon, I spot her moving fast as if she wants to get to class before anyone gets a good look at her. Her roommate, Aniyah, comes out a few minutes later with her earbuds in and heads off in the opposite direction.

I wait a little bit just to make sure they won’t return, and then I rush to Veronica’s room, making sure no one sees me. After I slip inside and shut the door behind me, I look around the room. Which side of the room is Veronica’s? I spot the jacket I saw her wear once draped over a chair. Okay, that’s gotta be her desk.

As I inch closer, I spot history books. Yep, definitely hers. There’s a framed photo propped up against the wall of her with a woman and a man, probably her parents. They just look... like ordinary people.

Nothing here explains why Supreme picked her. I grab Veronica’s notebook and flip through a few pages, but it’s all class notes. A regular girl living a boring life, so why her? What is it about a history nerd that makes her worth all this trouble? But I actually came here to do something, not lurk.

I take a red box out of my bag and set it right in the middle of her bed. She’ll find it the second she gets back from class, and she’ll wonder who got into her room and how they managed to do it. She’ll start to feel like her own space isn’t safe anymore either, which is exactly what I need.

A girl who already feels like the whole campus has turned against her, and now her own locked room isn’t safe either? She’s going to be shaken, and I’ll be the only person here willing to be kind to her at all. I’ll play the concerned friend who happens to be there when she needs someone and let her talk herself into trusting me.

As I turn to leave, I stop as my gaze falls on her closet. I pull open the bottom drawer and rummage through her clothes. It all smells like her and it makes me want to...

No, I don’t have time for this, so I shut the drawer and head for the door. Veronica turned me down once, but she won’t do it again, because pretty soon, I’ll be the only person in her life.

Chapter 12

VERONICA

WHEN I FINALLY GET back to my room, all I want is to fall onto my bed and not think about anything for the rest of the day. My whole body aches, and I spent way too long pretending I couldn’t hear the two girls behind me whispering about the stalker.

I toss my bag and head toward the bed, but I freeze, because there’s a big red box on it. What the hell is that? I look at Aniyah’s side of the room, but I don’t think it’s hers. Did she leave it for me? No, that makes no sense, because she barely says a word to me anymore, so she’s not exactly in the mood to leave me little presents. And the door was locked. So how would anyone get in here to put this on my bed?

I lean over the box without touching it. There’s a symbol on the top, but it doesn’t mean anything to me and I’ve never seen it anywhere before. My skin prickles, and I look at the door again as if whoever left this might still be around.